Moving to Ashburn or South Riding?? (Charlottesville, Chantilly: for sale, real estate market, rent)

[benlilly0205]

We're currently living outside of Charlottesville, VA, but want to move back up to the DC area where we lived for 5 years before moving here. I'll be commuting to Bethesda, MD 2 or 3 days a week and we're thinking of moving to South Riding or Ashburn. I'm thinking an hour commute, especially if I leave home before 7am. Does anyone know if this is right? Or is it much much worse than an hour?

Thanks!

[Electron]

On a bad day it will take you an hour to get from South Riding to Ashburn. Better get as close to the border as you can. What is that place there at the end of the Fairfax County Pkwy? Algonkian something or other? I take it you'll be utilizing 495?

If I may ask, wtf has possessed you to leave Charlottesville and go back up to that area?

[benlilly0205]

I'll actually be commuting to Bethesda, MD from Ashburn or South Riding, just trying to figure out how bad the commute will be.

My husband works in Chantilly and commutes up there every other week now which is tiring. We also have family in the DC area, so as crazy as it may sound we want to move back up there.

[dullnboring]

If you're leaving before 7am, I'd say an hour commute from Ashburn to Bethesda should be about right.

I live in Ashburn and am lucky enough to actually work only two minutes from my home, so I have no direct experience with trying to get from Ashburn to Bethesda during rush hour, but generally speaking, if you take Route 7 to the Beltway during a non-rush hour low-traffic time (let's say Sunday afternoon), it will take approximately 40-45 minutes. If you take the Dulles Toll Road to the Beltway, that will shave off roughly 5-6 minutes (probably moreso, maybe 10 minutes or a bit more, during rush hour). The generaly rule of thumb it seems in the DC area is that a rush hour commute will take anywhere from 1.5 to 2 times as long as a non-rush hour commute, so this 40 commute will probably run anywhere between one hour to an hour and a half during the weekday rush hour.

Coming from South Riding, you can tack on an additional 10-20 minutes at least to the commute. South Riding is in a really bad location at the moment, poorly served by roads. You pretty much have to take Route 50 to 28 to 66, all of which are clogged during rush hour. While it's growing, South Riding to me at the moment is in a really inconvenient location and there's no signs of them planning on making any sort of road improvements in the near future to keep up with the exponential growth.

[Electron]

Originally Posted by dullnboring

Coming from South Riding, you can tack on an additional 10-20 minutes at least to the commute. South Riding is in a really bad location at the moment, poorly served by roads. You pretty much have to take Route 50 to 28 to 66, all of which are clogged during rush hour. While it's growing, South Riding to me at the moment is in a really inconvenient location and there's no signs of them planning on making any sort of road improvements in the near future to keep up with the exponential growth.

She could take 606 around Dulles and catch the Toll Road/Greenway there. It'd add some cost to the toll, but I think that may be better than going up 28 or getting on 66. I don't know anymore. I escaped that jungle and have no plan to return.

[jmarkd]

...are plentiful and dropping in price. You might want to watch home prices and wait a few months before moving, or even rent a place (Craigslist has THs renting for $1600-1800, approx. $1000 less than a mortgage).
I rent in Chantilly, work in Herndon, and would love to buy a townhome in South Riding. It's a fake town but a town nonetheless and there seem to be plenty of people like me (late 20s early 30s, little kids).
I have spoken to the Toll Brothers reps on new construction. They're selling 3BR THs for about $400 with $25K in incentives (you can knock it off the sale price if you want). Existing THs there are asking slightly less, $360-400K depending on model, location, etc.
I have noticed on the existing places that 1) there are a lot for sale, and 2) there are a lot owned by speculators. A lot of these folks paid $250-350K 2 years ago, so I'm hoping that if the market gets beat down for another six months some will be willing to walk away with what they originally paid.
One more thing: last Wednesday (Aug. 23) the NBC Nightly News did a special on the slowing real estate market. Their "reporter on the spot" was in an unnamed Northern Va. neighborhood...it was South Riding. I recognized the names on for sale signs. Interesting. Does anyone here think there's a bubble?
Any more thoughts on South Riding, please post 'em!
Anybody that wants to commisserate/collude on South Riding townhomes can also send me a private message.