Relocation/Have Done a Lot of Reading of Previous Posts (Arlington: loft, townhouse)

[JD984]

Originally Posted by InterestedinVA

@Caladium-As the little guy gets bigger soccer leagues/children's programming. (I'm also a golfer so that may complicate things a little)
@Brooklynborndad-I fly around 100k a year all domestic but a lot of West Coast trips. We are totally open to suggestions at the moment
@Arielmina-Coming from Westchester NY, had not considered Leesburg (will have to look it up on the map) but open.
@Jeb77-As long as we are not over the flight path of Dulles I would consider it!

I'm afraid I can't tell you about the Dulles flight patterns; perhaps someone else can speak to this.

In addition, you might consider Oakton (22124), which is close to Oak Hill (20171). A bit further away from Dulles, but with a variety of homes in your price range and good schools.

I don't live in either Herndon/Oak Hill, or Oakton, so I'm just offering suggestions based on your stated criteria.

Carlingtonian mentioned Arlington, which I think might also work if you're prepared to spend a lot of fair amount of time looking for a nice, smaller house within your budget. If you're looking for a place with distinct Westchester-like towns, you're going to be pretty disappointed in NoVa generally, but Arlington might come closer than other places.

I do disagree with the suggestion that there are "fewer trees outside the Beltway" (and I live inside the Beltway). I think that's based on an assumption that outside-the-Beltway neighborhoods are new neighborhoods where the developers basically razed everything before they started building homes. However, that's not how all the developers went about building in outside-the-Beltway neighborhoods and, in any event, some of these neighborhoods have been around long enough for plenty of trees to grow since the homes were first built. You'd find a lot of neighborhoods in Oakton, for example, where there are lots of trees. You can also find neighborhoods in Arlington where there aren't a lot of trees and developers have now squeezed large 5,000 SF homes on 1/5 acre lots, as well as mature neighborhoods with nice old trees that have been left alone. It really varies from neighborhood to neighborhood.

[Caladium]

Kids programs and soccer leagues are very easy to find, especially in western Fairfax/eastern Loudoun. Every community has an abundance--Nova is soccer mom heaven.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by JEB77

I do disagree with the suggestion that there are "fewer trees outside the Beltway" (and I live inside the Beltway).

JEB is correct that there are lots and lots of trees throughout northern VA, and that includes the burbs. Most of the newer developments have been careful to include numerous common wooded grounds. Also, trees grow quickly here, so if you do happen to buy in a brand new development where trees have been razed, the saplings planted in the front yards become large trees in about 10-15 years. Just check out my neighborhood, Cascades, and you'll see why we're well known for having trees.




















And if you think Cascades has a lot of trees, you should check out Reston! A quick glance through a few of the photo tours below will confirm that there's no shortage of trees out in the burbs.

BTW, these are all photo tours of communities near Dulles Airport you might like. (And also Falls Church, since you mentioned it.) A lot of people who work at Dulles Airport live in Cascades, so it might be of particular interest to someone who flies a lot.

Cascades/Lowes Island (a part of the northern section of Sterling)

Reston-South Lakes

Reston-Town Center and Lake Anne

Falls Church

Herndon

Leesburg

Brambleton (a part of western Ashburn)

[RUSDC]

Older area = more trees, its obvious.
I would take Arlington any day over Ashburn, if I could afford it

[NoVA_Lurker]

The discussion about trees is a little funny to me. One of the things that surprised me the most when I moved to this area was how many trees there are and how green it is! There are lots of shopping centers that I have discovered over time that I didn't even know existed for awhile because the trees along the streets block the view, particularly when they are full of leaves. I always discover new things when the leaves fall off in winter and I can see more! Aside from places like Tysons Corner (which is primarily office buildings and retail...and they took down A LOT of trees for the HOT lanes and Metro expansion recently) and some of the newer subdivisions that we looked at in Ashburn and out that way, I think this area has quite a lot of trees (and I'm from the midwest).

Edited to add: I live in the Reston/Herndon area and have an 8 month old son. We like it there, and it's very convenient to Dulles airport. United Airlines is the primary carrier from IAD to the west coast - we fly a lot and have become loyal to them over time. I don't know much about the closer-in neighborhoods, but 20171, Reston, Cascades/Lowes Island, Ashburn, etc are all good options to be near the airport IMO.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by RUSDC

Older area = more trees, its obvious.
I would take Arlington any day over Ashburn, if I could afford it

No, older area = older trees, not necessarily more trees.

[RUSDC]

Originally Posted by JEB77

No, older area = older trees, not necessarily more trees.

LOL

Um...ok

[JD984]

Originally Posted by RUSDC

LOL

Um...ok

As I said, it depends on the neighborhood:

A new house in Arlington (of which there are plenty):

3311 N Abingdon St Arlington VA - New Home for Sale - MLS #AR7652031 - Realtor.com®

may be surrounded by fewer trees than an older home outside-the-Beltway:

3225 History Dr Oakton VA - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #FX7649707 - Realtor.com®

Laugh away.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by JEB77

I do disagree with the suggestion that there are "fewer trees outside the Beltway" (and I live inside the Beltway). I think that's based on an assumption that outside-the-Beltway neighborhoods are new neighborhoods where the developers basically razed everything before they started building homes. However, that's not how all the developers went about building in outside-the-Beltway neighborhoods and, in any event, some of these neighborhoods have been around long enough for plenty of trees to grow since the homes were first built. You'd find a lot of neighborhoods in Oakton, for example, where there are lots of trees. You can also find neighborhoods in Arlington where there aren't a lot of trees and developers have now squeezed large 5,000 SF homes on 1/5 acre lots, as well as mature neighborhoods with nice old trees that have been left alone. It really varies from neighborhood to neighborhood.

OK, fair points. Yeah, that was indeed my assumption based on what (little) I've seen of the para-Beltway 'hoods. Glad to hear that "scrape to the dirt and then throw up some siding and grass seed" isn't the universal approach.

One thing I will say is that the older 'hoods not only have older trees; they also tend to have older oak trees, which of course take decades to reach maturity. The larger trees farther west tend to be other species (e.g., maples), it looks like from the photos in this thread.

And yes, there are some developers in Arlington who love to rip out trees before they build. In the rank order of human value, I put them slightly above Enron executives and well below telemarketers.

[ACWhite]

I have to disagree somewhat with Carlingtonian, depending on one's definition of "nice." If you search the real estate websites, I think you'll find that in most parts of No. Arl. (a few less desirable neighborhoods offer exceptions), $650K will buy you a ~1400 square foot house that is only partially updated, is it least in some major ways a fixer (which you prefer to avoid), e.g., may need new windows, may lack a flat back yard for kids, probably has no garage, and has at least one room you might consider too small, and possibly with another drawback (busy street). If you can tolerate many of these drawbacks, then most of No. Arl. will work. If you want more space, more updates, or to overcome some of the other shortcomings in No. Arl, you will need to budget more than $650K.