Moving to Chantilly - Need Help!! (Centreville, McLean: appointed, for sale, real estate)

[squaale]

My husband is getting transferred to Chantilly, Va. We currently live in New Mexico, and need some help trying to find the right area to buy in. If anyone knows of a great neighborhood (low crime) with the top public schools, and a relatively short commute - we'd love to hear about it. One other thing I would be commuting into D.C. - so ideally we'd like to live near the metro. Thanks for helping us out!

[dullnboring]

Most of Fairfax County is very low crime and with terrific public schools, so chances are, just by default, even if you were to just close your eyes and point at a map of Fairfax County (or most of Northern Virginia) as a whole, you won't be disappointed in those respects where you wind up. Commuting and housing cost are two key issues though which will significantly narrow choices. If working in Chantilly, but with a desire to be close to Metro, the most logical places to look at first, are those around the Orange Line, within a few miles of the station (traffic gets really gridlocked at the actual Metro stations in the morning so a few miles can be a timely commute), starting at Vienna and working your way up the Orange Line. The areas around Fairfax city, Vienna, Oakton, Merrifield, Dunn Loring, Tysons Corner, McLean, and Falls Church are all worth a look and within a few miles of Metro stations. All are safe and have terrific schools, but housing is pretty pricey; especially if coming from New Mexico. You can expect to spend at a minimum 500K for a single family home, and that would likely buy an older single-story rambler. Newer construction or the ever-so-popular McMansions can fetch around 700K and up. If these prices are too daunting, there are of course townhouse and condos options, or renting, especially if only coming for a set period of time.

From the furthest out station of Vienna, a commute on Metro into downtown DC runs roughly 30 minutes. For each subsequent station down the line (Dunn Loring, West Falls Church, East Falls Church, Ballston, etc.), you can shave off another 2-5 minutes. Commuting outwards to Chantilly by car shouldn't be too terrible as it is a reverse commute.

[squaale]

Hey,
I really appreciate the help. We're anticipating spending 600+ to get a fixer upper - out of the communities you mentioned are there ones that stand out over the others...I guess we're definitely trying to find the prime place to live so that when we have to relocate we can sell our house. Thanks again for the info.

[lyn2shoes]

I don't know of a "bad" area in Chantilly. Maybe something bad happens once in a while, but it is a great area with good schools in terms of education, but be forewarned, if you're kid does something like, acting like a kid, they are all about the psychiatry and Ridalin in FFX county schools....

[saganista]

For Metro convenience, you're pretty much limited to using the Vienna, Dunn Loring, or West Falls Church stations as your base. Nothing inside that has parking at all or that can be counted on. Overall housing prices don't vary too much in that area as you go west, but there will be more newer contruction as you do. A fixer-upper for $600K is quite doable at the moment. As for schools, those in the actual Town of Vienna and the actual City of Falls Church are both plain old excellent. Those for areas around and between those two are still good schools, but they aren't quite as good as those on either side. You'll have to be careful though. There are a lot of areas that have a Falls Church mailing address and some that have a Vienna mailing address that are not actually inside the Town or City limits. There isn't enough crime in either of these places to worry about. They are both very upscale areas, with tons of top-notch shopping, dining, rec centers, libraries, and just about every other amenity imagineable nearby. About 30 minutes from Vienna to downtown DC on the Metro is about right. Add 10 if you're going to Capitol Hill. The commute to Chantilly is a reverse commute, but that's not a guaranty. Most days it should be within the same sort of timeframe, but you can get stuck on I-66 westbound in the morning sometimes also. If you haven't come across it, a good place to sort of scout out what's on the market right now in those areas would be...

Trulia - Real Estate, Homes For Sale, Sold Properties, Real Estate Maps

Lots of houses, lots of info. Pretty useful site.

[lqda4]

Chantilly does have some less desirable spots. Brookfield off Rt.50 behind the Chantilly library is one of them. My babysitter sold her house and moved out recently due to deteriorating conditions around the neighborhood. Similarly school-wise, McNair Farm ES has just regained its full accreditation recently.

More info on FF county public school can be found here: Fairfax County Public Schools

[cliftonLLR]

I recommend Clifton, its very close to Chantilly and very nice to raise a family. We live in Little Rocky Run which is one of the most sought after neighborhoods in Northern VA. The house range for 500k to over 1 million.
In fact our house is on the market right.

CliftonLRR

[saganista]

Nice enough places, but there's not much convenient Metro access in Clifton or Chantilly...

[lqda4]

If you or your husband don't have to commute into DC, I'd also suggest to look into new developments in South Riding, Rt. 50 West past Rt. 28 (west of Dulles airport).

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by squaale

My husband is getting transferred to Chantilly, Va. We currently live in New Mexico, and need some help trying to find the right area to buy in. If anyone knows of a great neighborhood (low crime) with the top public schools, and a relatively short commute - we'd love to hear about it. One other thing I would be commuting into D.C. - so ideally we'd like to live near the metro. Thanks for helping us out!

If you need to live near the Metro, you'll be at the Vienna/Fairfax Metro station, which is exit 62 off I-66 whereas Chantilly is about 10 miles west of there. Given that living in Chantilly will knock off about 100-150k off the price of a home versus Fairfax/Vienna/Oakton (without any dropoff at all in the quality of the schools!), you would really do well to investigate options where you could live in Centreville or Chantilly and take a Metrobus or Fairfax Connector to a Metro stop. Your husband would appreciate the shorter commute, as well. I think you'll find that to be your best option!

Fairfax Connector is at Fairfax Connector - Fairfax County, Virginia and the Metrobus site is Metro - Virginia timetables, and specifically (for Centreville/Chantilly) http://www.wmata.com/timetables/va/12c-f.pdf, http://www.wmata.com/timetables/va/20FW.PDF and http://www.wmata.com/timetables/va/12lm.pdf.

Hope this helps - welcome, in advance, to Northern Virginia!