Which area is less pretentious???? (Burke, Reston: house, neighborhood, to buy)

[theS5]

We will be moving our family up to the NOVA or MoCo area from Cary, NC and have a few concerns. The first is that we would like to live in a nice community with good schools and conveniences. What we don't want is to live in an area full of pretentious, keeping up with the Jones' type families.
A bit about our situation: our budget will be sub $850,000
I work from home, only needing to be on the road for customer appointments or to the airport.
Good, safe schools are very important.
Any suggestions or insight would be great.
BTW, I have been doing a bit of research and reading the forum, but it can be a bit overwhelming and confusing at times.

Also, if anyone knows of a good realtor, please feel free to send me a PM.
Thanks!

[mshan242700]

Two websites to browse listings with

http://www.redfin.com


Burke might be an area to research further.

[JEB77]

My own two cents are that Ashburn is probably the place in NoVa that's most like Cary, and that you'd probably like NoVa better than MoCo. You'd also be close to Dulles.

[JfromReston]

You don't say what you are expecting in a house. I would suggest Vienna or Reston. Though I will have to warn you that there are not a lot of homes on the market in this area and you may have to watch the market for several months to find a good house.

1149 RESTON AVE, HERNDON, VA 20170 - HomesDatabase (http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-ER+%26+LE+WHITE-HERNDON-VA-MRIS-FX7424778 - broken link)
1407 NORTHPOINT GLEN CT, HERNDON, VA 20170 - HomesDatabase (http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-NORTH+POINT+GLEN-HERNDON-VA-MRIS-FX7439995 - broken link)
2058 BEACON HEIGHTS DR, RESTON, VA 20191 - HomesDatabase
2045 BEACON PL, RESTON, VA 20191 - HomesDatabase
2045 BEACON PL, RESTON, VA 20191 - HomesDatabase
1505 BROOKMEADE PL, VIENNA, VA 22182 - HomesDatabase (http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-RICHLAND+HUNT-VIENNA-VA-MRIS-FX7479334 - broken link)
9805 SPRING RIDGE LN, VIENNA, VA 22182 - HomesDatabase (http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-SPRING+RIDGE-VIENNA-VA-MRIS-FX7478008 - broken link)
1410 WOLFTRAP RUN RD, VIENNA, VA 22182 - HomesDatabase (http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-WOLF+TRAP+WOODS-VIENNA-VA-MRIS-FX7455951 - broken link)
9411 CELLO CT, VIENNA, VA 22182 - HomesDatabase (http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-SHOUSE+VILLAGE-VIENNA-VA-MRIS-FX7333696 - broken link)

[stpickrell]

Only problem w/ Ashburn is that it'd be a haul if he has to go to client sites all over the DC area.

Otherwise Ashburn/North Leesburg (*) would have most of what OP wants.

(*) North Leesburg inside the bypass if OP or OP's wife is big on "being able to walk to things." Some developments in Ashburn are more walkable than others from what I understand. Plus, it's always nice to buy a house for $350-$450k and be able to do piecemeal renovations or put tons of money into savings.

[theS5]

Thanks for the quick response everyone.
JfromReston, we have three kids under the age of 12, so we would need to have at least 4 bedrooms and a place for me to work. I don't mind older homes if they have been maintained. I am originally from NJ, so the housing stock is, somewhat, similar. What drives me nuts is when someone wants top dollar for a house that they have not put a dime into for 25 years. Anyway, kids in the neighborhood would be a plus, as would having the ability to walk for a cup of coffee.


Stpickrell, when you say "a haul" can you give me an idea of what I should expect if I need to get to Falls Church or BWI area?
Thanks again.

[mjs1987]

Leesburg and Ashburn to BWI is about an hour without traffic and about 90 minutes to over 2 hours, maybe more, in traffic.

Falls Church is about 30 minutes without traffic and up to an hour with traffic. It depends on the route and time of day.

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by theS5

What drives me nuts is when someone wants top dollar for a house that they have not put a dime into for 25 years.

Me too!
Like this house:
12122 STIRRUP RD, RESTON, VA 20191 - HomesDatabase
It has great "bones" and a nice lot but slapping a coat of paint and putting new carpet down doesn't do it when this house hasn't had anything done to it for probably 30 years. It would be a great project for someone, but is currently 100-120K overpriced!

[IndiaLimaDelta]

I would wholeheartedly recommend Ashburn. It is the epicenter of Loudoun County, now the the county with the highest median income in the country. And yet... it is very far from pretentious.

Ashburn has a very strong middle class vibe unlike affluent parts of Fairfax like Great Falls. It is very egalitarian by nature rather than by design or fiat. Moreover, the life in the area is centered around the children. At the same time, the population mix is fairly diverse, which means lots of eclectic restaurants and shops.

The negative sides are Ashburn are that homes look very cookie-cutter and somewhat flimsy and that commuting to the Beltway can be annoying. However, the area itself is not as congested as many parts of Fairfax, so in-area driving is much less annoying, especially during off-peak hours (Fairfax and esp. the Beltway area has NO off-peak hours).

One more thing to consider is that the Metro is likely going to be extended to Ashburn in the next several years (yeah, yeah, it's been on and off the table, but now there is specific money for it I think and construction has begun), so things will not remain exactly the same, good or bad.

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by theS5

Thanks for the quick response everyone.
JfromReston, we have three kids under the age of 12, so we would need to have at least 4 bedrooms and a place for me to work. . . Anyway, kids in the neighborhood would be a plus, as would having the ability to walk for a cup of coffee.

This one has four bedrooms and the walk to Starbucks would be 0.4 miles or 8 minutes according to google maps.
2045 Beacon Pl, Reston, VA 20191 to 11170 S Lakes Dr, Reston, VA 20191 - Google Maps