Where to Live (Between Herdon and Vienna) (Reston, Leesburg: lawyer, budget)

[ajbuchan]

Hi Folks,

I will be working in the Herdon/Reston area once I graduate in May. My friend who graduated last year works in Vienna. We were thinking of rooming togther to save money. Where would a good place in the middle to live? We are both under 25 and were looking for a 2BR for under 1800 (cheaper is better). Also if possible we would like to be in an area where there are at least a few shops, stores, etc (something like Reston Town Center).

Thanks.

[goldenmom7500]

Hi,

That sounds like a good plan; those locations are pretty close to each other and your budget would work!

So depending on where in Reston/Herndon and Vienna, those would connect by Route 7, Leesburg Pike. The problem is that there is nothing really 'in the middle' that I know of, at least as far as having a lot of apartments. Tysons is in one direction; Fairfax in another. So, I guess I would vote for Reston, and your plan to be near the Reston Town Center. Wow, for $1700 you could have a 2 bedroom at the Savoy at Reston Town Center. You really seem to have a lot of good options in that price range (or lower). Even the rentals in the $1400s (2 bedrooms) look ok to me, just not right on the town center, etc.

[saganista]

No, you don't want to use Route-7 inbound in the morning. The last 4-5 miles are a nightmare. Last time I was outbound on 7 in the morning rush, it was raining, and the backup was about seven miles...almost to 606 in Reston. Not fun at all. Better bet from Reston Town Center area to Vienna would be either Baron Cameron or Wiehle/Sunset Hills to Hunter Mill Road. A left onto either Lawyers Road or Vale/Flint Hill will then get you into the Vienna area, but much of what to do at that point would depend on where in Vienna you needed to end up. You want to avoid using 123 toward Tysons at just about all costs. This is about a 30-minute trip...maybe a little more at the peak of the a.m. rush.

Agree that RTC is about the only place in between Herndon and Vienna that will offer any collection of shops, stores, nightlife, etc. And the price should be about right, so it would seem like a good choice to me. Between Reston and Vienna lie only the beautiful, but not at all commercial, Hunter Valley and Clark's Crossing areas...

[NVAGIRL]

Have you looked in Fairfax? I really like the Fair Oaks area. Close to everything.