Is Burke, VA a hidden gem for families? (Annandale, Springfield: real estate, apartments)

[sobe0206]

My husband and 8 month old son are moving to DC. I've been doing much research and it appears that Burke is somewhat affordable ($400K or less) for a 3 bedroom townhouse (with a basement). The VRE seems like a great commuting option. I feel like I may be "missing" something... is there a "catch?" The prices are lower, but it seems just as nice.

I performed a search in this forum on BURKE and did not see any negative comments? If anyone can provide some more detailed information about Burke (and IF there are any negatives), it would be much appreciated!

I'm not concerned with schools for now... just mainly a safe family area with a reasonable commuting option for my husband into DC (i.e. VRE). And, local traffic doesn't bother me coming from South Florida.

Thank you very much for your help in advance!

[DavidS827]

Burke is a nice area. Good schools, established neighborhoods, mostly friendly people. One thing I would warn you about is underestimating the traffic. I also lived in South Florida and the traffic there on its worst day doesn't even come close to what we have here on an average day.

[dullnboring]

There's no real "catch" to Burke. It's a good family-friendly community, very safe, quiet and cookie-cutter. There's no central downtown, just lots of sprawly strip malls (although there seems to be less of a concentration of retail in Burke than elsewhere; it seems more heavily residential than other suburbs), townhouses and single family homes. The schools are good and it's in a somewhat decent centralized location. I have to echo David's comment about the traffic however. It can really be horrific, but commuting via VRE, provided you live somewhat near the station, into DC should cut down on some stress and might not be that bad.

Truthfully, even though I'm a local and didn't grow up that far from Burke, I always forget about it. I'm not really sure why either.

[hodologica]

I grew up about half a mile from Burke, in Fairfax Station. It's a nice place as long as you're not expecting a lot of chic art galleries or local distinctiveness. All the "towns" of the suburbs in Fairfax County are contiguous; there's not really a specific identity to Burke, or a town center. So pretty much the whole extent of Burke is suburban housing (bordering on small tracts of nature in some places) and strip malls. There must be some townhouses, but I don't recall ever seeing any apartments. In about 10 minutes you can drive to Fairfax, which is more of a city, i.e. it has some commerce and restaraunts situated outside of strip malls (also some in strip malls), and an arty movie theater.

I haven't commuted to DC. However, the traffic is horrible in most of the whole metro area. Not so much in Burke itself (not yet anyway). Getting around Burke is no problem at all, at present. But just a couple more miles toward the city and you get into the thick. Try taking a rush-hour drive on Braddock Rd east of Burke, for example... yuck. The VRE place is up by Guinea Rd, right? (I may well be wrong; never used it; don't know how it works.) I don't think you'd have all that much slowdown driving up there during rush hour, at least not when I was last around (4 years ago).

Burke Lake is a nice large wooded lake - kinda crowded at peak times; otherwise not. It's really a pretty pleasant lake, circumnavigated by a 4.5 mile trail.

By "lower" prices, you mean lower than ______? As you can see on a map, adjoining areas like Fairfax Station and Clifton are much less dense. They aren't really rural though. They contain remnants of the old country living, but much of it is has been taken over by your larger "commuter estates" on 0.75-5 acres, basically pretty wealthy professional class stuff. So that explains why the average prices might be higher there. West Springfield, I would imagine, would the same price as Burke. Its pretty much like Burke, as far as I know, though I havent been all through West Springfield. Up towards Annandale, youre getting closer to DC, so if the prices are higher there that may be why. On the other side towards Fairfax youre getting into the vicinity of Geo. Mason University, so I would guess that that is a big factor if the real estate right around there is more expensive.

I think the schools in Fairfax County, outside a few poorer areas, are really quite highly regarded, even distinguished.

[sobe0206]

Just wanted to thank you all for your posts. We decided to move to Burke! It's a bit of a change coming from South Beach, but with the baby, we are looking forward to living in a more suburban area (even though I will miss being able to walk to Pottery Barn and other stores!)

Thank you again!!!!