Working in Herndon, VA where to live? (Burke, Centreville: sale, apartment)

[stpickrell]

Originally Posted by aromano2

Hello, just wanted to get some opinions/information from everyone on here. I may be accepting a job in Herndon, VA and would be looking for a good place to live. My wife and I are looking for something under the 500k range, preferably a 3-4 bedroom house. We want to be near good schools for sure. We are in our late 20's and would like to be around a crowd of a similar age range, where should we look?

Leesburg has several options, many of which are walkable to downtown Leesburg.

The only school in Loudoun I'd be concerned about is Park View HS and some of the feeders. Some schools are more mixed than others.

[lmhouse]

I would strongly suggest you stay away from buying in Herndon unless you look near Herndon High School (Dranesville/Kingstream area). I grew up in Herndon, went to Hutchison ES, Herndon MS and Herndon HS and the area has gone really downhill. I also suggest you stay away from the parts of Sterling where you would be in the Sterling MS and Park View HS zones (you don't want to buy in Sterling Park or Sugarland). Of course, I mean no disrespect to any that live in these neighborhoods but I would not feel safe with my kids playing outside or going to school in the areas mentioned, just my opinion.
There are also parts of Leesburg that you would want to stay away from (anything on Edwards Ferry near the Walmart and Ft Evans).
I think Ashburn really fits the bill for what you're looking, not to far from Herndon, great schools/shopping, younger crowd. But unfortunately, you won't find many SFHs in the $500k range - if you do, they will go quick!
I would suggest looking in South Riding, Aldie, Stone Ridge, Hamilton, Purcellville and Round Hill. From Round Hill, your commute to Herndon would be about 45 min.

[hilsmom]

The people I know who are zoned to Hutchison send their kids to St. Joseph's - Sad, but true. However, that is really the only school in Herndon that most people steer clear of. We have friends at Herndon and Dranesville ES's. I think Herndon ES is a nice option with the immersion program. They also have an immersion program at Lake Anne in Reston.

[Fredesch]

Originally Posted by jillybean720

Personally, working in Herndon, I would not want to commute from Manassas or Gainesville. It might be 60 minutes or less, but it won't be a pleasant commute. I would stay within the areas of Herndon, Reston, Sterling, and western Fairfax/Chantilly. We considered Gainesville when we were looking last year but ended up crossing it off the list because of how awful the traffic is on 66, 50, etc., to get anywhere from there. I'm really glad we made that decision, as we now have a son and a second on the way, and if either of us had to spend 90-120 minutes a day commuting, our quality of life would be diminished greatly (less time with the kids, less time for home cooked meals together, more rushed in the evenings, more exhaustion, increased gas/vehicle maintenance expenses...). We did the longer commutes when we didn't have any kids, and now that we do, there is no way I would voluntarily go back. We currently each have commutes of 20 minutes or less each way. In this area, that's practically living the dream (short of just working from home)!

A word of caution on the schools as well: we wanted good schools near our home, and when we moved last year, the elementary school our address will attend was rated a 7. Now, it's rated a 5. My son is only one, so who knows what the school rating will be once he might actually attend that school! That said, the public schools in Fairfax and Loudoun counties are generally very good.

I second this thought and also suggest renting. Do you really think you will be working in the same location 5 years from now? Companies and government agencies move around the area and people are mobile as well so buying a house expecting you will have the same commute in 5 years is not very likely when in your 20s and 30s. Be aware, commutes usually get worse and a new job could be in the district or MD.

[patriot201]

Do you know which part of Herndon your job is in (even zip code)? 20170 and 20171 both have Herndon addresses (but 20171 is also called "Oak Hill"), but are very different areas.


I agree with the recommendations of Greenbriar (Greenbriar East or West ES, Rocky Run MS, Chantilly HS) Fox Mill Estates (Fox Mill ES, Hughes MS, South Lakes HS), and Franklin Farm (Crossfield or Oak Hill ES, Franklin or Carson MS, Oakton or Chantilly HS), but would also add Franklin Glen (Lees Corner ES, Franklin MS, Chantilly HS), Spring Lake Estates (Floris ES, Carson MS, Westfield HS), Poplar Tree Estates (Poplar Tree ES, Rocky Run MS, Chantilly HS), Gates of Fair Lakes (Greenbriar East ES, Lanier MS, Fairfax HS), East Market II (Eagle View ES, Lanier MS, Fairfax HS), Fair Ridge (Greenbriar East ES, Lanier MS, Fairfax HS), and Penderbrook (Waples Mill ES, Franklin MS, Oakton HS).

All of these neighborhoods are close to either at least one strip shopping center and/or at least one mall (all are within reasonable distance of Fair Oaks mall, Dulles Town Center mall, and maybe Tyson's Corner Center mall).

On the end of the county you are talking about, the schools are generally quite good.

• For elementary schools, the schools listed above-- Greenbriar East, Greenbriar West, Fox Mill, Lees Corner, Crossfield, Oak Hill, Floris, Poplar Tree, Eagle View, and Waples Mill-- are all great schools. Some might "rank" higher than others on "Great Schools," but that is not always the best measurement of a good school.
• For middle schools, the schools listed above-- Rocky Run, Hughes, Franklin, Carson, and Lanier-- are all great schools. These schools do all differ quite a bit, but that isn't a bad thing! Rocky Run and Carson both have "Advanced Academics" centers, so their test scores are possibly skewed a bit (in a positive way, I mean). Hughes has an "IB" program, so that makes it quite different from most other schools in the county.
• For high schools, the schools listed above-- Chantilly, Oakton, Fairfax, and Westfield-- are all great schools. They all offer just about the same classes and activities (though Chantilly and Fairfax both have "Academies" on campus that are not really (in the traditional sense) part of the school itself).

[patriot201]

Originally Posted by jillybean720

A word of caution on the schools as well: we wanted good schools near our home, and when we moved last year, the elementary school our address will attend was rated a 7. Now, it's rated a 5. My son is only one, so who knows what the school rating will be once he might actually attend that school! That said, the public schools in Fairfax and Loudoun counties are generally very good.

I'm assuming you're referring to the "Great Schools" ranking? I wouldn't worry too much about that.

If a school has only a few ratings, even one disgruntled student, parent, staff member, or community member's low rating can skew the overall rating. The same can happen in the opposite direction, as well. The rank is also easily inflated (or deflated) by a large group- say a troop, a book club, a church group, etc.- rating a school highly or poorly.

[michgc]

Originally Posted by patriot201

I'm assuming you're referring to the "Great Schools" ranking? I wouldn't worry too much about that.

If a school has only a few ratings, even one disgruntled student, parent, staff member, or community member's low rating can skew the overall rating. The same can happen in the opposite direction, as well. The rank is also easily inflated (or deflated) by a large group- say a troop, a book club, a church group, etc.- rating a school highly or poorly.

This is not true. The Great Schools rating is based on SOL scores alone. There are also ratings by students, parents, etc, along with comments, but those are only counted in community rating shown by stars. Those do not affect the number rating that the school gets.

[hilsmom]

well, to be fair, a school can "fail" NCLB for extremely stupid reasons. And NCLB will likely change a LOT over the next couple years, as no one really liked it once it actually rolled out 10 years ago. That is probably what you are seeing. Keep in mind that different student cohorts are tested year over year. This year's 3rd graders are different than last year's, that kind of thing.

So, yeah, don't worry too much unless your neighbors seem to think the school has all of a sudden gotten terrible. Those numbers are subject to change.

[aromano2]

Thanks to all that have posted, I have all but accepted my job offer so it is highly likely I will pursue working in Herndon. My wife and I are very excited to move to the area. We have not ruled out townhomes yet, but a must is a semi-decent sized yard as we have two dogs. We are planning a road trip up there this weekend so we can look around. Ashburn sounds nice as well as parts of Herndon and Reston so we will start there. Thanks again for all the info!

[hilsmom]

Good luck to you. Our neighborhood is filled with families with dogs, if that helps. My husband and child are currently at a neighbor's house for the "puppy play group" our dog is part of. I do hope that you find what you want in the price range you are hoping to stay in.