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Hello!
We moved here last May and absolutely love NoVa. We are currently renting a townhome in the Cascades area of Sterling, which we absolutely love, but my husband and I have been house hunting for a permanent home for our family(mostly in Countryside) and have found through looking at countless listings that we can get more house and larger lots out in Leesburg. We adore Leesburg's old town and LOVE living in Loudoun county, we don't want to live anywhere else. We are in love with Sterling's conveniences, restaurants, shops, parks, everything is literally a 5 minute drive away. We also love the close proximity to D.C.(strictly for weekend outings. My husband's work commute is to Maryland so the drive from Leesburg would only be 15 minutes longer) Our older son is in Kindergarten and we love his elementary school as well.
My question is, how is Leesburg's accessibility to grocery stores, shopping, etc. We are huge fans of Claude Moore and Algonkian parks, Great Falls park, etc, and wondering about Leesburg's parks systems? Are the schools good? Good neighborhoods? We are just kicking around the idea of living in Leesburg and thought I might get some opinions from people who live there.
Thanks very much
Hello!
We moved here last May and absolutely love NoVa. We are currently renting a townhome in the Cascades area of Sterling, which we absolutely love, but my husband and I have been house hunting for a permanent home for our family(mostly in Countryside) and have found through looking at countless listings that we can get more house and larger lots out in Leesburg. We adore Leesburg's old town and LOVE living in Loudoun county, we don't want to live anywhere else. We are in love with Sterling's conveniences, restaurants, shops, parks, everything is literally a 5 minute drive away. We also love the close proximity to D.C.(strictly for weekend outings. My husband's work commute is to Maryland so the drive from Leesburg would only be 15 minutes longer) Our older son is in Kindergarten and we love his elementary school as well.
My question is, how is Leesburg's accessibility to grocery stores, shopping, etc. We are huge fans of Claude Moore and Algonkian parks, Great Falls park, etc, and wondering about Leesburg's parks systems? Are the schools good? Good neighborhoods? We are just kicking around the idea of living in Leesburg and thought I might get some opinions from people who live there.
Thanks very much
I know you wanted comments from people who live in Leesburg, but thought I'd throw in a few thoughts anyway. Of course, you probably know most of these things anyway since you live in Cascades and have had time to check these things out on your own. But, for what it's worth.....
1. It helps to know which neighborhoods you're considering. Leesburg, like Sterling, is a very large area that includes some sections that you might not think of as being Leesburg. Lansdowne, for example, is part of Leesburg even though you'd think it was part of Ashburn. Some areas have more stores and park access than others.
2. IMO, the newer developments seem to have more stores and park access than the older neighborhoods. But I'd check out the older neighborhoods too, since you're just down the road, and can judge them for yourself. The newer developments are more walkable, IMO, but a lot of the older neighborhoods are more compact and have everything you'd want within walking distance (especially the ones near downtown).
The one area I'd avoid is around Plaza Street north of R. 7 (near the police station). I think there may be a few areas in the "downtown" section that are not appealling. If you see a house that seems to be an incredible bargain... look at the neighborhood carefully.
3. I'm not an expert on Leesburg schools but I can't recall hearing any complaints. In general, the Loudoun schools are excellent.
4. If you love the outdoors, I'd look to the north and eastern parts of town. One neighborhood that seems to generate a lot of love is near White's Ferry. Several of the neighborhoods along Goose Creek have kayak launches and trails. There are nice neighborhoods near Balls Bluff. And, of course, Lansdowne has all sorts of trails plus you can enjoy the grounds of the National Conference Center.
5. if your husband works in MD, his commute might get shorter by moving to Leesburg. He could cross the river using Rt. 15.
The Town of Leesburg has some excellent parks, ranging from in-town playgrounds to large tracts of open land, but the Ida Lee Park and recreation center is both large and comprehensive. I do not think that you would find the parks to be deficient in Leesburg at all.
Leesburg is both a town an an area around the zip code, which can come into play for some town services, and discounts on town recreation amenities, etc. Not everywhere in the zip code is in the town, such as the previously mentioned Lansdowne, which is an unincorporated area of Loudoun County, not part of the Town of Leesburg.
Aside from municipal considerations, which are relatively minor, since schools are administered by the county, I would focus a search based upon school district. In Loudoun, schools are generally good, but there are better performing schools in the area, as is the case of many parts of the country. It's too broad a description to say all the county schools are excellent. I know teachers who have worked in Fairfax and Loudoun systems, and while Loudoun has improved in recent years, some of the schools are huge and don't perform as well as others. The best advice those I know who teach have given is to find the best high school your money can buy, if you want to use the public schools, since the feeder schools are producing the achievers. In Loudoun, this is a little tricky because of the pace of growth of newer schools, but it's still a worthwhile comparison, IMO; for even if the HS boundary changes in the future, the ES and MS have been providing a good foundation and that trend should continue with future classes that might go to a new HS.
Another great school in the Leesburg area is Belmont Ridge MS, but it's in Lansdowne, so there are benefits to being in the unincorporated Leesburg zip code and paying extra for town recreation at Ida Lee, if you're not members of a club. It might amount to a few hundred extra dollars to be a non-town resident pass holder at a facility like Ida Lee, but the parks are open and don't check residential status to gain admission.
Using the HS level, Loudoun Valley is generally the top district in the county, but it's the area west of Leesburg. There are other good performing schools, including Stone Bridge in Asburn and the Potomac Falls HS in Sterling, but there are also middle-of-the road and lower-rated schools that have vast educational and social differences from the top districts. Here's a boundary description for high schools (existing and under construction) in Loudoun County. Loudoun County High School Attendance Boundaries (http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.us/509905169119/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=55408 - broken link)
Here's the Loudoun GIS to map an address you're considering to find out the school assignments, or in which to plug in street addresses to find the district that works best for your family. Loudoun County Attendance Boundary Mapping by Street Address (http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.us/509905169119/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=55393&5099051 69119Nav=|444|&NodeID=443 - broken link)
Good luck in your search. The Leesburg area is convenient, has access to shops and recreation, and has some good schools in the immediate vicinity. It sounds like it will be a good fit for your family.
__________________
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
Thank you very much to both of you! This was the exact type of information my husband and I were both looking for. And Normie, just wanted to thank you because you are the person who originally pointed us to the Cascades before we moved here. We have enjoyed every minute of living here and appreciate the help you gave us a few years ago!
Once you decide on a general area you'd like to live in, be sure to take a close look at the neighborhoods and find one that suits your family well. Some streets/neighborhoods have more younger kids, some more older kids, and some no kids at all. So bear in mind that even though a community as a whole may be a good one you should look for an immediate environment that you'll all enjoy. Don't be shy about asking people from neighboring houses what the vibe is like on that street.
And Normie, just wanted to thank you because you are the person who originally pointed us to the Cascades before we moved here. We have enjoyed every minute of living here and appreciate the help you gave us a few years ago!
Thanks, what a nice thing to hear. I'm glad it worked out and you're enjoying life here. I love it here, too.
You've seen these photos before, but for the benefit of other people interested in the same comparison I'll post the Leesburg and Sterling photos again. FYI if you're not that familiar with Sterling, many different communities are considered part of Sterling. It gets confusing. Often people say the word Sterling and what they are talking about is Sterling Park. If you're trying to guage the neighborhoods from out of state, the easiest way is to use the zip codes. 20164 is Sterling Park, 20165 is all the communities north of Rt. 7.
Thanks, what a nice thing to hear. I'm glad it worked out and you're enjoying life here. I love it here, too.
You've seen these photos before, but for the benefit of other people interested in the same comparison I'll post the Leesburg and Sterling photos again. FYI if you're not that familiar with Sterling, many different communities are considered part of Sterling. It gets confusing. Often people say the word Sterling and what they are talking about is Sterling Park. If you're trying to guage the neighborhoods from out of state, the easiest way is to use the zip codes. 20164 is Sterling Park, 20165 is all the communities north of Rt. 7.
Minor correction: A large portion of Sterling north of Rt. 7 is also 20164: Sugarland Run, which is the larger community, and the communities of Seneca Chase, Seneca Ridge, Mirror Ridge, Cardinal Glen, and Richland Acres. All part of Sterling, but not Sterling Park.
And, Potomac Falls is a CDP now, but it's a post office name, though some try to include Great Falls (Loudoun side) in Potomac Falls. It's a similar situation to the Oak Hill area, that wanted to separate its identity from Herndon, and identify with Oakton. Further west on Route 7, few make a distinction from the Leesburg address, using a community name (River Creek, Lansdowne, Potomac Station), which was common in the Sterling area until the new post office was built.
__________________
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
Minor correction: A large portion of Sterling north of Rt. 7 is also 20164: Sugarland Run, which is the larger community, and the communities of Seneca Chase, Seneca Ridge, Mirror Ridge, Cardinal Glen, and Richland Acres. All part of Sterling, but not Sterling Park.
No kidding, I didn't know all those communities had 20164. Wow, that really does make it tricky for people trying to look at properties from out of state. I wish they'd just officially break Sterling, Leesburg and Ashburn down into the smaller communities that most people know them by. Anyway, thanks for pointing that out--learn something new every day. Thanks Margery!
As if this isn't enough confusion, you folks trying to look at properties long distance are likely to encounter the words "Cascades." Cascades encompasses several of the comunities in the northernmost part of Sterling.
Don't worry, once you move here it all starts to make sense. But it sure can seem confusing when you look at it from a distance.
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Thanks Margery!
