Buying a Home: Debate - Ashburn, Leesburg, Aldie(ish), Chantilly (Reston: rental, established neighborhood)

[westbound2]

Hi,

We moved to Loudoun County a few years ago and have rented, trying to get a feel for the area before buying. We're now ready to buy and would love some input form the City-Data "Hive Mind" on best areas to consider (especially any neighborhoods you recommend or your thoughts on pros/cons...). We're trying to narrow down our search area - we're too "all over the place" right now...

Budget: $525-$600k is our sweet spot...maybe up to $640k
Family: Looking for a family friendly area, preferably with toddlers. Would love to make adult and kid friends. I'm a Work-from-Home mom and my husband works in the Tysons area.
Home: Prefer larger (.25 acre-ish) lot sizes, but flexible. Good near-term re-sale potential highly desired (we may need to sell or convert to a rental in the next 3-4 years). Renovated/updated features is preferred.
Amenities: Not required, but would like to have a community feel and amenities, like a pool
Convenience: Would like to be <15 mins from target - close to a grocery store is a bonus
Schools: We plan to send our little(s) to Catholic school, probably St. Joseph in Herndon or OLGC in Vienna (unless there are other, less-conservative Catholic schools in the area - I dont know much about St timothy's or St. Veronicas in Chantilly, for example)

We're currently near INOVA loudoun and find it to be a very convenient location for getting around...we've also lived near the DTR but get too tempted to use it, which, as many of you know, can get very costly! We're pretty tempted by the Aldie/Lenah Mill-Woods area, but are concerned about being dependent on 50 and the traffic on it. (We've found Rt 7 to be pretty reasonable for commuting and getting around, esp now that they've added the overpasses).

Fave areas so far include: Lenah Mill, Willowsford, Belmont Greene, Belmont Forest, and Ashburn Farm. Have been debating moving to Leesburg, but not sure we want to move even further west (many of our friends are still "inside the beltway")

Would love any thoughts, suggestions or lessons learned on this topic - thanks!

[Mikemapva]

Here's a wildcard response not in your original search area.

I'm biased, because it's where I live, but why don't you consider the Northern side of Herndon between the town and Rte 7. Lots of neighborhoods that meet your criteria in that area. Kingstream, Hiddenbrook/Hastings Hunt, Old Hunt Club, etc.

Many homes have been renovated now, and several have their own neighborhood pool, or a membership pool in the area. You would be close to St. Joe's and could meet future carpoolers if you decide to send your kids to O'Connell, and your husband could commute to Tysons by either the Toll Road (quicker) or down Rte 7. I work in Tyson's and get to work in 30 minutes every day and home in 20 by using the Toll Road. It's probably around 45-50 using Route 7 and I'm on the far side of Tysons. That's much quicker than any of the Loudoun areas.

You're between 2 Targets (Sterling and Reston) and within a few miles you have multiple Harris Teeter's, Giant's, Wegmans, Safeway, Shopper's, Trader Joe's, and several Asian groceries including a new Lotte opening in Herndon.

I haven't tried to sell recently (been in my current house 24 years, and last sold a rental a few years ago), but it seems like the market moves very fast in the area. If your husband switches jobs to another location in the future, you're that much closer to anything inside the beltway and you have a reverse commute to the Ashburn businesses.

[RecessionCasualty]

I think you'll find what you're looking for in Ashburn (even some of those specific neighborhoods) however I will say Ashburn is the most "quiet and keep to yourself" places I have lived in and I've lived all over Nova. It was like that 15 years ago as well.

[FCNova]

Interesting, it's the first time I've ever seen 'proximity to Target' as a home buying parameter

[NC211]

In my personal opinion, I would stick closer to where you already are, if not another mile or two west towards Leesburg. We were in Ashburn from 11-15', and moved to Leesburg near Landsdowne at the end of 15'. Love it and very happy we made the short move. Just 10 miles, and the feel went from a typical suburban neighborhood to a small town with big town opportunities. I too commute to Tysons. Used to take the greenway / DTR every day to/from. Just recently decided to give Rte 7 a shot in the morning, and have been quite surprised by how easy it has become (I'm not in the 8am crunch though, more like the 9am).


For your budget, I think you're looking at a resale instead of new construction. In that context, I'd look at houses built in the previous boom time of 00-05' that might need a little sweat equity invested. You'll likely find a bigger home, more yard, and an established neighborhood (think trees) that is starting to turn over from the original owners downsizing to the next generation coming with little kids in tow. Personally speaking, we'll never go new construction again. 11-15' was our one and only experience with that route.

[westbound2]

Thank you everyone - these are some very helpful responses! We're starting to narrow our search and your inputs have helped!

[pootino]

Adding to NC211---older houses will most likely already be upgraded and will have the larger yards that you desire. There is a Target pretty close to every neighborhood so that's easy. Unfortunately prices are high in all of the areas you mentioned---especially Willowsford. Good luck with your search.