Fredericksburg or Herndon (Richmond, Reston, Leesburg: apartments, rent, townhomes)

[Optimistic]

My family and I are planning on relocating to Virginia next summer. I have a friend who lives in Fredericksburg and a brother-in-law in Herndon. Currently we have been in GA for the past 9yrs. We have two high-schoolers as well.

We are trying to decide between Herndon or Fredericksburg. From what I see one could get more bang with their buck in Fredericksburg but the high schools don't seem to be to great. Herndon High School seems to be doing well.

Our family likes diversity and not too much of a rural feel. I also like to have access to Costco, Whole Foods and a great library. Honestly these are my major hangouts

We will initially rent due until we learn our way around. We just want to make a good choice

This isn't easy. All advice is greatly appreciated

[Stephen 81]

If Whole Foods is important to you, I would vote for Herndon. Fredericksburg is 40 miles away from Whole Foods and Trader Joes, and 20 miles away from Wegmans (a Rochester-based chain that has become extremely popular in Northern Virginia). I think Fredericksburg may have a Ukrop's, based in Richmond, but Ukrop's isn't quite the same as Whole Foods or Wegmans.

Plus, Herndon and the surrounding towns are more racially and ethnically diverse than Fredericksburg.

[EricD]

Fredericksburg has a huge Wegmans... and there's a Costco.

The High Schools around Fredericksburg are actually pretty good... they just might not be as big as the ones in the Herndon area.

Also I'd like to say that there is a decent amount of diversity in Fredericksburg, but that has been a more recent event. (Within the last 10 years or so)

[stacylee926]

These 2 cities are hard to compare!!! If you worked near Hearndon, no way would you want to commute from FB. Plus, there are tons of cities in between that are all in surburbia that you might really like better. Ideally you would want to know where you are working first.

Plus, in reality - it will take a long time to get settled in either area. There is so much to do and many places to check out that your family time would probably only be once a week or even less frequently. NoVa is very fast paced and leisurely lifestyles of bike riding and picnics in the park is not the norm. Something about NoVa makes family life very hectic all the time.

[Optimistic]

Staceylee926-I telecommute and my husbands company has multiple locations in the area. So neither of us technically have to worry about commuting per se. Being originally from NYC fast pace is not an issue believe me

We are in the NOVA frequently throughout the year. Our family just would like to be closer to family. My children being in a productive, safe school environment is key.

As well as most Moms I just want to get to my stores have them local and be able to feel as if I am a part of the community. Looking forward to our entire family meshing well into a new environment.

[stacylee926]

Then you are totally aware of the lovely traffic in the area. I lived there 41 years, and the traffic was one of the main reasons we left - it just consumes so much of your life - and not just on work days . FB certainly has come a long way in the last 10 years and would probably meet your shopping needs. Plus, Potomac Mills is not that far up the road (I LOVE Ikea!!).

[EricD]

Well, if the school is very important to you, maybe you'd want to look into Fredericksburg Academy?
Fredericksburg Academy

They have amazing facilities and faculty.

[Alicia Bradley]

I haven't been to Herndon, but downtown Fredericksburg is wonderful - restored 18th-century townhomes that people are actually living in(!) *jealous sigh*, lots of coffee shops and independent bakery-cafe sorts of places (of which NoVA generally seems to have an inexplicable dearth), lovely parks... Oh, and a children's book and toy store called Jabberwocky. That last part alone was enough to convince me about six months ago that downtown Fredericksburg was the kind of community I'd like to live in (just kidding- sort of), but eventually I had to accept that it was just too far out to be practical for me (and more so for my roommate).

[ScranBarre]

Herndon would be my choice. It is diverse. I don't have the statistics in front of me, but I'd hazard a guess to say that the demographics are 60% white, 25% Hispanic, with the 15% balance being split between African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and other races. There is a Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, and Trader Joe's in nearby Reston, along with a very nice Giant that I shop at weekly. Herndon itself has Bloom, Safeway, and I think a Shopper's too. There's a Target in Reston (next to the Herndon border) and a Wegman's in Sterling. There's also a Best Buy and Barnes & Noble in Reston (come to think of it Reston probably has the most chains in Fairfax County outside of Tyson's Corner).

Reston has a great library adjacent to its "Town Center" (that's apparently what they call a "Downtown" in Virginia when they were put in as an "afterthought"), and I believe Herndon has a nice library too, albeit smaller (Herndon has 1/3 the population of Reston, so naturally most amenities will be accordingly smaller in size). I personally also think Herndon has a more "down-to-earth" aura about it with better-flowing neighborhoods as opposed to a lot of "showy" areas in Reston, which is more disconnected in terms of neighborhood cohesion. Herndon has a cute historic downtown area, but it is WAY too small; if it was thrice the size it would probably be nearly as big of a tourist draw as Downtown Leesburg. I enjoyed dining at the Ice House Cafe, I like running along the Washington & Old Dominion Trail through town (even if they do hold the light far too long at the busy Elden Street crosswalk), and there's a few shops and restaurants around (I especially want to patronize Herndon Floral someday to bring some flowers back to put on my grandmother's grave).

Fredericksburg undoubtedly has more of that "small town Americana" feel to it with a very respectably-sized downtown business district and some historic neighborhoods, but you're also very far-flung from most of NoVA's major employment centers whereas Herndon has a few major employers itself and is adjacent to Reston, which experiences bad rush-hour congestion due to all of the large-scale businesses there like Sallie Mae, Rolls-Royce, Google, Unisys, Serco, Sprint, etc., etc. Herndon has a few nice annual festivals, and Reston seems to have a cool festival going on bi-weekly.

I'd personally go for Herndon.

[EricD]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

restored 18th-century townhomes that people are actually living in(!) *jealous sigh*

Alicia, eat your heart out!

Fredericksburg.com - ERA CHAMPION REALTY - FREDERICKSBURG MRIS#:FB6816586 AgentID:72569

Year Built: 1700

It needs a little work, since it was split into two apartments at some point... but OMG that place would be amazing to live in once renovated!