top family friendly area north VA burbs (Arlington, Reston: transplants, apartments)

[runnergrl]

18 yrs ago I finished my degree at GMU and as newly weds my husband and had an apt in Centreville. I remember the area being very pretty. We were there about 2 yrs and thoroughly (with the exception of traffic) enjoyed the area.

Now forward 18 yrs, and we have a family of school aged kids and just want some basic info on the areas of Reston, Fairfax and Centerville. from my research so far there seems to be more affordability and availability of homes in Centerville and fairfax compared to Reston. Schools would be a prime focus and would target the areas being considered. If you would just give me some guidance on some good neighborhoods to consider. It seems all three are decent areas. My memories of living there revolve more around fairfax, centerville and where the area of Fair oaks mall. I remember those being nice areas. Having an active Christian faith community is very important too.... any feedback would be appreciative. thanks!

[JfromReston]

Welcome back! What is your housing budget? How big of a house are looking for? Do you want to buy or rent?

I think the South Lakes area of Reston is very family friendly and is more affordable that other areas of Reston. Here is a link to some photos I took recently.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...uth-lakes.html

[runnergrl]

I think our housing budget would be no more than 600 at the highest....would like a a home close to 3000 sqft with a basement and decnt yard with trees and close proximity to trails, schools and shopping, of course. My husband and I tend to gravitate toward move in ready homes, which usually means they are newer homes and well maintained. When I pulled up realtor.com for reston, there just wasnt alot of inventory in that price...and if there was, they looked like fixers.

Thanks for your response!

[JfromReston]

Those that have been fully updated and are move in ready in the 600K range in Reston get snapped up really fast and most around that price are in need of some updating. I have just what you are looking for and it took me a few months of looking before I bought my house right when it went on the market.

This one is above 600K but has been nicely updated (at least that is what the photos show).
View Property Details- 11607 SOURWOOD LN, Reston, VA 20191

This one is newer and very near the lake and South Lakes Shopping Center.
View Property Details- 2025 BEACON PL, Reston, VA 20191

Here is another with an updated kitchen.
View Property Details- 2422 BRAMBLEBUSH CT, Reston, VA 20191

[runnergrl]

thanks....for the quick feedback...good to know whenever we might need it.

[SteelCityRising]

Even though I'm personally miserable living in Reston (due to many reasons I won't say here lest I get cyber-spanked) I won't argue the fact that it is an excellent place to raise children. I don't know what part of the Christian faith you practice, but I attend Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Herndon, and it is quite honestly the best church I've ever attended. Reston has a plethora of recreational facilities and public pools. Traffic can be torturous here (it takes 45 minutes in the mornings just to get to nearby McLean if you leave at or after 6:45 AM) due to the lack of efficient mass transit, but as you said you're already familiar with the fact that the traffic here is awful so that should come as no surprise.

Reston Town Center (the downtown we forgot to build until the 1990s) has a skyline that gives a slight flair of urbanity and sophistication to the community. Unfortunately its tenants are largely over-priced chain restaurants popular with the Happy Hour crowds or high-end retailers (not the independent charm of Lake Anne), but the lack of "soul" in the town center is compensated for by awesome festivals, a weekly farmers' market on Thursdays (I prefer the Saturday one at Lake Anne), and an outdoor ice skating rink that doubles as a bandshell area for special events. Reston's biggest positive in my eyes is the very dense canopy of trees. If you go into places like Ashburn local leaders were obviously stupid, not realizing that clear-cutting most trees would make the community look ugly. Reston, too, would look very drab except we thankfully were forward-thinking enough to SAVE the tree canopy. Even though I plan to move to Pittsburgh myself for a wide array of reasons, I'll admit that I'll miss the trees of Reston.

In my opinion housing is slightly over-priced in Reston (especially apartments), and it will likely hit another spike if and when the long-awaited Metrorail comes to the community. If that happens then Reston may actually be in trouble long-term, as the people who now merely live in Reston because they can't afford Arlington figure that with prices nearing equilibrium they might as well just move closer in to the District (I personally know several people like this).

Reston is DC's largest suburb outside the Beltway, and I guess that's just why I still have such a hard time personally accepting it for the uber-suburban vibe that it has when most other places of 65,000 feel much more cosmopolitan. As I said though one man's trash is another man's treasure. I stick out like a sore thumb as a single gay 22-year-old (23 in a few days) professional. However, families with children are bursting at the seams here. There's really a lot to enjoy here, and I hope Reston feels more like "home" to you than it did for me.

[runnergrl]

I can understand why you might be miserable....the traffic congestion getting from one end to another would get old. I am completely miserable living in So Cal....as I am a native southerner who is fairly traditional and conservative....and So Cal is so NOT....people just go with flow whatever is the lastest popular thing. Going to church is not popular out here, and neither are transplants...well especially the area I live in. So in essense I do relate to you alot in that I do NOT belong here. I appreciate your church recommendation and positive spin from a family perspective. I ask you, why dont you move closer in or is it an issue of affrodability? you dont have to answer, just merely curious.

I remember going up to Reston when we lived in Centreville and I remember it being nice...I remember the area of Fairfax, and I remember it was nice, especially around GMU and main street ( and I do remember the traffic congestion there as well)....I was actually gravitating towards there....but it might be more cosmopolitian than Reston....or what about Great Falls?

[JfromReston]

A few comments:

ScranBarre takes 45 minutes to go to McLean after 6:45 because he doesn't use the toll road. I commuted to Tysons/McLean for about 6 months on the Toll Road and got there in about 20 minutes aiming to be at the office at 8:30 (about the peak of the rush). I had an office mate who lived very near me and worked similar hours and refused to use the Toll Road, he spent 40-45 minutes to get to the office each day. Consider the toll bill as part of the expense of living in Reston or Hwy 7 will drive you nuts like it has ScranBarre.

I-66 outside the beltway has gotten terrible - backed up for hours every am and pm. Be wary of Centerville/Fairfax commutes that use I-66. It just doesn't need any more cars. Check out Goggle Traffic to see what I mean - you will need to go on there during rush hour to see all the slow moving - Red indicators.

On 600K you can't afford Great Falls.

[runnergrl]

thought that would be true about Great falls...too pricey. 66 was bad when we lived there 18 yrs ago....right now, I just dont know if there would be job availability for my husband....
If now we end up down in GA where home is( and that is the current plan)....we would darn near consider getting a modest townhome or condo in a close by burb....if the price was right. Probably for frequent trips up, potential investment or maybe retirement, who knows? Got any suggestions for that endeavor? it would need to be near a metro and not too far out. Saw alot available at around 300-400 in Fairfax on realtor.com.

[normie]

Hi runergyrl, welcome back to Nova. I lived in Redondo Beach and Santa Barbara for about 20 years, and also lived in Dahlonega, GA. So I can appreciate where you're coming from. It's great that you've lived here before, so you know what to expect as far as weather, etc.

Personally, I love it here--but many Californians have a hard time adjusting to the weather. They get homesick for the beach and the "California vibe". This may change over time as a huge number of Californians seem to be moving here and they're bring the vibe with them.

Of course a lot of southerners are moving here too, and bringing their vibe. Nova just gets more and more diverse.

You'll probably be surprised to see Reston after an 18 year absence. It's grown quite a bit since you were last here. The residential neighborhoods are still pretty much the same, but check out how RTC has changed. IMO it's a charming town and a fun place to be (although if you're fresh out of college you may find it boring; Reston seems to appeal more to people age 25+.) http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...nter-lake.html