We need help choosing... - Virginia (VA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

kg31768 · 01-28-2007, 02:57 PM

Check into "The Cascades" which is located in the Sterling area, just off of Rt. 7 but it's really nice. It's a lot like Reston, with the planned community feel. Beautiful homes, manicured neighborhoods, lakes and lots of trees and schools right within the neighborhoods.

My family recently relocated from Northern VA all the way down here to the San Antonio area and I'm desperatly homesick. We've lived all over NOVA so I thought I could help. I was raised in Centreville, but the way it is now I wouldn't live there for anything because of the traffic trying to get onto 66, etc. I lived in Fairfax, and actually could get to the Tysons area in a reasonable time w/ not too much traffic taking back roads. (I worked in the tysons/ mclean area too) Then we moved to Sterling, and we'd just hop on Rt. 7 and it took about 40 minutes. Then, in order to be able to afford a single family home once I became a Stay at home mom, we actually moved out to Winchester and my husband still commuted every day to Tysons. It took him around an hour and 15 minutes. Unfortuneately the housing is just so unaffordable the closer in you get.

Anyway, my suggestion would be The Cascades in the Sterling area. Check it out!

kelly

tarajm · 01-29-2007, 02:18 PM

The Sterling homes seem really nice, with nice neighborhoods, the schools are rated well etc., so we will definitely be checking them out when we come down to look at houses. Does anyone know if it's better to live above Rt. 7 or in between Rt. 7 and the Toll Road? It seems to me that the latter would be better as you have a couple of options during your commute but I could be way off.

Bemn...We're in NJ because my husband's company is headquartered here -- he doesn't have to commute into the city, although a lot of people around here do. We're in a town called Florham Park that is very tiny, about 15 miles from Newark but completely different. Before I moved here I thought all of NJ was like what you see from the highway but it's very residential where we are, lots of trees and we have visiting deer in our yard daily. Basking Ridge is nearby and nice. I don't know about the other two. If you are considering NJ, check out Chatham and Summit. The schools in both are supposed to be pretty good and there are train stops in both.

If I were you I'd probably pick CT but that's mostly because I'm from CT and both our families are still there. To be honest, all three areas are nice and seem very similar to me. Without really doing research, it seems you get more home for your money in CT, then Weschester county (depending on how far out you go), then around us in NJ. The houses in my neighborhood go for $700K-$800K and they were build in the late 50s and are on plots of about 1/4-1/2 acre. We have some friends in Far Hills, very close to Basking Ridge, and they paid $2.5 million for a home that would have gone for $800 to $1 million in Sterling, VA. I guess it's all relative as there are areas in both CT and Weschester that are just as pricey. Hope that helps!

seanpecor · 01-29-2007, 02:54 PM

I paid $785K for a 5 bedroom 7,000 square foot Williamsburg style brick colonial cape cod with 3,000 additional feet of unfinished space. It came with 38 acres and a mountain view. And a 10 stall stable w/ a tack room, a wash stall and an office. And a 3,000 square foot storage barn. And a 9,000 square foot lighted indoor riding arena. And a 206x66 outdoor riding ring. I may have forgotten some things. Oh yeah, the other 90 acres I got for $863,000. Sure, I suppose there are a few people in the middle of Montana who think I overpaid for my property, but I'm amazed how much farther one's money goes provided you are able to secure a professional niche next to a small city rather than a large one.

saganista · 01-29-2007, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tarajm

Bemn...We're in NJ because my husband's company is headquartered here -- he doesn't have to commute into the city, although a lot of people around here do. We're in a town called Florham Park that is very tiny, about 15 miles from Newark but completely different. Before I moved here I thought all of NJ was like what you see from the highway but it's very residential where we are, lots of trees and we have visiting deer in our yard daily. Basking Ridge is nearby and nice. I don't know about the other two. If you are considering NJ, check out Chatham and Summit. The schools in both are supposed to be pretty good and there are train stops in both.

Ack! How can you live in Florham Park and leave out Madison? Normally a little pricey, but there are some nice properties there selling for 20% less than what they would have been two years ago. Very good school system. I myself am a graduate. There are nice spots in Convent Station and Chatham Township also. But the real key if you're commuting from NJ to the city is at all costs to stay near the railroad!!! As for Northern VA, which is where I am now (Vienna area), I haven't seen any *bad* advice above, but I would advise anyone who's going to have to go from VA to Maryland with any frequency to stay as near to the Beltway as possible. You can't get to that other state without using it, and the Beltway is bad enough itself without adding in miserable time on clogged roads just to get on the darned thing to begin with. To me, there are a lot of similarities between Dunn Loring/Vienna/Oakton and Florham Park/Madison/Convent Station. If you're happy with one, I'd expect you'd be pretty happy with the other as well. Anyway, that would be my take.

bemn · 01-29-2007, 06:54 PM

When I first moved to Northern Virginia, I lived in Old Town Alexandria....shared townhouses with other singles. I actually found the commute to Maryland up the GW Parkway easy, except when it snowed!!!! Then, kiss it goodby, it was at least 5 hours to get home from Bethesda.....one time I actually took the metro and then walked from Braddock Road to my house, probably 2miles, but with strep throat!!!!!!!! Oh, the days of youth.

Thanks for the input on NJ, Conn....I did look into the areas that you mentioned...I guess what pushes me towards Conn., Westchester towards Katonah, Salem, etc....is the lot sizes. For the amount of money we'd be spending I like to have a decent lot size for my boys. They play soccer, football, etc.....be nice to have a yard that would allow them to play pick up games in the yard!!!