Relocating from Europe to Great Falls or surrounding area

[liseA]

Originally Posted by Regan

We, a couple in the late thirties with a daughter of 8, are considering a relocation from Europe to Northeren Virginia. We have been looking at Great Falls, Vienna, Herdnon etc, but not been able to decide what would suit us best. We have our own business and proximity to an national/international airport is more important than commuting time to DC. The most important is to find a safe family oriented area with good schools. In addition to finding out where to live, we are interested to know a little bit more about the tax systems (property tax etc), school systems and quality and activities in the near area.

Any input is much appreciated

Many areas have (HOA) Home owners associations so you may want to check that out when you decide on an area. Our HOA does not allow home businesses out of the home where we live but our HOA is very relaxed in the rules. All three of my neighbors have home businesses as long as they don't infringe upon the peace of the neighborhood I don't mind at all but some HOA can really be super pains and will not look the other way. They can have very high fees if there is a neighbor hood facility such as pool clubhouse and tennis courts just something to consider when looking. We live in the Oak Hill area of northern Va it is the 20171 zipcode it is about 15 minutes from Dulles international airport it is a wonderful area you might want to check it out too. The best thing would be to find the areas you are interested in and then come out here and check them out. I moved here from California and some of the nicest areas have flight paths and were quite noisy they were emediately off our lists of homes to look at it is better to do a home search in person if you can. Fairfax county schools are some of the best in the country. Good luck on your search

[Rest-on]

Originally Posted by Regan

We, a couple in the late thirties with a daughter of 8, are considering a relocation from Europe to Northeren Virginia. We have been looking at Great Falls, Vienna, Herdnon etc, but not been able to decide what would suit us best. We have our own business and proximity to an national/international airport is more important than commuting time to DC. The most important is to find a safe family oriented area with good schools. In addition to finding out where to live, we are interested to know a little bit more about the tax systems (property tax etc), school systems and quality and activities in the near area.

If proximity to the airport is of overriding importance to you, I would certainly recommend Reston or the 20171 area code of Herndon. Are you thinking of a condo, townhouse or detached home? The Reston Town Center has a mix of all three within walking distance, plus restaurants, shopping and a cinema. Other parts of reston, especially in the 20194 zip code, have very attractive townhouses or detached homes, and there's ample activities for a children (including numerous pools (http://www.reston.org/parks_rec/p_pools.html#pooldescriptionslocations - broken link), several lakes (including Lake Anne with boat rental (http://www.lakeanneplaza.com/lap_site_/lap_idx.htm - broken link)), countless tennis courts and miles of wooded walking and biking trails.

And I know you mentioned commuting time to DC is not a high priority, but among all the major highways of the DC area, the Dulles Toll Road is the least congested and offers the quickest route to Washington, D.C.

Hope this helps a bit. Feel free to email me if you have further questions.

Best wishes,

Chuck Miro

[arabellava]

Originally Posted by liseA

Many areas have (HOA) Home owners associations so you may want to check that out when you decide on an area. Our HOA does not allow home businesses out of the home where we live but our HOA is very relaxed in the rules. All three of my neighbors have home businesses as long as they don't infringe upon the peace of the neighborhood I don't mind at all but some HOA can really be super pains and will not look the other way. They can have very high fees if there is a neighbor hood facility such as pool clubhouse and tennis courts just something to consider when looking. We live in the Oak Hill area of northern Va it is the 20171 zipcode it is about 15 minutes from Dulles international airport it is a wonderful area you might want to check it out too. The best thing would be to find the areas you are interested in and then come out here and check them out. I moved here from California and some of the nicest areas have flight paths and were quite noisy they were emediately off our lists of homes to look at it is better to do a home search in person if you can. Fairfax county schools are some of the best in the country. Good luck on your search

I agree that the Oak Hill area is nice- have good friends that live there.. the only consideration is that it is one of the areas that was redistricted so depending on where in Oak Hill you live, you may go to South lakes HS (which is not as highly rated as other HS in the area)- granted that is WAY down the road so if you don't think you'll be here that long or SLHS with the IB program is not a negative- there are some great deals in Oak Hill. The houses are so nice and the neighbors are nice/safe place. ES and MS are very good.

[FranklyRE]

Hey there,
The reason there are more bank owned in Loudoun is due to the construction boom in 2005 out there. Many new homes were built at the top of the market and people bought with ARM loans. Then the market fell and people couldn't afford their homes.

There were far fewer purchases in Great Falls. Also in Great Falls the average income per family is probably 50% to 100% higher then Loudoun.

It is not much more difficult to buy a bank owned property. Your Realtor can help you with those. Bank properties are listed on the same MLS home search that you might be using now.

As for risks involved in the marketplace with so many bank owned... yes there are risks that you get a "deal" and then your neighbor forecloses and that house sells for $20k less. Email me directly if you want me to sign you up for alerts for bank properties or to talk about how to decide.

Frank

[star95]

I am in a big need of change, I have 2 boys, I read this thread and got lots of answers, thanks to all. My question is:
I am a hair stylist, I have a great clientele here in Seattle WA, but I also want to go to Virginia. Is it easy to find a job in the beauty industrie. What is the average rent for a 2bd 2bth app??
Thanks guys?

[Regan]

How would I find out if there is a HOA in the area I am looking and which rules they have? Any register for such?

Very interesting information about the flight paths. I was wondering about that. I can imagine that living under a flight path could be pretty frustrating - and would certainly try to avoid that.Would it be possible to see these on any kind of maps?

We are of course coming out to see, before buying something. Probably several times. But we do feel more prepared and have been able to narrow down our search a bit, based on all the information you have all provided:-)

[tdekany]

Originally Posted by Regan

Thanks for all the input. All valuable information in our search for the perfect place to live:-)

Where are you moving from?