Need help for potential relocation to northern Virginia

[michgc]

Just two comments:

--The morning commute at 6 AM will not be a problem. The evening commute at 6 PM, however, will be. Traffic is often bad until 7 PM around DC and certainly not uncommon for it to be backed up until 7:30 PM.

--An hour commute in the DC area is not the same as an hour commute in smaller/less congested cities. In less congested places, people may live 45 miles outside the city, and it will take about an hour to get there. The hour commute is due to distance not traffic. However, an hour commute in DC might mean you live 15-20 miles from your work, so the time it takes is mostly due to traffic not distance. Driving 45 miles in an hour can be relaxing or at worst, "not that bad" but driving 20 miles in an hour in stop-and-go traffic can grate on your nerves day after day after day...

[stpickrell]

OP, are you really ok with him being at work 12 hours a day, and then leveling an hour of commuting on top of that?

[mrsp1030]

Well, to be honest there isn't a perfect situation. In fact, before our previous move, he was gone Monday to Friday out of town for 7 months until we relocated. Having him home at night beats not being at home at all during the week. Our family wants to settle and personally, we want a house where we could live for 10-15 years and be happy. We have been in small quarters 1700 sq ft in temporary housing and with two and soon to be three young kids, it becomes crowded fast especially with out of town family visiting. Every time we have moved I have used these forums as a sense of knowledge to figure out the best options. In Phoenix, he had a 45 min stop and go commute and there were days it was longer due to circumstances. He will still have to travel frequently out of town as well so there are pros/cons to every place IMO.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by mrsp1030

He will still have to travel frequently out of town as well so there are pros/cons to every place IMO.

Ashburn and Sterling are both very close to Dulles Airport, so that is a plus.

[chicagotodc]

Originally Posted by NC211

Well that depends - Cubs......or that other team?

Not to hijack the thread - what part of Chicago were you from? We were in Glen Ellyn (and glad to be gone!)

I used to live in the goldcoast then lakeview.... So cubs

[Smoke_Jaguar4]

We bought a 2500sf 4BR house in the Glen Carlin neighborhood (Arlington) for less than $600K. I can get to Rosslyn within 15 minutes. As for Catholic schools, St Charles, St Ann, St Agnes, St Thomas Moore, and Corpus Christi are all within two miles of my neighborhood and/or Rosslyn (we have our sons enrolled at St Charles).

Elementary Schools - Office of Catholic Schools | Diocese of Arlington

[ACWhite]

Smoke,

You are counting square footage that the county does not count (such as basement space), you bought outside the MLS, you bought prior to 2005, or something else is going on. I just checked the most reliable of real estate sites (which I am not allowed to link here) re: sales $500-$600K since 2005 with the word "Glen" in the description. Nearly all were in south Arlington. Exactly one claimed to have square footage above 2200 square feet. I clicked on the link to the County website, and it showed that house's actual square footage to be around 1700 square feet. The many listings that show "0" in the square footage field do that because the house's square footage is not a selling point (I've followed this for years), but anyone who might want to check out their square footage on the official County site is welcome to do so.

The current No. Arlington listings also do not list houses for sale ~$600K with 2500+ square feet where the square footage also is verified by the official County site.

I really think people here owe it to the newcomers who ask for advice to be very realistic about options. It saves them time in the long run.

[Smoke_Jaguar4]

Originally Posted by ACWhite

Smoke,

You are counting square footage that the county does not count (such as basement space), you bought outside the MLS, you bought prior to 2005, or something else is going on. I just checked the most reliable of real estate sites (which I am not allowed to link here) re: sales $500-$600K since 2005 with the word "Glen" in the description. Nearly all were in south Arlington. Exactly one claimed to have square footage above 2200 square feet. I clicked on the link to the County website, and it showed that house's actual square footage to be around 1700 square feet. The many listings that show "0" in the square footage field do that because the house's square footage is not a selling point (I've followed this for years), but anyone who might want to check out their square footage on the official County site is welcome to do so.

The current No. Arlington listings also do not list houses for sale ~$600K with 2500+ square feet where the square footage also is verified by the official County site.

I really think people here owe it to the newcomers who ask for advice to be very realistic about options. It saves them time in the long run.

When we bought the house, it was listed on MLS at approximately 1700 SF, which did not include the finished basement. I looked at my info on the Arlington County Real Estate Assessment site and didn't see square footage, only lot size. If a listing includes the term "finished basement" or "partially finished basement", buyers need to ask if that's included in the listed SF.

Yes, Glen Carlin is in South Arlington. It's roughly defined as the area bordered by Arlington Blvd, 6th Rd S, Glen Carlyn Park, and the Arlington/Fairfax County line. In our neighborhood we can walk to two elementary schools, a middle school, a public library, a nature center, a medical center, and are surrounded by a large park. Furthermore we are zoned for Washington-Lee instead of Wakefield High School and the county is building a new recreation center 1/2 mile south where the park crosses Columbia Pike. From here I can get to all business corridors in Arlington within 20 minutes and relatively fast access to other points in NoVA and DC.

So, while North Arlington may have the cache, those of us in South Arlington are enjoying the same Quality of Life at affordable prices

[ACWhite]

Smoke, thanks for the clarification.

If you go to the Arl. Co. site for your house, then click on the link "View Improvement Details" (in red, about halfway down the page) you will see their official count of house square footage above ground as "finished area" (for split levels, I think this includes the level that is half below ground as well).

Nothing wrong at all with So. Arl. (and I think Glen Carlin is beautiful)--I just mentioned the So. Arl. location because the OP said she may want to use the public schools, and as has been noted here, due to greater diversity in parts of So. Arl., the school test #s tend to be lower. Parents often are interested in these numbers. Assignment of students by the co. has also changed over the years, so that may need to be factored in.

[themommy]

I know another poster briefly mentioned Gainesville. We live out in that area as well (we're in Bristow), and we like it a lot.

We have two young children and we've found no shortage of activities for them out here. There are plenty of good preschools and private schools, and the public schools have a good reputation (we'll find out more for ourselves next year when our oldest starts Kindergarten).

We have easy access to the Broad Run VRE station, which your husband could use for his commute. He'd take the VRE train from Broad Run to Crystal City, then Metro from Crystal City to Rosslyn. Not as easy as one transportation system point-to-point, but not too bad either. There are also express buses that run toward DC from this area; not sure where they drop or whether or not they're feasible for a commute to Rosslyn.

At any rate, your housing budget would certainly allow you to purchase a comfy home out here with a yard for your kids, there are tons of young families out here, and we really enjoy it.

If you have any specific questions about the area, feel free to ask!

To find houses out here, look at ZIP codes 20136, 20155, and 20169. You'll find homes in Bristow, Gainesville, and Haymarket -- they kinda all run together.