Live in Burke, work at the Pentagon (Alexandria, Manassas: 2010, townhouse)

[steveandmaureen]

My family is planning to move to Northern VA summer 2010. We are considering living and buying in Manassas or Burke, at this point we're leaning towards Burke. We have one kid in each type of school, (HS, MS, EM). We'd like to buy between $400-450K in an area with good schools, near mass transit to the Pentagon.

Anyone have any suggestions, advice, comments about Burke? Can we get a Manassas-ish size house (3000 sq ft, 4+ BR) in Burke for $400K? Suggested realtors in the area? Hows the drive to the Pentagon?

Thanks

[ChristineVA]

Well, without sounding too critical, I'm wondering why Manassas is even a possibility? One of the HARDEST places to commute into DC from and not that nice on top of it. I"d rather live in Woodbridge (which I do) than Manassas. I work with several people who live in Manassas and driving, VRE, etc. they are the WORST commutes.

Now, having said that, Burke is nice. Not sure if you can get 3,000 square feet for that price but, in today's market, honestly, you probably can. Burke is a little removed from the "beaten path" so you will have to make a little bit of a drive to public transportation, slug lines, or Metro, but it's not that bad. Schools will be good. Community is nice. You don't say what your hours are but the commute to the Pentagon can range 30 minutes to an hour depending on when and how you are getting there. Very early commute should get you there in 30 minutes.

[mississippimagnolia]

I would take Manassas off the list.

Burke is really nice. And the schools are fantastic. It's not very convenient to the metro, but you can take either a bus, or a combination of the VRE and the metro or the VRE and a shuttle to the pentagon.

This is the second time we've lived in Burke and we just love it.

[mahjon25]

Just rented in a 2200 square foot townhouse in Springfield/Burke area in the Orange Hunt school district..my husband will also be making the commute to the Pentegon. We loved the area and the drive is resonable.
Hope you find something in your range. We are in the area off Middleford Dr. and Hooes, by Huntsman Lake...good luck!

[steveandmaureen]

Thanks for the replies. We were looking at Manassas because you can get so much more house there for the money. Of course the commute looks like it would be pretty rough. I'm used to an hour long commute as it is but I'm afraid the Manassas drive/VRE would be longer. We don't have to get a 3000 sq ft house, we just want to get as much as possible. With the drop in prices maybe we can.

[ChristineVA]

Really, really think hard about Manassas. Gosh, I hate to be a "basher" living in Woodbridge myself, but it's just not a desirable area overall.

[movingtodcfromseattle]

We've been watching the market in Springfield/Burke and are pleased with what we are seeing. Tomorrow we are going out with our realtor. We found her through USAA home buying program. She's been great so far. PM me if you'd like her name.

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by steveandmaureen

My family is planning to move to Northern VA summer 2010. We are considering living and buying in Manassas or Burke, at this point we're leaning towards Burke. We have one kid in each type of school, (HS, MS, EM). We'd like to buy between $400-450K in an area with good schools, near mass transit to the Pentagon.

Anyone have any suggestions, advice, comments about Burke? Can we get a Manassas-ish size house (3000 sq ft, 4+ BR) in Burke for $400K? Suggested realtors in the area? Hows the drive to the Pentagon?

Thanks

I would defintely do Burke over Manassas.

I went to Manassas (the part in Prince William County) yesterday. It took me an hour from exit 2 on 395 in Alexandria to get there yesterday. I would never want to do that commute on a weekday let alone do it from the Pentagon. Manassas dont really look that bad to me but with schools i would do Burke in a heartbeat.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by movingtodcfromseattle

We've been watching the market in Springfield/Burke and are pleased with what we are seeing. Tomorrow we are going out with our realtor. We found her through USAA home buying program. She's been great so far. PM me if you'd like her name.

In addition to Burke, definitely check out the Springfield zips of 22152 and 22153.