where to live (Arlington, Reston, Chantilly: townhouses, to buy, high schools)

[tininha]

Hi,
We are moving from Jacksonville, FL to the DC area in September/October. My husband will be working at the Navy Yard.
Can anyone give me some suggestions on where to live? we have two small children so location, schools, and convenience is important.
Thanks

Teresa

[saganista]

Rather live in the city or the suburbs? Where would you stand on the trade-off between housing costs and commuting time? Are you working as well, or taking care of the kids?

[tininha]

We would like to buy a townhouse (500-600K) and initially, my husband would be the only commuting.
What areas do most working families live?

[saganista]

Originally Posted by tininha

We would like to buy a townhouse (500-600K) and initially, my husband would be the only commuting.
What areas do most working families live?

You can find nice townhouses in that price range almost anywhere in the area, and if your husband's work location is within reasonable walking distance of the Navy Yard Metro station (M Street SE, between 1st and 2nd), he can commute efficiently from almost anywhere. Most working families live in a place that is determined by their limits on housing cost and commuting time. There are some very nice areas in the District, but with schools on your mind, DC might not be such a good idea. On that score, somewhere Metro-convenient in Arlington or Fairfax counties in VA might be things to look at first. They both have excellent school systems. There are also good schools in Loudon and Montgomery (MD) counties, but with work being at the Navy Yard, those are starting to get a little far away.

[Marci22]

Reston, Chantilly and nearby suburbs are beautiful! Altho that area is very expensive. It's absolutely beautiful.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by Marci22

Reston, Chantilly and nearby suburbs are beautiful! Altho that area is very expensive. It's absolutely beautiful.

Quite true, but there won't be rail transit out there for 12-15 years. It would be a difficult drive or an inconvenient bus ride to the train from that far out. If a closer in shoe were to fit, well...

[NOVAnative]

I lived in Neptune Beach FL as a child and found the FL school system to be disappointing. The good news is that the schools in Fairfax County are excellent. Time magazine did a story on the 100 best high schools in the nation and many of them are in Fairfax County. There is a lot to choose from for the price range that you are looking at. The good news for you is that the market has really cooled off here over the past year. Two years ago a brand new town house would go for over 600 thousand (highway robbery). Now, you can get a very nice town home in Fairfax County for 500k. Traffic up here will be a shock to the system, so it might be in your husband's best interest to be close to a Metro station. You may want to look at the Vienna or Fairfax area. Vienna was recently rated one of the best places in the country to raise a family. I am partial to the city of Fairfax because it is very quaint and has a tight nit community feel.

[saganista]

I live in the Vienna/Oakton vicinity and most of the time use Metro from either Vienna or Dunn Loring to reach the downtown DC area a few blocks north of the White House. Door-to-door, that trip runs 50-55 minutes with 25-28 of it being actual time on the train. There are a number of perfectly nice detached SFH's currently on the market in this area that are in the $500-600K range, but the commute from here to the Navy yard station would be 15-20 minutes longer, in part because of the need to change trains (Orange to Green) at L'Enfant Plaza. 75 minutes can be a lot to do twice a day, so I would say to explore further in yet. There are perfectly nice places in the same price range in North Arlington and in and around the Springfield, Franconia, and Kingstowne areas that would offer just about as much with a shorter commute time attached. Certainly worth looking into...