New to NoVa - Fairfax to Manassas (Burke, Centreville: housing, rental)

[dwearf]

Hey all,

I recently accepted a job in Manassas and have been hard at work trying to find a place to live. A buddy and I are looking at getting a 2BR TH somewhere in the general Fairfax area. We're both used to more of the suburban lifestyle as opposed to urban and would be most comfortable in a similar environment. So I'm curious:

1) How is the commute from Fairfax to Manassas? I'm not opposed to a bit of a commute, just looking for someone who has done it before.

2) If I'm looking for a low-crime, quiet area with a TH in the Fairfax area, do you have any recommendations on neighborhoods or rental agencies to look at?

3) How would you compare Fairfax to say Vienna, Burke, or Centreville?

Thanks for the help!

[Hokieed]

The commute from Fairfax to Manassas will not be bad since you will be driving AGAINST traffic. You should be able to drive from Fairfax(co parkway/I-66) to central Manassas in 25-30 minutes. Why not get a place in Manassas? (I assume your buddy needs to commute the other direction) Manassas will be slightly cheaper than Fairfax for housing.

[dwearf]

I liked the look of some of the places in Manassas, but unfortunately you're right; he's going to be commuting to McLean and Fairfax seemed the best compromise between the two.

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by dwearf

I liked the look of some of the places in Manassas, but unfortunately you're right; he's going to be commuting to McLean and Fairfax seemed the best compromise between the two.

Fairfax to Manassas will be a lovely commute. Congratulations. Fairfax to McLean, not so much! - but certainly better than Manassas to McLean.

I did Manassas to McLean for 3 years...there are no real public transportation options, you have to drive it. As a single, non-HOV driver you'd be looking at 90 minutes each way. Fairfax to McLean at least gets that down to about 50.

I used to live in Fairfax Square rental townhomes and I had a good experience - worth checking out.

Welcome to Northern Virginia!

[VEIK]

Vienna or Oakton would be ideal location.

66 close by, and 123 too.

[dwearf]

Thanks all! This has been a great help so far. I'm looking for some decent townhouses in these areas now. Hopefully I can find something I like!

Oh, bit of advice needed: would a TH located almost right off of an off-ramp of 66 be an undesirable location?

[VEIK]

like where? Vienna or Centreville?

66 is noisy.

[dwearf]

One house I looked at was in this area:

Daniel Lewis Ln, Vienna, Fairfax, Virginia 22181, United States - Google Maps