Please tell me everything you know about Reston!

[Anonymous]

We just found out that we will be moving to the DC area in a few months. We have always known this was a possibility, so we have spent some time exploring some of the suburbs. We believe that Reston would be a great fit for our family. We have 3 kids in ES and MS. DH will be commuting downtown, and I am a SAHM (but will be looking to return to work once we get settled). I would love to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly of life in Reston. Anything you can tell me about things to do, schools, people, shopping, getting around, recreation, etc would be helpful. My girls are into dance (ballet, tap, jazz), so one of our priorities will be finding a good dance studio for them. As a family, we are pretty outdoorsy.

We do know that DH's commute to Federal triangle will be long. He will take the Metro in when it is complete. DH is fine with it, and can use that time returning emails, texts, and voice mails.

Our original plan was to rent for one year so we can test out the area. But now we are rethinking this because I am assuming housing prices will increase quite a bit after the 2 (?) Reston Metro stops are completed. So, maybe we should try to buy right off the bat? I also would love to consider buying and living in a fixer upper that we could potentially flip if we don't decide to stay. I got that idea from another thread. we are open to SFH or TH. Our budget would be around $450K, but probably $400K for a fixer upper.

[Anonymous]

Damn. That's going to be one hell of a commute.

[Anonymous]

I'd encourage you to consider renting for a year. That way you can get to know the area and explore where you want to live. PP is right -- commuting from Reston to DC is going to be tough. Not undo-able, but it might be good to try out the commute for a while before committing to buying a home.

[Anonymous]

We relocated over a year ago, and rented til just recently buying. You really need to see what traffic is like, and each area, before buying, IMO. The towns here tend to be what I think are huge, geographically, so, two different families can be in Reston, and still, like 20 minutes apart. Budget-wise, things will be tight for you two. I also wouldn't necessarily assume real estate prices will rise when Metro kicks in. Unless your place is walking distance to a station, I am not sure with parking questions how that will play out. Reston Town Center certainly has all the res/night life, but, IMO, more adult oriented stuff. In general, if you can afford to be closer to DC, I think you should be then.

[Anonymous]

Reston is great for families - but $450K isn't going to buy much there. I know because we looked last year with that exact budget. Now, we were pretty adamant about no TH since we had already lived in a TH for 8 years and were just DONE with it. One neighborhood worth considering is Stuart Ridge, which is actually in Herndon but tracks to Armstrong ES. It is just across the FFX County Pkwy from North Point area. You might think about the Fox Mill area of Herndon, as well - just south of the reston border.

We wound up going a little further south to Greenbriar in west fairfax/chantilly. We also looked in Franklin Farm/Chantilly Highlands (Oak Hill ES district) and Lees Corner ES district.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

The Reston Conservatory is a nice ballet school, so you are all set there. They do a Nutcracker each year and we have friends who like it.

I would be aware of school choices when you are looking, as they seem to vary quite a bit in that area of the county. And really think about your DH's commute - you really don't think he'll mind a 90 minute commute each way?

[Anonymous]

We love Reston and are out on the trails and at the pools almost daily. We have been pleasantly surprised by the commute into DC. We purposefully picked a townhouse less than 5 minutes from a Fairfax County Connector bus stop. DH takes that straight to WFC metro. He goes in early and catches up on emails and reading on the way. Can't vouch for the schools yet. The school we're zoned for (Terraset) is undergoing a renovation in the next few years and our neighbors seem happy with it.
Not sure what will happen with prices.

[Anonymous]

When you get settled, you'll want to look at different schools for dance. Are your girls into ballet or competition dance?
I'm not that familiar with the competition schools in the area but if your girls are ballet focused, I would suggest taking sample classes at Classical Ballet Theatre and BalletNova. CBT is in Herndon and has plans to move to Reston and BalletNova is in Falls Church. Both are very good schools with knowledgeable teachers. They both offer Nutcracker each December and a story ballet or a mixed bill in the spring.
Washington Ballet in DC and Maryland Youth Ballet in Silver Spring are two other schools that a lot of NOVA families go to.

[Anonymous]

My sisters family lives in Reston, and I want to move there. The girls love Hunter Woods Elementary and the Reston Conservatory. Not sure about dance classes outside of ballet. There is another ballet school which is also supposed to be pretty good.

My BIL commutes into DC and its not that bad (relatively speaking). There is a bus that runs from near Reston Town Center to West Falls Church that leaves every 10 mins or so in peak hours.

The biggest concern I see is trying to get a SFH for 450K. Have you looked online at real estate? I have heard lot of the houses currently listed are getting multiple offers.

[Anonymous]

North Reston and South Reston are very different.
You'd likely want to be in North Reston.

[Anonymous]

We looked in Reston a little but ended up somewhere else closer in. I loved the look and feel of the community and the various amenities. The commute was too long for us. I also felt that for the money the schools weren't as good as some others in Fairfax, but others are likely to have different opinions about this, I'm sure.

[Anonymous]

The commute is not as bad as the other posters state, but I would definitely rent before buying...see how you like it.

I take the FFX CTY connector bus, as well. It takes you right to WFC metro and then onto my stop downtown. I stop at Metro Center (which is one stop before Fed Tri.) and I live about 5-10 minutes from a Park & Ride lot. It takes me about 60-70 mins door to door...which is a LOT better than some of my other friends that commute in a car somewhere and I can get a lot of reading/email whatever done...where they cannot.

There's plenty of elitists on this board that believe anywhere outside of DC is HORRIBLE.

Reston is so nice. Lots of trees, trails, shops and loads of families. It's a great commuter location and will get even better once the metro arrives.

[Anonymous]

The schools are getting better. If you look at GreatSchools.org, you'll get an idea of the area.

I live in the Oakton pyramid (in Oak Hill) and I love my area. I live very close to a park & ride that takes me to the WFC metro and I have a very easy commute into DC....however it's not as tight of a community as Reston.

You might check out Vienna (Madison school pyramid is good too), which is a better commute.

[Anonymous]

We have good friends who live in Reston and love it. They have 2 small kids, not yet in elementary school, so I don't know much about the schools other than that they are planning to go public and are optimistic that they will be good. They love the trails, and use them, and the community pools, library, nearby gyms, yoga studio, etc. They bought a townhouse in one of the townhouse communities not far off the Toll Road, I believe it was in the $420K range and that was 4 years ago. It's not huge (maybe 1600 SF) but it's definitely big enough for the 4 of them -- 3 BR, 3 BA, on 3 floors, w/ a small backyard/deck w/ direct access onto the trails, trees everywhere, a stone's throw from a big pond, playground, etc. They have made good friends in their townhome community. The one thing they don't love is having to drive everywhere for shopping, etc., but so it goes out in that area. GL!

[Anonymous]

You won't get a SFH In that price range in Reston, but you can get a nice large townhouse that needs updating.

Don't buy anything in the Dogwood elementary boundary zone.

I wouldn't worry about prices skyrocketing once the metro is built--everyone knows it is being built so the prices are already baked in.