Where to live near Fallschurch (McLean, Manassas: real estate, to rent, house)

[tuttiamano]

Help!
My husband is considering a position in Fallschurch, VA. tha would require a relocation for us.

We currently live in a small town - pop. 13,000 40% under the age of 10, and 26 miles outside (west) of Boston, MA. Small town, strong community.

We have a toddler and I am a stay at home mom. We want to live in a town that is similar to that we live in now, close enough to the city but far away enough.

I understand the cost of living in VA is similar to that in MA. We are looking for a single family home 500-600K, 1-2 acres in a private, safe, community.

Public school ok, when the time comes.

Family town, strong sense of community and comittment to the town and preservation of the town.

Pie not cake!

Any town ideas would be great. Also, my husband would be willing to commute not more than 30 min. to Fallschurch.

HELP!

[NVAappraiser]

I live about 25 miles outside of Falls Church on 2.5 acres. One to Two acres properties will be very hard to come by or way above your given price range if you live any closer then 25-30 miles from the city itself. Some areas to consider that offer properties within your price point with ammenities you have discribed would be.....Leesburg, Round Hill, Purcellville, Haymarket, or possibly Manassas Virginia. As a real estate professional in the area for over 6 years. My suggestion would be Haymarket which is where I live. I have selected this area because it is a fairly small community with great schools, new shopping ammenities, and convenient access to major arteries. Leesburg and Round Hill are both located in Loudoun County however would probably create a longer commute time do to traffic condtions in that particular area. Hope this helps.

[gnu]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a house in Fall Church with 1-2 acres of land around it, or a town that small nearby. If you want land, and the small town feel, somewhere like Leesburg might do it for you, although, it might be more than a 30 minute drive to get to Falls Church. In any case, look to the west of Fairfax County, not east.

Also, do you mean a gated community when you say private? There are lots of those around here, but generally, not for the price that you have indicated. However, almost anywhere you look in the area will be safe, so you need not worry too much about that when looking for a neighborhood.

[tuttiamano]

Thank you so much for the information!
I have just discovered that the land we have now (2 acres - our town has a 2 acre min. law) is NOT likely to be found in Falls Church. Hmmm. OK - rethinking the land aspect. I think our best bet would be to rent for a while until we decide on an area. Thank you all for the information and WEST sounds like the place for us!

Thank you again!

[gnu]

But also, don't overlook living in Falls Church itself. The amount you are willing to spend on a house is reasonable in this area; while you won't get 2 acres, it's safe, quiet, and tree-lined.

[dullnboring]

Yeah, definitely rent for awhile at first. I'd recommend that to anybody starting out anyplace new.

I think some compromises will have to be made inevitably. Land is an issue. There's places where you can find such land within 30 minutes to Falls Church, but they're incredibly expensive (i.e. many 900K homes in McLean have massive land), and in the areas where you can find that amount of land for your price (some of which have already been named), you're well over a 30 minute commute from Falls Church. Probably more like 60 minutes at least, south or west.

I also think one thing that may be an adjustment is the fact that there aren't really many traditional towns in the New England sense in Northern Virginia. This isn't an area that's heavy on pedestrian-friendly quaint downtowns with lots of mom and pop stores. You can find very very small tastes of that in Falls Church (the actual city), Fairfax (the city), Herndon, Vienna and Leesburg, but it's the exception to the norm and nothing like you'd find in New England. Generally, the DC area sprawls out of control with each suburb bleeding into one another in a mishmash of strip malls and subdivisions, with little discernible community identity. The area is pretty transient so the sense of community you find in many communities in the Northeast isn't really present. However, that can also be a heavily localized issue where you can find yourself just happening to find a great street in a great neighborhood where the neighbors are very tightly knit. It's a luck of the draw.

With all of that said, I think you should take a look at Vienna. It does have at least a small sense of community with a heavy concentration of families and older residents. You are within a 30 minute commute of Falls Church, the community is incredibly safe, the schools fantastic, there is Metro access to get into DC in 25 minutes, and you can find housing in your budget. However, the housing stock in this area is older than in many parts of the county with lots of one-story post-war ramblers, and the land requirements are unlikely to be met, although homes in Vienna do tend to have surprisingly sizable yards. It's worth researching.