Looking for info for Burke or Clifton in Fairfax County (Alexandria: fit in, for sale)

[Andrewhutchinson2]

Hello, can anyone give me information on Burke or Clifton?. My wife and I were looking into moving to Woodbridge, but my sister (who currently lives in Alexandria) has voiced her serious concerns about the commute to Alexandria on a daily basis from Woodbridge
My wife and I are both going to work in Alexandria and our 4 year old son will be attending a private school in Alexandria.

I have not seen any forums on Burke or Clifton? We are leaving South Florida and moving to Nova very shortly.
Other than the basic internet search, does anyone have any personal opinions or insight on Burke?
Please advise and thanks for your help in this

[dullnboring]

Clifton is basically old rural countryside now carved out into large estate mansions. There's a section of "Clifton" that most regard as being part of Centreville (i.e. Centreville High School has a Clifton postal code) which is your generic upper middle class, subdivision-filled suburbia, but as a whole it's a pretty well-off area. I wouldn't recommend it for the sole reason that commuting to Alexandria I think would be even worse from Clifton than from Woodbridge. Mileage-wise it's further and there is no VRE option as there is in Woodbridge. Burke is a bit better.

Burke is nice. Squeaky clean, great schools, quiet, largely residential, with some strip malls scattered about. Like most of the area suburbs, there's no real discernible identity to it and nothing particularly unique about it, but it's a nice place to live if you can afford it. Check out this older thread about it, particularly the comprehensive post by hodologica:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/virgi...-families.html

Some other relevant threads:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/virgi...ringfield.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/virgi...lexandria.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/virgi...elocating.html

[Andrewhutchinson2]

Thanks for the info on Burke and the related threads!
Thanks again!

[claremarie]

My sister lives in Burke, and we often visit from our home in McLean. Burke is a perfectly pleasant suburban area. You could definitely buy a single-family home for under $500K, but probably not much under. And it will be at least 25 years old, probably older. But Burke has good schools, recreation programs, neighborhood swim clubs, etc. plus plenty of big-box retail. For malls, my sister usually ends up at Tyson's, even though Springfield Mall is closer.
Not sure about the commute to Alexandria. As you will soon discover, a lot depends upon exactly where in Alexandria you need to go, and where exactly in Burke (or elsewhere) that you will be living. Just a few miles can make a huge difference.
I heartily agree with your sister about the commute from Woodbridge. Your four year old will be worn out after a long school day, and adding a 90 minute commute to that will be dreadful for both of you.

[5stones]

Burke is nice. It has some very nice parks etc... schools are very good etc... housing under 500k will be older and probably need work but will more than likely make a good profit in just a few years.

Where exactly is the school and your work that you will be driving to each day?

my suggestion would be to look right in Alexandria and downsize some. 3 bed TH instead of single family etc... maybe get a 6mo lease somewhere then you'll get the idea of what the area and traffic is like.

[mlv311]

Burke is a very attractive location for families with children. It offers various commuting alternatives so from that perspective, it may be more accessible than Clifton. If you are looking for a single-family home under $500K, you may need to expand your search to nearby areas because the supply of homes for sale in that price range right in Burke is limited. I would suggest looking into West Springfield and some parts of 22032 as well. Good luck.

[Dingler]

Clifton is mostly large estate homes in the woods.

Burke is also wooded and perhaps the most suburban town in NVA. It is a planned community so even the commerical areas are nice and landscaped.

[irisheyes13]

We lived in Burke for a 2 school years and we all really loved the area. We left in the summer of 2000 so it has been a while but the schools were great, the community very nice and the commute to the Pentagon and Bolling AFB were generally okay. We enjoyed the trails and Burke Lake Park.

[Andrewhutchinson2]

Thanks to all of you for your input. I will definitely look into purchasing in Burke!