Great Falls or Reston?

[Anonymous]

GF feels like the middle of nowhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GF feels like the middle of nowhere.

When you're trying to use one-lane GF roads at rush hour, you'll be like "TOO MANY PEOPLE LIVE IN NOWHERE!!!"

[Anonymous]

We live in Great Falls and love it. Difficult Run is close by, on which you can hike (we have trekked from our house to the actual Great Falls, about 3 miles away).

We live in a GF neighborhood near Route 7, so we are close to both Tysons and Reston, as well as all the major highways. It takes me about 7 minutes to get to Tysons in the morning and about 15-20 minutes in the evening, depending on where in Tysons I'm coming from.

My neighborhood has (relatively) modest colonials and split levels, each on 1/2 acre lots, so we have a nice combination of privacy and a neighborhood feel. Our neighborhood does a weekly happy hour in the summer. Like the PPs said about Reston, we also run into friends/neighbors while we're out.

The schools are top-notch, and our kids have been happy at all levels (ES, MS and HS). We are Feds (i.e. not wealthy), if that matters; some people think GF is full of giant houses and the ultra rich, but there is also a sizable number of people like me and my family.

I cannot say which is better since I have never lived in Reston, but whichever you choose, I'm sure it will be great!

[Anonymous]

Reston is more ghetto

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I both work in Tysons and we have a 2 and 4 year old. Heavily debating where to live but narrowed it down to Reston or Great Falls. He's pushing for Great Falls I'm pushing for Reston - his main points are GF's schools and my main points are Reston's trails/walkability/things to do and feels more like a community. We both love the mid-century modern/contemporary homes that we've found in both places and that there still is a lot of nature.

We don't particularly care for Vienna/Burke/Oakton.

I know there are a ton of threads and I've read through most of them, but tell me things I need to know!

Not sure why the hate for Oakton...it is really a more desirable, convenient GF with larger lots and lower density. You are likely to get better value (it costs less) in GF however as it has become somewhat less desirable due to traffic issues and lack of amenities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reston is more ghetto

Reston is where Fairfax dumps most of its low income housing. I would never....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op again - I've also been very overwhelmed with all of the "One Fairfax" stuff on the VA Public Schools forum so I didn't even bother to post there. Since my kids are still 9/10 years out from HS would I be silly passing up Reston solely to pick Langley over South Lakes?

I am in the Fox Mill ES boundary. The kids in my neighborhood seem to be enjoying South Lakes High School. I know that the change to South Lakes was not an easy one but it seems to have smoothed out. The ones I talk to think that the academics are challenging and are doing well. The reality is that your kids are likely to be taking honors or IB classes and in with a group of kids that are academically strong. South Lakes has been steadily improving. And while not Reston, we can walk to the grocery store and a bunch of smaller restaurants. There are parks near by for the kids to play at and a strong sense of community. The metro will be opening in September, maybe, so we will have a metro stop about 1 1/2 miles away. We are close enough to Reston to enjoy the trails and belong to a local pool.

Schools are important but an invested parent is likely to make sure that their child is in a place to succeed. Your children would be fine at South Lakes and you can save more money for college and retirement buying a less expensive house.

Just make sure your kids pack their switchblade when attending SLHC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op again - I've also been very overwhelmed with all of the "One Fairfax" stuff on the VA Public Schools forum so I didn't even bother to post there. Since my kids are still 9/10 years out from HS would I be silly passing up Reston solely to pick Langley over South Lakes?

I am in the Fox Mill ES boundary. The kids in my neighborhood seem to be enjoying South Lakes High School. I know that the change to South Lakes was not an easy one but it seems to have smoothed out. The ones I talk to think that the academics are challenging and are doing well. The reality is that your kids are likely to be taking honors or IB classes and in with a group of kids that are academically strong. South Lakes has been steadily improving. And while not Reston, we can walk to the grocery store and a bunch of smaller restaurants. There are parks near by for the kids to play at and a strong sense of community. The metro will be opening in September, maybe, so we will have a metro stop about 1 1/2 miles away. We are close enough to Reston to enjoy the trails and belong to a local pool.

Schools are important but an invested parent is likely to make sure that their child is in a place to succeed. Your children would be fine at South Lakes and you can save more money for college and retirement buying a less expensive house.

Just make sure your kids pack their switchblade when attending SLHC.

For real or just an urban legend?

[Anonymous]

There are currently only 6 houses for sale in 20194. There are 155 houses for sale in 22066. Why do you think this is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reston is more ghetto

LOL pretty much everywhere is more "ghetto" than Great Falls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are currently only 6 houses for sale in 20194. There are 155 houses for sale in 22066. Why do you think this is?

You do know that these are not just the 2 zipcodes in these areas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are currently only 6 houses for sale in 20194. There are 155 houses for sale in 22066. Why do you think this is?

You do know that these are not just the 2 zipcodes in these areas?

In all of Reston there's 121 for sale, in Great Falls there's 163. Why do you think this is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are currently only 6 houses for sale in 20194. There are 155 houses for sale in 22066. Why do you think this is?

You do know that these are not just the 2 zipcodes in these areas?

In all of Reston there's 121 for sale, in Great Falls there's 163. Why do you think this is?

However, only 18 "houses" for sale in Reston vs. 143 in GF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are currently only 6 houses for sale in 20194. There are 155 houses for sale in 22066. Why do you think this is?

You do know that these are not just the 2 zipcodes in these areas?

In all of Reston there's 121 for sale, in Great Falls there's 163. Why do you think this is?

Please just look at houses. And I’m including townhouses. There are not 121 houses for sale in Reston. Hahaha. Not even close.

Look at how long houses sit in Great Falls. A loooooooooong time. If you buy there, prepared for your house to sit in the market for a minimum of six months if you ever sell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op again - I've also been very overwhelmed with all of the "One Fairfax" stuff on the VA Public Schools forum so I didn't even bother to post there. Since my kids are still 9/10 years out from HS would I be silly passing up Reston solely to pick Langley over South Lakes?

I am in the Fox Mill ES boundary. The kids in my neighborhood seem to be enjoying South Lakes High School. I know that the change to South Lakes was not an easy one but it seems to have smoothed out. The ones I talk to think that the academics are challenging and are doing well. The reality is that your kids are likely to be taking honors or IB classes and in with a group of kids that are academically strong. South Lakes has been steadily improving. And while not Reston, we can walk to the grocery store and a bunch of smaller restaurants. There are parks near by for the kids to play at and a strong sense of community. The metro will be opening in September, maybe, so we will have a metro stop about 1 1/2 miles away. We are close enough to Reston to enjoy the trails and belong to a local pool.

Schools are important but an invested parent is likely to make sure that their child is in a place to succeed. Your children would be fine at South Lakes and you can save more money for college and retirement buying a less expensive house.

Just make sure your kids pack their switchblade when attending SLHC.

For real or just an urban legend?

I have talked with many of the parents on our street and no one has said word one about problems at South Lakes. I have friends who teach at South Lakes and they have no concerns with sending their kids to South Lakes. The kids I know who have graduated from there, neighbors kids, babysitters, and the like have been happy with their four years at the school.