Brambleton vs Belmont Ridge (Centreville, Herndon: schools, living in, restaurants)

[IndiaLimaDelta]

Originally Posted by Tdavispsu

Do you live here? It keeps growing because the job market is very reliable and steady. The OP asked for opinions and I am voicing mine after being here for 9 years and watching the growth. My personal preference is an area that is smaller, more down to earth, and a small town feel rather than an area with cookie cutter houses, wine clubs, and people who care more about who designed their curtains than actually having a conversation.

I lived in Ashburn for several years and now live in western Fairfax. I miss Ashburn and my old neighbors with whom my family and I had lots of fun, e.g. our children playing together, block parties, watching movies and HBO shows together on Netflix after our kids went to bed, trips to the ice cream shop, etc.

I lived in many different places, from a tiny town with a few hundred people in the Midwest (more cows and pigs than humans) to some of the largest cities in the world. In comparison to most places I experienced, Ashburn is very affluent, its people are well-educated and friendly. I have never been to a wine club anywhere, but perhaps that's because I have a sizable cellar of my own. I never had conversations about curtains in Ashburn (plenty about children, dogs, politics, books, national security, schools, the economy, HBO shows, guns, but never ever about curtains).

I'd say people are often busier in Ashburn than in small towns, but I found the Ashburn population pretty interesting, diverse and conversational enough. In my view, Ashburn can strike a good middle ground between some of the rural areas in western Loudoun and the more urban areas to the east in Fairfax. If you prefer one or the other, you can calibrate and move farther east or west as needed.

Originally Posted by cdmurphy

I have also lived in Brambleton for nine years, and I have encountered some of what Tdavispsu describes, but I just avoid those kind of people. I drive a 2006 Hyundai, and my curtains were designed by JCPenney. I don't care what people think of me. I've met plenty of people in Brambleton who are down-to-earth and intellectual, and have made some lifelong friends here. I do worry somewhat about peer pressure for my kids, but that's a problem no matter where you live.

I moved here from one of the most desirable school pyramids in Fairfax, within a stone's throw of Haycock Elementary, and in four years I got to know one neighbor. The others I encountered were dismissive or downright rude. There was no community spirit or interaction. I'd much rather raise my children here, despite the school issues, than in my old Falls Church-area neighborhood.

Eastern Loudoun is very children-friendly and pro-natalist!

[stpickrell]

Where is your and your husband's jobs, and what is your price range? Brambleton is a good idea if you're working in Reston or even Tysons, not as great if you're working in DC proper.

[KenInMA]

I lived in Belmont Ridge before we sold our house a year ago (we relocated back to New England). It's one of the first developments that were built in Ashburn, circa 1993. The quality of the home construction is okay, much better than what I've seen in the newer developments like Belmont Greene, Brambleton, and Broadlands. You can expect the home to be about 2000-2500 sqft, and they each sit on 1/5 - 1/4 of an acre. Some of the homes don't have basements. Ours didn't and it was difficult to sell. People want basements.

Belmont Ridge has a relatively low HOA fee, which pretty much covers trash removal and common area landscaping. What this means is that the HOA stays out of your hair. As you drive around the neighborhood, you'll notice there's some uniqueness to each home. Also, keep in mind that there's Belmont Ridge and Belmont Ridge II and they're separated by Hay Road. In newer Belmont Ridge II, you'll see some bigger homes (3000+ sqft) and you start to see the beginnings of the shoddy/cheap construction that plagues Ashburn.

Either BR community is insanely close to everything you'll need. Goose Creek Village is right there. It's also an extremely safe area to live.

The downsides are two:

1. The traffic sucks. There are essentially 3 ways into Ashburn from the east. (a) The Greenway, which is traffic-bare, but it'll cost you $5+ for a 7 mile drive to the BR exit. (b) 28 is fine outside of rush hour, but rush hour is awful. And there's (c), route 7 which will put you on suicide watch.

2. It's all a relatively new community, so non-chain restaurants/shops aren't common and they usually have difficulty staying open for more than a couple years. I suspect the last part is due all new commercial zoning being limited to strip malls / shopping centers so the rents tend to be high. You can see this contrasted with a place like Carolina Brothers BBQ whose building is in Old Ashburn and was once a general store. If they didn't have their building and were in a strip mall, they likely would've been victims as well.

[snicki10]

Thank you everyone for your responses.

I guess by Belmont Ridge...I was referring to the gated area by the country club. Is this correct?

I am a stay at home mom and my husband will be commuting to Chantilly.

We will be renting before we buy to make sure we are comfortable with the community. Any opinions on the $2,500 rent? Will this get us a nice place?

[mdcrim]

The name of the gated community is Belmont Country Club. It's the only non- senior oriented gated community in Ashburn. What you'll soon realize about Ashburn is there are many neighborhoods with different HOA's and names. Belmont Country Club, Ashburn Village, the Courts and Ridges, Ashburn Farm, Broadlands, Belmont Greene, Belmont Ridge I and Ii, Ashbrook, Ashbriar and the list goes on and on. Each community is governed by a homeowners association. HOA fees vary by community, as do amenities. Some HOA's are more lenient than others.

I'm not sure what $2500 would get you in Belmont Country Club- maybe a townhouse?

[IndiaLimaDelta]

Originally Posted by KenInMA

The downsides are two:

1. The traffic sucks. There are essentially 3 ways into Ashburn from the east. (a) The Greenway, which is traffic-bare, but it'll cost you $5+ for a 7 mile drive to the BR exit. (b) 28 is fine outside of rush hour, but rush hour is awful. And there's (c), route 7 which will put you on suicide watch.

For me, the fact that Ashburn has three major roads leading into it was a positive. Look at South Riding -- you live or die by Route 50 there. In Ashburn you get choices.

2. It's all a relatively new community, so non-chain restaurants/shops aren't common and they usually have difficulty staying open for more than a couple years. I suspect the last part is due all new commercial zoning being limited to strip malls / shopping centers so the rents tend to be high. You can see this contrasted with a place like Carolina Brothers BBQ whose building is in Old Ashburn and was once a general store. If they didn't have their building and were in a strip mall, they likely would've been victims as well.

1. Carolina Brothers BBQ rocks. Meat's great, but I wish the sauce was more Carolina style. 2. Agreed -- mostly chain restaurants in Ashburn, but things are getting much better. 3. Nearby Sterling and Herndon have many more hole-in-the-wall ethnic joints and independent restaurants and their prices are lower than they would be in Ashburn.

[KenInMA]

Originally Posted by IndiaLimaDelta

For me, the fact that Ashburn has three major roads leading into it was a positive. Look at South Riding -- you live or die by Route 50 there. In Ashburn you get choices.
1. Carolina Brothers BBQ rocks. Meat's great, but I wish the sauce was more Carolina style. 2. Agreed -- mostly chain restaurants in Ashburn, but things are getting much better. 3. Nearby Sterling and Herndon have many more hole-in-the-wall ethnic joints and independent restaurants and their prices are lower than they would be in Ashburn.

Coming from a place like New England where there is usually 20 ways to get to a major suburb (a couple main ways and several backroad options), having only 3 options, for at least, was agonizing. But yeah, if I lived in, South Riding or say Vienna, I would've bought a helicopter by now.

I wasn't saying anything negative about Carolina Brothers. I liked them a lot. In fact, many really good places have come and gone. Paris Prestige and Curry Club immediately come to mind.

I lived in Herndon, too. A 5 minute walk to Herndon center. There was Jimmy's, O'Sullivan's & The Ice House. I liked all three, but again, I suspect they survive largely due to the same reasons Carolina's does. They're not in stripmalls and aren't competing with larger chains for rents. As far as Sterling goes, I've never been to any restaurants outside of the huge shopping centers.

[snowdenscold]

Originally Posted by IndiaLimaDelta

For me, the fact that Ashburn has three major roads leading into it was a positive. Look at South Riding -- you live or die by Route 50 there. In Ashburn you get choices.

I won't consider Ashburn until they complete the Glouchester-Nokes cut-through and add a connection between 606 and LCP behind the airport. Every time I try to get down Waxpool from 28 it makes me happy that I bought just east of 28 and don't have to deal with that mess regularly.


And maybe for good measure I'll hold out for when they make Belmont Ridge and Ashburn Village interchanges at Route 7 (and remove the light at Lexington).

[allen25ham]

$2500 would get you a very nice townhome. Listed below are few examples within that price range.

21506 Trowbridge Sq, Ashburn, VA 20147 - Zillow

MLS # LO7946297 - 42916 Cattail Meadows Place, Ashburn VA, 20148 | Homes.com

[IndiaLimaDelta]

Originally Posted by KenInMA

Coming from a place like New England where there is usually 20 ways to get to a major suburb (a couple main ways and several backroad options), having only 3 options, for at least, was agonizing. But yeah, if I lived in, South Riding or say Vienna, I would've bought a helicopter by now.

If you counted backroad options, Ashburn has more than 3 ways.

Herndon and Sterling both have loads of independent ethnic restaurants. Too many to list here. Most of them have been round for some years now.