Help-Springfield/Burke good choice for relocating family? (McLean, Franconia: for sale, townhome)

[sparks5967]

Hello-

In mid-June, our family will relocate from Florida to Northern Virginia. I will be commuting to downtown DC and my spouse will be commuting to near Reagan National Airport. From our research, it appears that the Springfield/Burke area would be a good choice for us- decent commutes (45 minutes or less); very good schools for our children, ages 5 and 7; and decent single family homes in the $500k range.

We are looking for educated, local insight to the area. Are we on track or are there other areas we should consider? Your insight is very much appreciated!

Thanks so very much!

[mlv311]

We recently relocated to the area and chose Burke for the same reasons after much research and the great advice I got on this forum. It has great schools and many amenities. While you do have the option of driving to Springfield metro station or taking the VRE (commuter train), don't count on having a 45 minute commute if you or your spouse work downtown. Traffic is pretty bad here.

The thing with Burke is that the supply of single-family homes for sale is low, particularly in that price range. If you are looking for a townhome, you'll have more options. My suggestion is to consider other areas near Burke so you have more options (e.g., some parts of 22032). Springfield is a mix so if you care about the good schools watch out for that. Just as a FYI, West Springfield is closer to Burke.

Good luck with your relocation plans,

[saganista]

The whole Burke/Springfield/Franconia/Kingstowne arc is going to be a nice. And it stays that way west of the Beltway (I-495) up through the sort of nothern version...Fairfax/Oakton/Vienna/McLean/Falls Church. Prices go up a little as you head north, but houses in the low to mid-500's are out there in all those locations. You really can't go too far wrong in any of them. As already noted, commutes of 45 minutes to DC from any of those places will be uncommon. Better figure on an hour, depending where in DC the job is. The National Airport area might be the tougher one to do via public transit. My advice would be to map out those commutes very carefully. Underestimating the daily effort required to actually get to and from work is probably the most common mistake that people make when moving into this area...

[5stones]

you've gotten great advice here. 45 will be a rare good day! (this monday...memorial day...govt offices closed!)

Again I'll say as other have stay west in Springfield. Burke is a nice area with parks and good schools. hOusing is tight in that budget though. You will find houses in that price range but most will be in need of massive updating. I did see a few updated split levels that were nice though for around 470K. Split levels are always harder to sell than tradtional 2 level. I know friends who rave about the schools in Burke, so there a plus!

[irisheyes13]

We lived in Burke for two school years a few years back and were very happy with the schools and community. We had one child in jr high and one in high school. The commute is a concern as others have said but if I remember correctly you can drive over to the Springfield metro and get in to National that way?