rt 7 side of winchester

[Thruway]

To the author, I apologize.
I do find it sad how much of the beauty of northern VA way out to the mountains is being sold out for McMansions.

Isn't Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, and West Loudon still very rural overall and safe due to zoning and long drives?

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by tberg224

To the author, I apologize.
I do find it sad how much of the beauty of northern VA way out to the mountains is being sold out for McMansions.

Isn't Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, and West Loudon still very rural overall and safe due to zoning and long drives?

Clarke yes, the rest from what I can tell are being developed to varying degrees.

[Thruway]

Originally Posted by VAFury

Clarke yes, the rest from what I can tell are being developed to varying degrees.

Any reason why Clarke is safe?
To me it seems very odd people would by pass Clarke to go further west.
What ever happened to their being a line where everything to one side is rural one way?

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by tberg224

Any reason why Clarke is safe?
To me it seems very odd people would by pass Clarke to go further west.
What ever happened to their being a line where everything to one side is rural one way?

I read the "still very rural" and kind of glossed over "safe", but I know Clarke seems to be MUCH slower in developing and it isn't for lack of funding or anything. They're probably just better at resisting it than surrounding counties, but yeah, that's a phenomenon I've been trying to figure out; how Clarke can remain relatively rural while Frederick gets blasted by development.

[Electron]

Lots of 'old' money in Clarke County, for starters. That however is changing as well. One acquaintance of mine recently plowed under 900 acres of apple trees, hell bent on profit of development. All it takes is a slow progression of newcomers to get the ball rolling.

[Front Royal Native]

Originally Posted by tberg224

Any reason why Clarke is safe?
To me it seems very odd people would by pass Clarke to go further west.
What ever happened to their being a line where everything to one side is rural one way?

Luckily, back in the early 1970s the County Planner heard of sliding-scale zoning and got it passed in Clarke County (then he moved on and did the same thing in Fauquier, just a little too late for most of the sprawl). Clarke centers the growth around population centers (if 100-300 people make a population center) and farms cannot have 250-300 houses on 200 acres. This has saved Clarke from the mess Frederick, Warren, Berkley & Jefferson counties have been inundated with, but it also is very limiting house-value wise for folks wanting the rural life style. Very little housing under $350,000 (even used) and none being built. If you want to really get a small town feel of serenity, then take a weekend trip to BV.
Unfortunately, anyone who wants country living will have a long drive into the city areas if they work there. Many residents around here do it everyday, and feel the extra expense and time worth the small-town feel.

[sweet-t-virginia]

I live in Winchester and absolutely love it. But I would never commute to Herndon. You would be going with the traffic; add in a fender bender and it would increase your commute; add in snow and the commute would double.

You are lucky in that you already live near the area so you can take some weekends to explore. I wish you the best of luck in your search.

[vt_lily]

poohki,
Sorry for the rude and mis-informed responses you have been receiving. I grew up in Clarke Co. on Sensey Road and now live on the east side of Winchester off of Rte. 7 and 81. I work in Ashburn (off of the toll road) and in Sterling (near the Dulles Town Center)...because Winchester salaries can't compete and the housing prices are very high in comparison to local salary scales. During non-rush hour times, it will take me 30 minutes to get to Leesburg, 40 minutes to get to Ashburn via the toll road and 45-50 minutes to get to Sterling. During rush hour, it has taken me up to 1.5 hours to get to Sterling. During the morning commute, there are back-ups at Rt. 9 and then pretty much from Leesbrug into Sterling/Herndon on Rte 7. The toll road is really the best option. Coming home is about the same. Summers and school holidays are much better since there is less traffic. There are "pockets" of time when the traffic is less-that's just somethign you have to experiment with.
As far as housing on the east side, there are several nice developments...research into the building of the houses and future developments would be advised.
Welcome to Winchester/Frederick Co. if you decide to move!

[sue tanner]

Hi,
just curious?

what are the names of some of the nice developments and how are the prices?

thanks for any info.

Originally Posted by vt_lily

poohki,
Sorry for the rude and mis-informed responses you have been receiving. I grew up in Clarke Co. on Sensey Road and now live on the east side of Winchester off of Rte. 7 and 81. I work in Ashburn (off of the toll road) and in Sterling (near the Dulles Town Center)...because Winchester salaries can't compete and the housing prices are very high in comparison to local salary scales. During non-rush hour times, it will take me 30 minutes to get to Leesburg, 40 minutes to get to Ashburn via the toll road and 45-50 minutes to get to Sterling. During rush hour, it has taken me up to 1.5 hours to get to Sterling. During the morning commute, there are back-ups at Rt. 9 and then pretty much from Leesbrug into Sterling/Herndon on Rte 7. The toll road is really the best option. Coming home is about the same. Summers and school holidays are much better since there is less traffic. There are "pockets" of time when the traffic is less-that's just somethign you have to experiment with.
As far as housing on the east side, there are several nice developments...research into the building of the houses and future developments would be advised.
Welcome to Winchester/Frederick Co. if you decide to move!

[Ananie]

Unless you like spendnig aLOT of money on gas and sitting in traffic dont move so far out.....
Even Berry vile would be better adn less commute.

Its bad traffic if youre a 09:00-fiver....
good luck