Moving to NoVa to work in zipcode 20166. Good neighborhoods around this area? (Reston: appointed, rental)

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by angie2012

Thank you, Reston really looks great! One more question: looks like Reston is near the airport, any plane noises around there?

Not much plane noise in Reston - If you check out the runway alingment at Dulles - most of the flight paths are in the north - south direction so with Reston just east of the airport we have great accessibility and not much noise. The air traffic in the Reston area tends to be quite high.

This link shows the three north/south runways and the one cross wind runway.
Aircraft Noise and Flight Tracking Data

This link has a great map that shows flight tracks
http://www.mwaa.com/file/2010_Noise_Report.pdf

[geekocaster]

20166 is a decent quality of life work zipcode, Since there's lots of housing and shops etc close by, you won't have to deal with the bad commutes. If I were looking I'd check Cascades, Lowes Island, or even peace plantation. 20166 is a strange zip that stretches for a while so be sure that you check the actual distance even if it's in the same zip or close by zip.

[FireDog40]

Im actually a Miami transplant too and I found comparing Hialeah to anywhere in NOVA humorous.
I haven't been out exploring neighborhoods much, but once winter ends I will begin to look for a potential area to buy a home.

I really like the coconut grove area of Miami. What would one compare Leesburg to? Commute is no issue as well, but we would need good schools, a yard and easy access to activities (shops, bars/restaurants, etc)

[angie2012]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Not to confuse things, but since you said you're ok with long commutes, if you really want something more urban and hip, you might want to consider Clarendon or living right in DC.

Reston is the artsy area of eastern Loudoun/western Fairfax, and it's what I recommend if you're working near Dulles Town Center. However, it's also way out in the burbs and has plenty of chain stores and things like that. I personally think Reston has the perfect combination, but there are some who look at Reston with disdain as being too suburban. You'll find more of an urban artsy vibe closer in to DC... but (and this is a big but) traffic here is really bad. An hour's drive here is more than I would be willing to tolerate. But for some people it's worthwhile.

Also, regarding the comparison of Sterling Park to Hialeah--the two are nothing alike when it comes to crime. In fact all of northern VA has significantly less crime than Miami.

One other little confusing note. The metro area out near Dulles Town Center has no city governments. Therefore borders are not exact and several names are often used for the same area. Reston is really the only area that has pretty well defined borders. You've probably already noticed that the same neighborhood may be called Sterling, Cascades, or Potomac Falls. The Post Office assigned neighborhoods to either Sterling, Ashburn or Leesburg by zip code, but the areas covered by these names are so large that it's almost meaningless so many people use neighborhood names instead. It makes sense after you've been here a few weeks but is very confusing for new residents.

Oh, I think I gave the wrong impression, we actually want to find a place close to work this time. Spending 2+ hours driving to and from work is not something we are willing to do anymore... And you are right, for us that don't know the area it is VERY confusing to do the house searching online... Newman (from Seinfeld) was right when he said that zipcodes are meaningless.

[angie2012]

Originally Posted by geekocaster

20166 is a decent quality of life work zipcode, Since there's lots of housing and shops etc close by, you won't have to deal with the bad commutes. If I were looking I'd check Cascades, Lowes Island, or even peace plantation. 20166 is a strange zip that stretches for a while so be sure that you check the actual distance even if it's in the same zip or close by zip.

Cascades is definitely on my list! Thank you!

[Caladium]

Here's a photo tour of Cascades:

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

Use 20165 to look for houses in Cascades. Also, look for Countryside and Lowes Island if you're searching by name.

[stpickrell]

Have you considered downtown Leesburg?

[angie2012]

Originally Posted by stpickrell

Have you considered downtown Leesburg?

Honestly I haven't heard much about it... Is it a good option? Looks like it is a little further, would traffic be a problem?

Thanks!

[stpickrell]

Originally Posted by angie2012

Honestly I haven't heard much about it... Is it a good option? Looks like it is a little further, would traffic be a problem?

Thanks!

It'd be 15-30 minutes down Route 7 for you, depending on the time of day you're commuting. Most of what makes Route 7 a special level of Hell are the traffic lights everywhere -- but those are all east of Dulles Town Center!

I'm within 0.75 miles of a dozen non-chain restaurants, a half-dozen fast food places, 3 coffee shops, 2 grocery stores, a park, a library, a movie theater, the town hall, my daughter's future elementary school, and more. *None* of these require crossing a four lane street (although some do require navigating a shopping center's parking lot.)

If you're looking for something artsy, it'll be hard to beat downtown Leesburg/the SFH areas immediately around it. Reston is good as well, as is Herndon.

Now in 30-40 years, Ashburn and the newer developments in Loudoun will be developing their own personality. But right now they're brand-new and blank slates. This does appeal to a lot of people, and the thought of living in a house built in 18-something appeals to another set of people.

Good luck, if you do pick Leesburg, drop me or my wife a line.

[angie2012]

Originally Posted by stpickrell

It'd be 15-30 minutes down Route 7 for you, depending on the time of day you're commuting. Most of what makes Route 7 a special level of Hell are the traffic lights everywhere -- but those are all east of Dulles Town Center!

I'm within 0.75 miles of a dozen non-chain restaurants, a half-dozen fast food places, 3 coffee shops, 2 grocery stores, a park, a library, a movie theater, the town hall, my daughter's future elementary school, and more. *None* of these require crossing a four lane street (although some do require navigating a shopping center's parking lot.)

If you're looking for something artsy, it'll be hard to beat downtown Leesburg/the SFH areas immediately around it. Reston is good as well, as is Herndon.

Now in 30-40 years, Ashburn and the newer developments in Loudoun will be developing their own personality. But right now they're brand-new and blank slates. This does appeal to a lot of people, and the thought of living in a house built in 18-something appeals to another set of people.

Good luck, if you do pick Leesburg, drop me or my wife a line.

Thank you so much for all the info! My husband just came back from Ashburn last night, but I haven't been there yet. I can't wait to go and visit all these places I've been hearing about. This site and all the input I received from everybody helped us tremendously. I will keep you posted on our decision!