Kid-friendly Neighborhood search

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,
I apologize for posting as anonymous but I can't figure out how to sign in. There must be some setting on my browser that I haven't turned off!

My family and I will be relocating to the area in Dec of this year. I am active-duty military and will be working in Crystal City. We are looking for a neighborhood that is sociable and kid friendly (our son is 3 1/2). We are also looking for a good preschool nearby and preferably less than a 1hr (1.5max!) commute for me. Our price range is $2400-2800/month to rent or less than 450K to buy.
Ideally, we would like a single family 4br 2.5 ba with a backyard, community pool, rec center, kids activities, parents our age (I'm 40 and my husband is 37), easy access to the metro, good schools all within our price range--whew!
I know we are looking for a lot but I am sure it is out there if we know where to look!

Any suggestions/ideas are welocme.
Thank you!
Brooke

[Anonymous]

I would recommend S. Arlington - but you will have to choose a small house (rent, not buy). What you save in commute you can devote toward enjoying your kid.

[Anonymous]

that's really hard, someting will have to give, but you may find such a thing in a rental, but I'm not so sure a SFH will match that price range, let alone one with all the ammenities you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Takoma Park might be an option - an easy commute via Metro (my husband does it every day) and very kid-friendly. You'd probably be pushing your price range a bit to buy, but could probably find something...

[Anonymous]

I live in N. Arlington and rent a 4 BD house for $2200. If you search you can find some good deals.

[Anonymous]

This is OP. I would like to clarify. I realize we probably won't get everything we want but I wanted to give an idea of our desires and constraints.
We were just out there for a week and the search is pretty overwhelming. I was hoping to get some ideas on communities that met most of our desires.
Thanks,
Brooke

[Anonymous]

I am 22:39. I live in Dominion Hills neighborhood of N. Arlington. It is very kid friendly, tons of parks nearby, metro is close, bike trails, community pool (public and private) are just up the street. Great schools, and great variety of ethnic shops nearby. I have a nice yard, 2 bathrooms, 3 floors. Lots of hip places to check out in Ballston/Clarendon/Courthouse areas...movie theatres, restaurants, nightlife, art centers. Only a few metro stops from Crystal City.

[Anonymous]

Delray in Alexandrai, aurora hills in S Arlington. easy easy comute to crstyal city, as a matter of fact you could walk from aurora hills, also addiston heights. zip code is 22202 for the s.arlington neighborhoods. You could go to militarybyowner.com and see if anyone is renting selling in that area. I love all of these neigborhoods. I hope you love it here as much as we do. Good luck on your move.

[Anonymous]

second Delray - cute houses, neighborhood. Right off the highway so easy commute to everywhere but you would never know the highway was so close being on the little main street with the cute shops, restaurants, etc. Clarendon has a lot going on, too. But this is just what appeals to me & my family.

It really depends on what you are used to and what you want - where are you coming from? Do you want urban-ish? Or are you looking more for small-town feel? Do you want a diverse neighborhood? Do you want things within walking distance or does it not matter so much? There are different neighborhoods that have different feelings and amenities.

Give us a little more info and then I think people can be even more specific with their advice.

[Anonymous]

dunn loring woods in vienna is a nice family friendly neighborhood. You could probably rent a house in that price range. There is an outdoor community pool, community center close by, walking distance to the metro...and probably a 35-40 min ride to Crystal City on metro...preschools are great in the vienna area as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:second Delray - cute houses, neighborhood. Right off the highway so easy commute to everywhere but you would never know the highway was so close being on the little main street with the cute shops, restaurants, etc. Clarendon has a lot going on, too. But this is just what appeals to me & my family.

It really depends on what you are used to and what you want - where are you coming from? Do you want urban-ish? Or are you looking more for small-town feel? Do you want a diverse neighborhood? Do you want things within walking distance or does it not matter so much? There are different neighborhoods that have different feelings and amenities.

Give us a little more info and then I think people can be even more specific with their advice.

OP here---thanks to everyone for the suggestions--I have been scouring the rental sites!
In response to PP-We are looking more for a smalltown feel. Walking distance is not neccassary, although some of the communitites I have seen that have their own shopping district are appealing. We would actaully prefer to be out in the country (looked in Bristow) but I am afraid the commute would be too long and I would never see my husband and son suring the week.
We are presently living in Monterey, Ca. and renting a SFH in a nice subdivision that is about a 40min commute to work for me. The 40 min is doable, we still get time in the AM (usually) and a couple of hrs at night.
My husband is an outdoor nut and would be miserable without at least a backyard to work on and some woods nearby. We both put a high priority on a neighborhood that is full of kids and has a community-feel (that's the main reason I mentioned a pool and rec center). we want a neighborhood where our son can play and make friends.
I am willing to lengthen my commute so my son and husband can have all of these things. But I dont want to deny my son the time with me during the week.
Can I have it all?!?!?

[Anonymous]

Check out Burke in VA.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for Del Ray. In addition to Craig's List and other listings, check out the delraymoms yahoo group. Rentals are often posted.

[Anonymous]

Mt. Vernon has a country feel yet close in. The area is along the Potomac, and a National Park, with lots of neighborhoods. Very very low crime-just miles south of Old Town and DC. We just love living down here! Zip code-22308.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:second Delray - cute houses, neighborhood. Right off the highway so easy commute to everywhere but you would never know the highway was so close being on the little main street with the cute shops, restaurants, etc. Clarendon has a lot going on, too. But this is just what appeals to me & my family.

It really depends on what you are used to and what you want - where are you coming from? Do you want urban-ish? Or are you looking more for small-town feel? Do you want a diverse neighborhood? Do you want things within walking distance or does it not matter so much? There are different neighborhoods that have different feelings and amenities.

Give us a little more info and then I think people can be even more specific with their advice.

OP here---thanks to everyone for the suggestions--I have been scouring the rental sites!
In response to PP-We are looking more for a smalltown feel. Walking distance is not neccassary, although some of the communitites I have seen that have their own shopping district are appealing. We would actaully prefer to be out in the country (looked in Bristow) but I am afraid the commute would be too long and I would never see my husband and son suring the week.
We are presently living in Monterey, Ca. and renting a SFH in a nice subdivision that is about a 40min commute to work for me. The 40 min is doable, we still get time in the AM (usually) and a couple of hrs at night.
My husband is an outdoor nut and would be miserable without at least a backyard to work on and some woods nearby. We both put a high priority on a neighborhood that is full of kids and has a community-feel (that's the main reason I mentioned a pool and rec center). we want a neighborhood where our son can play and make friends.
I am willing to lengthen my commute so my son and husband can have all of these things. But I dont want to deny my son the time with me during the week.
Can I have it all?!?!?

OK, you seem like you would do better outside the beltway. There is no shortage of family friendly neighborhoods in these areas. Bristow would be a killer commute. STAY AWAY from 66 outside the beltway. You would be much better along the toll road-anywhere. Reston, I only suggest the North side, is full of pools parks, woods, and yards. My DH used to commute to Crystal City from Sterling (5 miles west of reston) and it took him 45 min ONLY if he left at the crack of dawn and left work early. We were very grateful when he found a new job 5min from our house. However in none of these VA locations will you find a metro outside the beltway. You can live near either falls church metro or vienna, but you will pay top dollar.