Help narrowing down potential areas to live

[stpickrell]

Yes, most custom builds are teardowns. I'd look as much as possible in Vienna, areas to the north of Vienna, and Falls Church/areas close to Falls Church.

You could also buy a well-kept rambler in Vienna/Pimmit Hills and build a new wing on the back that'd include a new kitchen, etc. My wife and I briefly considered that before we decided to move from Vienna.

You can get a teardown lot in Vienna for 440-450k. That'd leave you 400k with which to build something. It might not be an opulent place but it shouldn't be the bottom of the line.

[saganista]

You could essentially live AT Tysons Corner and stay within your price range. The whole area roughly defined by Gallows, Woodford, and Electric Avenue is full of upscale homes, and via Woodford or Gallows/Old Courthouse and then 123-N, you could be in Tysons in under ten minutes at the height of rush hour. The Dunn Loring Metro station would be less than ten minutes in the opposite direction. In a third direction, less than ten minutes would put you in downtown Vienna, and now that the Idylwood bridge is open again, 10 minutes in the fourth direction would put you in downtown Falls Church. As a marker, there is a place in Williams Hill -- one of the spiffier spots in that area -- on the market right now. 5000+ sqft, built in the mid-1990's for $900K.

[momtotwoboys]

We love living in Oakton. We are about 10 minutes from shopping in Reston, Fair Lakes, and Vienna. We live pretty deep in Oakton on Vale but I was driving on Miller Rd today and that area might be good for you as it is very close to 123 shopping. schools are great too!

[JD984]

Originally Posted by saganista

You could essentially live AT Tysons Corner and stay within your price range. The whole area roughly defined by Gallows, Woodford, and Electric Avenue is full of upscale homes, and via Woodford or Gallows/Old Courthouse and then 123-N, you could be in Tysons in under ten minutes at the height of rush hour. The Dunn Loring Metro station would be less than ten minutes in the opposite direction. In a third direction, less than ten minutes would put you in downtown Vienna, and now that the Idylwood bridge is open again, 10 minutes in the fourth direction would put you in downtown Falls Church. As a marker, there is a place in Williams Hill -- one of the spiffier spots in that area -- on the market right now. 5000+ sqft, built in the mid-1990's for $900K.

Looks like the Williams Hill house on Woodford went under contract almost immediately after it was listed (don't know if it had one of those "coming soon" signs before then).

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by AppleJacks

BrooklynBornDad, you mentioned possibly Fair Oaks which is very close to where we are now. Is the commute not to bad from this area? I just thought it would be since it seems like 66 is so congested.

I cant really say - I used to live in the Blake lane area, but commuted to DC via metro. I have seen posters here imply that folks living in Fair Oaks can avoid I66 on the way to Tysons, and at least one such person implied that there really shouldnt be/isnt a premium for being in the Blake Lane area vs being in Fair Oaks. I can't really address that, but given that the beltway is pretty congested from Annandale to Tysons, I would think Fair Oaks would be a good alternative. Not sure what your budget would buy there though.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by saganista

I don't think it's actually in the City of Fairfax, but that whole Mantua block between Pickett and Prosperity, and 236 and 50 is a nice area. Eakin Park is a sizable chunk of it, so that helps. Very pleasant (except maybe for right next door to the tank farm) and close to everything.

my only gripe about Mantua is that most streets lacks sidewalks. Given how close in it is, and that convenience to the CCT is a major draw, thats kind of annoying.

[AppleJacks]

You all have given me a lot to go on, thanks so much!

I think our next step will be driving through some of these areas and getting a "feel" for them and then spending more time on Homes Database and Redfin.

We still have a pretty long time left on our lease, but this gives us a good starting point.