Southwest from DC? (Arlington, Reston, Annandale: HOA fees, townhome, live in)

[dmiller91]

okay... found VRE thanks..... so the options are south or west? are there advantages/disadvantages to those areas?

[dmiller91]

another area I am wondering about is Fort Washington Area.... looks like one could go over the bridge in the morning and get up to Arlington through the variety of paths I normally take to the airport when I travel there.

I read up a bit about that area on the MD forum. Sounds like one actually has to visit the area to make an assessment, but I'm curious to get people's thoughts.

I read about how the taxes/insurance are different. I'm more interested in the safety I think.

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by dmiller91

I am still considering N. VA as a new job has popped up in my company located in Arlington.

Moving from Madison, WI, want to spend less than $350k, so I'm looking out past Gainesville area - Warrenton maybe? We're older so I think I'd almost prefer not being in a subdivision with a lot of kids at this point in my life....
we like the outdoors, nearness to western VA is appealing for things to do on weekends (hiking), I'm assuming?

Thanks for any help.

Prince William forest is one of many places to hike for hundreds of miles and by living near there, many places are not in subdivisions. You could ride the VRE up into DC. If doing so, better to get off VRE in crystal city and take Metro (blue line) to Ralston, switch to Orange line to Ballston. Would shave 15 min off a run into Le'ef with Metro ride west again.

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by dmiller91

I am still considering N. VA as a new job has popped up in my company located in Arlington.

Moving from Madison, WI, want to spend less than $350k, so I'm looking out past Gainesville area - Warrenton maybe? We're older so I think I'd almost prefer not being in a subdivision with a lot of kids at this point in my life.

Is this doable at all and commuting to Arlington maybe 3 days a week?

I'm willing to get on the road at 6. When does the traffic start getting bad heading east?
Do people live that far out?

A work colleague commutes in from Marshall to Arlington (Ballston) most every day (with occasional telework) and the commute on a normal (good) day is roughly 1 hour when leaving around 5:30 am. Departure from Arlington is at 3:30 pm, and absolutely no later than 3:45 pm.

Not sure if your new job would give you such flexible times.

[dmiller91]

from Marshall??? 1 hour? I can certainly leave at 5:30. Times are incredibly flexible. That's certainly doable. i needed to know if you leave at the right time, you can hit a decent commute. I've gone into Dulles late at night and noticed the road to Arlington is very clear at midnight

I am also interested in the Prince William area, but I haven't checked that out at all yet. I need to check mileage. It didn't look as far as Western VA. Thanks for all the help.

[springfieldcollegealum]

What level of tennis does your husband play? I can help there with suggestions based on the answers. If your husband plays USTA league tennis, it would help to be closer in and would be a lot easier to meet other players. A few of the places that have been mentioned have very little tennis.

[dmiller91]

My husband does play league tennis. He's currently ranked 40

Are there town home developments with pools and tennis like you see in other areas? I haven't seen anything like that in my travels around there.

[stpickrell]

Originally Posted by dmiller91

another area I am wondering about is Fort Washington Area.... looks like one could go over the bridge in the morning and get up to Arlington through the variety of paths I normally take to the airport when I travel there.

I read up a bit about that area on the MD forum. Sounds like one actually has to visit the area to make an assessment, but I'm curious to get people's thoughts.

I read about how the taxes/insurance are different. I'm more interested in the safety I think.

I'd be careful about Prince George's. Some areas are just fine, others not as much. There's nice areas of Prince George's like Bowie or Cheverly (Cheverly's on the other side of the Orange Line), but there are some areas that are complete and total crapholes.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by dmiller91

Thanks. I'm seeing a townhome in my future...from my online inquiries I can see that we can get nice house for the money and it seems as though resale isn't an issue with the right realtor.

We are a couple with pets and a grown child. My daughter is a graduating nurse and will be looking for work in the area... but hopefully living on her own. I am recommending Charlottesville area for her as she won't like N. VA congestion.

This job is with a company I've worked with for 11 years. I love my job and this would be a promotion, basically my dream job. I'm in my early 50's and I was hoping my next move would be my last. But judging by the congestion in NVA, I don't see myself retiring there, so while I definitely want to own a place, I will want to sell it when I retire.

I'm willing to put up with NVA in order to do this job. My husband may struggle with the congestion, but he is willing to try it too. My job involves a bit of travel too, so my husband needs to be able to bike or play tennis when I am gone. VA offers a lot of tennis and an earlier spring than we have. So there are tradeoffs.

We can't do a 1 BR condo /TH due to the stage in our life. I've debulked, but not that much, and I have pets and will have guests, like my daughter. Plus I need an office at home as i don't have to go in to work every day.

The job is a block from Ballston Metro. Where is VRE?

I'm willing to do a bit of a drive to find a condo in an anrea that is nice for biking, walking, etc. I love the bike trails in VA. i jog them when I am there. Currently I stay in the Ballston area, so I'm very familiar with ARlington!

If you are empty nesters, and the ONLY reason you want a SFH is for resale value, then I think looking at a TH makes sense. You dont need to squeeze into a 1BR condo unless you are more concerned with convenience than it sounds like you are (we don't have 1 BR townhomes that I am aware of in this area - and 2BR THs in NoVa are fairly scarce - most will be 3BRs, some will be 4 BRs - but the 4BR ones will stretch your budget)

Places to look could include Falls Church, Annandale, South Arlington, City of Fairfax and adjacent areas, Fair Oaks, maybe Reston.

if your husband is into biking enough to consider bike commute, that could also play a role in your search. Ballston is right off the Custis Trail, and Im pretty sure gets some bike commuters. If his bking is mostly recreational, there are of course many options.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by dmiller91

My husband does play league tennis. He's currently ranked 40

Are there town home developments with pools and tennis like you see in other areas? I haven't seen anything like that in my travels around there.

many of the larger TH developments have them, many of the smaller ones do not. There are also county rec centers and parks, and neighborhood swim and tennis clubs.