Ashburn another Stepford Neighborhood? (Arlington, Chantilly: real estate, crime, neighborhoods)

[puffle]

Trying to find out if Ashburn is the place for my family. It seems very sterile,organized,heavily regulated by homeowners assoc., isolated, but more affordable than parts of the Boston area I am looking at. For a $1650 TH in Ashburn Village you can get a three bed/2.5 bath,three story,well equiped kitchen and basement with a small yard, but no garage. In Reading,Ma. $1650 will get you a 1908 Colonial duplex, two story with 1 and 1/2 bath,no garage,no fenced yard,off street parking,no w/d or a/c and central heat, but I love the character in Boston,the people and most of what I have read about the schools, especially with NO gangs at all. Not very diverse but no real crime to speak of either. My husband has most of his business in D.C. that he does by computer and phone and would only ocassionaly have to meet with clients which he could do from Ma. by flying in for the day for not much $$ or just live in NOVA and deal with NOVA issues. I would love any pros and cons especially if you have lived in both areas. I have a freshman going into high school that is not use to any crime element in school,fights, or a high immigration/transient population.

[csread]

I lived in Boston my freshman year of college, at 100 Beacon Street. Love that city! I've lived in Fairfax, VA, for the past 25 years, and now live in an older neighborhood in Fairfax City. Ashburn is new, overall, and does lack the character of an older and more established community. But right next door in Leesburg you have a mix of very old and historic along with brand new. The housing has a much broader range from which to choose, and there are neighborhoods like mine that don't have the homeowner's associations and the attendant fees and covenants. The schools as a whole in Northern Virginia are some of the best in the nation. My three went to Fairfax High School and my youngest will be a senior next year. To look at the stats on all the local schools go to greatschools.net and search "Loudoun County." It will show you all the options and allow you to drill down to the nitty gritty. If you want to make contact with someone who actually lives there, I know literally hundreds of real estate agents in that county any one of whom would be delighted to make your acquaintance. You have your choice of housing right now as there is definitely a glut of inventory on the market in that county and there are deals to be had.

[saganista]

Almost nothing that currently exists in Ashburn did so before 1990. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it may give a sense of the place as well, at least as compared to a typical New England town. I spent some of my school years in the Boston area, and most of the rest of the Wonder Years in North Jersey, and having been in NoVa now for three decades plus, I can say that the lack of a felt connection to an actual past of any significant sort is one of the more striking characteristics of the area as a whole. That said, it's a tremendous area. The schools in NoVa are almost universally excellent, and violence and gangs are in general not an actual factor. There are plenty of foreign-born residents here, but there are in Massachusetts as well. We do have a noticably higher level of transience, as government/military families are assigned and then reassigned, political administrations come and go, and so forth. Kids here grow up with a high turnover in their classmates from year to year and within year. It's just part of what they're used to. Less formal here, less traditional. Used to be a slower pace of life, but that's sort of changed. Boston is maybe old-line liberal, and NoVa is maybe nouveau-liberal. We don't quite have it down yet, actually, but we're working on it. Anyway, hope that helps...

[dullnboring]

I live in Ashburn, and both saganista and csread gave a pretty good description of the area as a whole. I'll just add my two cents.

Ashburn is indeed Stepfordville, just with uglier people. Everything is very new and manufactured. The lawns are well-manicured, sidewalks well-maintained, streets are smooth, soccer fields and manmade lakes are liberally sprinkled around the community, and there are families, families, families everywhere you go. One difference that I have noticed about Ashburn compared to every place else in Northern Virginia is that I have not seen a single remotely shady or grungy-looking area. Ashburn is impeccably clean and almost uniformly middle and upper middle class (and upper class as well).

Traffic is hideous, but that's an unfortunate reality for all of Northern Virginia

The schools are good. The gang issue is severely overblown by people in the media and in Northern Virginia. There will be a handful of kids involved in them (literally, just a handful), even here in squeaky clean Ashburn, but it's not the sort of thing to overwhelm a school. Basically, it's no different than any other group of "bad kids" you'll find in any school across the country. The fact that these few kids will have a gang label to them really doesn't mean much of anything. The area is very transient however with people routinely moving, either within the area or elsewhere, every few years. I took stock once and if I remember correctly, of the kids that were in my sixth grade class, only half of the 90 or so, wound up graduating with me (this is not in Ashburn, but elsewhere in Northern Virginia).

[Livindoll]

So would anyone recommend living in Ashburn? I have two young daughters and right now they attend Catholic school..which I would like to continue. I like manicured and clean...where's the shopping? Leesburg? Purcellville?

[eastli84]

Originally Posted by Livindoll

So would anyone recommend living in Ashburn? I have two young daughters and right now they attend Catholic school..which I would like to continue. I like manicured and clean...where's the shopping? Leesburg? Purcellville?

If you like manicured and clean, Ashburn is perfect for you. The area is really just like the sunbelt (new, mass produced, etc). Lots of shopping in Ashburn and Chantilly. You are from Long Island, right? Ashburn is like the new shopping centers/housing developments in Manorville and Riverhead, just magnified 1,000 times. I'm not too sure about the Catholic population there, but I suspect you will easily find a solid education for your children in Ashburn. My good friend lives there and loves it.

[mroy]

I am actually originally from the Boston area as well, and have lived in Potomac Falls for 5 years. I think you would be happy in Ashburn, very family friendly and manicured. Neighborhoods like Lansdowne and Belmont Country club are new with lots of families and very nice, but a little pricey.

You may also want to look at the Potomac Falls area (zip 20165 - specifically I recommend Cascades and Rivercrest) because there is a brand new Cathlolic Church right in the neighborhood that just opened with a Catholic school - Our Lady of Hope.

Good luck with your move!

[saganista]

Yup, the north side of Rte-7 over toward the river will definitely be worth a look. Cascades, Rivercrest, Lowe's Island...whatever you call it, most of it is quite nice if the new and modern are your cup of tea. For a little bit of a more established feel, Broad Run Farms is just up the way. It dates from about 1950, as opposed to 1990 for the rest of the place. Larger lots, tons of mature trees, and a voluntary civic association...

[briddygirl]

Ashburn is well over 5,000 in population....a very busy, congested area.....they do have a Catholic Church & school...St. Theresa's (K-8) and for high school either the kids attend local public highs or commute to Bishop O'Connell (tons of kids from Ashburn) in Arlington, or Paul VI in Fairfax. Closer in is Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church and School -- I attend this parish but my kids go to the Catholic school in Herndon (where we live).

You really need to come down and check out the area for yourself.....if you're priorities are schools, then look around the area that have the schools you'd want......good luck!

[saganista]

Originally Posted by briddygirl

Ashburn is well over 5,000 in population....

I wouldn't doubt that it's over 75,000 by now...