Looking for Family Friendly Towns (Reston, Manassas: to rent, houses, transfer to)

[SwiftCreek]

Hi,
I have an opportunity to transfer to my company's DC and Tyson's Corner office and am looking for towns for my family in NOVA. My wife and I have been told to look at Leesville, Middleburg, Hamilton, Purceville. I don't know if I should be looking closer in towns such as Vienna and Great Falls. Actually, I don't know anything about these towns.

So, We are looking for a town with a solid school system. Housing up to $600k, 0.5 acre lot, active tennis, gymnastics, soccer. We also like to hike, bike and kayak so proximity to parks would be important.

If you know of any towns and/or neighborhoods we would greatly appreciate.

Thanks!

[Margery]

Middleburg, Great Falls, Vienna are probably going to be out of your price range and Middleburg would be a long commute even to Tysons corner, let alone D.C. and Leesburg would be a haul to D.C. even though people do it.
Try Ashburn, and Potomac Falls for the activities you are looking for and the schools are excellent in both areas. In the zip code 20165 you will find nice homes within your price range, and you will be close to Algonkian Park, beside the Potomac River. It has hiking paths and you will have access to the Potomac River for boating and fishing. The water gets rougher the closer you get to the falls (in Great Falls) and you will see plenty of kayakers there. Go to HomesDatabase to see homes available in that area.

[JfromReston]

Check out Reston
The Reston Association - Home

It is 20-30 minute commute to Tysons.

Lots of tennis courts with a very active tennis program. Great trails in the Walker Nature Center and all through Reston for hiking and biking. If you are into flat water kayaking there are four lakes and we are not that far from the Potomac for river paddling. Check out Paddle Prattle for the local kayakers message board.

Here are a few of the options for housing in Reston. The Glade and South Lakes homes back up to the Nature Center so the lot size feels much bigger than it really is.
View Property Details- 2438 BRUSSELS CT, RESTON, VA 20191
View Property Details- 10800 HUNT CLUB RD, RESTON, VA 20190
View Property Details- 11129 GLADE DR, RESTON, VA 20191
View Property Details- 11423 SOUTH LAKES DR, RESTON, VA 20191
View Property Details- 11013 RING RD, RESTON, VA 20190

[tarp]

All the towns in the area are family friendly towns. All the school districts are county-based or city-based in this area. I would avoid Prince William County and Manassas due to traffic and subpar schools. Anywhere in Fairfax County will fit the bill. Sterling is doable for a commute to Tysons Corner, and cheap housing can be found out that way these days.

[SwiftCreek]

We really appreciate your feedback. Should I focus on Reston, Ashburn & Potomac Falls then?

Thanks

[guyincognito]

Originally Posted by tarp

All the towns in the area are family friendly towns. All the school districts are county-based or city-based in this area. I would avoid Prince William County and Manassas due to traffic and subpar schools. Anywhere in Fairfax County will fit the bill. Sterling is doable for a commute to Tysons Corner, and cheap housing can be found out that way these days.

Traffic is a legitimate reason to not live in PWC. The schools, however, are well above par. Maybe not as good as Fairfax overall, but the best schools in PWC are certainly better than the worst schools in Fairfax.

[athousandlogins]

I think Vienna might be worth a peek. It's a super family-friendly place. And an active town, too. You can't drive through Vienna without seeing dozens of bikes and walkers (it helps that the W&OD trail goes right into the heart of it.) Tons of parks, tons of trees, and super close to Tyson's.

But it depends how flexible you are on the lot size. While it's *definitely* possible to get a nice place in Vienna for under $600 - not a super-gorgeous-huge-brand-new-McMansion, but a solid house - you may have trouble finding a half acre plus. Then again, maybe not:

for instance

Prices have come down a bit from the heyday, even in tony Vienna.

[SwiftCreek]

Originally Posted by athousandlogins

I think Vienna might be worth a peek. It's a super family-friendly place. And an active town, too. You can't drive through Vienna without seeing dozens of bikes and walkers (it helps that the W&OD trail goes right into the heart of it.) Tons of parks, tons of trees, and super close to Tyson's.

But it depends how flexible you are on the lot size. While it's *definitely* possible to get a nice place in Vienna for under $600 - not a super-gorgeous-huge-brand-new-McMansion, but a solid house - you may have trouble finding a half acre plus. Then again, maybe not:

for instance

Prices have come down a bit from the heyday, even in tony Vienna.

I appreciate the response. We're not interested in McMansions or vinyl sided homes. We're looking for charm and character.

[5stones]

appreciate the response. We're not interested in McMansions or vinyl sided homes. We're looking for charm and character

Then I would scratch Ashburn of the list. While it's very nice and family friendly. Most of the homes are in master planned neighborhoods built by Builders and have vinyl siding etc... yes, there is brick but it's just brick front. They all look pretty much alike from one neighborhood to the next with about 5-6 different models in each.
I'd say that Potomac falls is pretty much the same but just larger homes.

I'd definately look at Vienna/ falls church area. lots of homes with character and neat towns etc... (and a pretty decent commute) older, smaller homes with nice large lots.

Leesburg has a mix of old and new. planned commuties next to old stately mannor homes. A historic downtown etc...
But the commute to Tysons can be rough (depending on time of day) if you leave around 6am it's about 45minutes. But if you leave for home around 5:30-6pm it could be more than an hour.

[DC Oldtimer]

Originally Posted by SwiftCreek

Hi,
I have an opportunity to transfer to my company's DC and Tyson's Corner office and am looking for towns for my family in NOVA. My wife and I have been told to look at Leesville, Middleburg, Hamilton, Purceville. I don't know if I should be looking closer in towns such as Vienna and Great Falls.

It is rarely a mistake to take the opportunity to get experience in D.C. That said, it might be a good idea to rent a place first and spend some time exploring the area before you make the big decision to buy a place.

I have lived in the area my entire adult life (more than 3 decades), divided about equally between DC, MD, and VA. I would have to disagree with much of the advice you have been getting. Most of the places suggested to you are too far out to be consistent with keeping your sanity IF you have to commute into DC. Ten miles may sound like a 15 minute commute but in rush hour traffic can easily take an hour.

Viewed in this context, a place like Purcellville or Hamilton (or Leesburg for that matter) makes no sense. These places are on the order of 40-50 miles from DC. If you work at Tysons that would be different but even then traffic can be miserable and you'd be better off closer in.

Vienna has some lovely neighborhoods and would be perfect if you work at Tysons. However finding a home on a half acre for 600K may not be possible. Great Falls is probably the most beautiful area (and expensive). But I am not sure how family-friendly it would be. Not that there is anything wrong with the people. It's just that when you have houses on one, two, three acre lots as is often the case there, you are not very close to your neighbors. Another consideration with Great Falls: commuting into DC can be unpleasant because there is only one narrow road to take you much of the way. When it backs up (and it does), nerves can frazzle.

Reston would probably work if you work at Tysons, but to DC the commute will be awful. I used to work downtown with a guy who lived there. The traffic drove him so crazy that he got up at 3 am and left the house at 5:30 am to avoid the rush.

As for MD suburbs, you might like Poolesville but it's too far out. The commute would make you insane. IMO Mt Airy is the kind of place you live when you are in grad school ... not when you are raising kids. (Unless you crave a McMansion and cant afford one closer in.) We haven't lived in MD for about a decade, but as of when we left Mt. Airy was what you would call funky--except for the new McMansion neighborhoods. A lot of it is run down. It's fun to go out there and get ice cream at the old fashioned ice cream place. But live there? Nope. You would need to check on the schools ... I dont think the kids go to Montgomery County schools. In terms of time, well I have a friend who lives in a McMansion there. It takes her an hour and a half to get to Dupont Circle. Fortyfive minutes to drive to the Shady Grove metro (end of the Red line in Gaithersburg), park the car, walk to the train, then about 35 minutes on the train). Life is too short to spend three hours/day commuting!!

Ellicott City is charming but really far. To me it's more a suburb of Baltimore than DC. Columbia was the first planned community. It's in Howard County. You have to decide if you want to send your kids to Howard County schools when you have the means to send them to the better schools in Montgomery County MD or Fairfax County VA. AFAIK, Columbia is nothing to write home about.

Your best bet would be to find a house in a close in DC suburb and keep your sanity. Despite its reputation, NOVA is very wooded and full of parks. You dont need to live in the boonies to enjoy the outdoor life. We have hiking, biking, squash, soccer, all that jazz a few blocks from our home and we are only a mile from the beltway.

If I can help you out further, I'd be glad to ... Just send me a message. I'm retired so you don't have to feel that you are imposing on me.

DCO