Seeking advice moving to Northern Va

[BrassTacksGal]

My son and his wife make a bit less than you and live in Fairfax, near George Mason University. He commutes into DC on VRE which is walking distance from his house. He previously commuted on Metro and hated it. VRE is a much better commute. Son's house has a decent size yard, 6 bedrooms, three and 1/2 baths. You'll do fine on that income in Northern Virginia.

[BrassTacksGal]

Originally Posted by Mnseca

Somewhere near the Burke VRE station might be a good choice for you. It's not too far out, and a house there should be in your price range. You could try any of the Burke/Fairfax neighborhoods that surround the station. It's a nice area - very suburban, but with decent schools and things for kids.

I think you can do better than a townhouse in that area. Try a detached home from the 70-80s - they run 500-650 near the station.

That's exactly where my son and wife just bought a house! They paid $550 for 6 bedrooms with 3 and 1/2 baths in a very nice neighborhood, nice cul de sac of 15 houses walking distance to elementary school and VRE.

[Fallout Zone]

If the job is near L'Enfant, that really opens up a world of possibilities that includes Orange/Silver line areas. You'll get more bang for your buck in the Burke area, but don't rule out Falls Church, Vienna, Fairfax either. Like previous posters have said, you aren't going to end up with a couple acre lot, but you can easily find nice, mature suburban neighborhoods that have 1/4 to 1/2 acre lots with good backyard areas. And by living a bit closer-in, you reduce your commute and are in close proximity to so many activities.

However, I will add that if you are indeed looking in the $600k-ish price range, you aren't going to get anything close to a new house. There will be a lot of renovated 60s/70s ramblers and such. The new houses that are in a reasonable commuting distance are mainly going to be $1M+.