Family Areas near Ft. Belvoir, VA (Burke, Reston: rent, townhouses, private schools)

[Hurloc]

I am considering taking a position that is located within Ft. Belvoir, and am trying to find out the best place to move my family to. I have a Wife a couple of kids, so night life, restaurants etc are not a priority for me. Here are some of my guidelines:

1. Rent around $2k (needs to be at least a 3 bedroom, no exception)
2. Safe, family area
3. Decent public school / private schools
4. Commute around an hour or less
5. Am willing to live in a small town / country area


Any information would be great! Information on housing websites I should be viewing would help as well!

If none of these are feasible, then I cannot accept the position.

[airjay75]

If you're willing to live in a townhouse, I think you could meet all those requirements and have a very short commute. I think you could find townhouses in your budget and live in Kingstowne, Lorton, Springfield, Burke, to name a few areas, and have everything you want with a commute most people in this area envy. If a SFH is a requirement, then you're probably going to need to head south on I95. How far south, I'm not sure, but I'm sure others will know better than me.

[VAFan]

Did you end up not taking the position in Reston?

[Vectorhead]

Originally Posted by airjay75

If you're willing to live in a townhouse, I think you could meet all those requirements and have a very short commute. I think you could find townhouses in your budget and live in Kingstowne, Lorton, Springfield, Burke, to name a few areas, and have everything you want with a commute most people in this area envy. If a SFH is a requirement, then you're probably going to need to head south on I95. How far south, I'm not sure, but I'm sure others will know better than me.

I agree that these are the places to target, although your budget is a little low. You should be able to find something decent, though, and airjay is right, it will give you a commute to die for. The shorter commute saves you money, plus the public schools are excellent so you won't have to pay for private schools just to have your kids somewhere decent.

[Hurloc]

Originally Posted by VAFan

Did you end up not taking the position in Reston?

There was a position in Reston and a position in Ft. Belvoir. The Reston one was not an immediate fill, and would pay less. So I ended up taking the Ft. Belvoir position.

[Hurloc]

How long, in a morning commute, do you think it would take to get from Fredricksburg to Ft. Belvoir?

[rmm0484]

You would need to get up pretty early in the morning to have a good commute into Ft. Belvoir.

[Vectorhead]

I would make a lot of sacrifices in terms of housing (choosing a smaller home, older home, etc) to live in Fairfax County if I were in your shoes. It doesn't sound like your budget is going to force you to live as far out as Fredericksburg so why choose to have that kind of commute?

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by Hurloc

How long, in a morning commute, do you think it would take to get from Fredricksburg to Ft. Belvoir?

It would more than likely be awful unless you get up during a ridiculously early time. If you are looking for something a little cheaper than Fairfax County, there is Lake Ridge in Prince William County, which would put you at a 30-40 minute commute each day. The closer you can live to work, the better. Commuting in this area can become predictable and it wouldn't make sense to live that far out if you can afford to live closer.

[slduvall]

Originally Posted by Hurloc

How long, in a morning commute, do you think it would take to get from Fredricksburg to Ft. Belvoir?

One of my co workers did that drive to Belvoir. Took a commuter van. Left at 4:30 am. Even if driving yourself the travel time increases exponentially for about every 10 minutes later you leave.

Not worth the gas/time/hassle. Go with Kingstowne, Island Creek, Lorton. You won't regret it.