Where to buy a house if I work in DC and my wife works in Tyson's Corner? (Burke: condo, townhomes)

[liuhongqian]

Hi,
My wife works in Tyson's corner and I work in DC. We'd like to know where is a good place to buy our first house. We have one little kid and our budget is around $300K-$350K. If someone could recommend some places and give some information about the rush hour traffic(to DC and Tyson's Corner), local shopping, etc it will be highly appreciated. Thanks!

[FindingZen]

For your preferrred price range, that may get you a 2B condo in most areas that would be equidistant to DC and Tysons Corner. If you would like more space, then you may have to decide which one of you will endure the longer commute or is able to work from home on some days. If that person can be you, then it will open up opportunities for relatively affordable housing west/southwest of Tysons Corner although more than a TH for $300-350K might be tough beyond a distressed sale.

[liuhongqian]

Thanks Tone509. I will probably be the one enduring the longer commute. Yes we'd like to buy a house with 3 bedrooms and we heard that Herndon(20171),Sterling(20166) and Ashburn might be good candidates. Does anyone know the commute information of these places to DC? How about South Riding, Fair Oaks and Burk?

Thanks.

[ShannonMilligan]

i live in Ashburn...Although I love it (and hubby works in Tyson's) I think the commute to DC would be brutal. Our neighbor does it, but adjusts his time so not to sit in traffic too much...and I think it still takes him 50 minutes. Sterling is closer, but not by much...maybe 5-10 miles from Ashburn. If you do want the commute, Ashburn is starting to have some smaller singles in the $350K range.
Good luck

[American Arrogance]

I live in Dumfries and have worked at Bolling AFB, Crystal City, NGA in Bethesda, MD and now work in Tysons Corner.

There are commuter lots all over Prince William county. Southbridge, Princeton Woods, River Oaks, have alot of homes in your price range. You could slug to DC, which is free, and she can hope a vanpool to Tysons or carpool.

The commute to DC by slugging is about 30-40 mins depending on how deep you are going into DC. I drive everday to Tysons and I take 95N to 495 and it averages about 40-60 mins depending on traffic and day. Longer commutes tend to be thrusday and friday evening especially around holidays.

Potomac Club are townhome style condo and they are going for $270K as well as River oaks Craftstar townhomes. In Longwood Commons which is the townhome community of Southbridge, you can get a 3-4 bedroom townhome for less than $200K.

[liuhongqian]

Thanks for your infomation American Arrogance.
Sorry I don't understand what is "slug", and why it's free? Can you please explain a little bit? Thanks

Originally Posted by American Arrogance

I live in Dumfries and have worked at Bolling AFB, Crystal City, NGA in Bethesda, MD and now work in Tysons Corner.

There are commuter lots all over Prince William county. Southbridge, Princeton Woods, River Oaks, have alot of homes in your price range. You could slug to DC, which is free, and she can hope a vanpool to Tysons or carpool.

The commute to DC by slugging is about 30-40 mins depending on how deep you are going into DC. I drive everday to Tysons and I take 95N to 495 and it averages about 40-60 mins depending on traffic and day. Longer commutes tend to be thrusday and friday evening especially around holidays.

Potomac Club are townhome style condo and they are going for $270K as well as River oaks Craftstar townhomes. In Longwood Commons which is the townhome community of Southbridge, you can get a 3-4 bedroom townhome for less than $200K.

[FairfaxGirl]

Slugging is: People driving to a 'slugging station' (usually farther out from DC), park their cars at the station and form a line, waiting to get picked up by drivers who are going in the same general destination (i.e. DC). The sluggers win by not having to drive and pay for gas (they ride for free). The drivers win by picking up at least one additional driver and using the HOV lanes (i.e. thereby letting them take 66E in the mornings to DC). The downside is - you never know what kind of strange people you pick up.
Anyway, this is my understanding as I recently learned this term from a coworker... hee

[handy man88]

Originally Posted by liuhongqian

Thanks Tone509. I will probably be the one enduring the longer commute. Yes we'd like to buy a house with 3 bedrooms and we heard that Herndon(20171),Sterling(20166) and Ashburn might be good candidates. Does anyone know the commute information of these places to DC? How about South Riding, Fair Oaks and Burk?

Thanks.

All six areas will result in a horrific commute for you and your wife.

Your aim is to stay inside the beltway, and that means west falls church or vienna if you can find something for that price. In both areas, you can commute to DC via subway, and your wife can bus or drive.

Both areas have great schools for your daughter.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Slugging is widely used along the I-95/395 corridor so drivers can take advantage of the HOV-3 lanes from Dumfries all the way up to DC. That is pretty much the only way people can make it from areas like Woodbridge/Dale City to DC in under an hour during the AM/PM commutes. If you drive alone, you're looking at WELL OVER an hour each way during conventional commuting hours. If you don't mind riding with complete strangers then I guess it is an option.

I work in Tysons and several of my co-workers come from that same area, they all drive alone and it takes them over an hour, unless they leave really early. I'm sure as another poster said, you could perhaps find a vanpool or carpool that might cut some time off.

Out of all the areas you listed in previous posts, I would highly suggest checking out Burke. Your wife will have a decent commute to Tysons Corner and you can take the VRE commuter train into DC. I don't know specifics about the schools, but you are in the heart of suburban Fairfax County so they should be really good.

[handy man88]

Originally Posted by liuhongqian

Thanks for your infomation American Arrogance.
Sorry I don't understand what is "slug", and why it's free? Can you please explain a little bit? Thanks

Slugging is pretty much glorified hitch hiking where the driver benefits from access to HOV lanes due to extra bodies, and the passengers benefit from a free ride to their car.