Young Professional Working in Leesburg...Should I live in Ashburn? (Arlington: middle-class, apartments)

[Smitch_03]

I'm a young working professional re-loacting to Virginia from Canada for work. I'll be based out of Leesburg VA. I've been looking at several places to live in this area and Ashburn has been sticking out as a decent place with decent prices for a nice one bedroom apartment. Would this be a good choice for someone looking to get familiar with the area and meet new people? Any other reccomendations for good areas will be greatly appreciated!

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by Smitch_03

I'm a young working professional re-loacting to Virginia from Canada for work. I'll be based out of Leesburg VA. I've been looking at several places to live in this area and Ashburn has been sticking out as a decent place with decent prices for a nice one bedroom apartment. Would this be a good choice for someone looking to get familiar with the area and meet new people? Any other reccomendations for good areas will be greatly appreciated!

What is your preferred rent budget?

Ashburn is a town known for its newish family-friendly communities. A commute to Leesburg should be a breeze as you would be going against traffic. That's the good news.

The bad news is that you will be far from Arlington where many young professionals in Northern Virginia tend to congregate for nightlife. However, Reston Town Center is a decent place to socialize and is not too far away from Ashburn. Even downtown Leesburg may have some interesting things to do. You'd be roughly 45-60 minutes west of Arlington and DC which would be convenient enough to visit on the weekends.

Reston might be a good compromise to be close to a social oasis (the aforementioned Town Center) while adding perhaps 15-20 minutes to your commute to Leesburg. How about checking out Leesburg itself?

[Smitch_03]

Thanks. I've come to terms with the commute so I'm willing to cope with the added time if it means living in a more suiting community. I'd be looking for something in the 1200-1500 range. Seems like it would be tough to get anything decent for much less than that.

Thus far I'm not set on any one place..and have given thought to Leesburg itself but was worried about the demographic..ie) mainly families etc..But from what you say, this will be similar to Ashburn.

Like I said, I'm still in the preliminary stages but would like to narrow things down to a few communities as I will be travelling there very shortly to view apartments and see some potential areas.

Any other thoughts?

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by Smitch_03

Thanks. I've come to terms with the commute so I'm willing to cope with the added time if it means living in a more suiting community. I'd be looking for something in the 1200-1500 range. Seems like it would be tough to get anything decent for much less than that.

Thus far I'm not set on any one place..and have given thought to Leesburg itself but was worried about the demographic..ie) mainly families etc..But from what you say, this will be similar to Ashburn.

Like I said, I'm still in the preliminary stages but would like to narrow things down to a few communities as I will be travelling there very shortly to view apartments and see some potential areas.

Any other thoughts?

Loudoun County, which includes Ashburn and Leesburg, generally leans towards families. I'm not sure about what is available for rent right around downtown Leesburg but at least you would have the convenience of enjoying that section of town.

Your range should be plenty for a 1B apt in Loudoun County or even Reston over in Fairfax County. You should be able to find a fair number of 2B apts as well.

[twinmma]

I live in Ashburn and can say it is mostly a family community. I love it here but there isn't much to do here other than parks and soccer, lol! There is a fairly popular bar in Ashburn Village but...
Oh, I forgot, Brambleton is part of Ashburn and would be GREAT for someone like you. It is still developing but has a feel more like Reston...More urban feeling. There are a lot of families there as well but a lot of singles as well. If you were to chose Ashburn I would say this part would be best for you. I live in Ashburn Farm and as I said, it is family oriented...same for Ashburn Village.

Lansdowne which is across from Ashburn on 7 is another good choice for you. Also a more urban feel...town center living.

Reston is where I would live if I didn't have kids and still liked night life. It is rather costly though.

Good luck!

[Smitch_03]

Thanks for the info. Right now it seems like Reston would be the best fit for what I'm looking for...Although you are right, its not cheap. 1300+ for a 700 sq foot place is still a bit tough to swallow.

Herndon seems like a decent spot as well..close to Reston & not a bad commute from Leesburg. Any comments on that area?

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by Smitch_03

Thanks for the info. Right now it seems like Reston would be the best fit for what I'm looking for...Although you are right, its not cheap. 1300+ for a 700 sq foot place is still a bit tough to swallow.

Herndon seems like a decent spot as well..close to Reston & not a bad commute from Leesburg. Any comments on that area?

It's convenient enough, I suppose. There's a tiny "historic" downtown area but much of the rest of it is okay. Some are turned off by the presence of Hispanic day laborers near the convenience stores on Elden Street, but on the other hand, there are a surprising number of corporate high-rises that take advantage of the proximity to Dulles Airport. It's a solid middle-class area overall.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by Smitch_03

Thanks for the info. Right now it seems like Reston would be the best fit for what I'm looking for...Although you are right, its not cheap. 1300+ for a 700 sq foot place is still a bit tough to swallow.

Herndon seems like a decent spot as well..close to Reston & not a bad commute from Leesburg. Any comments on that area?

As a fellow young professional who intensively researched both Reston and Herndon before relocating here from the North I can safely say that Reston would have the slight edge for the youth-oriented factor. Some sort of publication ranked Herndon (not Reston) as being one of the best areas for young professionals earlier this year, but I'm inclined to think the opposite is true. I live within walking distance from the town center in Reston and pay around $1,135/month ($1,250/month if you factor in utilities) for a 1-BR apartment. I'd highly recommend the nice neighborhood just east of the town center in places such as The Sycamores, Parc Reston, or Archstone Charter Oak, as you'll find rent prices are generally much less expensive here than what you'd pay to live right IN the town center high-rises while still affording you a similar level of convenience. There are several others on this forum who live in various parts of Reston who will be along shortly I'm sure to offer insight as well.

The town center is great in that it offers wonderful events like a weekly farmers' market, a seasonal skating rink, small concerts, festivals, etc. The businesses---which cater mostly to a more affluent crowd---leave much to be desired to someone on a budget just starting out, but even then you can occasionally "treat" yourself to some of the businesses here, which include:

-Apple Store
-Williams-Sonoma
-Pottery Barn
-Victoria's Secret
-Gap
-Talbot's
-Clyde's
-Paolo's
-McCormick & Schmick's
-Sephora
-Potomac River Running (My personal favorite)
-The Bike Lane
-Jackson's
-Morton's Steakhouse
-Big Bowl
-Uncle Julio's
-Yogen Fruz
-Baskin Robbins
-Passion Fish
-Cosi
-Panera Bread
-UNO Pizza
-Potbelly
-Chipotle
-Obi Sushi

-Many Others

Overall I'm in a love-hate relationship with Reston. There are a lot of younger people moving here from all over, so while I've made numerous friends I'm discouraged that nearly all of them prefer to force me to hoof it all the way inside the Beltway for any sort of entertainment/nightlife purposes. Reston should have had Metrorail into the city years ago, like many other suburbs much smaller than it (i.e. Falls Church, Takoma Park, Greenbelt, Fairfax, etc.) but the wealthy NIMBYs have been continuing to fight it (you'll learn that the suburbanites here fear anything "urban"). A lot of my complaints regarding Reston would be largely mitigated if we had Metrorail access. As of right now there are far too few east/west commuting routes in the region, so roads like Route 7, Route 267, and I-66 all become horribly congested. If people from Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Reston, Herndon, etc. were able to take the train to points east traffic issues would improve.

You'll probably be happy in Reston. I'm still trying to "warm up" to it and have been doing a lot of volunteer work to try to boost my impression of it. It's not my ideal cup of tea as I said because you can't live the car-free lifestyle here that the founder envisioned, but if and when taxes are raised to make necessary infrastructural improvements I'm sure things will get better.

[normie]

Originally Posted by Smitch_03

Herndon seems like a decent spot as well..close to Reston & not a bad commute from Leesburg. Any comments on that area?

Well..... I guess that depends on your opinion of a bad commute. I personally would not like to drive from Reston or Herndon to Leesburg every day. It's about 15 miles (more or less, depending where your office is in Leesburg) and traffic can get very congested on Rt. 7.

If it was me, I'd get a place close to work and then drive to Reston after rush hour dies down. But I definitely agree with Tone that Reston's the fun place for young professionals, and if you want to be able to walk places from your apartment or meet friends who live nearby it might be worth commuting to Reston.

Tone's description of the area was perfect, can't think of anything else to add except for a few photo links you might find helpful:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...nter-lake.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...rambleton.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...sa-photos.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...esburg-va.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...os-reston.html

[GoHokiesGo]

I'm a young professional that lives in Ashburn. I'd recommend living a little further in if you're single and looking for more nightlife activities. I'm recently married (25yrs old), so we choose to move out into Ashburn to actually buy a house. The area is very family-oriented and we're probably the youngest couple I've seen in our neighborhood. The area is wonderful and extremely convenient with shops and grocery, but I'd think the single life would be a bit lacking here. We still go to Arlington and DC when meeting up with friends, occasionally we can convince them to meet us halfway in Reston, but it's about 45-minutes driving to the downtown areas at night. The drive can be pretty long when heading back after the bars close (2AM) and you have to pay attention to how much you drink so that you can still drive.

All-in-all, I like the Ashburn area and it's new and friendly, but I'd recommend other areas first for singles, such as reston since it's the closest young area to Leesburg. But also keep in mind, you commute to your job every day, and probably only go out on the weekends, so I'd agree with looking out this way as opposed to downtown Arlington. Another area to check out, maybe, is near the GWU campus in Ashburn. You may be able to find a few younger students in that area, but I'm not sure how many actually live near there (I'm guessing, but they do have a college campus right there)

Leesburg has some nice, fun areas to hang out when you have time. Old town leesburg has some good restaurants. Like someone else previously mentioned, most of Loudoun county is more suburban family areas with less young singles. At the same time, it is very nice and affluent.