commute from Reston/Lovettsville

[Caladium]

Have you looked at some of the farmlike properties in Countryside (along Youngs Cliff Road, especially). I'm not sure they're really big enough to be called farms, but many of those properties have farm type buildings as well as horses, goats, chickens, and other farm animals. Countryside is right along the Potomac in the northernmost section of Sterling. (Note: there were landfill issues with this area a long time ago--if you're interested in this area be sure to look into this). Another possibility is Lucketts or the part of Leesburg near Whites Ferrry.

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by clothgiraffe

We'd love acreage for animals (goats, chickens, maybe a cow or two for beef) and 5-10ish acres in our price range (400-500K) is hard to find closer in. There are a few properties in Lovettsville - or further out in Purcellville (Purcellville seems to be a huge geopraphic area!?). Right now DH's commute is great: Sterling to Reston - 20ish minutes. But a move to Lovettsville (waaay north - either up 287 or up 15) would be a significant adjustment. I sort of know 7W in the evenings/7E in the am, but what are 15N and 287N in the evenings like? What about 15S and 287S in the am? How awful? I need to look into the greenway, but it would only alleviate the rt 7 commute from/to Leesburg, we'd still have to deal w/ 15 or 287... plus I imagine it's $$$...

Thanks for thoughts/experiences!!

Non rush hour it's 35 to 40 minutes from Lovettsville to Reston. I do it frequently. I always take the Greenway. I love living in Lovettsville, out in the country, but we don't commute. Remember too, if you have over 5 acres, and put some of it in land use (crops, cows, horses, etc.) you get tax breaks. Feel free to PM me with questions about living out here.

[clothgiraffe]

Denton, sent you a message Caladium, we're in a TH in Countryside right now. I really like that area (though you're right about the landfill issues - we've had wells drilled in our neighborhood to look for the problem chemical - I can't recall what it is) but not much seems available right now... I see a lovely 11 acre place which is way out of our price range (4-5K) and a 1 acre house that's within our price range but I think if we do this I want more land... while an acre is still way more than we currently have I'd be bummed to move and then still want more. We may just stay here until we can afford more a bit closer in... not sure.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Unfortunately as those of us who moved to NoVA from other areas and quickly "burned out" learned you WILL have to compromise something to live comfortably in the area unless you are very affluent. I used to live in Reston and worked in McLean. My dream was to live in a place like Winchester---historic Downtown pedestrian mall, cheaper rents, cute homes, beautiful surroundings, friendlier faces, etc.---but after trying the commute once on a day off (and getting a speeding ticket in the process on Route 7 near Round Hill) I hedged against the idea of the 90-minute power-commute from Winchester to McLean and just left NoVA entirely to move to a less congested and less expensive major metropolitan area.

There's now an express bus from Hamilton (20 mi east of Winchester) to Tyson's Corner. I believe it was created in response to the construction/traffic tie-ups at Tysons. There's talk of continuing this bus service even after the new metro stops are built. What's great about these Loudoun Commuter buses is that they go directly onto the Dulles Greenway and then the Dulles Access Rd (not traffic jams). Stop-and-go traffic doesn't happen until they hit Rosslyn or 66E (on occasion).