Which Towns Would You Choose? (Arlington, Alexandria: 2014, to rent, movers)

[mwj119]

Hi All- Native of Greater Boston/Chicagoland here.

We just moved back to Chicagoland to be close to my MIL, but will likely only stay through the winter.

I work in cyber, and will likely accept an offer/role with a heavy focus on Fed bids. So, in the nearer term, I will be asked to live in the DC orbit. It would be advantageous for me to live within striking distance of DC, maybe ~/<30 miles, but the daily commute won't be necessary. I'm guessing a few times a month.

Because we are serial movers, we will likely look to rent before we purchase. As such, like many others on C-D, I'm looking for three or four town recommendations to hyper-focus on. Loose criteria/tid bits of information:

-Rental budget should be a none issue, ultimate budget for purchase will be max $1.2
-Looking for single family, 4 bedrooms
-We prefer denser suburbs with some walkability
-We really like a town/village/city with a nice core or main street with shops, restaurants, a few local watering holes, some green space
-Preference is for older more established neighborhoods/homes if possible
-Tier 1/Tier 2 schools.. Doesn't need to be a Harvard plug, but would like the kids to go through a district where the vast majority of graduates aspire to 4-year schools
-Kids like athletics- baseball/hockey- so any inside detail about the town you recommend would be nice

I have always loved DC when traveling for work/pleasure. Great area to explore. That said, we have spent the majority of our time in DC itself, and in the Maryland suburbs like Bethesda. So, I have very limited knowledge of Northern VA outside of Alexandria/Arlington.

Thank you for the help!

[Hiker-biker]

Check out Vienna, VA. Not far from Tyson’s Corner where many tech firms are located.

[Bigfoot424]

I agree on Vienna. Probably fits the bill the best for the area.

[EmiSky]

Reston. Some parts of Vienna are nice as well.

[columbusboy8]

Check out Montclair (Dumfries), VA, where you can get a big house on a lake for $1.2 million. Also Potomac Shores, VA. (also Dumfries)

[EmiSky]

I know you’re not looking to buy just yet but here are a couple properties just to show you the type of housing you can get within you price range in Reston.

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Reston/115...m_content=link

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Reston/120...m_content=link

[mwj119]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far.

Looking at each option.. They all look great.

We do put a unique focus on a town core/center with walkability, a few bars and restaurants, to host town events, etc. It looks like Herndon, just north of Reston, has a cute little town center. Any thoughts on Herndon? Any other towns outside of Arlington/Alexandria themselves that have a nice core?

[nva06]

Look at some communities in Loudoun County. Specifically Ashburn and Leesburg, so maybe Belmont, River Creek, Landsowne, they are close to Leesburg which has a great downtown and the area has good schools.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by nva06

Look at some communities in Loudoun County. Specifically Ashburn and Leesburg, so maybe Belmont, River Creek, Landsowne, they are close to Leesburg which has a great downtown and the area has good schools.

Downtown Leesburg is definitely our speed. Very nice!

Safe to assume that folks in Belmont/Ashburn/River Creek/Lansdowne use Leesburg for a day/night out, but buy in those communities as they are more "family oriented" commuter towns with premium schools?

[EmiSky]

Originally Posted by mwj119

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far.

Looking at each option.. They all look great.

We do put a unique focus on a town core/center with walkability, a few bars and restaurants, to host town events, etc. It looks like Herndon, just north of Reston, has a cute little town center. Any thoughts on Herndon? Any other towns outside of Arlington/Alexandria themselves that have a nice core?

Herndon has good and bad areas, look at the crime map. Downtown area is very small but there will lots of development Downtown in the future so the area will get better and it may be a good investment. I agree with Leesburg, it’s very nice! But traffic into DC would be horrible, about 2 hrs during peak times.