Tell me about living in Ashburn

[Anonymous]

We live in Reston and really love it. We used to live in Shirlington, so there have been times that we wished to be closer in to the city. For example, when I was trying to job hunt after my job in Arlington went South, but we have a lot of other personal factors that made me getting a new job downtown very difficult - I now work PT for a friend. The commute downtown for a normal commuter with normal hours should NOT be a problem - there are busses to the Metro from several locations in Reston and Herndon (check out the Fairfax Connector website). If the political stuff is important to you, Reston is pretty reliably Democratic, which I know I am happy with.

My husband just started a new job in Ashburn and I keep pondering a move out there, but I am so happy with all the amenities that Reston provides and that it is a bit closer in just in case. Since we have lived in Reston, my husband has commuted to Rockville, then Stafford (THAT was not ideal) and now Ashburn. I commuted to Ballston for 4.5 years. It is definitely a good location for commutes to many areas of NoVA, some in MD and downtown. And as I mentionned, we love the amenities - lots of parks, playgrounds, pools, etc. Reston Town Center has lots of fun things for kids and allows you to get out of the house, too - my daughter is a fan of the fountains in summer and ice skating rink in the winter. We also try to take advantage of the Community Center activities and classes - she currently is signed up for a music class and will be taking a swimming class soon. We are also close enough to Hendon Community Center for her to take Gymnastics Classes there. There also programs and classes offered by the Reston Association, so you have a pretty good variety of fairly low cost programs to choose from (you know, NOT gymboree or little gym prices)

So, while Ashburn is nice, I would advocate for Reston instead. And with the recent drops in home prices, you could probably get a pretty good deal.

[Anonymous]

I live in Ashburn. Ashburn has an unimaginable amount of things to do with children. I LOVE IT. I live in Brambleton, which is one of the newer subdivisions. Our house is 4,000 sq. feet and we paid under $550k. We have community pools, playgrounds, and a "town center" with a grocery store, grade schools, community activities, a movie theater, dry cleaner, salons, shopping, and restaurants. It is the most pedestrian friendly place I have ever lived. We recently bought a jog stroller because we simply walk everywhere on weekends. There are weekends that we never get into the car. Positively everything we need for weekend life is within walking distance. Even better, 1.5 miles away, they have begun construction on Moorefield Station; they've slated it to have a metro station, a Target, shopping, shopping and more shopping. And that is just in and around my neighborhood.

Don't knock the 'burbs till you try it. We moved from a suburb of Manhattan and this place is 10x better than that!

[Anonymous]

In response to the 10:37 poster ....

You moved from a suburb to a suburb. That is not the comparison that others are talking about. Just b/c the suburb you started in happened to be in the tri-state area does not make it Manhattan.

In addtion, the metro station you are hoping for is scheduled to open "TBD". Don't hold you breath!

[Anonymous]

Dear 16:05,

Nor does the OP say that they are moving from a city to a suburb. The fact that my previous suburb was not Manhattan has nothing to do with the fact that I live in a great area now. My point was that I lived previously in a suburb that was 10 miles outside of Manhattan, one that I felt was akin to Arlington, and that there is more to do where I live now. Keep your rebuttals relevant.

[Anonymous]

My complaint about Ashburn and the other further out suburban areas is that they are so lacking in character. They have a very sterile feel to me because of all the newness. This is the same feeling I have for further out Maryland areas (e.g., Germantown), but I think it's worse for Virginia for some reason. I prefer older established neighborhoods. They feel more connected to DC to me. But if this is not something that bothers you, then Ashburn might suit you fine.

[Anonymous]

I live in Cascades (north side of Rt 7 in Sterling). Both DH & I work in Loudoun, we moved from N. Arlington where we were renters and could not afford a home when it was time to buy in 2001. I would not say I LOVE it, because I miss the restaurants terribly, but that is basically it. We both have jumped jobs and have had no problem keeping close to home. Most people I know work along the Dulles corridor. There is pleanty for children, we have a much nicer home than we would in Arlington, and have made some really cool friends and have great neighbors. I would say the intensity and competition of people out here is wayy less than closer in (unless of course there was a green grass competition).

With that said, I've become accoustomed to my larger home and would not like to downgrade to a smaller home closer in for more a larger mortgage. Living out here gives us the economic freedom we would never have closer in. You can say gas blah blah blah, but I only fill my tank every 10 days because being where we are, we don't have to go far for much.

I must say though, the restaurants SUCK. If we want a decent meal, we head in. However none of that much matters b/c we only go out maybe twice a month.

If you are into agritainment for your children or visiting wineries when it gets warm there is so much to do in western Loudoun that it would take you years to do it all. I work PT and in the summer the kids and I spend all of our days off picking whatever is in season...blueberries, strawberries, peaches, rapsberries, blackberries, it is so nice to have those kind of things to do with the kids in the summer.

[Anonymous]

We live in Ashburn, and have a 3,000 sq ft home that backs to woods. It is wonderful! Closer in, we would probably have a not so great townhouse. We have an 8 month old, and have found the whole area to be EXTREMELY family friendly. Politically speaking, we have found it to be 50/50. We are big Obama folks, but don't need to only live around those that agree with us 100%. I like the fact that although my neighbor might have been a McCain supporter, he is a really good, decent person...as I'm sure many Republicans are. Politics do not necessarily define how nice a community is. Sometimes it would be nicer to have easier access to DC, but with the metro funding having just passed final approval (Hooray!), we will see a station in Reston in about 5 years, and Ashburn a few years after that. Now that will be a dream come true!

[Anonymous]

PP here- I live in Belmont Ridge (right next to Ashburn Farm) FYI.

[Anonymous]

Not to flame the posters, but I'm always amazed by how impressed people are with buying a huge, brand new home. I have two kids and easily live in a 1,500 sq. foot townhouse. Sure - this is a little small, but 4,000 sq. feet just seems huge to me.

OP - if your DH decides to move out there, my personal opinion is to move so that he has as small a commute as possible. But definitely keep in mind that if he loses his job, you may be living in Ashburn and he may want a job back inside the beltway. So maybe don't go crazy for all the huge McMansions in Ashburn and spend your money wisely so that you have a cushion if you need to sell your home and move back in.

I'm sure Ashburn has great activities for kids, but coming from Arlington, I think I may go crazy. I think Arlington has tons of things for kids too, plus better schools. And a quick ride into DC to go to museums, etc.

But - like you - I love Arlington. My love of Arlington means I could probably never really like Ashburn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
If you are into agritainment for your children

I've never heard of "agritainment" before!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
If you are into agritainment for your children

I've never heard of "agritainment" before!

agratainment. Basically small farms in Loudoun were dying and property was being scooped up by developers. The farmers made a lot of their small farms open to the public for picking, wine tasting, dining, hayrides, slides, petting farms, festivals and so forth. All of this collided with a growing demand for locally grown clean foods. So you can take your kids for a day at the farm to play and also pick up your seasonal fruits and veggies.

Great Country Farms is a wonderful example of this. They just spun off a winery as well.

[Anonymous]

I live in Broadlands. We moved here from Alexandria before kids, mostly for the space to grow. There are definitely a lot of kids around, and the families here are surprisingly diverse.

Each of the main subdivisions - Ashburn Farm, Ashburn Village, and Broadlands (and maybe some of the new smaller ones) - has its own HOA and neighborhood pools. Broadlands' HOA hosts events (Halloween parades, Egg hunts, etc.) for the kids, and some for adults too. Leesburg and Reston aren't that far away for festivals, and as PP mentioned, you are a lot closer to "agritainment" (love that word!). They are having a festival for Earth Day at Clydes out here - music, food, etc. As the weather warms up, more and more of the kids on my street are outside playing together, and the parents like to hang out together in their lawn chairs.

I can't speak too much to the schools, but I dismiss the complaints I hear as usual whining. (DD's not in school yet.) FWIW, Loudoun still has 1/2 day kindergarten, and I don't see that changing soon with the continued growth and economic downturn.

One thing that might be a plus for you -- there seem to be a lot of SAHMs here. As a WOHM, I might be biased, but "they" seem to outnumber working moms by quite a bit, on my street anyway.

And yes, there are Democrats, even way out here.