Living at One Loudoun (Reston, Chantilly: real estate, foreclosure, to rent) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

kirseybelle · 08-23-2017, 05:51 PM

we are looking to relocate from San Diego to NoVa next year and I cannot find any information on 1 Loudoun, save for the stuff from the builder, etc. does anyone have any firsthand experience of living here? I'm intrigued by the space in the town homes and myriad of amenities nearby. Hubby would be working in Herndon and I'm 100% remote. We have a son who will be starting kinder next year. I really like the walkability factor and the new construction portion. We'd be selling our home here for around 860-900k but I don't want to spend anywhere near that again! would love some anecdotal feedback on living here. I know it's further out but neither of us need to be super close to D.C. or thereabouts. thanks!!

spencgr · 08-23-2017, 06:49 PM

Planned, cookie-cutter community.

Safe.

Family friendly (tons of kids at the water fountains.)

Walkable for the certain amenities in the immediate area.

If you think that you, at home, don't need a car...you are wrong.

kirseybelle · 08-23-2017, 07:01 PM

We have cars and I know I'll need one. Just nice to have stuff to walk to like we have in San Diego!

Bigfoot424 · 08-24-2017, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirseybelle

We have cars and I know I'll need one. Just nice to have stuff to walk to like we have in San Diego!

I can't say what is walkable to this community but apparently there are amenities per above. But Loudoun is truly spread out and I'd be surprised if everything you need will be within a walkable area. But I guess they could put this together. Loudoun has grown dramatically since I moved here in 73. Once a farm/horse community it's grown into quite the location. Meaning more traffic. But you'd be close to a lot as well as open country.

dkf747 · 08-24-2017, 06:20 AM

They had a grocery store there, but it closed. I don't know if they replaced it. There's two Wegmans stores a few miles away and I guess the store can't compete with that.

NC211 · 08-24-2017, 08:38 AM

In comparison to San Diego, Loudoun is likely to feel a bit disjointed to you. It's still developing and likely will continue for the next decade or two. 1Loudoun is nice, but as spencer noted earlier, very cookie-cutter. In terms of the real estate phrase of "a nest is only as nice as it's tree", think of 1Loudoun as a shrub at this point. It's almost like visiting a movie set, whereby you see the front as all unique and appealing, but when you look on the sides and the back, it's very bland and (personal preference here) not appealing at all.

Several of us locals out there, who have been there for a few years now and have watched it come up, are really stunned at the prices they're commanding to live there. You can have a very nice and larger detached single family home for the cost of some of those townhomes there. They're selling to YOU, who likes the walkability factor. BUT, after you've walked it a half a dozen times, you'll be in the car going to other places. What you have to decide is if that cost premium is worth it. Personally speaking, since Loudoun is very much car dependent in general, it's not worth it. The townhomes are stick built with a thin piece of fire-treated gypsum board in between the units. You will hear your neighbors, and they will hear you (part of that movie set comment).

Since Hubby is working in Herndon, and you don't want to spend as much as you have to be in San Diego, I would personally look a bit further out towards Leesburg for a single family home (if that's more appealing to you). You might find some really impressive differences for what you can get at OneLoudoun that would change your mind. There are quite a few very nice residential neighborhoods with large homes from the dot.com boom that need a little TLC for a very appealing price, when compared to buying new construction for a smaller home and smaller lot in a construction zone that will be a construction zone for several more years. Case in point, we have some friends who recently bought a very nice foreclosure on the western side of Loudoun that has over 8,000 SF, pool, 3 car garage, and so on for slightly lower than your lowest figure you mentioned to sell your home in San Diego for. Just needs some updated paint. That's just one example. There are many others in and around the area.

Look up the "Greenway" for commuting for the husband. If looking on Google Earth or the like, it's the freeway that runs right through all of this development from Leesburg to Dulles Airport. It is a toll road, and it's not cheap at nearly $6 one-way during peak commuting hours. But, makes life sooooo much easier if you can use it. In terms of OneLoudoun or going further out to Leesburg, if you can use the Greenway, it's a difference of maybe 6 or 7 miles at 74 mph, but no difference in cost of use. It's $6 if you go 14 feet, or all 14 miles. Rt. 7, which OneLoudoun fronts to, is a slow-moving parking lot during commuting hours, and on the weekends sometimes. They are working to make it flow easier via building overpasses to eliminate a few stop lights that cause a lot of the back-ups, but not all of them. Rt. 7 is free, no tolls (but plenty of TROLLS, if you know what I mean :-))

Either way, I think you'll like Loudoun. It's no San Diego, but it's no Detroit either. One of the wealthiest counties in the entire country, with a few celebrities here and there. VERY family friendly. Think Mini-van drag races to Costco on Saturdays (which is in Leesburg).

spencgr · 08-24-2017, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NC211

In comparison to San Diego, Loudoun is likely to feel a bit disjointed to you. It's still developing and likely will continue for the next decade or two. 1Loudoun is nice, but as spencer noted earlier, very cookie-cutter. In terms of the real estate phrase of "a nest is only as nice as it's tree", think of 1Loudoun as a shrub at this point. It's almost like visiting a movie set, whereby you see the front as all unique and appealing, but when you look on the sides and the back, it's very bland and (personal preference here) not appealing at all.

Several of us locals out there, who have been there for a few years now and have watched it come up, are really stunned at the prices they're commanding to live there. You can have a very nice and larger detached single family home for the cost of some of those townhomes there. They're selling to YOU, who likes the walkability factor. BUT, after you've walked it a half a dozen times, you'll be in the car going to other places. What you have to decide is if that cost premium is worth it. Personally speaking, since Loudoun is very much car dependent in general, it's not worth it. The townhomes are stick built with a thin piece of fire-treated gypsum board in between the units. You will hear your neighbors, and they will hear you (part of that movie set comment).

Since Hubby is working in Herndon, and you don't want to spend as much as you have to be in San Diego, I would personally look a bit further out towards Leesburg for a single family home (if that's more appealing to you). You might find some really impressive differences for what you can get at OneLoudoun that would change your mind. There are quite a few very nice residential neighborhoods with large homes from the dot.com boom that need a little TLC for a very appealing price, when compared to buying new construction for a smaller home and smaller lot in a construction zone that will be a construction zone for several more years. Case in point, we have some friends who recently bought a very nice foreclosure on the western side of Loudoun that has over 8,000 SF, pool, 3 car garage, and so on for slightly lower than your lowest figure you mentioned to sell your home in San Diego for. Just needs some updated paint. That's just one example. There are many others in and around the area.

Look up the "Greenway" for commuting for the husband. If looking on Google Earth or the like, it's the freeway that runs right through all of this development from Leesburg to Dulles Airport. It is a toll road, and it's not cheap at nearly $6 one-way during peak commuting hours. But, makes life sooooo much easier if you can use it. In terms of OneLoudoun or going further out to Leesburg, if you can use the Greenway, it's a difference of maybe 6 or 7 miles at 74 mph, but no difference in cost of use. It's $6 if you go 14 feet, or all 14 miles. Rt. 7, which OneLoudoun fronts to, is a slow-moving parking lot during commuting hours, and on the weekends sometimes. They are working to make it flow easier via building overpasses to eliminate a few stop lights that cause a lot of the back-ups, but not all of them. Rt. 7 is free, no tolls (but plenty of TROLLS, if you know what I mean :-))

Either way, I think you'll like Loudoun. It's no San Diego, but it's no Detroit either. One of the wealthiest counties in the entire country, with a few celebrities here and there. VERY family friendly. Think Mini-van drag races to Costco on Saturdays (which is in Leesburg).

yup..exactly what he said!

Grad23 · 08-30-2017, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirseybelle

we are looking to relocate from San Diego to NoVa next year and I cannot find any information on 1 Loudoun, save for the stuff from the builder, etc. does anyone have any firsthand experience of living here? I'm intrigued by the space in the town homes and myriad of amenities nearby. Hubby would be working in Herndon and I'm 100% remote. We have a son who will be starting kinder next year. I really like the walkability factor and the new construction portion. We'd be selling our home here for around 860-900k but I don't want to spend anywhere near that again! would love some anecdotal feedback on living here. I know it's further out but neither of us need to be super close to D.C. or thereabouts. thanks!!

Don't get me wrong One Loudoun is a nice start for adding more amenities to LoCo. However, that said it is going to take at least 20 years to have any anything significant come to fruition with it(although Reston Town Center's foolish decision to switch to paid parking could speed that up).

As someone who has grown up in Loudoun County I wouldn't live here if I were you. Traffic is bad at all hours of the day, most things aren't walkable and public transportation is lacking, taxes are higher compared to Fairfax, hospitals and doctors aren't as good as in Fairfax, and neighborhoods tend to be less stable then those in the neigboring county. It's very inconvenient to DC as well as other established centers with a large amount of amenities such as Tysons corner.

LCPS while a very good system is also still trumped by it's counterpart in Fairfax. Fairfax is also a much better run compared to Loudoun in general.

With your budget I'd look at living in Reston it's self, Vienna, or Chantilly in that order.

kirseybelle · 08-30-2017, 03:43 PM

Thanks everyone!! Great food for thought!!

DMom · 08-31-2017, 05:26 AM

I concur with others who have commented. I am a Loudoun resident for past 17 years and raised 2 kids. Now the kids are grown up One Loudoun is our go to hang out a place for couple drinks or watching sports.

One Loudoun within the community is nice. Single family homes were built by Camblerly homes and Miller & Smith. Townhomes were built by Miller and Smith most of them.

The only walkability is One Loudoun shopping center for restaurants and hanging out in the common area near the fountain. However the grocery store has closed its door this year so if you need to shop for daily needs you will have to drive to Wegmans, Whole Foods or other stores near by.
Like other neighborhoods in Ashburn/Loudoun each community offers many amenities + social gathering events to attract families to live in the area away from DC beltway.

I would encourage you to rent for a year. Get familiarize with the area. Kinder in Loudoun is half day and in some schools where they do have full day kindergarten, it is by lottery system which you will be late for this school year.