Rent in Vienna (near vienna metro) v. Mosaic District v. Dunn Loring

[Anonymous]

Single mom trying to figure out where to live. I'm in my 20's, will work in DC, but I also will have an elementary school aged son at private school in Fairfax.

I plan on using Metro to commute to work, unless I eventually decide to drive. Mosaic District seems like a cool place for young people around my age, but I'm not sure if it's family oriented and I want my son to love the area we live in too.

I really like the TH community by Vienna Metro like MetroWest. I've heard it's a great family community and I think it's walking distance to Vienna Metro which is a huge plus. However, I'm also attracted to the more town center feel in Mosaic.

Finally, I think Dunn Loring is OK. I do like that there are some places walking distance to Dunn Loring Metro, and also near Mosaic District.

Lot of factors to weigh here... any advice/opinion is greatly appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Personally I’d pick Mosaic. There are things to do in Mosaic, movies, parks, soccer fields, restaurants. If you have private school. For public school, I’d be sure to choose a better high school. Both of these neighborhoods trend older than Arlington.

[Anonymous]

How is your son getting to private school? What will you do for before/after care? Where in DC will you be working?

I ask bc I was a regular metro commuter (live near West Falls Church station) and metro has become very unreliable recently. If I was a single mom commuting to DC I would want to drive, and also to make sure I had coverage for my son after school.

[Anonymous]

I can recommend the Country Creek neighborhood near Vienna Metro. It's an easy walk to the train, and family friendly with lots of kids. I recently moved away but miss it.

I don't know where in Mosaic I could let my ES kid run around, so I'd look elsewhere for that reason.

[Anonymous]

This is hard OP because the kid-friendly places aren’t necessarily fun for children. If a fun place for your son is your priority, I agree with the PP and suggest you look at the townhome communities near the Vienna Metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is your son getting to private school? What will you do for before/after care? Where in DC will you be working?

I ask bc I was a regular metro commuter (live near West Falls Church station) and metro has become very unreliable recently. If I was a single mom commuting to DC I would want to drive, and also to make sure I had coverage for my son after school.

OP here. That is good to know. He's going to Catholic school. Morning care begins at 6:40 am and is available after school until 6. Because of the nature of my job, I will likely also need to hire a PT nanny until 9pm. I will be working near Metro Center.

Ideally, I would move closer to DC with my son, but my co-parent would resist that as much as possible given that he lives in Manassas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can recommend the Country Creek neighborhood near Vienna Metro. It's an easy walk to the train, and family friendly with lots of kids. I recently moved away but miss it.

I don't know where in Mosaic I could let my ES kid run around, so I'd look elsewhere for that reason.

OP here. Thank you for this!! I will say, my son will be in the 4th grade so he's old enough to the point where he's not exactly running around. However, for outdoor activities, we do like going on walks and playing lax, basketball, and soccer together. This is something I will keep in mind. Thank you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is hard OP because the kid-friendly places aren’t necessarily fun for children. If a fun place for your son is your priority, I agree with the PP and suggest you look at the townhome communities near the Vienna Metro.

OP here. Thank you for the response! Can you explain what you mean by the kid-friendly places aren't necessarily fun for children?

[Anonymous]

Mosaic. We live near Dunn Loring but go to Mosaic all the time. Outdoor movie nights, soccer at the field next to Jackson MS, farmer's market, and plenty of restaurants. There are always kids playing on the main green in front of Target.

The THs near Vienna metro are nice too if you can walk to Nottoway Park, which is pretty awesome to have nearby.

[Anonymous]

If he is in Catholic, I would try to live as close to school as possible to make socializing with classmates easier.

[Anonymous]

^^^ we are Catholic school parents, moved 2 years ago, DC spends most time with school mates not neighbors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mosaic. We live near Dunn Loring but go to Mosaic all the time. Outdoor movie nights, soccer at the field next to Jackson MS, farmer's market, and plenty of restaurants. There are always kids playing on the main green in front of Target.

The THs near Vienna metro are nice too if you can walk to Nottoway Park, which is pretty awesome to have nearby.

That's one crowded faux grass turf area in Mosaic. With occasional outdoor movies. Otherwise, it's an outdoor shopping market for 20s-50s with bars, restaurants. There's nothing for kids really except free movies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is your son getting to private school? What will you do for before/after care? Where in DC will you be working?

I ask bc I was a regular metro commuter (live near West Falls Church station) and metro has become very unreliable recently. If I was a single mom commuting to DC I would want to drive, and also to make sure I had coverage for my son after school.

OP here. That is good to know. He's going to Catholic school. Morning care begins at 6:40 am and is available after school until 6. Because of the nature of my job, I will likely also need to hire a PT nanny until 9pm. I will be working near Metro Center.

Ideally, I would move closer to DC with my son, but my co-parent would resist that as much as possible given that he lives in Manassas.

That's rough OP. A long day 640am till 9pm bed time without you, iwith boat loads of catholic 4th grader homework. You may want to consider moving west closer to your ex where it's cheap and find an easier job with move conventional hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he is in Catholic, I would try to live as close to school as possible to make socializing with classmates easier.

Thanks for the response. Yep. I'm 25 and remember my Catholic school days like they were yesterday. I specifically remember my peers living further away from school had trouble getting to play dates, birthday parties, etc. Although, for HS I remember people living all over making it difficult for everyone - ha.

The options I'm considering aren't seemingly too far from my son's school, but near Vienna metro is the closest (about 10 minutes). Definitely another factor to keep in mind so thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mosaic. We live near Dunn Loring but go to Mosaic all the time. Outdoor movie nights, soccer at the field next to Jackson MS, farmer's market, and plenty of restaurants. There are always kids playing on the main green in front of Target.

The THs near Vienna metro are nice too if you can walk to Nottoway Park, which is pretty awesome to have nearby.

That's one crowded faux grass turf area in Mosaic. With occasional outdoor movies. Otherwise, it's an outdoor shopping market for 20s-50s with bars, restaurants. There's nothing for kids really except free movies.

OP here. Thanks for the response. It's hard to get a sense here. It seems like people have mixed opinions about whether Mosaic is fun for kids.

My son and I love to play outside but we also love going out to eat and seeing movies together too... This is tough.