Moving to NoVa from NorCal

[normie]

Originally Posted by NWChris

Hope no one minds me jumping in on this thread... my husband is looking at jobs in the Reston area and I'm trying to get a feel for neighborhoods/schools/etc.

We'd love to find a house with an acre or more, but also need great schools (with good gifted programs) ... any chance we can have both somewhere near Reston for under $925K?

I don't think you're going to find a parcel of land like that in Reston. Great Falls might have a good place for you. There are probably older homes with acreage that aren't too far from Reston, too. Your realtor would know.

One area I've always thought was intriguing is right on the river. It's an older neighborhood "behind" Countryside. The homes seem nice but not horribly expensive, and they have acreage and often waterfront properties. I think it's called Broadlands. It's a little hidden away, which means you have to drive a long road before getting to Algonkian Parkway--your commute to Reston would probably be 10 miles. But, if I was looking for acreage, that would be a neighborhood I'd check into.

[normie]

Originally Posted by normie

One area I've always thought was intriguing is right on the river. It's an older neighborhood "behind" Countryside. The homes seem nice but not horribly expensive, and they have acreage and often waterfront properties. I think it's called Broadlands. It's a little hidden away, which means you have to drive a long road before getting to Algonkian Parkway--your commute to Reston would probably be 10 miles. But, if I was looking for acreage, that would be a neighborhood I'd check into.

Do any of you guys who are realtors know about this neighborhood? I'm talking about the area near Youngs Cliff Road. It's much older than the rest of Cascades/Countryside. Looks like the kind of place that might have a story--anyone know what it is?

[NWChris]

Normie, that area sounds nice, thanks for suggesting it... I'll have to do some searching and see what I can find. We're in Washington State so it's really hard for me to figure out what are the good areas from here... I've done a lot of internet research and looking at realtor.com but I think feedback from those of you who live there has been the most helpful of all. So, thanks!

[Novamom06]

The area Normie is referring to is called Broad Run Farms.

[snuggarelli]

I lived in Leesburg back in 96 - 97, and I really liked that area. I commuted to East DC, so I took the Dulles Toll Road in about 50 min to 1 hour. I sold my house at a loss a 2 years later, and then I come to find out that Leesburg was named the most historic town and real estate skyrocketed. Man - wish I kept that house even though I was renting it out at a -500 a month.

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by knopfler

Reston isn't really an outer suburb, and it's about the same distance away from DC proper as Vienna and McLean.

Although this may depend on exactly what point in each of these locations you are talking about it, if you took the middle point of each of these communities, i don't think this is really correct, is it? Most parts of McLean are within 10 miles and perhaps a 20 minute drive to Georgetown, depending on the hour of the day, for example,

MapQuest: Driving Directions: North America

(8.8 miles, 15 mins.)

whereas Reston is a good 10 miles beyond that, for example:

Driving Directions from Reston, VA to Washington, DC

(20 miles, 30 mins.)

Further, driving to/from Reston will likely involve tolls, HOV lane restrictions, and lots of traffic on Rte. 66 and beyond, which can make the commute completely different from a commute to most parts of McLean, especially those inside the beltway. Much of McLean is reached without any of these. Vienna is in-between:

Driving Directions from Vienna, VA to Washington, DC

(14 miles, 26 mins.)