Please tell me everything you know about Reston!
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Anonymous
| we didn't have to drive everywhere for shopping in our north reston neighborhood. we were right around the corner to north point shopping center. On a good day, we could even walk to the Town Center. But anything north of Baron Cameron was quite easy to get to. |
Anonymous
| I agree your budget will limit you. Have you looked at the Greenbriar neighborhood in Chantilly? Houses there seem to be a bit less, I'm guessing because many do not have a basement. Schools are good. |
Anonymous
I am the previous poster who lived in Reston and now lives in Greenbriar. Only one house in all of Greenbriar has a basement (or so I heard from the realtor who sold the house next door to us). I don't find lack of a basement to be an issue. We have the biggest model, which is 2200 sf. It is plenty of room for us. We love our neighborhood if you are interested. Our neighbor commutes downtown, but it isn't exactly an easy commute. But I don't think anything in Western Fairfax is going to be an easy commute to DC, whether it is Reston or Chantilly area. If you want more details on my neighborhood, I'm happy to provide them. But I threw out a few more suggestions that would get you closer to Reston and the metro in an earlier post, so check those out, too. |
Anonymous
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Reston Town Center is like The Truman Show.
That's all I know about Reston. |
Anonymous
why do you even bother to post if this is the garbage you're going to post? Reston Town Center is an outdoor shopping mall with a lot of restaurants. No one said it was like a downtown area or main street. It is just a nice place to go and wander for a few hours and hosts lots of festivals and has a pavilion that serves as a setting for concerts in the summer and ice skating in the winter. Just after thanksgiving, there is a tree lighting ceremony. No one who lives in Reston would compare it to downtown DC. It is suburbia and we know it...and most of us like it that way. I enjoyed my time there and the ONLY reason we are no longer there is because there were not SFHs in our price range. |
Anonymous
| You might consider Herndon. It's just next to Reston so you'll have access to all Reston has to offer and you're more likely to find a SFH in your price range. |
Anonymous
It depends what part of Herndon. There are reasons certain parts of both Herndon and Reston have cheaper real estate, and it usually comes down to the schools and the socioeconomics of the surrounding neighborhoods. As I already mentionned, Fox Mill, Franklin Farm/Chantilly Highlands and Stuart Ridge would be great neighborhoods for your price range with Herndon addresses. You MIGHT even find a home in your price range in the Crossfield ES area, although that area is pretty far from anything/not walkable at all. We considered a couple houses that tracked to Herndon ES because there is an immersion program there that you have a better chance of getting into if you are in boundary for the school. Don't forget that you can apply for the Hunters Woods arts and science magnet school and the several immersion programs nearby, so there are some interesting schooling options. Those are lottery programs, so admission isn't guaranteed, but it is another nice thing about that area. We gave up those options when we moved further down the Parkway and driving to and from school was no longer feasible. |
Anonymous
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I love Reston. We live in Vienna and go to eat and have fun there instead of DC or Tysons - very walkable and fun in the summer (outdoor shows by the fountains) and winter (ice skating). However, I don't like South Lakes HS. It might get better in the 10 years or so until your kids are in HS.
If I had my choice, I'd live in one of those cool townhouse style houses right on one of the big lakes. |
Anonymous
| You couldn't pay me a million dollars a year to live in Reston. Especially if I worked downtown. I'd rather live in someone's garage in AU Park before I lived in Reston. I've only heard bad things. And Reston town centr does suck. On the other hand it does have the chain restaurant staples. So yes I'm the DC elitist snob. |
Anonymous
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We live in Vienna but I echo the Fox Mill suggestion. For your budget, you'll get a good school district, POOL and really a pretty good location.
I really think this bad mouthing South Lakes is not taking into consideration all the redistricting that occurred a few years ago. From all the families I met that are districted for there and kids will be going in 5-10 years, there is nothing to fear. |
Anonymous
So, I ask again - why the hell are you even bothering to post? I don't go into posts about downtown neighborhoods and start slamming them with my lack of insider knowledge. What exactly sucks about the Town Center? The fact that it ISN'T downtown and some trendy place you can brag to all your friends about? Please, get the eff over yourself... |
Anonymous
| Don't buy anthing feeding into South Lakes High School. |
Anonymous
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FYI - there are many rat-infested garages in AU Park, so let's hope you look into a tetanus shot before you pick the AU Park garage over Reston.
South Lakes HS may not be considered the best in Fairfax County, but it's good and only getting better. It's arguably comparable to W-L in Arlington, and certainly superior to any public high school in DC. |
Anonymous
I've been to Reston Town Center on multiple occasions and I am a city snob, plus it is a long drive for us. But it is a convenient place to meet up with our friends who live in far away burbs and it is nice to have a place like this out there. It is definitely million times better than some collection of strip malls or a standard covered mega mall. I definitely prefer it to something like Tysons if I had to go to the suburbs to shop, dine, etc. The problem with this place is that it is super crowded and often the wait for the restaurants is very long, over an hour is not uncommon during popular times. It also features overcrowded parking garages and swarm of of people on the sidewalks. The last time I went to Reston, I swear the number of people walking around is comparable to something like Manhattan because of overcrowding. That was also the night we were quoted 1.5 hour wait at most popular restaurants. The problem is that there is nothing else like it around and people actually want these types of places and there just isn't enough of them. So, it seems like the entire suburban population of DC metro congregates there, as it is the only destination and place to go. As a contrast DC trendiest neighborhoods don't feel nearly as crowded to me because people who live close have more choices where to go. |
Anonymous
I live in Reston, and I actually do NOT so much care for the RTC. Like other posters have said, it feels a bit sterile, contrived, and often is crowded or has a lot of long waits for restaurants. That said, it is what it is, and I"ll go there, esp if other folks want to meet there. That's fine. No skin off my back. It certainly has its purpose and I get that. However, I do feel that Reston (and Herndon, in particular!) have a lot of fabulous, independent, yummy other food options that just don't get as much "press time," just because RTC tends to suck the rest of the air out of everything else. If anyone else is looking for good restaurants in that area, one website I like in particular is http://www.herndoncuisine.com/. I know this is specifically about Herndon and not Reston, but Herndon has a lot of good, ethnic cuisine, in particular. So, I suppose my point is: don't be afraid to go off the "beaten path" and look for non-RTC food options in this area! RTC is fine, it has its role, but there are a lot of other "less sterile" options too, if you care to investigate! Bon appetit! 
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