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Old 10-27-2008, 09:26 PM
 
38 posts, read 227,895 times
Reputation: 19

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Thank you all so much for your help thus far! We are currently in NOVA and so far, have narrowed our search down to two places. If you live in/near Ashburn or are familiar with the area, could you please help answer a few questions for us:

-What are the best public elem. school in the area (20148 or 20147)
-Which neighborhood would you most recommend and why (The Broadlands, Brambleton, Ashburn Farm, Ashburn Village, Green Mill Preserve, Belmont Greene, or other)
-Is there a Target, Old Navy, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, Library, or large Bookstore in the area?
-In NON rush hour, how long does it take to get to downtown DC
-In traffic, how long does it take to get to Vienna/Tyson's Corner
-Do ppl take the toll road, or hywy 7- what's the best route?

Thank you thank you thank you for your time and input!
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Old 10-27-2008, 10:33 PM
 
Location: South Florida & Colombia
190 posts, read 682,157 times
Reputation: 116
-What are the best public elem. school in the area (20148 or 20147)
All of them are pretty good, I can't say that one is better than the other (my son goes to Legacy), especially since this place is SO family-oriented. The only caveat that I have seen is that is since it is automatically assumed that you are well-to-do since you live in Ashburn, you can pony up the money (and time) for whatever event that they have planned. I consider myself lucky, but I don't know what other peoples' situation looks like.

-Which neighborhood would you most recommend and why (The Broadlands, Brambleton, Ashburn Farm, Ashburn Village, Green Mill Preserve, Belmont Greene, or other)
I like my neighborhood (Broadlands), mostly because its new and my little piece of it is relatively isolated. But, the Broadlands is probably the largest part of Ashburn, and some parts are quite older, some parts are newer. Brambleton is the newest part, with its own grocery store, coffeehouse, and the like, as well as a new movie theater. It has a nice range of housing stock, from single-family residences to condos, and the neighborhood is wired for FIOS (most of Ashburn isn't). I can't really recommend one neighborhood over the other, but I will say this: there is some older housing stock in Ashburn Village, so you may get more bang for your buck there, if looking for a resale, and the neighborhoods are more established. In the newer parts, they are still building houses and roads, and so you may see your entire road network change in a year, depending on location. For instance, they just split the neighborhood behind me in half when they began building a new road, and there is another one that they're building connecting to that. The school thing is an issue as well, since they are still building schools.
-Is there a Target, Old Navy, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, Library, or large Bookstore in the area?
There is one library, which is pretty good, and there is a Target in the Dulles 28 Center shopping center, and in Leesburg. Most of the shopping is in Sterling or Leesburg (which has an outlet mall), and there is TJ Maxx in Sterling near the mall. As far as a bookstore, the closest one is the Borders on Rt7 (again Sterling), and after that, Reston.

-In NON rush hour, how long does it take to get to downtown DC
about 35 minutes at about 65-70mph on the tollroad, add 10-20 minutes if you take route 7.
-In traffic, how long does it take to get to Vienna/Tyson's Corner?
about 45 minutes plus at least. The worst part about Ashburn is that there are really only 3 ways out: Waxpool, 267, and 7. They all are clogged in rush hour. It can take about 10 minutes just to get to 28, and God help you if there's an accident.

-Do ppl take the toll road, or hywy 7- what's the best route? The best route really depends on where you live in Ashburn. If you are closer to 7, take it, especially in the am, but if you are closer to the toll road, take that. I take the toll road, but that 3.50 each way adds up quick..if there are two of you taking it everyday in separate cars, you will spend 70 dollars a week, but it is so much faster (except for am rush hour).

Hope that helps!
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Old 10-28-2008, 10:39 AM
 
Location: Richmond, VA
2,309 posts, read 2,283,171 times
Reputation: 974
The above poster answered very well.

I am in Ashburn Farm and I really like it. We looked at all areas in Ashburn and chose this b/c we liked the house, but also b/c
Ashburn Village looked older (and is I believe) than the Farm
Brambleton is far out...closer to Leesburg and we didn't want to live that far out. And no way are we spending $3.50 each way everyday.
Broadlands was nice...Probably would have moved there had there been a home we liked at the time

What I really like about living here in the Farm is all the walking trails and I love that it is an established community and most people seem to take pride in their homes.

My husband works in Vienna and it takes him 45 minutes. He takes 28 than gets on the toll road and then onto 7. He leaves around 7:30am. In the afternoon he leaves at 4:30pm and is home by 5:15pm. But if there is an accident it takes longer. He doesn't think the commute is bad.

I actually live near the library here in Ashburn and I love it. I had never taken an interest in them before, but here they offer so many classes and such for kids that I can't help but take advantage.

As for stores...Yes, Target is next to Wegmans right before 28 and that is where we do most of our shopping. Old Navy is in the mall in Dulles and is about 10-15 minutes away. TJMaxx is near the mall as well.
Good luck with whatever you decide. Its a good time to buy as prices have come down a lot. We bought this past January and prices have adjusted $30-50K since then!
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Old 10-28-2008, 10:41 AM
 
Location: Richmond, VA
2,309 posts, read 2,283,171 times
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oh, and we bought our 4bed, 2.5 bath with finished basement single for $525K in Jan. One down the street which is the same as ours except they back to the road and no finished basement sold for $480K I believe. SO within your price range.
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Old 10-31-2008, 10:03 PM
 
38 posts, read 227,895 times
Reputation: 19
Question thanks!

Twinmma & Stax

Thank you both so much! That's a big help. We really loved the area and felt very much at home there. I know I would feel safe being there during the day with my son and getting to know other moms/kids in the area.

What is FIOS?

I can't imagine paying those tolls every day- that would really add up! Good thing there are other routes.

So basically all of the elem schools are good and doesn't sound like there is really a "bad" neighborhood in Ashburn?

Last questions- what's the NEAREST/BEST CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND L&D HOSPITAL???
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Old 11-17-2008, 11:48 PM
 
Location: Sterling/Potomac Falls
5 posts, read 26,174 times
Reputation: 13
Default ashburn

hey - i also replied to your 20165 post, then saw this one and thought i would add to it! My dad, step-mum and little sister live in Broadlands and they love it. There are loads of kids to play with, everyone is very friendly, lots of young families. I have several friends who live there.
For me, living in Broadlands was a little dull, there is not a lot to do without driving to Sterling, Leesburg or Reston. There are lots of walking trails and little play parks, and there is a Safeway with a few restaurants and bars, but most SFH's are not really within walking distance to it (you could, but you probably wouldn't). There is also a Clydes but again, it is quite far from the houses.
I also have friends who live toward Brambleton and love it. It is a very up and coming area, there will be lots more to do there within the next few years (already there is a new cinema and a little town center style area). For me though it is a bit out in the sticks. But it certainly isn't near Leesburg, I'm not sure why that person said that?
I looked at houses in Ashburn Village (which is not older than Ashburn Farm - the Farm is definitely the oldest part of Ashburn. There are some really lovely old places there). I would have liked living there because much of it is accessible to the W&OD trail - you can walk/cycle all the way from purcellville to arlington on it! The Village also has the sports pavillion for all HOA members which includes an indoor pool, racketball courts, tennis, basketball etc and several outdoor pools/lakes. There are lots more shops in the village than in other parts of Ashburn, but the same as with the rest of Ashburn, you still need to go to Sterling or Leesburg to reach any decent shops. The Target other people are talking about by Wegmans is really in Sterling (a second Target) but they like to call it Dulles
To put it more bluntly - if you enjoy a very quiet, family oriented, middle class neighbourhood and intend on driving everywhere to do things, Ashburn is great if a little dull, and I have a personal preference for Broadlands.
If you would prefer a bit more to do and to be closer to the stores, in a more mature neighbourhood, go for Countryside, or if that is too old for you, Cascades. Schools are about equal for all those areas.
Another thing to point out is that driving to Tysons from Ashburn without using the toll will easily take you an extra 30-40 minutes than from Sterling, because there are simply so many commuters backed up there from about 6.30am-9am and 4pm-7pm. It's ridiculous and one of the major reasons I wouldn't live there. A lot of people do use the toll, which is a total rip off.
PS - FIOS is Verizon's high speed fibre optic internet - it is pretty great, we have it in Countryside. It probably won't be long until it's everywhere, I think they just put it in Broadlands too. The Verizon deal we are getting now is much better than the comcast we were forced to get when renting.

Last edited by stellamarbella; 11-17-2008 at 11:57 PM.. Reason: FIOS
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