Neighborhood suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Somewhere in Alexandria City in 22304 districted for Douglas Macarthur ES, or 22310 districted for Claremont ES?

Or maybe the part of Annandale immediately outside of 495 districted for Woodson High and that school pyramid.

4-5 bedrooms sounds big.

Macarthur is 22302. And I wouldnt' recommend anyone make a long-term investment in Alexandria City Public Schools

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you for all of the suggestions! We have looked casually in Arlington, Vienna, McLean and Falls Church and it seems like you have to have at least $1 million to get something that doesn't require renovations and has 4 bedrooms. With DH and I both working from home a lot, we really would like the extra bedroom to use as an office space. We also have a lot of out of town visitors. We are open to moving to Maryland, but we don't know the neighborhoods as well. I like the houses that I have seen in Oakton, but I am worried that the traffic will be a killer on a daily basis whenever we want to go anywhere. I am also wondering what the sense of community is like there.

[Anonymous]

Del Ray? 4 bedrooms might be a stretch but the sense of community is top notch.

[Anonymous]

We just toured this house last weekend (for fun, as we're not ready to buy yet, but like checking out houses in the neighborhood where we're renting). This house seems poised for a price reduction, which might get it in your ball park, and it was lovely. Right across the street from Lyon Park. There was another house initially up for a million that went for $850 about a block over.

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/501-N-Garfield-St-22201/home/11255281

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thank you for all of the suggestions! We have looked casually in Arlington, Vienna, McLean and Falls Church and it seems like you have to have at least $1 million to get something that doesn't require renovations and has 4 bedrooms. With DH and I both working from home a lot, we really would like the extra bedroom to use as an office space. We also have a lot of out of town visitors. We are open to moving to Maryland, but we don't know the neighborhoods as well. I like the houses that I have seen in Oakton, but I am worried that the traffic will be a killer on a daily basis whenever we want to go anywhere. I am also wondering what the sense of community is like there.

If you have kids in public school, the local schools like Waples Mill offer a sense of community in Oakton. Otherwise, not so much.

Personally, if commuting into DC, I wouldn't look any further out than Vienna. That's still pretty far from DC, but at least you'd be near Metro and Vienna is a "real" community. Just from reading your posts, I think Vienna or West Falls Church might be your best bet, since it sounds like you wouldn't be satisfied with the types of properties on the market for under a million in Arlington or McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just toured this house last weekend (for fun, as we're not ready to buy yet, but like checking out houses in the neighborhood where we're renting). This house seems poised for a price reduction, which might get it in your ball park, and it was lovely. Right across the street from Lyon Park. There was another house initially up for a million that went for $850 about a block over.

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/501-N-Garfield-St-22201/home/11255281

I think that's a really nice house, but see it selling for somewhere @ $950-975K, which sounds like more than the OP can afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thank you for all of the suggestions! We have looked casually in Arlington, Vienna, McLean and Falls Church and it seems like you have to have at least $1 million to get something that doesn't require renovations and has 4 bedrooms. With DH and I both working from home a lot, we really would like the extra bedroom to use as an office space. We also have a lot of out of town visitors. We are open to moving to Maryland, but we don't know the neighborhoods as well. I like the houses that I have seen in Oakton, but I am worried that the traffic will be a killer on a daily basis whenever we want to go anywhere. I am also wondering what the sense of community is like there.

http://franklymls.com/FX7837735
5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, built in 2005, 4000 square feet.

I am seeing over a dozen places in 22180 for under $900k and 4+ bedrooms, of which six are post-1990 construction.

http://franklymls.com/FA7852848

5BR in Falls Church City.

[Anonymous]

23:00 - $900K will buy a very decent house in North Arlington, but i'm not sure it'll buy a very decent 5 BR house in North Arlington. 4BR is do-able, though.

when I was looking, I saw bigger houses in the area around Woodson HS in Fairfax/Annandale. I used to live slightly closer in and the commute to DC wasn't too terrible. I think Woodson HS is better than Wakefield, but on par with Yorktown and probably slightly better than Washington-Lee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just toured this house last weekend (for fun, as we're not ready to buy yet, but like checking out houses in the neighborhood where we're renting). This house seems poised for a price reduction, which might get it in your ball park, and it was lovely. Right across the street from Lyon Park. There was another house initially up for a million that went for $850 about a block over.

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/501-N-Garfield-St-22201/home/11255281

I think that's a really nice house, but see it selling for somewhere @ $950-975K, which sounds like more than the OP can afford.

N.Pershing is a busy road...not as busy as 50 but it is a faster- cut-through type road.

[Anonymous]

Make sure you're taking into account other spaces, such as finished basements and dens, that would be good home office spaces even if they won't legally count as bedrooms. That might expand your possibilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
http://franklymls.com/FX7837735
5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, built in 2005, 4000 square feet.

I am seeing over a dozen places in 22180 for under $900k and 4+ bedrooms, of which six are post-1990 construction.

http://franklymls.com/FA7852848

5BR in Falls Church City.

The house in Vienna looks like shoddy construction to me.

I like the rambler in FCC - nice addition. I wonder if the problem is that it's a dead-end street off Leesburg Pike so close to Seven Corners. Getting in and out could be a pain.

[Anonymous]

I think this is a pretty nice house in Vienna:

http://franklymls.com/FX7940832

[Anonymous]

13:481 I agree with you. Seems quite reasonable for what you get and that's a good neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just toured this house last weekend (for fun, as we're not ready to buy yet, but like checking out houses in the neighborhood where we're renting). This house seems poised for a price reduction, which might get it in your ball park, and it was lovely. Right across the street from Lyon Park. There was another house initially up for a million that went for $850 about a block over.

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/501-N-Garfield-St-22201/home/11255281

I think that's a really nice house, but see it selling for somewhere @ $950-975K, which sounds like more than the OP can afford.

N.Pershing is a busy road...not as busy as 50 but it is a faster- cut-through type road.

Which is why I figure it won't go for the asking price, despite how nice it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
http://franklymls.com/FX7837735
5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, built in 2005, 4000 square feet.

I am seeing over a dozen places in 22180 for under $900k and 4+ bedrooms, of which six are post-1990 construction.

http://franklymls.com/FA7852848

5BR in Falls Church City.

The house in Vienna looks like shoddy construction to me.

I like the rambler in FCC - nice addition. I wonder if the problem is that it's a dead-end street off Leesburg Pike so close to Seven Corners. Getting in and out could be a pain.

I've seen that house. Most of the rooms are small, the bathrooms and the kitchen are bad (old and small), and the floor plan is odd. The back yard is entirely landscaped so not great for young kids.