Chantilly, Centreville, Herndon for families (Arlington, Oakton: house, rent, travel)

[leighland]

Hello:
Please share information on Chantilly, Centreville, Herndon areas for families. We are coming from $an Diego so I am well acclimated to horrible traffic and outrageous home prices. I'm a SAHM, my DH works from home but needs to take the train into DC twice a month. We like to take walks in the mall and we have small children. What is traffic like in the area around noon weekdays? We would be first time homebuyers. I'd like to be able to have a good sushi dinner once a month....

[Mike from back east]

We lived in that area for many years, until June 2005. All are fine areas for families. Working at home will be a blessing for your DH as traffic is as bad as you've heard. I'd steer you to Chantilly and Herndon first, Centreville last, as I think you'll have the most traffic problems in Centreville. Traffic is heavy at noon but usually not of the rush-hour gridlock type. There is a sushi place in Chantilly, at least I recall there being one, but there are many in the region. Chantilly seems more oriented to SFH's than to apartments or TH's, but the differences aren't much. They are all fairly close, so see them all (please get a realtor, I'm not one) and then pick one, you'll be happy anywhere. I believe all areas have high speed internet and cable, we did in Chantilly (Cox). I'm sure all of these have bus service to the Metro stop in Vienna (for DH's need to visit DC) but Chantilly seems closer to Vienna than the other two. We used METRO a lot, driving to Vienna and riding METRO into DC/Arlington.

For subway info, see: http://www.wmata.com/ It's a great system, there is a stop on the Mall.

s/Mike from back east

[ninjajoey]

There are a lot of sushi restaurants in the area. Here is a site I look over a good deal - www.herndoncuisine.com

[bemn]

Where will you be working? I currently live in Centreville and don't believe the commute is much different than Herndon/Chantilly. Chantilly and Centreville are more family oriented, Herndon has experienced more gang activity in the past year. There are many new homes/townhomes in the area that would be perfect for new home buyers.

[leighland]

this is all wonderful info. thanks so much. I'm a SAHM so my commutes will consist of running to Target for diapers. I'm glad to know there is great cuisine choices in the area. Can you opine on schools, etc? If I search citydata, what zip codes should I use? what are the supermarkets? Currently in $D its 70F outside. Are there some nice local malls/indoor parks I can take the kids to run off last minute energy? I'm guessing you have more indoor than outdoor malls. It looks like a 2 bedroom single family runs a little less than $D which is around 455,000K median. thanks again

[Mike from back east]

Zip code for Chantilly is 20151....

Following info is for Chantilly.

Fair Oaks Mall is at the eastern edge of Chantilly or western edge of Fairfax City, plus lots of big strip centers there.

Giant Food is a major chain, on Rte 50 at Majestic Lane. Shopped there for years. Big strip mall here, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Popeyes, Boston Market, Subway, storefront chinese, barber, beauty shop, dry cleaner, a great seafood house (Bonefish Grill, yummmm) and quite a few other stores, including an ABC store.

Safeway is right off of Rte 50 on West Ox Rd, near Fair Oaks Mall. In this strip in a Jewish Deli, multiplex, Panera Bread, Tower Records, eateries, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc.

There is a Wegman's over on Rte 28, trust me, this place is Disneyland for food and is an amazing place. It's a bit of a hike, maybe 20 minutes, but is it ever worth the trip once in a while.

Trader Joe's is in Fairfax City, has a cult following, lots of neat things you can't get elsewhere.

There's a Shopper's Food Warehouse in Chantilly, on Rte 50, near Centreville Rd and is noted for no frills, low cost. Another ABC store, beauty shop, karate studio, etc. Lowe's hardware is in the same cluster, also a K-Mart and a Baby's R US, along with eateries for Sushi, Japanese, Chinese, Taco Bell, IHOP, Ruby Tuesday, Mike's Philadelphia Cheesesteaks, Wendy's, Spaghetti, KFC/A&W, you name it.

There's a Costco over on West Ox Rd, near Rte 29/211, along with Home Depot, an office supply store, etc.

BJ's Wholesale Club is in the Fair Lakes area, along with Wal-Mart and Target. I'd call this location as being on the south edge of Chantilly or northern edge of Centreville Rd.

There is most everything nearby. Max of ten minutes driving, some less. If you could find something in Brookfield or Greenbrier that would put you right in the center of all this. I used to live in Brookfield, walked a mile east to Giant Food and Starbucks most everyday for exercise. A mile walk to the west put me at Food Lion (low cost) and Staples Office Supply.

In June 2005 we sold our house there for $505k. It was a 1971-era, 2000 Sq Ft, 5BR, 2.5B house with sun room addition, 1-car garage and no basement. Prices are up a bit but it's a buyer's market now and you may find something in the mid $500's in that area. The newer subdivisions are higher.

If you do look at Chantilly, I'd advise staying inside (east) of Rte 28, the main north-south road. Just west of Rte 28, the main east-west route (Rte 50) goes back down to 2-lanes each way and boy does that ever back up each evening, with people running up the lane that ends and butting in line. Rte 28 is also way overloaded getting into Centreville each evening. Nice thing about the Rte 50 stretch that runs past Greenbrier and Brookfield is that you can go south to hit Rte 29 or North to Dulles Toll road for mobility. There are plenty of backroads I traveled often to avoid traffic, etc. Brookfield and Greenbrier are on the south side of Rte 50. There are newer subs on the north side of Rte 50 but I don't recall their names. Any realtor will know.

Best of luck to you.
s/Mike

[dullnboring]

Mike gave a very good in-depth profile of the area. All that I'll add is that the schools are top notch in all of Western Fairfax County. You really can't go wrong. Some schools have a bit higher SAT scores or slightly more extracurriculars, but as a whole, all of the schools in the area are well above-average. The local high schools are Centreville, Chantilly, Westfield, Herndon, Fairfax and Oakton.

[bemn]

In Centreville, zips are 20120, 20121. Try this website....[moderator cut], good realtor and knows the area well. Centreville areas that are established are Virginia Run and Sully Station, high school there is Westfield. Otherside of Centreville is Rocky Run, Balmoral, high school is Centreville. There is a new Trader Joes in Centreville, several Giants, Safeway, Wegmans not far down the road......Target close by, etc.

[leighland]

HI again,
I know this is an old thread but I'd like to know how difficult it is to rent a home or townhome in Chantilly and Herndon. We will NOT be buying until 2012 at the earliest so please do not suggest its cheaper to buy. Basically, we have been sidestepped to Philly metro temporarily (yuch-poo!)and plan to move out to your area next year. Also, what can I expect for rent, 2 grand a month?.
Again, I like exurban, big box store areas with family neighborhoods with playgrounds for my kids. Plus my hubby works from home and will only commute into DC once a week (I'll drop him off at the Vienna stop). Thanks everyone! Look forward to the move.

[leighland]

Hi- I'm obnoxiously bumping this in hopes that someone can give me an idea/classified sources for renting homes/townhomes. Thanks again!-Leigh