| Which part of DC is your DH and child going to? That would help pinpoint a location. I'd probably be looking in the Chesterbrook Elementary draw area (Haycock is great but they are going through a renovation right now and it's kind of a mess). Try the neighborhoods that are east of Kirby, north of Old Dominion. Those neighborhoods have older houses on larger lots with more character than the recently built mcmansions. |
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Something like this?
http://www.redfin.com/VA/Mc-Lean/1900-Bargo-Ct-22101/home/9484629 |
OP here. I like the style of this house though it's a little on the small side. |
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if you are willing to venture out to marshall which is pretty good as well (on par with yorktown at least)
These are close to metros but not walkable http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2044-Stephanie-Marie-Dr-22043/home/9473880 http://www.redfin.com/homes-for-sale#!market=dc®ion_id=8746®ion_type=2&uipt=2,1&v=8 http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/1949-Leonard-Rd-22043/home/9470827 http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2321-Colonel-Lindsay-Ct-22043/home/9480461 http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2401-Walled-Oak-Ct-22043/home/9839041 http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2392-Hurst-St-22043/home/9833809#schools |
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if you are willing to venture out to marshall which is pretty good as well (on par with yorktown at least)
These are close to metros but not walkable http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2044-Stephanie-Marie-Dr-22043/home/9473880 http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/7719-Lunceford-Ln-22043/home/9459399 http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/1949-Leonard-Rd-22043/home/9470827 http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2321-Colonel-Lindsay-Ct-22043/home/9480461 http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2401-Walled-Oak-Ct-22043/home/9839041 http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2392-Hurst-St-22043/home/9833809#schools |
I think the sqft on Redfin applies only to the above ground floor. It doesn't count the basement, which is half the house. |
The Tysons/McLean station will be in McLean; the new station will be about two miles from downtown McLean; there will be new Fairfax Connector routes from different parts of McLean to the Tysons/McLean station, which will be several miles to downtown McLean than either the current West Falls Church or Ballston stations; and people will also be biking to the new station from various parts of McLean. |
actually the basement is now included, in the listing details you can see the break down. |
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If you can go up to $1.55M, you can find something like this in McLean. It's similar to many of the new homes in Arlington, but feels less "boxy" to me, since you're not staring at a ground floor, front-facing garage.
http://franklymls.com/FX8100522 |
This is a very nice home I can attest the builder tries to go all out on the finishing work and details, not your generic McMansion builder. |
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I think this is also an interesting house - a bit further out than Franklin Park, but a nice renovation/expansion in an area with good schools (of course):
http://franklymls.com/FX8094142 |
| I grew up in McLean and live there now. If you want to be close to a Metro station but are shopping in the 1.3-1.5M range, then I say your best bet is one of many neighborhoods off of Lewinsville Road, in between 123 and Route 7. That side of McLean is closest to Tyson's, which is where the metro stations are coming in. That area is also in the Spring Hill/Cooper/Langley school pyramid, which is excellent. However, this neighborhood is on the opposite side of the area of McLean that is closest to DC. If you want the shortest drive to DC, then you want to be near the 123 exit of GW Parkway. For your price range, I would look in the Potomac Hills neighborhood off of Kirby Road and the neighborhoods near the CIA and Potomac School like Langley Oaks. I think Potomac Hills feeds into McLean HS, which back in the day was inferior to Langley, but these days is equivalent in terms of quality of education and reputation, and maybe even better because it has less of a "spoiled rich kids" culture. |
Other neighborhoods in that price range that are closer to DC than the area off Lewinsville Road are Langley Oaks and Evermay. These homes were built in the 1970s and early 1980s. They are very solid and fairly suburban in appearance. They won't charm people who want a 1930s house in Arlington, but they won't offend people who are tired of what the style of the current new construction, either. Langley Oaks is Churchill Road/Cooper/Langley; Evermay splits between Franklin Sherman/Cooper/Langley and Franklin Sherman/Longfellow/McLean (as it's divided by Route 123). They are both also near the 123 exit to the GW Parkway. |
| If your budget is that high, why aren't you renovating the house you have in Lyon Village? Move into an apartment for a year or six months and stay in Lyon Village -- Key/Taylor - Swanson - W-L. Pretty good schools. |