Leesburg Va. (Richmond, Arlington, Manassas: townhouse, job market, neighborhoods)

[NOVA.123]

Originally Posted by bluiznsmilez

What's the commute to DC (Reagan Building/Naval yard) from Leesburg like? Any commuter options out that way headed toward DC?

A lot depends on what times you are leaving at. There are great options offered with car pooling/car pool bus. Lots of Gov't agencies pay you to car pool to help get cars off the road but tons of people don't take advantage of it.

[normie]

Originally Posted by bluiznsmilez

What's the commute to DC (Reagan Building/Naval yard) from Leesburg like? Any commuter options out that way headed toward DC?

If you live on the northern side of Leesburg, you might have an easier commute crossing over to Maryland. I hear that the drive is easier on the MD side and you also have the option of taking the train.

BUT: Check this out first, because this might be good advice a year from now, but for right now I could be very wrong. Why? There's a big construction project going on near Point of Rocks, and that might make driving on the MD side horrible.

[5stones]

What's the commute to DC (Reagan Building/Naval yard) from Leesburg like? Any commuter options out that way headed toward DC?

as others have said it could vary and there are options...but all in all it won't be pretty or easy. esp if you are driving solo. I'd say 1-1/2 -2 hours. It takes about 45 minutes to get into DC propper from Leesburg on a sunday afternoon...then finding parking.

Loudoun county has a commuter bus that runs into DC Commuter Bus Schedules (http://www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=969 - broken link)
leave leesburg at 6:10am and the bus arrives at the Ronald Reagan bldg around 7:30
I beleive the schedule is a bit limited on times etc... esp the return routes...I think the last bus leaves around 5:30pm

Personally I would NOT recommend living in Leesburg and doing a daily commute to DC.

I f you want the same type of town feel as Leesburg then check out Frederick MD you can take the MARC train directly into DC
or even Rockwall MD etc...

[blueva]

Plan on at least an hour or more- but the Real Estate agent will probably tell you "Only 30 min from DC". Yes, if you drive down Georgetown Pike at 2 AM going 80 mph.

[normie]

Originally Posted by blueva

Plan on at least an hour or more- but the Real Estate agent will probably tell you "Only 30 min from DC". Yes, if you drive down Georgetown Pike at 2 AM going 80 mph.

Good point--it's going to take a lot more than 30 minutes, LOL.

Meanwhile, don't try going 80 mph on Georgetown Pike at this time of year... Bambi is everywhere!

[carlent]

thank you all so much for your wonderful imput and even pictures that were very helpful in getting a good view of downtown streets. It seems tht it is a delightful small town with a bunch of "stuff" for a couple who love to walk and explore.
What are the public transportation options if we wanted to limit the use of the car?

carlent

[fp1978]

Originally Posted by bluiznsmilez

What's the commute to DC (Reagan Building/Naval yard) from Leesburg like? Any commuter options out that way headed toward DC?

I live in Leesburg and used to work in downtown DC. Let me just tell you that the commute is HELL.

Your first option is driving to a metro station, I used to go to Dunn Loring in Vienna since it was the easiest to get to, then take the Metro downtown. The only problem with this is that Route 7 is a parking lot during rush hour and you will spend at least an hour, sometimes 2 hours, just getting to the metro station. Once you get there the train takes about a half an hour to get downtown.

Another option is to take the Loudoun County transit bus which has a stop in Leesburg. This is nice because it goes over the toll road and HOV lane, and will get you to DC in about an hour. The big problem with this though is that the last bus coming back to Leesburg leaves DC at around 6:00 PM, which means that you better be 100% sure that you will be able to leave work by that time or you will find yourself stuck. This was a big issue for me as I often had to work late.

You can drive all the way into DC, however the traffic is BRUTAL and parking in DC can be scarce and expensive.

And finally another option is driving up Route 15 to Maryland and take the MARC train from Point of Rocks station to Union Station in DC. The problem with this is the same as the problem with the Loudoun bus - the last train back leaves DC at around 6 PM.

Those are your options. None of which I see as being very good. Luckily for me I found another (better) job a short drive away in Dulles.

Good luck with your decision.

[GretchenP]

I love living in Leesburg. We have four small children and are very happy here.

When ready to check out housing, there are neighborhoods that are within walking distance to all of the following:

Ida Lee Park and Rec Center (pool, fiitness center, classes),
Rust Library (which is in the midst of a large expansion),
Downtown shopping area (historic, antiques abound),
Washington Old Dominion Trail (45 miles flat paved trail).

If I could move again, it would be to one of the neighborhoods adjacent to all these.

[maria7]

hi!!Normie...I wanted to thank you for your beautiful Ashburn pictures a while back. They are beautiful...BTW,do you know anything about Regents Walk subd. in Ashburn,and how's the parking and the neighborhood...Thanx and have a good day...............

Originally Posted by normie

Walkable, yes. Most parts are safe, but there are a few areas near downtown that have some mild crime problems. The police department would be able to help pinpoint these. Sorry, I don't know the answer about rentals. But I think you could.



In general, Loudoun County is friendly to newcomers. Especially a town like Leesburg, where you'll find plenty of people home during the day. Of course, different people have different reactions. It's a suburb, so teens might find it boring. It's also somewhat of a transitional town--some people live there their whole lives, others move in and out.

Leesburg has a lot of clubs, and that's a really good way to make new friends. If you like storytelling, volunteer to be part of the ghost tours in autumn and you will find a great network of friends. I also recommend Loudoun Toastmasters and Sterling Playmakers. I've met plenty of nice people through the chamber of commerce, and several of the local churches have social groups.

The only neighborhood I know personally is Lansdowne. The people there seem pretty friendly to me, especially if you are 30+ years old. Younger people would probably be happier close to downtown. Lots of cafes, brewpubs, etc. in Leesburg. They also have a few big festivals every year, and an event called "First Fridays" on (you guessed it) the first Friday of each month. The local shops serve wine and cookies, people wander up and down the street to see what's on sale, and sometimes they have live music.

One cafe I really like is called South Down Under. It's a nice place to stop, especially when you're out riding on the W&OD. Another fun place is the Black Olive, which is actually in the National Conference Center (a beautiful facility worth visiting just to see a cool conference center).

One thing that's fun to do in the Leesburg/Ashburn area is the summer concert series on the front lawn of the Belmont Ridge Country Club. They get fairly big bands (Blues Traveler, Charlie Daniels, KC & the Sunshine Band were some of the headliners this year).



Depends on where the job in Ashburn is. Ashburn is a huge area. And Leesburg is big, too. If you live in Lansdowne and work in west Ashburn, you'd have a very short commute. But your commute could be fairly long, depending on specific addresses.

Here are some random photos I took last winter, I hope they help. I took these photos because a friend needed to find out about Leesburg sidewalks & bike paths, but you can also get a feel for the town. The first set shows stores and homes near downtown Leesburg. The stores downtown are mostly coffee shops, restaurants, and artsy types of stores. The big brick building is the courthouse. It's historic and very beautiful. If you get jury duty, they'll often give you a tour! The 5th photo is the W&OD bike trail--which you can see is used even in the winter.








The next three photos show a suburban neighborhood east of downtown, west of Janelia Research Center. It's considered "smart design" because stores, office buildings, townhouses, and single family homes are mixed together, along with the hospital, a retirement village, a conference center and a research center. This area is called Lansdowne. I took the photo with the little neighborhood "park-ette" because it had nice bike racks. It's not very big, but it's a little green spot to throw a frisbee to your dog or maybe meet a friend.

[terrence81]

I went to Leesburg the other day for the first time for the Obama rally and I was impressed. It's a really cute little town. I thought it was very walkable with lots of well maintained older homes. Very apple pie.