Working in Dulles: Where to live? (Reston, Springfield: apartments, renters, house)

[bbshrimp]

Hi!

I'll be moving to Northern Virginia at the end of January and could use some advice with regard to where to live. Can you apartment-dwellers and renters offer some advice to a NOVA newbie?

- I'll be working next to the Dulles Airport, right off it's north-west corner.
- I'm hoping to keep my commute to under 30 minutes, if possible. No more than an hour.
- I'm looking for a one bedroom apartment or studio. I wouldn't mind renting a part of a house, or even a whole tiny house. I don't want to share a bathroom or kitchen.
- I would prefer to live in an actual town, instead of a suburb or development or planned community or whatever they're called. But of course, it depends on what's more affordable.
- Rent needs to be at or under $1000 per month.... I realize that's pretty low for the area. I can live farther away, if need be.
- I like walking, parks, nature, old-fashioned buildings, restaurants, bars, etc.
- I'm comfortable with diversity.
- I have cats.

When I was out interviewing, I drove through Leesburg and really liked the feel of it. Could anyone offer apartment suggestions for Leesburg? Or warnings for what apartments to stay away from? From other forum posts it sounds like the north-east corner is considered sort of sketchy? Is that true?

Any other towns vaguely around Dulles would be cool too! Quite frankly, I fixated on Leesburg because I actually saw it, but I'm open to anywhere.

Anyhoo, any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

[CaseyMac]

I don't know too much about this area---but I do know that Route 28 South below Route 50 can get pretty traffic-ridden, so you may want to stay on an east-west trajectory with the airport.

Herndon I know has some areas that are a bit seedy. I would do a Craigslist search and see what comes up for $1,000 and under.

One unfortunate thing about this area is that even when you move far out from the District proper, you still don't get that much of a break in rent as areas out the Dulles Toll Road are just as desirable. Good luck to you!!!

[Margery]

Try Hamilton or Purcellville also, they are west of the Airport, smaller than Leesburg and have a similar feel. Round Hill may be a little farther but it is a lovely area. Also try zips 20165 and 20166 in Sterling, sometimes a basement apartment in a home will be available. www.Homesdatabase.com also has rental listings in the area.

[bbshrimp]

Thanks for the info... I appreciate it!

I'm definitely keeping an eye on Craigslist, and I'll check out some of those smaller towns, too. I've also been looking at local realtors, for rentals.

Thanks again!

[gresan1]

I used to work @ the airport. If you're looking for a very short commute then look into Sterling, Herndon, Reston, and/or Leesburg. Back then I used to live in West Springfield and it took a very long time to get to work. (pain the arse when you have to get to the orange lot, take the shuttle, go through empl. security, then another shuttle to C & D term...total trip from house to clock in, almost two hours.) Someone mentioned Purceville but I would not recommend it, it's almost country and it's pretty far. If you want something cheap (maybe a basement) and close to Dulles, I would recommend Herndon + Sterling. Leesburg is much more expensive but way better of an area. A step down to Leesburg would be Reston.
Just my opinion though. Some who lives in the immediate area can help more.
I can say that I work in Herndon and it's literaly 10-15mins from Dulles.

[bbshrimp]

Two hour trip from stoop to clock-in? Oh my god. That's intense!

Thanks for the info... I'll look into the areas you mentioned.