In the beginning.....

[MacUser85]

I really don't want to sound like a broken record here and many people do it everyday, but I think before you consider Chantilly you should come here first. Come to Chantilly, get in the car at 6:30am or whenever your husband would leave and do the commute. And then do the afternoon commute. I think you may reconsider your desire for more house.

I'm admitting up-front that I would take a 3 BR 2 BA older Arlington home versus a 4 BR 3 BA newer Chantilly/Centreville home, simply because I cannot stand the idea of spending that much time commuting. I don't even have a family/kids and the thought just makes me sick. Too many fun things to do after work!

Hope this helps and welcome to our area--I think you'll enjoy the parks, Smithsonian and all of the free things to do here!

[claremarie]

I honestly don't know anything about Freedom HS, but Chantilly and South Riding are very pleasant family-friendly suburban communities. It's a long hike to DC from South Riding, which is why you can buy more house there. Some neighborhoods are so new that trees are very scarce, if that matters to you.

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by CaseyMac

I'm admitting up-front that I would take a 3 BR 2 BA older Arlington home versus a 4 BR 3 BA newer Chantilly/Centreville home, simply because I cannot stand the idea of spending that much time commuting. I don't even have a family/kids and the thought just makes me sick. Too many fun things to do after work!

Absolutely agree!

My spouse and I spent several weeks "testing commutes" prior to buying our house. (We had relocated from Massachusetts and had many years' experience with Nightmare Commutes into Boston.) We tested commutes in both nice weather and (gasp!) rainy weather. My spouse works for the federal government on Capitol Hill, so that commute was the True Test. We concluded that we could go no further out than the Beltway, so we bought our house in a nice neighborhood zoned for a pretty good school (we didn't have kids when we bought our house). We *could* have bought a nicer, bigger house zoned for even a better school, but for us, the Commute Factor was critical.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by claremarie

Some neighborhoods are so new that trees are very scarce, if that matters to you.

That's a good point that I don't see mentioned very often. We bought in a new development. We had mature trees behind the homes, but, in the front yards all the trees were saplings. It felt a little bare the first few years. Now it looks great, and the sidewalks are nicely shaded. But it took about 15 years for the front yard trees to really grow in.

I'll add another vote for Arlington, it's a nice community. A short commute is really important to quality of life, IMO. Welcome to VA, and wherever you decide to live I think you'll find life here is pretty good.

[FindingZen]

On a somewhat related note... over in the Philly forum, there is a member whose household is moving to that area from the NYC metro and is looking to shorten her husband's current hour-plus daily commute for the sake of more family time. Relatively speaking, Philly traffic is a "Sunday drive" compared to the DC area.

I would concur with those who suggest deciding whether a bigger/newer house or family time is more important. The distance between South Riding or Chantilly to DC may not appear to be that long but that doesn't account for the conga line that is I-66.

[utennvolsfan]

Originally Posted by OrangeFish

Absolutely agree!

My spouse and I spent several weeks "testing commutes" prior to buying our house. (We had relocated from Massachusetts and had many years' experience with Nightmare Commutes into Boston.) We tested commutes in both nice weather and (gasp!) rainy weather. My spouse works for the federal government on Capitol Hill, so that commute was the True Test. We concluded that we could go no further out than the Beltway, so we bought our house in a nice neighborhood zoned for a pretty good school (we didn't have kids when we bought our house). We *could* have bought a nicer, bigger house zoned for even a better school, but for us, the Commute Factor was critical.

That's an excellent idea. My husband and I did the same when we were house hunting, and it was eye opening. You have to consider what your time is worth. Sure, you can buy more house with your money further out, but your commute will multiply. And it doesn't take much to snarl an already messy traffic situation. Throw in two flakes of snow or a splash of ice, and watch chaos in action.

Now, I will admit that I am biased because we lived in Arlington. Specifically, the Columbia Forest neighborhood. It's got it's good points and bad points just like any other neighborhood. For our purposes though, the location was ideal. My husband was at the Pentagon, and I worked for the US Customs in downtown DC. I had a range of commuting options and was able to change my plans depending on the weather or if we had some place to be after work.

We were definitely close to DC, but it didn't reel like we were right on top of it. Partly because it was an older neighborhood, with lots of mature trees and green space.

Do take a test drive of the area if you can. It will be a big help in the end and might save you both time and money.