Where to nest if working in McLean or DC?

[mtneeratheart]

Oh wait i messed up. I was looking at your other post and saw where you mentioned a 50s/60s/70s home won't do for your family. You will have to exclude the Burke and West Springfield areas I mentioned (and also the rest of Fairfax County) if you want a post 2000 home for under 550K. Most brand new SFHs in Fairfax County are located in smaller in-fill developments and usually cost in excess of 800K. The vast majority of new affordable homes in this region are located in exurban areas far outside the Beltway. If working in DC or close in burbs like Arlington and Tysons you will have to endure multiple hour commutes each day.

The DC area has many great attributes, affordable housing isn't one of them. If you are unwilling to commute for long periods and still want a new home for under 550K I would highly suggest you look elsewhere, perhaps the Carolinas or Georgia.

[bockoboy]

What about Sterling? Potomac Falls HS. How is the area? I realize that the houses would be more like the 650K range...

[mtneeratheart]

Potomac Falls is a very nice part of Loudoun County. That portion of Sterling is mostly built out and since the massive growth has moved further west towards Ashburn you probably won't have to worry about constant school boundary changes. The commute to McLean would be around an hour give or take, DC probably more like 90 minutes.

[bockoboy]

So how about running down to Herdon/Reston from Sterling? On the map it looks like it should be fairly easy or is it super congested?

[mtneeratheart]

Every road in this area is super congested during the rush hours (actually pretty much all day) but luckily Sterling is very close to Reston, I imagine the commute would be about half an hour each way.

[SM Mommy, Esq.]

It's the new construction requirement that kills ya. My family and I are in exactly the same position as you (hubby is taking a job in Tysons, probably moving in the next three months, hoping to spend less than $500K on a 4+ bedroom within a 30 minute commute). The prices are plummeting in that region and there are a lot of properties in Reston/Herndon and Falls Church, and even some in Vienna and Oakton (nothing in McLean).Moderator cut: link removed, real estate advertising is not allowed. But there are almost no listings for a SFH built in the last eight years (just a handful in Reston/Herndon). I think realistically, you could get a very nice new townhouse or an older SFH (some with remodeling) within 30 minutes of Tysons or near to a Metro station. I'd probably focus on Reston/Herndon and you might get lucky, but I think that's going to give you a bit more than a 30-minute commute, especially if you are far from the Dulles Tollroad (according to the other posts I've seen; I've never lived there but my husband grew up in Fairfax Station).

[5stones]

potomac falls HS in sterling is good. Lowes Island and cascades are very nice neighobrhoods. You commute to Herndon could be as easy as 20 minutes or more like 30-40 if south Reston. ALL in all not bad at all. Commute into Tysons would be an hour as rt7 would be your best option from Sterling and it narrows down right past the Fairfax county pkwy. Commute in DC would not be nice about 90minutes to 2 hours.

If the job is in Herdon then that opens up many options for you as far as housing goes. Ashburn, Bramelton,Landsdowne etc... would meet your needs as far as new bigger houses goes and you could probably get a very nice place for under 500k now.

If the job is in DC, you really don't wnat to commute from Loudoun county.

I'd say look into falls church or Vienna and ride the metro in. yes, your house will be older but alot have been very nicely updated and are WAY better built than the Toll bros/Drees homes in Ashburn and they will probably have nicer yards. MANY communites in VA have community swimming pools and playgrounds, you dopn't need a master planned community for that. For 550-650 you should be able to find a nice place with a not so horrible commute.