Military moving to West Springfield..Please Help! (Burke, Fairfax: for rent, HOA)

[driggs]

Well after researching many surburbs in the DC area we have decided on West Springfield. I am active duty military and will be commuting to Suitland MD everyday. My wife, daughter and I will be there the weekend of July 9th. We only have 3 days to find something before we head back to FL to prepare for our move. We are looking for a 3 bed, 2 bath th with rec room and fenced yard with plenty of storage. I have seen so many th online that my head is spinning. We have already made appointments to look at townhomes in Cardinal Forest and Burgoyne Forest West. I have also seen a couple of places in Hunter Village and Shannon Station. Im sure this question has been asked 100 times. How are these areas? Are they well maintained? I just dont want to make the wrong decision.

[smithy77]

They're all just fine. No negatives to speak of.

[dtt99]

If your daughter is at school age, you made the right choice. ZIP 22152 and 22153 have mostly good schools. All places you mentioned are nice. Although I never lived in those sub divisions, I drove by them quite often and in my opinion, Hunter Village is better choice since it is newer, and more convenient to get to 495 to get to Suitland. Regardless, you still have at least 1 hour commute during rush hour and may be more because traffic on 495 from Van Dorn to the the bridge as well as from Suitland to the bridge is perpetually congested. Good luck in your house hunting.

[smokemaster]

You may consider Cardinal Square Townhomes, closer to 95, but still in 22152. Those are better made than the larger Daventry Condos across 644. Cardinal Square's HOA fee includes nat gas, which is good for renter. The area around the Country Club is good, too. I would get in the eastern portion of 22152, due to the MD commute.

[KingstowneVA]

Depending on your available budget, you may want to look at Kingstowne (zip code 22315), which will open up a few more options for you commute to reach I-495 with maybe a little bit less headache than from West Springfield - schools in Kingstowne are very good, too (Lane, Hayfield, Edison).
When I looked for my place (which I finally decided on in Kingstowne), I looked everywhere from Mt. Vernon to Kingstowne, Springfield, Newington Forest, Burke all the way up to Fairfax. After many, many house viewing trips, I made up my mind and ended up in a townhouse in almost walking distance to the shopping, restaurants and entertainment in Kingstowne.

[smokemaster]

good advice for the commute; maybe not for the schools.