Thinking of moving to NOVA...suggestions?

[baygirl]

Thank you for the insight about the townhomes. I guess we are spoiled in that we have both the garage and the basement right now. The basement we may be able to live without, but not the garage...not if it snows there!! We will keep an eye on homes as it gets closer to our move date. Our preference with the 3 kids would definately be a single family home, but we are more than willing to compromise for school district, safety, and accessibility.

[5stones]

Actually we are doing with out the cars in the garage here. we have a 1 car and in PA we had a 2 1/2 car.(and a shed) So the bikes,sports equip, lawn mower, garden tools etc... all take up the tiny 1 car garage. I was surprized when I moved here how many people don't use thier garages for thier cars! But alot of the yards are small so there is no room for a shed for all the lawn stuff.
Some TH do have 2 car garages and a very small basement room. but they are rarer..but you might get lucky. Seriously ALL the schools in Ashburn are GOOD I wouldn't worry about that.

The weather isn't bad. comming form the Pittsburg area...it's mild. We have a cold snap and we have a winter with a few snows. (lots of snow days!!) But it doesn't last too long. we had a bad week in Feb with ice and snow and a bad few days in the begining of March with a snow.

Having the space for the kids was more of a prority for us and finding a single family house so hubby had to give up the garage and the dog had to give up a big yard for the time being!

with the way real estate is going here you may have luck in finding a house to rent while people wait out the slump.

[baygirl]

Could you elaborate on the main difference between Reston and Ashburn. Is it size and or relative "newness"? With Reston being closer to Fairfax Cty, we don't want to dismiss it as an option. Ashburn appeals to us mostly because we know of two families that already live there. Both of these families reside in single family homes...one of whom is renting and the other who owns. I believe both of these families are better off financially than we are. In any case, I'm not sure what they pay in the way of rent or mortgage, but we really must stay within our established budget of $2300 and below per month. That is the equivalent of our mortgage here and we don't want to move outside of that until we see what other hidden costs there may be. Since you have lived in another state (Penn), is there other expenses that are higher in the NOVA area...that you have noticed? Again, we are considering both NOVA and the Bay area in California, so we want to make an informed choice about quality of life available to people who only make $100,000 per year.

[5stones]

Yes, Reston is older but it is also more expensive (the better areas) than Ashburn. It has more of a "town" feel to it. It's QUITE a bit closer to Fairfax city and in Fairfax county.
Ashburn is newer and doesn't have a "town" feel to it (no town center) it has TONS of families and it is Planned suburbia. As someone mentioned Wisteria lane..the movie The Burbs. Neighborhoods and strip types shops and schools and resturants etc... but futher out than Reston.

I wouldn't discount Fairfax city itself, my brother rented a nice 4 bedroom there when he was stationed at the pentagon. Good schools etc... Look also into Vienna, and centerville. South Riding is another place VERY simulair to Ashburn (a twin really) and a little closer to Fairfax but may be eaiser to find a rental there.

I think as far expenses goes we are pretty compreable to the bay area (lived in East bay 12 years ago) house there are more expensive and homeowner insurance and car insurance are going to be higher. Schools here are alot better than south bay. Palo alto, menlo park, los altos over on the west bay are great.

your in OHIO right? well I think cost of living for you is about what it was for us near Pittsburg. basicaly, EVERYTHING here is more expensive. Groceries, kids activities dining out etc... but you have a vast variety. There are more people so that quick run up to the grocery store to get a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread...may take 30min instead of 10.

we are getting ready to move again so I know how you feel...it's tough. but just make a list of pros and cons of each and really talk things through. The biggies are pretty much the same ...cost of living and traffic!

[dullnboring]

Good advice as usual from 5stones. I'll just add my little bits as far as some differences between Reston and Ashburn.

I would say the "newness", and all that entails, is the biggest difference between the two communities. Ashburn is pretty much sparkly new and clean. There is nothing rundown, no remotely bad sections of "town" (quotations as it's not a real town), and in general tends to be more uniformly middle class to upper middle class to upper class. Reston is older and has more socioeconomic diversity. As I said in another post, there are no ghettoes in Reston, no place where you have to fear getting shot or mugged or anything like that really, but there is lower-income housing and there are more rundown sections, not of the boarded up, burned-out sort, but just of the older suburban sort (i.e. some chipped paint, yards not neatly mowed, a general unkempt appearance, etc.).

Reston has more employment opportunities within it's confines and is in a better location when looking at the DC Metro area as whole. Within Ashburn itself, there are fairly few opportunities for employment (which isn't to say that you can't find work, just that you won't be a 5-10 minute commute from home most likely). There's retail in the strip malls but in terms of large companies, few are located actually within Ashburn.

Reston has more trees and woods and greenery than Ashburn. Ashburn appears to be more planned with lawns all neatly-trimmed and such. You can tell it was a planned community whereas Reston feels more organic if that makes any sense.

Housing in Ashburn is cheaper, although still expensive. I would say your average single family home in Ashburn will be 100K less than it's Reston counterpart.

Ashburn without a doubt is geared towards families. Reston has succeeded in attracting a high number of singles and childless couples and retirees due to it's push for neo-urbanity of sorts in spots like the Reston Town Center, and it's more convenient location to places like Tysons Corner and hotspots in Arlington and DC, mean that it draws a younger crowd than Ashburn. Reston is by no means overrun with singles. On the contrary, I think it's a rather average mix of people. It's just that Ashburn is disproportionately filled with families, so in comparison, Reston seems that way.