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Old 10-07-2017, 04:00 PM
 
1 posts, read 688 times
Reputation: 10

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Hi All:
Just joined this forum. I am planning to relo to NoVA from Texas. I need some advice on where to locate. Northern Virginia is so spread out with different counties that it is a bit challenging. I have an adult son who will live with us and join George Wash Univ or any other. I am semi-retired and don't have to commute. But we need to be close to a Metro station if possible. I was thinking of the following areas to buy a town home. Sterling, Centerville, Herndon, Springfield, Chantilly. Any advice or comments will be appreciated.
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Old 10-07-2017, 04:40 PM
 
1,159 posts, read 1,293,196 times
Reputation: 1361
I moved from Texas. Budget will dictate your choices. How much do you have to spend and how much house do you want?

Chantilly and Centreville are not near Metro (either walking or short drive).
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Old 10-07-2017, 10:58 PM
 
Location: West Hollywood, CA from Arlington, VA
2,768 posts, read 3,538,694 times
Reputation: 1575
LOL dc is like half as spread out as 99% of sunbelt cities. That literally cracked me up

WARNING: people actually walk, bike, and take transit there. Its a very scary liberal utopia
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Old 10-08-2017, 04:43 AM
 
12,906 posts, read 15,691,881 times
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zeffen, as FFXdata stated, it really comes down to you housing budget. If you give us some numbers we can start from there.
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Old 10-09-2017, 07:08 AM
 
Location: Fairfax County, VA
1,387 posts, read 1,076,863 times
Reputation: 2759
Quote:
Originally Posted by gomason View Post
WARNING: people actually walk, bike, and take transit there. Its a very scary liberal utopia
But you can still hear "y'all" spoken all over the place. As for budget, if you watch "Fixer Upper" on HGTV and at least triple the prices that they talk about around Waco, you'd start to get the picture. The average sales price of a detached home in Fairfax County this past August was $742,000.
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Old 10-09-2017, 02:05 PM
 
Location: Tampa, FL- For NOW
776 posts, read 1,065,957 times
Reputation: 973
Agreed, the NOVA area in my opinion is not spread out. NOTHING like the DFW areas.

But like you I also relocated from Texas to DC, Twice actually.... DFW area. The two areas that come to mind are Fairfax near I66 and Nutely in Vinena/Fairfax is the last metro and then they new one out in Reston . Reston is expanding and cleaning up a lot and becoming quite nice in my opinion. We lived in Fairfax for 3 years and loved it. 22030 was our favorite zip but 22032 and 22033 are nice as well. You can actually walk to places in the areas. Chantilly is fine but when you get west of 28 it will become a long drive anywhere. If your son need to get ot he metro, id spend a little more and move close to Nutley Stop in Vienna. I can offer a lot of input on this if you want some direct comparisons. I actually liked living there unlike a lot of people so i can remain objective. There are lots of cool and unique little gems all over the Fairfax area and by far my favorite in teh whole metro. But there are nice places to live in Arlington that will keep you close to metro stops. Burke is really nice but not very close to the metro, you would have to catch a ride to it but easy to get to one. west Springfield is a very safe and popular less expensive choice too and they are close to the metro. Alexandria can be spotty. Depends what matters I guess. If you are looking at going out further then Centreville comes to mind. Still close to the commuter roads and a little less expensive than Fairfax without sacrificing schools and safety. Lett e know if I can help, good luck with the move.
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Old 10-09-2017, 02:44 PM
 
1,532 posts, read 2,271,222 times
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I wouldn't base on where to buy if your son hasn't decided where he will go to school. Proximity to metro commands high dollars and what if he ended up at school in NoVA and didn't need to go into DC?
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Old 10-09-2017, 06:04 PM
 
Location: Tampa, FL- For NOW
776 posts, read 1,065,957 times
Reputation: 973
Agreed. Has he looked into GMU at all? There are so many education options in the Area. Its tough to settle on a place and then end up having to travel across the metro instead. It is not a "sprawl" like some people will over-use, but it is still very time consuming to drive around in DC. Congestion is the real factor. You get through it ok but there are so many people on all the roads all the time it will take some drive to get places. a 15 mile drive can literally be over an hour in the car. Peak times are 6-10 am, 12-3 pm and 4:30-7:30 pm. i used to go into work at 5am from Fairfax way out by 50 and 28 and drive to Old Town Alexandria to Duke St. roads were clear that early and only took me 30 minutes, but coming home at 2-2:30 it would take me about 45-60 minutes. Weekends arent that bad in my opinion. Sunday evenings when people are returning from out of town it can back up everywhere. i95 between Alexandria and Fredericksburg can be a nightmare when traveling south.
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