Best family neighborhoods in Vienna (Arlington, Reston: apartment complex, to rent, condo)

[livingbythesea]

We are moving to the area sometime this summer and I'm looking at Vienna as a possibility. We have a 7 year old and 1 year old. It appears that we would do well with schools anywhere in Vienna. My 7 year old son really wants to be in a neighborhood where there are lots of other kids and it is safe for him to bike around. Ideally I would like to also be close to something we would all care to bike to as well such as an grocery store or bookstore or ice cream shop. A bike path nearby that would take us even farther would be wonderful.

We are looking to rent initially and would prefer to stay under $3000/month, but could go higher if necessary. Thanks for any advice provided!

[neighborhoodfind]

There are a couple of elementary schools south of 123 that aren't too highly rated in Vienna, but other than that the schools in the area are very good. The Fairfax school website has a school locator so you can type in the address of whatever home you plan to rent and figure out what schools your children would attend. Then you can check the schools out on Greatschools. There are areas just north of 123 from which you can easily get to the metro and walk/bike to shops, WO/D trail, etc.

Oakton is adjacent to Vienna (just west), and has areas from which you can walk to the metro. Students there go to Oakton elementary which gets high ratings. Not so sure about the middle school, but it doesn't sound like you'll be there that long. There are sidewalks all the way to Vienna from there and there are some shops in Oakton as well. This area is fairly suburban, and consists of strip malls, but it is 'nice' and accessible suburban, if ya know what I mean. We are likely moving there too and it seemed to be the best of what we wanted at a price we could afford.

Vienna also has some family events, like a 4th of July celebration, and so forth. I've heard from others that they love living there. As far as kids for your children to play with, we are in the same boat here and hoping we happen upon a neighborhood with lots of kids. It is tough because there are many homes still owned by the original owners so some places are not as teaming with kids as others. But overall, I got the impression that it is considered a highly desireable place for families with kids so hopefully that means my kids will find many other children to play with.

You should have no problems finding something to rent for $3000 or less.

[JEB77]

To follow up on the prior post, there are plenty of nice family-oriented neighborhoods in either the town of Vienna or Fairfax County (w/Vienna mailing addresses) north of Route 123/Maple Avenue that are a short (5-10 minute) bike ride on the W&OD trail to Vienna ice cream shops, restaurants and supermarkets (no book store, unfortunately, although there are way too many mattress stores). I would expect that, at present, one can find houses to rent in many of these areas.

The neighborhoods to the east of the W&OD trail in this area feed into Wolftrap Elementary and the neighborhoods to the immediate west of the W&OD trail feed into Louise Archer or (further north) Flint Hill or Oakton Elementaries. All are very nice areas.

Again to follow up on a comment regarding Oakton ES, the Oakton ES area that I am describing near the W&OD trail feeds into Thoreau Middle and Madison High. There is a portion of the Oakton ES attendance area further south (and not as close to the W&OD trail, I think) that feeds into Jackson Middle and Oakton High. Some would avoid the southern part of the Oakton ES attendance area because most of the Jackson kids go on to Falls Church High rather than Oakton HS, and most of the Oakton HS kids come from schools other than Jackson Middle, so the Oakton ES kids assigned to Jackson and Oakton HS don't really get to stay with the same group of peers very long. In comparison, a large majority of the Thoreau kids do go on to Madison.

[michgc]

You will do great in the Town of Vienna close to Maple Avenue if you want to walk places. The side south of 123 (Maple Avenue) has the community center, the Town Hall, a couple of swim clubs (with waiting lists), most of the preschools, and the baseball fields. The side north of 123 has Church Street which has a yummy bread store, an ice cream place, a pizza place, some cute shops, a toy store, and a couple of thrift/consignment stores, among other things. Also is the historic district of homes and the historic Freeman House . On 123 itself is the Town Green, the library, 3 supermarkets, a couple of drugstores, Tuesday Morning (discount housewares and other things), more restaurants than you can count, a bike store, a coffee shop, some ice cream places, Dunkin Donuts, a bagel place and many other stores I am forgetting. The North side of town for some reason is much hillier so it's a bit harder to walk. The south side is fairly flat. Depending on how much or how far you like to walk, you could probably walk anywhere within the town limits. Both sides of town have parks. Meadow Lane Park on the south side of town appears to be the most popular with the preschoolers because it's out in the open and is mostly gated. It's always filled with kids. On the north side of town there is Glyndon which is a bit more hidden in the trees. While there are kids there, too, I see many people from the North side at Meadow Lane. There are a few other parks in town, too, but those are the most popular. The bike trail runs north to south through the middle of town near Whole Foods.

When we bought our house, I knew I wanted to walk places so we bought within a few blocks of Maple Avenue and we walk on a regular basis to parks, the Community Center, the library, preschool, and the supermarket. There are kids everywhere in Vienna and it is generally a very family friendly town. Having said that some neighborhoods have more children than others. Some of the newer (1980's) neighborhoods on the north side of town might have more children because the houses are generally bigger, but then you are getting farther away from 123. The older neighborhoods on both sides of town have a mix of older residents and families. So one street might have a lot of children and the next street does not. But really, overall, it is a very family-oriented town.

[JEB77]

Originally Posted by michgc

You will do great in the Town of Vienna close to Maple Avenue if you want to walk places. The side south of 123 (Maple Avenue) has the community center, the Town Hall, a couple of swim clubs (with waiting lists), most of the preschools, and the baseball fields. The side north of 123 has Church Street which has a yummy bread store, an ice cream place, a pizza place, some cute shops, a toy store, and a couple of thrift/consignment stores, among other things. Also is the historic district of homes and the historic Freeman House . On 123 itself is the Town Green, the library, 3 supermarkets, a couple of drugstores, Tuesday Morning (discount housewares and other things), more restaurants than you can count, a bike store, a coffee shop, some ice cream places, Dunkin Donuts, a bagel place and many other stores I am forgetting. The North side of town for some reason is much hillier so it's a bit harder to walk. The south side is fairly flat. Depending on how much or how far you like to walk, you could probably walk anywhere within the town limits. Both sides of town have parks. Meadow Lane Park on the south side of town appears to be the most popular with the preschoolers because it's out in the open and is mostly gated. It's always filled with kids. On the north side of town there is Glyndon which is a bit more hidden in the trees. While there are kids there, too, I see many people from the North side at Meadow Lane. There are a few other parks in town, too, but those are the most popular. The bike trail runs north to south through the middle of town near Whole Foods.

When we bought our house, I knew I wanted to walk places so we bought within a few blocks of Maple Avenue and we walk on a regular basis to parks, the Community Center, the library, preschool, and the supermarket. There are kids everywhere in Vienna and it is generally a very family friendly town. Having said that some neighborhoods have more children than others. Some of the newer (1980's) neighborhoods on the north side of town might have more children because the houses are generally bigger, but then you are getting farther away from 123. The older neighborhoods on both sides of town have a mix of older residents and families. So one street might have a lot of children and the next street does not. But really, overall, it is a very family-oriented town.

There's also Nottoway Park, across Nutley Street near the Metro station. No shortage of parks in the area.

Yes - the neighborhoods on the north side of Vienna (both in the town and in the county) generally are newer than those on the south side. Much of the housing stock on the south side of town consists of smaller homes built in the 1950s and 1960s; however, they've generally maintained their values quite well given Vienna's convenient location to both DC and Tysons/Dulles, as well as the proximity to Metro and Vienna's family-friendly reputation. There are also a lot of new Craftsman-style homes (aka tear-downs or infills) in the town, particularly in the SE section. Far more of the housing on the north side of town dates from the 1980s or later, and the infills that have been built don't stand out quite as much compared to the neighboring properties.

I would probably give the edge for "bike-ability" (for children) to the neighborhoods in the county on the north side of Vienna, but the neighborhoods in the town, particularly on the south side, are best for walks to Maple Avenue.

FYI - the W&OD bike trail, which cuts through the center of Vienna, goes all the way out to Purcellville in Loudoun (cutting through Reston, Herndon, Ashburn and Leesburg first) to the west and well into Arlington to the east.

[livingbythesea]

Wow, I can't tell you how useful all this information is! It is exactly what I was searching for. We lived in the Mt. Vernon area for 10 years (left 6 years ago) and I don't think I ever went to Vienna except to go to Wolftrap. Trying to do this from another state (RI) is so hard and this is so very helpful. We don't want to go back to Mt. Vernon and have been searching for something more to our needs and likes now.

[saganista]

A few thoughts. Vienna benefits from having its own local government. Most areas in Fairfax County do not. The County government has more than a million people to deal with. The population of Vienna is about 15,000. There are, however, roughly three times as many people who have a Vienna mailing address but do not actually live within the town limits, so it's important to know just where you will be. It is the Town Council that folks can thank for the fact that there are no car dealerships in Vienna and just the three fast food places. Used to be two (currently Wendy's and KFC), but there were no other takers when the long-time town donut-maker retired, so now there is a Taco Bell where he used to be.

The north side of town differs from the south side in several ways, one of them being that it is effectively divided into three sections by the W&OD Trail and Wolftrap Creek. There are very few ways to cross either one, so often the only way to get from one section to another is to go into town, then come back out again. The south side doesn't have that issue to nearly the same extent. You get used to it of course, but it isn't always obvious from a map, or all that helpful when trying to commute.

The south side of town is dominated by Vienna Woods, a large development built out during the 1960's after the town switched its main drag from Church Street to Maple Avenue (Route 123). Unofficially, Vienna Woods essentially runs from Park Street west to Nutley, and from 123 south to Cedar Lane. There was quite a bit of population influx during those New Frontier and Great Society days. Anything outside the Beltway was the boondocks back then, so Vienna Woods was essentially the exurb of its day, built with younger government-worker families in mind -- folks who couldn't quite afford the pricier digs of Arlington or McLean. Virtually all of these houses have undergone substantial remodeling and upgrading since the 60's and, as has been mentioned, there has been a good deal of in-fill over the past 10-15 years (most of it quite nice), but this is still a more or less middle to upper-middle class area.

The north side of town tends to be somewhat more upscale. It has most of the historical stuff -- keeping in mind that the town didn't incorporate until 1890, so while its history goes back well before that, not many buildings do. Beyond that, there is a small band of 60's-ish type development, then a much larger one from the 1980's and after, much of which was targeted to high-end buyers and much of which lies outside the town limits. There are also some gorgeous custom homes from all sorts of eras sprinkled in. And beyond that lies Hunter Valley, which if you have the bank balance for it, is a heck of a nice area also. In any case, housing prices have always been a bit higher on the north side, so there has tended to be more per capita and household income in the north as well. The same trend may be seen to a degree in various areas in the south that are outside of Vienna Woods.

As for the schools, I'd agree that a pyramid not including Luther Jackson MS would be likely to work out better than one that did. For one thing, the school itself is just not in as pleasant an environment. Meanwhile, both Oakton and Madison HS's are excellent. The elementary schools on the south side of Vienna (Marshall Road and Cunningham Park) get a bad rap from those who like to read test scores. The two schools are all but indistinguishable from the north side schools, except in the diversity of students served. CP includes in its district a large and predominantly Hispanic apartment complex which accounts for virtually all of the ESL and subsidized-lunch population. CP also serves the east side of Vienna Woods and about equal numbers from the upscale neighborhoods that lie east of VW. Marshall Road picks up the west side of Vienna Woods, plus the more transient population from the TH, condo, and apartment complexes that spread out from the Vienna Metro station. These too bring a degree of diversity that would not so much be expected or found on the north side of town.

There are families with kids pretty much everywhere in Vienna, and there are lots of things for those kids to do. There are parks galore, and woods and creeks, and the town runs some great youth sports programs. Historically, about 30% of Vienna families have been families with children, and that hasn't really changed much over time. The area has a reputation for being a great place to raise kids, and there are good reasons for that.

Downtown Vienna violates a lot of urban planning rules by being more or less a long two-block wide ribbon, comprised of one block on either side of 123. The plus side of its long-and-thin nature is that a lot of places end up being within very reasonable walking distance of some part of it. There are a lot of people who can and do walk when the weather is appropriate, but probably more who can and don't. Somebody has to get out there and clog up 123 on a Saturday afternoon, after all!

[live_strong28]

Originally Posted by livingbythesea

We are moving to the area sometime this summer and I'm looking at Vienna as a possibility. We have a 7 year old and 1 year old. It appears that we would do well with schools anywhere in Vienna. My 7 year old son really wants to be in a neighborhood where there are lots of other kids and it is safe for him to bike around. Ideally I would like to also be close to something we would all care to bike to as well such as an grocery store or bookstore or ice cream shop. A bike path nearby that would take us even farther would be wonderful.

We are looking to rent initially and would prefer to stay under $3000/month, but could go higher if necessary. Thanks for any advice provided!

I would stick to north of Maple Ave. as it has more of a suburban safe feeling. Schools are better also.

[JEB77]

Originally Posted by saganista

The north side of town differs from the south side in several ways, one of them being that it is effectively divided into three sections by the W&OD Trail and Wolftrap Creek. There are very few ways to cross either one, so often the only way to get from one section to another is to go into town, then come back out again. The south side doesn't have that issue to nearly the same extent. You get used to it of course, but it isn't always obvious from a map, or all that helpful when trying to commute.

I think this might be more of an issue for people trying to get from one part of the north side of Vienna to another part of the north side of Vienna, which is not a typical commute. There are plenty of other roads that provide ready access to DC or other parts of NoVa and don't require a trip through the town or time spent sitting in traffic on Route 123. I can get from a north Vienna neighborhood (in the county) to DC without hitting a traffic light until Constitution Avenue. It's also easy to get to Tysons, McLean or Reston without going through the town.

Both the north and south sides of Vienna (town and county) probably have their advantages, but I don't see the commuting distinction as very significant.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by JEB77

I think this might be more of an issue for people trying to get from one part of the north side of Vienna to another part of the north side of Vienna, which is not a typical commute.

I guess that would depend on one's commute, but the point is that on the north side, one is either somewhere off Lawyers or somewhere off Beulah, and after Church Street in downtown Vienna, you can't go between one and the other until Crowell/Brown's Mill, which is two-thirds of the way to Reston. The situation isn't quite as bad re getting over the creek, but basically, east-west travel on the north side of town is restricted, and on the south side, it isn't. You do get used to it, but this may be something that newcomers would not anticipate.

Originally Posted by JEB77

There are plenty of other roads that provide ready access to DC or other parts of NoVa and don't require a trip through the town or time spent sitting in traffic on Route 123. I can get from a north Vienna neighborhood (in the county) to DC without hitting a traffic light until Constitution Avenue. It's also easy to get to Tysons, McLean or Reston without going through the town.

Well, as Steven Wright used to say, everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time. There are simply more ways to get in and out and around south of 123 than north. The Vienna-to-DC commute itself meanwhile becomes less typical every day, but most who do it would likely be well advised to use Metro, since it is essentially free for most. The Metro is south of town...as of course is I-66.

Originally Posted by JEB77

Both the north and south sides of Vienna (town and county) probably have their advantages, but I don't see the commuting distinction as very significant.

The whole area has a lot to offer. Advantages can only be determined with respect to some personal context. I might commute to a half dozen different locations in a given month. My neighbor is retired. He doesn't have to go anywhere at all. Obviously, we'd see the drive-time constraints of the north side differently. But we still might each choose simply to deal with those constraints for decades at a time...