Young family considering Clifton?

[bornindc]

Originally Posted by Tone509

The Virginia Railway Express stop in Fredericksburg would be the closest to you. Rail service in Virginia - VRE Count on about a 90 minute commute on the the train. Add your drive to the station and that would be about two hours each way.

FREDERICKSBURG being the closest VRE stop to Clifton? I mean, are you serious? Burke might be close actually. Or Lorton. Or even the Manassas VRE station.

You could also drive Fairfax County Parkway to Backlick to Franconia/Springfield Parkway to the Springfield Metro, although I don't know how long that would take. There must be bus service down to the Newington/Lorton or Burke areas you could take also.

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by bornindc

FREDERICKSBURG being the closest VRE stop to Clifton? I mean, are you serious? Burke might be close actually. Or Lorton. Or even the Manassas VRE station.

You could also drive Fairfax County Parkway to Backlick to Franconia/Springfield Parkway to the Springfield Metro, although I don't know how long that would take. There must be bus service down to the Newington/Lorton or Burke areas you could take also.

Upon further review... you are probably right. I admit having not ever been to Clifton. The map site I used placed it due south of Culpeper. I guess this is another map error just as I once found Hamilton to be due west of Richmond instead of in Loudoun.

[guyincognito]

Originally Posted by Tone509

The Virginia Railway Express stop in Fredericksburg would be the closest to you. Rail service in Virginia - VRE

Fredericksburg is probably 40 miles from Clifton. The closest VRE stations are either Burke or Manassas Park, although the train does pass right through the center of town.

Also be aware that the idyllic small town you see on the weekends is a major commuter route for people coming from Prince William County, with back ups extending all the way from Yates Ford Road up to Braddock.

[Claire2900]

Commuting from Clifton could prove daunting after coming from DC. Agree w/ all other posters to the beauty of the area and the schools are top notch. One thing to consider is the neighborhood and proximity to other houses. Your children are pretty young now, but what about when their a little older? If the neighborhood you choose has houses fairly far apart this isn't conducive to playing with other kids w/o arranging playdates, etc

[935dc]

Originally Posted by Claire2900

Commuting from Clifton could prove daunting after coming from DC. Agree w/ all other posters to the beauty of the area and the schools are top notch. One thing to consider is the neighborhood and proximity to other houses. Your children are pretty young now, but what about when their a little older? If the neighborhood you choose has houses fairly far apart this isn't conducive to playing with other kids w/o arranging playdates, etc

+1. That pretty much sums up why we decided against Clifton as well. Beautiful houses on great acreage, but my wife had concerns with regard to proximity to neighbors, etc in the event of emergency or something, and just getting to walmart or grocery stores or running errands would be a pain. Plus its still a bit of a trek to Metro (Fr/Spring or Vienna). Ended up spending a lot more $$ in the Fairfax/Oakton area for similar acreage but it was well worth it to be a bit closer to civilization imo.