Relocating to NOVA from CA (possibly) - advice needed (Arlington: fit in, real estate market)

[roadwarrior101]

My wife and I are both tech professionals in the SF Bay Area, with young kids (age 6 and 8). We've been playing with the idea of relocating, especially since remote work seems to be a thing. Here are the reasons we are thinking of relocating:

-Cost of living - Not that NOVA is cheap (at all), but if we were looking at a dream house here (modern, 5 bedrooms, 4-5k sq ft), we'd be looking at $3M plus
-Fires/smoke/drought - It seems that CA is one of the hardest hit places with climate change. Our idyllic climate is becoming less so with these constant worries (last summer, we had 2 months of bad air where we didn't want to go outside much)
-Lack of community - It has really changed here over the past 5-10 years with the tech community. People are extremely transient/self absorbed and its been very difficult to build/maintain long-term friendships
-Monolithic culture - Everyone is in tech (us included). While that is good for jobs/pay, it is a very heavy engineering (e.g., anti-social) culture
-Traffic/commute - I realize all major cities have terrible traffic. That wouldn't be such an issue except for the high COL, we have had to commute 40+ miles for work each way. Given that our jobs aren't in SF, public transportation wasn't an option (keep in mind that we're upper middle class and still face this)

We were looking at other cities back east and one of my friends who lives in NOVA is suggesting we consider this area, specifically around Reston or Vienna. Here would be the type of environment we'd be looking for:

-Dream home - See above (budget - $1.5M comfortably, maybe $1.75-2M as a stretch); would like either newer construction or nicely renovated (e.g., not old/dated feel); nice sized yard but not countryside
-Educated/affluent community
-Top public schools
-More of a community feel (friendlier environment, easier to make friends)
-Great environment for kids/families
-Close enough to city for arts/entertainment but far enough away to avoid crime, worst of congestion, etc.
-Decent access to public transportation
-Near walkable downtown areas and/or centers with good restaurants, shops, gyms, big box convenience stores, etc.
-Not a terrible commute to jobs (in case remote work would no longer be an option and/or we wanted to change companies)
-Outdoor recreational opportunities (mainly hiking and biking)

Based upon our goals, do you think NOVA would be right for us and do you agree that we should focus on Reston and Vienna?

[ChristineVA]

It does seem like NoVA checks all your boxes. Between Reston and Vienna, they both work but you'd have to visit to see which one appeals to you because, IMO, they are quite different.

Interesting to hear you want to leave California (I get it). My son, a single professional (data analytics) moved out to San Diego during the pandemic for a change of pace. I am hoping he gets sick of it and comes back here!

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

Interesting to hear you want to leave California (I get it). My son, a single professional (data analytics) moved out to San Diego during the pandemic for a change of pace. I am hoping he gets sick of it and comes back here!

I used to live in San Diego for college. Completely different pace of life vs SF or LA. If someone is looking for a laid back lifestyle and work to live, SD isn't a bad spot, if you can afford it and have a good job. For me, it was too slow paced, as it felt like a great place to go to college or retire. Then again, I'm not into surfing, so never really got into that scene.

Appreciate your feedback!

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

I used to live in San Diego for college. Completely different pace of life vs SF or LA. If someone is looking for a laid back lifestyle and work to live, SD isn't a bad spot, if you can afford it and have a good job. For me, it was too slow paced, as it felt like a great place to go to college or retire. Then again, I'm not into surfing, so never really got into that scene.

Appreciate your feedback!

Thanks! I wish I could offer you some advice on the two areas but I live in neither (I'm in Prince William County). I have been to both places and I'd move to either one, so both nice areas.

I'm hoping my son (26) finds San Diego to laid back! I don't consider him a laid back person, at least not yet, so we'll see.

[ICS67]

Even though I live in Reston, I think Vienna fits your bill somewhat better. Here's your list, and here are my comments in bold:

-Dream home - See above (budget - $1.5M comfortably, maybe $1.75-2M as a stretch); would like either newer construction or nicely renovated (e.g., not old/dated feel); nice sized yard but not countryside. Vienna is the more desirable real estate market. For 1.5 million you should be able to get a new or recent build in Vienna with a decent-sized yard. Lots of McMansions going up, but they seem to me to be better in appearance than the usual schlock.

-Educated/affluent community. Both Reston and Vienna check the box on this.

-Top public schools. Vienna's schools have a better reputation than Reston's, although both are very good on the whole.

-More of a community feel (friendlier environment, easier to make friends). Vienna has more of a small town feel than Reston. Although both have a community feel, it seems to me as a 20-year resident that Reston is losing it a bit.

-Great environment for kids/families, Both Reston and Vienna check the box on this.

-Close enough to city for arts/entertainment but far enough away to avoid crime, worst of congestion, etc. Vienna is modestly closer to Washington and to Wolf Trap than Reston. Both have congestion and other than a couple of sketchy neighborhoods that will not be in your house search, a low level of crime, mostly petty.

-Decent access to public transportation Both Vienna and Reston are terminals for a Metro line (Orange and Silver, respectively), with the start of Silver Line service to area west of Reston at some future point that seems constantly pushed back. Orange Line is eight minutes faster to Washington; Silver Line stops in the mega-employment/shopping area of Tysons Corner, whereas Orange does not.

-Near walkable downtown areas and/or centers with good restaurants, shops, gyms, big box convenience stores, etc. There is no downtown area in Reston unless one considers the fake downtown of Reston Town Center that has been dying a slow death with many of its restaurants and shops closing since paid parking was instituted. Maple Avenue (Rt. 123) is the Main Street of Vienna and has a lot of restaurants and shops, but also a lot of local and thru-traffic.

-Not a terrible commute to jobs (in case remote work would no longer be an option and/or we wanted to change companies) There is no such thing as "not a terrible commute" in this region, but if you're working in Tysons, Vienna is probably the better bet, relatively speaking.

-Outdoor recreational opportunities (mainly hiking and biking). The W&OD bike trail runs through both Reston and Vienna and is extremely popular with cyclists. Reston has a lot of walking paths in its extensive protected open space. More serious hiking can be done in the Shenandoah Mountains an hour or so to the west.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by ICS67

Even though I live in Reston, I think Vienna fits your bill somewhat better.

Thanks for the tips. Would you recommend we check out any other communities not mentioned, based upon our criteria?

[ICS67]

North Arlington, i.e., Arlington north of I-66, might be worth a look as well.

By the way, just so you fit in, it's called "I-66", not "The 66" :-)

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by ICS67

North Arlington, i.e., Arlington north of I-66, might be worth a look as well.

By the way, just so you fit in, it's called "I-66", not "The 66" :-)

Only people from SoCal use “the” before the freeway numbers. We don’t do that up here in the Bay Area.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by ICS67

North Arlington, i.e., Arlington north of I-66, might be worth a look as well.

By the way, just so you fit in, it's called "I-66", not "The 66" :-)

Honestly, I think more people just say the number and removes the "I". 66, 95, 495.......but you are correct..
no one around here puts a "the" in front of it.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

Thanks for the tips. Would you recommend we check out any other communities not mentioned, based upon our criteria?

Vienna is likely the best based on your criteria although you can't go wrong with Reston either. Reston is undergoing some very rapid development especially around the Metro stations / Town Center so will feel less like a small town atmosphere. I would also recommend you check out the City of Falls Church (not to be confused with the Falls Church portion of Fairfax County). Your budget will work well there too.