Advice on "country living" near Fairfax

[adctvmonkey]

I would also recommend Clifton or Fairfax Station. It's like a rural retreat that's super-convenient to civilization, and in your case, Fairfax, and still in Fairfax County. You're also assured that it will stay that way because of zoning rules.

[5stones]

The OP needs to give a price point. No sense in offering up Great Falls, Clifton etc... if the OP is looking for a 4 bedroom on .5acre or larger and only has 300k to spend.

Clifton would be my number choice if you can afford it. Nice small community feel, an excellent commute (key in this area) great schools and STILL fells like a little town "away from the hussel bustle".

Vienna still retains the small town charm as well.

IF you really want land etc... then yes, look outside and Aldie would probably give you the better commute verses Purceville, Leesburg etc...

[bmwguydc]

One thing to note, however, with Middleburg and Aldie is that they are much longer than 25-30 minutes to Fairfax during rush hour.

Sliglty less expensive, but in the same general area is Catharpin, which is close to Haymarket, off Route 15 in Prince William County. That area has houses that are spread on larger parcels of land, and is northwest of the Manassas Battlefield, so you are in easy proximity to country places in Middleburg, Upperville, The Plains, etc.

Now, on the other side of Clifton, which is actually Prince William County, there is similar development at a lower price point that is nestled around the Occoquan Reservoir. The problem with this area is that Clifton's streets can get jammed during rush hour to get back to Prince William as they feed through Yates Ford Road to get to Davis Ford Road and the PW Parkway. Since your husband only has to go to Fairfax, this might not be too bad of a trip. In the morning, traffic is not as bad as there are multiple routes out of Clifton to get to 123, Braddock Road, or Burke Lake Road to get to Springfield and the Metro.

Oakton also blends suburban development with 1-acre+ zoning, so there is a sense of country as well. It's the next area to the immediate north of Fairfax on 123. Much of Oakton is fairly expensive, however, even for suburban homes that were developed in the 1970s and 1980s.

[triplej68]

If you don't mind living in Maryland Fort Washington feels kinda county and they have homes with a lot of land.

[novahousehunter]

I grew up in VT and I don't think there's anything like it (in terms of housing or cultural lean) in NoVA.

Because land here is very expensive, larger parcels closer in (Clifton, Great Falls, etc.) are pricey (and everything is way more expensive than VT), though I agree with the other posters that Clifton is probably the closest to that rural, small town feeling, and very close to Fairfax. Catharpin too is nice, wider zoning, a lot of horses.

Middleburg is further out into Loudoun and very upscale (like, Woodstock VT but much fancier).

When you get outside the reasonable commutes things do open up--agree with the other poster that Berryville or Winchester are really country, but those are not a reasonable daily commute to Ffx. Nokesville too feels very rural (in a more southern way than Loudoun), but again, it's pretty far.

I don't know--it's tough to find something really comparable. The more money or commuting flexibility you have, the better.

Good luck!

[Brownstraceroad]

Thanks so much to all of you for your good advice. We were thinking of spending $300,000 -- $450,000...but after looking at the prices in Clifton, it looks like we would need to spend around $600,000+...or go somewhere where there is an hour-long commute? I did see a good house in Fairfax Station and Haymarket. I would rather have an older house that needs some TLC on a bit of land than a new house in a development and, ideally, it would be great to keep the commute at 40 min. or under...? Maybe this is too much to expect, though? Maybe we should stay here? : ) We'll see what shakes out....

On a side note, I was trying to understand the public transporation down there. I think an hour on the train where you can work, etc. would be better than a 40 min. in bumper to bumper. It seems like there is not a lot of public transporation to outlying areas, though. I see that the train might go to Haymarket...but it seems it does not go to Fairfax?

Thanks again for any insights you can provide!

Thanks so much, again!

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by Brownstraceroad

Thanks so much to all of you for your good advice. We were thinking of spending $300,000 -- $450,000...but after looking at the prices in Clifton, it looks like we would need to spend around $600,000+...or go somewhere where there is an hour-long commute?

Here's one in your stated range:
FX7085159 on FranklyMLS.com 7157 MAIN ST, CLIFTON VA for $389,900 in CLIFTON Home For Sale

This is a little more than you said you wanted to spend:
FX7042419 on FranklyMLS.com 12377 HENDERSON RD, CLIFTON VA for $475,000 in CLIFTON Home For Sale

[themommy]

Originally Posted by Brownstraceroad

On a side note, I was trying to understand the public transporation down there. I think an hour on the train where you can work, etc. would be better than a 40 min. in bumper to bumper. It seems like there is not a lot of public transporation to outlying areas, though. I see that the train might go to Haymarket...but it seems it does not go to Fairfax?

Thanks again for any insights you can provide!

Thanks so much, again!

In Northern Virginia, the major public transportation options are Metro (trains and buses) and VRE (trains). Metro runs regularly throughout the day in both directions (toward DC and away from DC); VRE runs on workdays only and is inbound (toward DC) in the mornings and outbound (away from DC) in the afternoons. Even if you don't live near a Metro or VRE rail station, you may be able to catch a bus to one or the other.

In addition to Metro, several counties and cities run bus systems of their own, many of which link up with the Metro system. There are also bus options in Prince William County and Loudoun County that run pretty much direct into DC in the mornings and back out in the afternoons. I'm not sure exactly where to find the information about those, but I'm sure you can find it by Googling.

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by themommy

In Northern Virginia, the major public transportation options are Metro (trains and buses) and VRE (trains). Metro runs regularly throughout the day in both directions (toward DC and away from DC); VRE runs on workdays only and is inbound (toward DC) in the mornings and outbound (away from DC) in the afternoons. Even if you don't live near a Metro or VRE rail station, you may be able to catch a bus to one or the other.

In addition to Metro, several counties and cities run bus systems of their own, many of which link up with the Metro system. There are also bus options in Prince William County and Loudoun County that run pretty much direct into DC in the mornings and back out in the afternoons. I'm not sure exactly where to find the information about those, but I'm sure you can find it by Googling.

Metro's website Metro - Home page has a "Getting To and From Metro" link that is essentially a clearinghouse for all of the other transit options available in the area.

[themommy]

Originally Posted by Tone509

Metro's website Metro - Home page has a "Getting To and From Metro" link that is essentially a clearinghouse for all of the other transit options available in the area.

Cool! I'd never seen that page before (obviously). Here's the direct linky for the OP.