So, now a relocation may be Springfield instead of arlington

[bmwguydc]

At 6am, the traffic is not bad to get to Springfield, so a longer distance could work. The afternoon could be slower, depending upon the time. If you like Eastern Loudoun, I would say it is viable, but not if he wants a 20-minute commute.

[mrsp1030]

He is fine with a longer commute; we know the deal with NOVA. Just curious what is to be said of Chantilly/Centreville areas or western Fairfax?

[khuntrevor]

Originally Posted by ersatz

mrsp1030

There are pockets around this area that will meet your needs no matter where you look. Keep in mind that on this board we tend to speak of broader generalities unless you ask very specific questions about a very specific neighborhood or development.

I suggest that you weigh your husband's needs with those of your sons'.

Your husband will be better off the closer he lives to his worksite. Of course you get a better cost-of-living (and real estate prices) the further out you live. But, I can tell you from experience, what looks like (and is) doable in the beginning (long commute, lots of commuting $$$) gets more and more soul draining. Long commutes will exact a heavy toll on your DH that will not improve over time, the impact only get worse. For each mile you live further from your husband's workplace, add an additional ten minutes worth of commute (rush hour M-F inside the beltway) as a rule of thumb. Less than that on good traffic days, more than that on bad traffic days.

As far as your sons are concerned, Woodbridge is cheaper in a general sense. You will get a bigger house and yard for your money in Woodbridge but it is considered more down-market, i.e. worse crime and worse schools than Arlington/Fairfax. Lakeridge is not a bad option, though. Non-com and junior officer families like Kingstowne due to its affordability, prevalence of other military families, convenience and proximity to Ft. Belvoir amenities. Lots of younger civilian families like Kingstowne/Franconia/Rose Hill for the same reasons (minus the military commissary). Other families with younger children like West Springfield/Burke. There are pockets of Annandale that are very nice, but Annandale has a lot of immigrant families, which impacts the public school system. Given the limited information you have provided, you may even want to consider the closer-in Hybla Valley, Mount Vernon, or Pohick Valley areas.

If you plan to home school or pay for private schooling, that expands your neighborhood options, as your money will buy you more in a not-as-desirable area. People live by the public school pyramid here, it has a major impact on your housing budget.

exactly.

Everyone likes Countryside and Cascades (for the money), but it would be absolutely silly to buy or lease there, when you know he's going to Springfield. Parts of Springfield (and Burke, too) are nicer than Sterling and most of Fairfax Station and Clifton are, too. They did a great job with Kingstowne, but there has always been a gritty element once you cross the railroad tracks on Franconia Rd.. A friend of mine sold two 400K homes in the last few years...one near NIH and one in the Telegraph Rd. area. We both agreed that the Montgomery County house was clearly a better buy in all regards (and we generally don't like MD).

[Middlin]

Given the aversion to older homes, you would be looking at South Riding for SFH in your price range. I don't understand why you would subject your husband to over an hour commute when he works 12 hr days for a newer home. The commute on 50 is awful and if he ends up in Tysons.....

[mrsp1030]

I would not say we have an aversion to older homes but more of size and space we want and it appears we can find that in parts of chantilly and centreville also in our price range. We can upgrade a house over time, we know that, but adding square footage and yard space are more difficult. We haven't ruled out Springfield/Burke but wanted opinions on centreville and chantilly areas as well. I am attempting to apply to catholic schools as well and we know what has openings at this point in time. Like I said previously, there is not a 100% guarantee the office will be relocated, just some talks and he has a large say in that process luckily.

[bmwguydc]

If you could find something in Little Rocky Run, that area would come close to an Asburn or Cascades in Loudoun as would the Westfields area. Little Rocky Run is very close to St. Andrew's, which does have a school. Both areas would have houses in the $500-$600k range, though they would be the middle ground, not the larger homes, and not the townhouses. Some neighborhoods are slightly older, however, so you may have a house similar to one from the last 10-years, but it may be nearing roof, HVAC, or kitchen/bath renovations, unless the owner upgraded to Corian/granite/quartz counters, etc.

[mrsp1030]

Thank you for the info. We were looking at some homes in Virginia Run I think in Centreville and didn't know much about Chantilly either. I know St.TImothy's in Chantilly has openings and we liked the fact they have a preschool program as well for our younger son.

[bmwguydc]

Virginia Run is another good community, albeit further west. It always seems to me to be on the edge of nowhere, since you have to pass the quarry and the Manassas Battlefield to get to settlement again when going west, but I don't think it's that inconvenient. I looked at one of the model houses with a friend that are not like other houses in the neighborhood as I guess there was a showcase street when the neighborhood was opened, as the house they were considering is not replicated elsewhere in the community.

The issue with Centreville, to some extent, and Chantilly is that they are areas that are difficult to define, lacking a town center that you would find in Sterling, Fairfax, Springfield, etc. Chantilly lies west of the Fair Oaks/Fair Lakes area, beginning at the Fairfax County Parkway, near Route 50, and does include the Westfields development, among other smaller communities. Centreville and Centreville with a Clifton address lie off Route 29 and Braddock Road, west of Fairfax, near Clifton Road/Poplar Tree Road, south of Chantilly.

St. Timothy is in the area, as is St. Veronica, that also has a school, as is St. Andrew in the Clifton-Centreville area.