Fine living communities in Herndon/Chantilly? (Reston, McLean: fit in, movers, townhomes)

[mjbfnm]

Hi all,
I am planning to move to the Northern Virginia area with my husband and 2 kids. My new job is going to be in downtown DC and my husband works in Reston.

We were wondering which are the good communities to look for housing in the Herndon/Chantilly area (looks like these are the areas that would begin to fit in our budget). My children are 5 and 2 and so school districts are important. There are a lot of homes on sale, but it is quite hard to figure out which neighborhoods are actually known to be desirable and highly rated from the local population...

Any input with specific community names would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!

[claremarie]

In general, the neighborhoods that are "desirable and highly rated" are going to be the more expensive ones. That's how the market works. In most northern Virginia communities, the two most important factors affecting desirability are the ease of commuting and prestige (measured almost exclusively by high test scores) of the public school pyramid. Find the schools with the highest test scores, and you will find the most desirable and expensive communities. Of course, that doesn't mean that you will find the best home for your particular family. But if you want a home that is considered "desirable" by others, just find schools with the best test scores, and buy a house within their boundaries.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by mjbfnm

Hi all,
I am planning to move to the Northern Virginia area with my husband and 2 kids. My new job is going to be in downtown DC and my husband works in Reston. We were wondering which are the good communities to look for housing in the Herndon/Chantilly area (looks like these are the areas that would begin to fit in our budget). My children are 5 and 2 and so school districts are important. There are a lot of homes on sale, but it is quite hard to figure out which neighborhoods are actually known to be desirable and highly rated from the local population. Any input with specific community names would be highly appreciated.
Thanks!

With a split commute, I certainly would not recommend Chantilly in any way other than to cross it off your list. Herndon would be great for getting to Reston, but not so hot at all for getting into and back out of DC. I would suggest the Vienna/Oakton/Dunn Loring area, and not because I live there, although I do. I work in DC and my wife works now in Herndon after her office moved a year ago from Reston. Her commute is against the traffic and was a pleasant 25-30 minutes before the move, and a slightly less pleasant 40-45 since. I can meanwhile make it to the Metro in 15 minutes and be in my office (White House area) in 50. As I have often said, after you find housing you can afford, and that is the style that suits you, figuring the commute is the next most important factor in your decision. Not the schools (all of Fairfax County's schools are at least very, very good) and not safety (almost all of Fairfax County is safe enough for it not to be a factor), but the commute. Nothing will ruin your lifestyle faster than two 90-minute trips through hell a day, and a lot of people do blunder into just such a situation.

The area is not cheap. In fact parts of it are almost absurdly expensive. But venture over to www.trulia.com where you can see for yourself what the money you might have available will get you here. There are currently 31 single-family homes on the market in Oakton, and 101 in Vienna. 11 and 27 of those respectively are priced below $750K. Some are townhomes, some are detached. Some are older, some are newer. Something among them might be just the sort of thing you're looking for. One thing is for sure -- you'll BOTH be able to get to work from here on terms that are better than what most folks have to face, and you'd be within easy reach of some of the finest shopping, dining, arts, and entertainment that the DC area has to offer. Can't be all bad...

[mjbfnm]

Thanks Saganista and Clairemarie. Your input is really helpful. So hearing from you and realizing the really long commute, we are now considering looking for a house in the Vienna area. Do you know of good reputable neighborhoods in the Vienna area?
Also, is Hunting Ridge considered to be a good community? Do you know much about Westgate elementary school? Would appreciate any advice. Thanks!

[5stones]

schools in Vienna are excellent.
The only negitive I have herad is the same as our schools here is that ALOT of empahsis is placed on teaching for the state tests. I think that's a problem being faced more and more everywhere.

If your kids want to learn and thrive on being challenged they will EXCELL. OUr middle school out here places a big empahsis on Honors classes and Honor roll. It's "cool" to be smart! I like that. (I believe the same can be said for most Fairfax schools) My daughter 7th grade has pushes herself to maintian A-B honor roll and a 4.0 gpa.

I don't know much about the neighborhoods but know if we could have afforded Vienna we would have bought there!

Go to great schools . com they are an EXCELLENT tool for researching schools. Test scores, teacher student ration, enrollment etc...

Good luck.

[mjbfnm]

We are moving to the northern Va area-in May--Do you know of any good, reliable and cheap movers. Appreciate it....Thanks.

[JayDaughtry]

Vienna is a nice area. To me it's like a small town that all the urban sprawl missed, with Highway 7 to the north and I-66 to the south. Yet because of these roads and the Metro you have easy access to all that the Washington, DC and Northern Virginia areas have to offer. With regard to a mover, I would think that you would be better off finding one where you are currently. Where are you moving from?

[saganista]

Originally Posted by mjbfnm

Thanks Saganista and Clairemarie. Your input is really helpful. So hearing from you and realizing the really long commute, we are now considering looking for a house in the Vienna area. Do you know of good reputable neighborhoods in the Vienna area?

All of them. You'd be talking degrees of good and reputable here.

Originally Posted by mjbfnm

Also, is Hunting Ridge considered to be a good community? Do you know much about Westgate elementary school? Would appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Both are in McLean, and Hunting Ridge was once a simply beautiful neighborhood. A personal favorite. And it is still very nice indeed, but I think it got taken down a notch in my mind at least when I-267 was built through. The road was badly needed, and they did a reasonably good job with it, but a couple of really delightful neighborhoods would have been better off without it, and I think Hunting Ridge was one of those. Westgate Elementary should be fine. It does pick up all the kids from Pimmit Hills, which might a couple of decades ago have been seen as a problem, but the area has been substantially yuppified and up-scaled since, so I wouldn't expect a problem. ClareMarie might know more than I do about current events there though...

[saganista]

Originally Posted by JayDaughtry

Vienna is a nice area. To me it's like a small town that all the urban sprawl missed...

When post-WWII development started to get serious in Vienna, and the town center began moving from Church Street to Maple Avenue, the Town Council saw things coming their way that they didn't like, so they enacted zoning to prohibit fast-food restaurants and car dealerships within the town limits. Two fast-food places did get in under the wire (now a Wendy's and a KFC), but there's been none of either one of those since then. Some would say (including me) that they could have done a better job of managing Maple Avenue development after that, but that first step and the town's rather fierce pride in itself as a town have, I think, been the two things that have contributed most to that 'town that urban sprawl missed' sort of thing...

[JayDaughtry]

Saganista-

Thanks for the background information on Vienna. I used to work there at Green Hedges School and really enjoyed the town. I knew that some of Vienna's charm had to be by design; it's good to know the story. I agree that some of the development could have been managed better. Vienna has done a good job maintaining its identity as a town and not simply getting lost as a part of Northern Virginia. I should mention that Wof Trap with its concerts and shows is a great resource to have in the area. I also love some of the back roads between Vienna and Reston. At moments you believe you are really out in the country instead of just 15 miles or so from the nation's capital.