Townhome purchase: Burke versus Annandale? (Springfield, Fairfax: townhouses, neighborhoods, buyers)

[PennStateMark]

Just got back from a second straight day of househunting with my realtor and am basically torn between two fabulous properties in two separate neighborhoods. While I'm all too familiar with the likelihood that things will fall through with both of them, I wanted to get thoughts on the Burke (22015 Burke Station Square subdivision) and Annandale (22003 Raintree subdivision) areas. I'm relocating from Lovettsville and spent two years before that in Springfield, so I'm generally familiar with both of the areas and have begun weighing the initial pros and cons - with the properties being essentially equal, it's essentially become a question of location:

Burke:
+ close (15min walk) to Rolling Rd. VRE, quiet/more secluded subdivision
- further from Metro, hence more difficult to get into the city on weekends

Annandale
+ 2min drive to Dunn Loring metro
- noisy - right off of 495 and Gallows

Any thoughts on the communities at large, including accessibility to other amenities, crime, traffic (including commuting into DC if my schedule isn't conducive to public transit, which is the case some days), etc?

[claremarie]

My sister has lived in the Burke neighborhood for more than 15 years, and I've visited there often. It's a nice, quiet family neighborhood, but it is further from DC and Metro than your Dunn Loring/Annandale option. Obviously, there will be a tradeoff between convenience to Metro/DC and quiet/seclusion, so your decision will depend upon what is most important to you. And that may change over the years in which you own the house, so keep that in mind as well. Not sure what school pyramid the Annandale home is in, but the Annandale HS pyramid is not as desirable as Lake Braddock (Burke Station Square), and that may be a factor in resale if many potential buyers have school-age kids. BSS is just a few minutes drive from the Wakefield Rec Center, if access to a reasonably priced indoor pool/fitness center is important to you, and also close to Burke Lake Park. It's also an easy commute to GMU.
The Annandale home will be closer to Tyson's, which also means more traffic hassles, especially on weekends. Also closer to both airports.

[JEB77]

Originally Posted by claremarie

Not sure what school pyramid the Annandale home is in, but the Annandale HS pyramid is not as desirable as Lake Braddock (Burke Station Square), and that may be a factor in resale if many potential buyers have school-age kids.

School pyramid for the Raintree complex is Woodburn/Jackson/Falls Church HS. It's quite close to Fairfax Hospital. It general, it seems to me that reasonably priced townhouses near both Fairfax Hospital and Tysons ought to have a ready resale market.

[Tone509]

I didn't realize that parts of Annandale were close to the Dunn Loring Metro.

You learn something new everyday!

[springfieldva]

I'm not familiar with the Raintree subdivision but being that close to Dunn Loring would be a huge advantage (a 2 minute drive should place you within walking distance?).

With Burke Station Square you would be within walking distance of the VRE and you could drive to either the Springfield Metro (blue line) or Dunn Loring (orange line). You would be within an easy 15-30 minute drive from both stations depending on traffic.

[PennStateMark]

Thanks all for the feedback. Obviously anything's an improvement over my current 90-minute commute (longer if, like today, MARC Brunswick is encountering its frequent 30-40min delays). Not sure if the VRE is an improvement in terms of commuter rail services, though.

Definitely leaning towards the Burke area because of the balance between seclusion and accessibility. Looking at this being probably a 3-5year residence with hopes to move closer in after that, so resale potential is also a major consideration.

[claremarie]

Close to Fairfax Hospital also means lots of ambulance noise.....

[JEB77]

Probably so - do the Burke neighborhoods within walking distance of the VRE get train noise and/or trash from around the tracks?

[PennStateMark]

I didn't notice much trash along the roads between the entrance to the subdivision and the Rolling Rd. station, but wasn't able to gauge railway noise since we visited on a weekend.

[claremarie]

The VRE just doesn't run very often, and I've never noticed any train noise from my sister's house in the neighborhood. She has been commuting downtown on the VRE for years with no real problems, except the limited service does make it more difficult if you don't have regular working hours.