Farm area accessible by train to DC? (Fairfax, Fredericksburg: how much, house)

[beebelle]

DH has this notion that we're going to live on a farm and he'll commute to DC, but only by train. I stay at home with kids, so I'd be down on the farm. And where are my kids to go to school, I say? Hmmmm.

We know the Fredericksburg area a little bit, and there are some pretty rural areas nearby, and the VRE goes there, but it's a whopper of a commute. And the schools in that area seem spotty. We'll do private if we have to, but even private schools seem few and far between.

Any suggestions? DH has a job possibility in DC, so that's prompting this speculation (dare I say, pipe dream). Thanks.

[normie]

I don't know much about Fredericksburg, but here are some thoughts about farms in other areas.

If he's willing to drive 4-5 miles to park at the metro station, and if you have some money, there are quite a few horse farms tucked into Great Falls.

Great Falls costs $$$, however. The best suggestion is probably to try one of the farms in the northernmost part of Loudoun County. The area would probably be called Lucketts if you're looking at properties online. That's one way to get good schools (I don't know anything about the schools in the other areas, they might be good too. But I do know Loudoun schools are good.) Your husband would then drive 3-4 miles north on the 15 and catch the VRE in MD.

You can find farm property along Youngs Cliff Road in countryside, but you'd probably have to drive about 10 miles to the train station.

All of the lines on VRE pass through plenty of farmland, as you noted, but the question is how easy it would be to get from your farm to the train station. There are a lot of farms in southern MD along the VRE route, so you could also look at farms near the station, which I believe is in Point of Rocks, MD.

[FindingZen]

Not to correct you, normie, but I believe you're referring to Maryland's MARC trains, aren't you?

I understand... the coffee hasn't kicked in yet on this fine Sunday morning.

[normie]

Originally Posted by Tone509

Not to correct you, normie, but I believe you're referring to Maryland's MARC trains, aren't you?

I understand... the coffee hasn't kicked in yet on this fine Sunday morning.

LOL, as Homer Simpson would say "D'oh!!!" Hey, pass me a cup of that coffee, clearly I'm still half asleep

[Margery]

How many acres do you want? How much can you spend? Farms close enough for a reasonable commute will not be cheap. Do you want to farm or keep horses? In addition to Lucketts and the MARC train in Point of Rocks, consider Lovettsville, he can also catch the MARC train in Brunswick. The schools in Loudoun County are good, so no worry there. Use homesdatabase.com for your search, it has a good map feature.

[Merlander]

The MARC train runs from Brunswick through POR's, Germantown, Gaithersburg and Silver Spring to Union Station. The trip takes about an hour and costs $7 ea. way. After that'd your husband would take the metro to wherever he's working. Living in Lucketts or Lovettsville as Margery mentioned would work, as would several small towns directly along the MARC train's path in MD. Frederick/Montgomery schools in this area are also pretty decent.

[beebelle]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will research them. At the moment, DH says he'll commute up to two hours, door to door, but that's it. We don't know how much we'll have to spend because who knows what our house will sell for?? But we'd like at least 20 acres, so we can have horses, goats, chickens and grow crops. He thinks we'll be able to make a semi-living at this (think CSA, farmer's markets, and the like), so he'll be able to change venues and live on the farm in a few years. As I said, pipe dream....

I will look into Loudon schools. Are they as good as Montgomery County, MD? Or Fairfax, VA?

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by beebelle

Thanks for the suggestions. I will research them. At the moment, DH says he'll commute up to two hours, door to door, but that's it. We don't know how much we'll have to spend because who knows what our house will sell for?? But we'd like at least 20 acres, so we can have horses, goats, chickens and grow crops. He thinks we'll be able to make a semi-living at this (think CSA, farmer's markets, and the like), so he'll be able to change venues and live on the farm in a few years. As I said, pipe dream....

I will look into Loudon schools. Are they as good as Montgomery County, MD? Or Fairfax, VA?

Fairfax County schools as a whole are said to be among the best in the country. I've heard similar things about Montgomery County. That said, the consensus on this forum is that there is no significant drop-off in the quality of Loudoun County schools; as it's a popular area for families, the quality of education is surely a selling point.

[clintsullivan]

I sent you some information in a DM about WV and my farmette, the 2 hour point on the MARC train line. I see it's smaller than you are looking for. If you really want 20 Acres and a house within 2 hrs of DC you will need good funding.

Small family farming is fun and provides healthy food, but doing it for profit is daunting. If you are serious about it, do not live in Maryland and check out the property zoning rules and Dept of Agriculture regulations anywhere you intend to move. Md is doing all it can to force farmers out of business. Every where within the Chesepeake Bay watershed can make small farming for a profit no fun and an expensive hobby thanks to the CB foundation and now the EPA. If you aren't growing to sell and limit your number of livestock, typically you will not fall under the regs. My B-I-L runs a calf cow operation in MD; although the state Dept of Ag offers grants for many upgrades, much of what they require is still costly, and unhealthy. (ie. wintering your livestock in a barn to catch all manure, then allowing the farmer to spread the manure at a given rate on his fields.) They moved to the farm about 5 years ago and he still commutes from Allegeny county MD to NoVa for work. It's not very profitable; the loss of a few animals; or a dirth with not enough hay, or high diesel prices, or an equipment problem can eat the year's profits up quickly.

Clint

[jaunespinoza]

Harper's Ferry West Virginia?