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Housing options--work in Ashburn, live as far away as possible
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Anonymous
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DH and I are in the market for a new home--price range is $550k or less, and we need 3+ bedrooms. If it were up to me, we wouldn't look anywhere other than the District or Arlington County, however DH works in Ashburn and wants no more than a 45ish minute commute each way (I only go into the office 1-2xweek and work from home otherwise so proximity to my office doesn't matter at all).
I would like to hear from people w/experience what they consider reasonable neighborhoods within a 45-ish minute drive to Ashburn. I realize that most people will suggest Reston, Herndon, etc., however I prefer as urban a setting as we can get. I know that if you stay off of 66/495 during rush hour, you can get around NoVa much more quickly via back roads. About 10 years ago I lived in Tenleytown and worked for a dot com in Ashburn, and got to work in 45 minutes by taking Mass Ave to some back roads near Glen Echo to 495, exiting off at Georgetown Pike and taking back roads to the Toll Rd after the main toll plaza. That said, I realize that traffic patterns have changed in the past 10 years, and we can't get anything in Tenley in our price range. We have looked into neighborhoods from Leesburg (cute, but think it is too far out for my tastes) to Fairfax (think we couldn't afford Old Town Fairfax and otherwise, too suburban for my tastes, I fear) to Falls Church (again, not sure what we can afford). I also know that we can't afford the areas of N. Arlington near Old Dominion Drive that are a quick drive to the Toll Road, and fear that S. Arlington will be too much of a commute. Alexandria is likely too far. That said, I refuse to end up living in a row house in Ashburn or Herndon. I know that if anyone can help me, it is DCUMers. I would appreciate any suggestions, TIA! |
Anonymous
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if it were me I would buy a 100 year old house with many acres in the country and make that my dream home.
But this is not for everyone |
Anonymous
| Well you've ruled out Northern Virginia. Don't know what to tell ya. |
Anonymous
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Um, what about Ashburn? It's not DC or Arlington, but it is nice. I have family there and they love it. Yes, it's cookie cutter, yes the restaurants are mostly chains, but the neighborhoods are lovely and well maintained, there are great walking trails, and there seems to be a nice sense of community. We toyed with the possibility of moving there because you can get a nice house in a nice neighborhood for so much less than close in, but couldn't stomach the commute (we work close in). Caveat: I know little about the schools. I know they are crowded due to major growth. I'll also throw this out there (I really hate sitting in traffic):
http://www.slate.com/id/2295603/ |
Anonymous
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We live near Westover in Arlington and DH works out near Dulles. His commute can take anywhere from under 30 minutes to an hour, and with all the metro work going on, it's not likely to be on the shorter end very often.
$550K in Arlington is doable, but it would probably be a fixer-upper with 3 BR and 1 BA. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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PP here - meant to link these under $500K listings - at that price range you aren't limited to THs in Ashburn, don't know about Herndon.
http://franklymls.com/LO7620675 http://franklymls.com/LO7588633 |
Anonymous
| this is not workable, either move out there or he needs to get a job in the city. don't make your husband drive an hour to work each way so you can live in an urban setting and pay way more per sf. if he has a good job in ashburn, then just live in ashburn, and go into the city on the weekends for cultural events. |
Anonymous
At least an hour! I work in Reston, right of Wiehle and two of my co-workers commute from Ballston and it takes them AT LEAST 30min, and on bad days an hour each way. A reverse commute to Ashburn, is not so reverse anymore. If you want to live in DC, tell your husband to find a job there. |
Anonymous
| Fredrick? Is it too close to Leesburg? |
Anonymous
agreed if I didn't have to commute to lorton a few days a week, I would absolutely move out to Leesburg area since my husband works in Ashburn. You just aren't going to find urban and commutable to Ashburn in a reasonable amount of time. FWIW, we are househunting and are looking off the 7100 corridor. Fox Mill, Franklin Farm/Chantilly Highlands, Lees Corner and Greenbriar areas. We will be suburban, but we will have reasonable commutes and are close enough to shopping and eating. |
Anonymous
| After y'all figure this one out, please someone tell me where I can buy a unicorn for my daughter. For 50 bucks or less. |
Anonymous
The houses we recently looked at in Arlington in the 550K range were awful. they either needed a lot of fixing up or were tiny houses. Fixing up a home with your have a long commute for work is very stressful and always ends up costing more than you anticipated. |
Anonymous
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Get back to us when you realize you won't be able to get your urban dream lifestyle with a 3000 SF townhouse in a quirky yet charming and safe and good school zoned part of DC.
In the meantime, decide whether you want: 1) to live further out 2) to live in a fixer-upper 3) to get your hubby annoyed (I don't know how easily he can find a job in DC) by making him switch jobs (and even then, will you be 4) to nag your husband because he's not making enough money to live your urban dream lifestyle. I made my compromise and you will have to as well. I live within walking distance of downtown Leesburg. The good: I'm able to walk to church, to the movies, to non-chain restaurants, to four grocery stores within a mile (one organic, one Latino, Giant, and Safeway), to libraries/parks/playgrounds, and to the various parades/festivals. I enjoy a 5 BR, 3000 SF house on a quarter-acre lot, and paid under $400k for it. I'm a mile away from the parts of Leesburg that can remotely be considered shady and enjoy good to excellent public schools. I'm also close to my family who reside in the northern Shenandoah Valley, and able to come out for visits during the week. The bad: If I want to work in Fair Lakes/Tysons/Gaithersburg, I'll have a iffy commute and if I want to work in Arlington/DC, I'd better get the 6-3 shift. I'm not as fully exposed to the (superior) cultural amenities of DC, but when I lived in South Arlington w/o kids, I didn't really use them that much. (Well, maybe the carbon monoxide leaking from my furnace didn't help.) Dulles Rail will help a LOT if the mouth-breathers who oppose paying for any new transit improvements and the dreamers who want their underground Transit Mahal can be stopped. |
Anonymous
Chantilly's not too bad - there's a lot of shopping and stuff around there, and you could afford a decent SFH. Or maybe South Riding? I have friends who bought giant mini-mansions there.  Or just buy in Ashburn. There are some gorgeous homes under $500K. But if you want urban, the closest thing you're going to get is Reston without giving your husband a bad commute. You could buy this one: http://franklymls.com/FX7586886
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Anonymous
I want this house - but alas, our budget isn't this high. This is in my ideal Reston location. We live in North Point area already, and would love to be in the Aldrin district. My daughter is starting K and has several friends who will be attending this school. Anyone got an extra $100K to loan me so that we can get to this price without making our monthly mortgage payment more than we can reasonably afford? |