Leafy walkable suburb (Arlington, McLean, Tysons Corner: houses, neighborhoods, school district)

[kaday]

Can anyone recommend an area within commuting (relatively easy) distance to Rosslyn. Older updated home (at least 3 BR 2 1/2 BA) in good safe school district. Able to walk to stores, possibly metro, parks etc. Maximum $800,000 but hopefully less. Thanks!

[optimusprime]

Vienna is one that I am very familiar with. We have a Safeway, Whole Foods, Giant and miscellaneous stores within walking distance.

The metro is about 2-3 miles away, but if you live close enough to 123, you can take the 2T bus to the Dunn Loring-Merrifield metro without having to drive to the metro. It will add about 30 mins to your commute vs. the 10-15 mins to drive to either the Vienna or Dunn Loring metro.

Red fin usually has a good spread of houses that are on the market in town. Zip code is 22180.

Ballston also might have potential for you, but I'll let others speak to that.

[claremarie]

For an extremely easy commute, look in North Arlington along the Orange Line, especially in the East Falls Church or Westover areas. Madison Manor, Berkshire Oakwood, Tara are three neighborhood names that come to mind. Madison Manor and Oakwood are walking distance to East Falls Church Metro.
The City of Falls Church would also fit the bill, especially if you're willing to consider older homes without master bath suites or great room/kitchen areas.

[akorosdc]

I'd aim towards North Arlington, but (just to give you more options) I know people who live in Aurora Hills/Addison Heights in S. Arlington who love it. It's mostly small houses, walking distance to Pentagon City and Crystal City. For the commute, it's 3 stops from Pentagon City to Rosslyn on the Blue Line. I don't have any clue about the schools.

[goozer]

You are fortunate that you can afford up to $800k, b/c that will give you options on all of the main north Arlington neighborhoods that are adjacent to metro stations that lead to Rosslyn (Courthouse, Clarendon, Virginia Square, and Ballston). Schools there are generally very good, and some are excellent. Of course, even if you lived further out from Rosslyn, your commute would not be as bad as if you worked in the District. In my experience, traffic doesn't get really bad until you get into DC.

[queen5607]

North Arlington. Don't look any further. It has everything you want. Especially the areas around Clarendon.

[gotjenks]

For that amount I woudl look at the first neighborhood (near the Potomac School) in McLean on 123. You can just hop on the Geroge Washington Pky and be in Rosslyn in no time.

[lchoro]

North Arlington. Around Yorktown HS. You can walk to Greenbrier Park, which has a big athletic field, and to the Safeway and the new Harris Teeter's. It's very close to Ballston Metro by bus or by car. Ballston Commons Mall and Tysons Corner Mall are close by. To get to Rosslyn, you can drive up Rt 29 or take the Arlington bus (ART?).