Herndon working/living (Reston, Chantilly, Leesburg: 2014, apartments, rental)

[ahart3]

Hi, I am starting a new job at Deltek at the beginning of June. I am looking for advice on where to live affordably either in Herndon or as close to Herndon as possible. My car is old and pretty much on its last leg, but I am hoping to keep it as long as I can in order to be able to afford a new car shortly after I move. I've found that Reston seems to be my closest bet, but it is just as expensive as Herndon. Does anyone do the drive from Ashburn? If so, what am I looking at as far as a commute? Any other suggestions on area/places to live? Please! I have to move in the next few weeks and can only head down there on the weekend to look at places!
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me!

[ashbrn4]

The drive from Ashburn is not that long of a commute and as far as communities go, it is nicer than Herndon. Herndon has it's share of problems and gang activity.

What exactly do you mean by living affordably? That word means different things to different people from different areas.

[5stones]

I agree ashburn is probably your best bet. You have alot of housing options, condos, TH and SFH.
Herdon is iffy and the nicer areas are more expensive, rule of thumb in NOVA if it's priced to good to be true (3bed in herdon for 300k) then it's in a not so nice area.

The commute isn't bad at all 20min? at 9am it takes me aprox 30-40min to get from Leesburg to Reston on Rt 7 to just past Barren cameron rd. and Herdon is a closer.

If you want a little closer you can do Dullas area near town center mall or sterling over in the cascades area (E side of rt 7 close to the potomac)

What is your price range???

[ahart3]

I'm looking at renting right now, and affordable to me is something between $900-$1200...I'm willing to spend a little more to be a little bit closer. I have the crappiest car right now, which will be upgraded soon, but stop and go is an impossibility for me. I was looking at Ashburn as well as Reston. Any suggestions on apartments? I really only need a 1bdrm as it is going to be just me for a little bit until my boyfriend relocates a little closer to me and buys a house, which should be happening in the fall. A one-year lease is what I'm looking at for me, but am thinking about possibly 6 or 8 months also.

[ahart3]

Also, I have an appointment to check out Crescent Apartments in Reston...any comments on that one? I've dealt with the stares and cat calls before in the apartments i've lived in in Baltimore, and if I'm going to have to deal with that there, I am thinking of looking elsewhere

[5stones]

I don't know reston very well. so can not comment o nthe particular apts...

But I suggest places like cascades because there is the outdoor mall area and shopping you could walk to with resturants etc...
Just off of Palasades

Village At Potomac Falls, Potomac View,(these came up in google and look in a nice area) Parc Dulles Apartments.(these are new and right by the mall...nice)

Cascades Overlook Apartments (??)

Village At Potomac Falls a little north (by the mall) but in a nice area and rent month to month.

Sterling sits right on the boarder with Herdon but it's a bit cheaper than Herdon or Reston. If you are working in Herdon you can probably find a very nice place right in Herdon...just really check it out first.
BUT parts of sterling are very bad.... I would ONLY look in certin areas...stay away from sterling park etc...

[ahart3]

This is great information. I've also found quite a few places near Ashburn right near where 7 and 28 intersect. I'm curious if y'all have any ballpark figure on average single person utilities (gas, water, electric), and who on earth do I pay for that? I have never lived anywhere but Baltimore and I just realized I have no idea what company even provides utilities in Northern VA! Also, is Verizon pretty readily available in most areas? I know in areas of Baltimore it is almost impossible to find a place that isn't already contracted with Comcast, so for internet I HAVE to pay much more for Comcast than if I were to go with Verizon.

[5stones]

as for single person utilties I have no idea sorry... but I would say you'd be comp. to the Boston area.

We use...
Washington Gas for heat

Dominion Power for elect

Comcast for cable/internet. But Dish network is also big here and Verizon is now pushing the Fios thing... competition so you should get a good deal.

Verizon for phone both home and cell. I get great cell coverage even in my home so I don't use my land line for any long dist. Lots of people have only cell phones here. Be careful of using the internet phone companies, if internet is down...you have no phone. But they are very cheap.

Look into Ashburn Village, if you can get a condo to rent in there it's nice, you get acess to the sports Pavillion etc... the location is good to. Some of Ashburn is pretty far out near the Toll road (no so good for an unrealiable car!)

Found these...Saddle Ridge
(866) 287-7060 20070 Coltsfoot Terrace
Ashburn, VA 20147

A little bit more expensive but VERY safe and in a real nice area.

I'd say...99.9% of Ashburn is very safe... Broadlands is futher out but very nice and safe.
(honestly I can't think of a "bad" area in ashburn!)

ask ashbrn4 since they live right there they will have have MUCH Better info than me.

Good luck.

[ashbrn4]

I know families and singles who have lived all over Ashburn/Brambleton/Broadlands and have had no safety issues. Any apartment in these areas will be fine. I've not heard of anyone having had problems with catcalling. I agree about checking for a condo rental too. The market for selling them is not great right now so people are renting them. Condo's are always nicer than apartments in terms of safety and quiet. Owners have to answer to condo associations and will not tolerate problem tenants. And the crime rate in Ashburn is extremely low and tends to be petty theft from vehicles, some minor vandalism, things like that. Saddle Ridge apartments are nice and spacious from what I've been told. There are others in Ashburn . Just do a search for aparments in Loudoun County in Apartments.com. And for $1200 you can get a decent apt in Ashburn. Utilities as 5stones said are correct. I'm in a house over 5000 sq ft so I have no clue what utilities will run in an apt, but they shouldn't be too high. Ashburn Farm and Village are probably your best bet for shorter commuting distance. For internet, a lot of Ashburn has access to DSL through Verizon, and the cable company is the only one for the county. We have Direct TV for our tv too. Anything else?

[jmarkd]

They built a lot of new condos in the Herndon area. You would be able to rent a newer one from a sucker "investor" for cheaper than a managed complex like Archstone. Go to realtor.com and look for "Chantilly Park," or the "Bryson at Woodland Park", or rent a newer place near the Reston Town Center.
These "investors" are already down tens of thousands of dollars on these condos and will rent them at $100-200 less than a managed place.