Acreage near Chantilly Virginia (Centreville, Manassas: houses, neighborhood, purchase)

[ckmiller]

My husband is looking at taking a job in Chantilly Virginia. I am not familiar with the area. I have heard only good things about it but I know we will need to move further out to find land. We have 4 kids and we home school so it would be nice to stay close to areas we can connect easily with others and not feel too isolated.

Can anyone recommend surrounding areas within a 45 min drive (in traffic) that has the following criteria (hopefully )...

Budget $500k max
Acreage 5+
Still near grocery stores/shopping
Has some ambiance or character/energy to town
Parks, playgrounds, trails for riding bikes

Also...is Winchester too far of a stretch?

Thank you in advance

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by ckmiller

My husband is looking at taking a job in Chantilly Virginia. I am not familiar with the area. I have heard only good things about it but I know we will need to move further out to find land. We have 4 kids and we home school so it would be nice to stay close to areas we can connect easily with others and not feel too isolated.

Can anyone recommend surrounding areas within a 45 min drive (in traffic) that has the following criteria (hopefully )...

Budget $500k max
Acreage 5+
Still near grocery stores/shopping
Has some ambiance or character/energy to town
Parks, playgrounds, trails for riding bikes

Also...is Winchester too far of a stretch?

Thank you in advance

You will have to go more than an hour out to find over 5 acres for less than $500K; and then you will be in a very rural area.

[finalmove]

Originally Posted by ckmiller

My husband is looking at taking a job in Chantilly Virginia. I am not familiar with the area. I have heard only good things about it but I know we will need to move further out to find land. We have 4 kids and we home school so it would be nice to stay close to areas we can connect easily with others and not feel too isolated.

Can anyone recommend surrounding areas within a 45 min drive (in traffic) that has the following criteria (hopefully )...

Budget $500k max
Acreage 5+
Still near grocery stores/shopping
Has some ambiance or character/energy to town
Parks, playgrounds, trails for riding bikes

Also...is Winchester too far of a stretch?

Thank you in advance

You need to come for a visit if you are not familiar with the area. You mention finding "land". Are you looking to build?
A $500K home in most areas outside DC is a "teardown".

If you strike the "Acreage 5+" from your list, you can find listings for single-family slab-built homes (Levittown) in Greenbriar as an example. This development does have all the rest on your list.
Too old or not nice enough? Then there's plenty more for plenty more! It all depends on your requirements

There is a dynamic in this region that is hard to comprehend for newcomers. In many cases, going farther out may not decrease housing costs----it may increase! Outlying counties like Loudoun are of the richest in America. Sorry.

Asking if a commute from Winchester is too far is astonishing to me. 65-miles each way through several small villages, some with painfully low speed limits is not practical. Have people done it? Yes, I'm sure they have and do.
It takes an extremely rare demeanor to tolerate such a daily horror.

Bottom line-----you must come for a week and see for yourself.

[ckmiller]

Thank you Finalmove... Housing on land but not afraid to build (we have done that before) I have been looking online at housing and ran across several nice homes on acreage under $500k in Manassas, Gainsville, Berryville, areas as such...(Winchester does sound far!) All show about a 30 min. drive but I am well aware of traffic going towards major city areas ( I grew up in Houston)

To clarify, my husband will not necessarily report to his office every day but on the days he does it would be nice to not take an hour or more.

Yes we are going to be visiting her next month. Can anyone recommend areas to check out? We don't have to purchase right away but I would like to know what our $ will get us and what areas to keep an eye out for since we are a family it would be nice to put roots down. Thanks again!

[finalmove]

Originally Posted by ckmiller

Thank you Finalmove... Housing on land but not afraid to build (we have done that before) I have been looking online at housing and ran across several nice homes on acreage under $500k in Manassas, Gainsville, Berryville, areas as such...(Winchester does sound far!) All show about a 30 min. drive but I am well aware of traffic going towards major city areas ( I grew up in Houston)

To clarify, my husband will not necessarily report to his office every day but on the days he does it would be nice to not take an hour or more.

Yes we are going to be visiting her next month. Can anyone recommend areas to check out? We don't have to purchase right away but I would like to know what our $ will get us and what areas to keep an eye out for since we are a family it would be nice to put roots down. Thanks again!

Forget Berryville. It would be worse than Winchester. That "30-minute drive" is on Sunday at 4 in the morning.

Gainesville is undergoing mega-growth, with everything new in all directions. That would be my suggestion. Gainesville back to Centreville along RT29.

To get to Chantilly you need to us RT28 or RT50. When looking at a map, keep that in mind.

I'm sorry, but you will have to get over your "land" wishes unless you go so far out, your fuel, tires, and time defeat your goal of a quality life. Been there, done that!

There's no secret route available. You'll have to play the game in order to live around here, but it's worth the struggle.
That's why so many are attracted to the Capital of the free world.

Good luck!

[Fallout Zone]

Originally Posted by ckmiller

My husband is looking at taking a job in Chantilly Virginia. I am not familiar with the area. I have heard only good things about it but I know we will need to move further out to find land. We have 4 kids and we home school so it would be nice to stay close to areas we can connect easily with others and not feel too isolated.

Can anyone recommend surrounding areas within a 45 min drive (in traffic) that has the following criteria (hopefully )...

Budget $500k max
Acreage 5+
Still near grocery stores/shopping
Has some ambiance or character/energy to town
Parks, playgrounds, trails for riding bikes

Also...is Winchester too far of a stretch?

Thank you in advance

I don't think that you are going to meet everything that hits your criteria. You can get a house on 5+ acres for under $500k that might be within 45-60 minutes, but they aren't going to be near a town. I'm thinking W or SW of Warrenton or in the mountains around Linden. If you are thinking of nice, suburban subdivisions that have good land, a community feel, and access to amenities, they exist - but the land is so valuable that they don't put up normal houses on them, they put up 7000 sq ft behemoths that cost >$1M.

I'd start looking at 1-3 acre places around Leesburg, Gainsville or Warrenton. I think that is your compromise.

[Ffxdata]

I'm not sure what you are planning to do on your 5 acres but even those that aren't in HOAs generally have strict covenants so make sure to read the deed carefully.

[choff5]

Originally Posted by finalmove

You need to come for a visit if you are not familiar with the area.

If you strike the "Acreage 5+" from your list, you can find listings for single-family slab-built homes (Levittown) in Greenbriar as an example. This development does have all the rest on your list.
Too old or not nice enough? Then there's plenty more for plenty more! It all depends on your requirements

.

Originally Posted by ckmiller

Yes we are going to be visiting her next month. Can anyone recommend areas to check out? We don't have to purchase right away but I would like to know what our $ will get us and what areas to keep an eye out for since we are a family it would be nice to put roots down. Thanks again!

I'll also mention the Greenbriar neighborhood as it does match everything but your land request. Its address is Fairfax but it is between Rt. 50 and Fair Lakes and Strinfellow Rd which is the postal divider for Chantilly. Depending on where he is working in Chantilly it's a reverse commute that may even keep him off of major roads. The homes are older, many updated and well kept, no basements but large rooms, garage, and attic space, larger yards too since its older. It is an active community, no HOA, just a civic association. Concerts in the park in the summer, winter/Christmas party with Santa, a park in the middle and a linear stream park with walking bike trail that connects to a large park to the west. Walk or bike to the local shopping center as well as public library. I know there are people in the area who homeschool, just don't have that info myself. Just looked at Realtor and there are homes at 500K and less. Good luck with your search.

[PGEMF]

Originally Posted by choff5

I'll also mention the Greenbriar neighborhood as it does match everything but your land request. Its address is Fairfax but it is between Rt. 50 and Fair Lakes and Strinfellow Rd which is the postal divider for Chantilly. Depending on where he is working in Chantilly it's a reverse commute that may even keep him off of major roads. The homes are older, many updated and well kept, no basements but large rooms, garage, and attic space, larger yards too since its older. It is an active community, no HOA, just a civic association. Concerts in the park in the summer, winter/Christmas party with Santa, a park in the middle and a linear stream park with walking bike trail that connects to a large park to the west. Walk or bike to the local shopping center as well as public library. I know there are people in the area who homeschool, just don't have that info myself. Just looked at Realtor and there are homes at 500K and less. Good luck with your search.

I'll give a plus one for Greenbriar as well. We love it here.

[Middlin]

Please do not move here with the intention of replicating this type of lifestyle. The DC area has a lot going for it, but it's not the lifestyle you seek with that list. What made you consider this area?