Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:22307/22308 - the neighborhoods along the GW Parkway en route to Mt. Vernon. You can get a 3 brm house in the $700-$800K range (or lower if you're willing to consider a townhouse/duplex). I really think of it as a hidden gem in this area and am glad we found it. People are very friendly and down-to-earth around here.

Neighborhoods have great community feel and are so nice for kids/families. Kids run and bike around our neighborhood all the time with their friends. Our subdivision regularly hosts neighborhood events like Halloween parades, ice cream socials, etc. and I see signs for similar events in the other neighborhoods around here all the time. We don't belong to a pool but there are several pools around if you want to join them (Hollin Hills, Little Hunting Creek, etc.). Elementary schools are good, middle school (Carl Sandburg) seems like a crapshoot but frankly middle schools seem to be the low point for all school pyramids, and West Potomac as the high school is fine.

You can easily bike to Old Town up the Parkway bike path. There are also a couple of nice little shopping centers off Fort Hunt Road, Belle View and Hollin Hall, both of which have Safeways and a variety of other eateries/shops/drugstores. Speaking of variety, the Hollin Hall center has a variety store that is absolutely adorable and one of the things I love about this neck of the woods (https://alexandrialivingmagazine.com/business/hollin-hall-variety-store/)!

And the commute to DC is way better than Manassas or the like! You just go up the Parkway (Old Town is a bit of a pain to get through but especially if you carpool it's not bad; there's an HOV-2 lane during rush hour) or you can drive/park at Huntington and take the Metro.

This sounds lovely...but I can't find any houses there

Here are a few just under $800K. These might even ultimately go for under asking given the current market, we are already seeing some price drops around here.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1501-Wake-Forest-Dr-Alexandria-VA-22307/51957838_zpid/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1503-Cool-Spring-Dr-Alexandria-VA-22308/51985324_zpid/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1014-Croton-Dr-Alexandria-VA-22308/51984502_zpid/ - this one is in the Waynewood Elem school district which people seem to really love especially

ok - please excuse my ignorance, truly, as I'm new to the school system. But that first beautiful house has a ES with a 5? The 2nd house at a 6? The last house, yes, seemingly has a higher ranked ES but it is too small

FWIW I can tell you I live in the Belle View elementary district and it is a great little school. Great School rankings are crap and contribute heavily to socioeconomic and racial segregation; they are not good for much else. If you take a look at reviews left by actual parents even on GS's own site, you'll see very good reviews. Nearly all my neighbors also send their kids to that local elementary and are very happy with it. I get your fear - GS has really positioned themselves as this wonderful and omniscient system where they can tell you everything you need to know in one number - but I guess I'll just say I'd be really sorry if I had not purchased in my neighborhood based on that score because now I'm here I see it's completely meaningless. Also I saved a couple hundred thousand dollars on my house probably largely because of GS...so maybe I should actually be praising them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lake Manassas in Gainesville, Va. Beautiful gated community with good schools.

I don't know how you get to DC in an hour from Gainesville if you are commuting at rush hour.

I would look for a 3-BR townhouse in McLean or Falls Church.

I commute into DC from Warrenton and it took an hour and 5 minutes today. The 66 HOT lanes make a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

OP, here are 2 houses on the market in the Brookside community on the border of Prince William and Fauquier County. You can get to DC in an hour from here on the toll lanes.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1174-Brittle-Ridge-Rd-Warrenton-VA-20187/121425863_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4602-Bee-Ct-Warrenton-VA-20187/124012476_zpid/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, here are 2 houses on the market in the Brookside community on the border of Prince William and Fauquier County. You can get to DC in an hour from here on the toll lanes.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1174-Brittle-Ridge-Rd-Warrenton-VA-20187/121425863_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4602-Bee-Ct-Warrenton-VA-20187/124012476_zpid/

Beautiful!
Isn't that toll stuff a total racket tho? Like could be $20 a day round-trip? That adds up!

[Anonymous]

Is there a difference between Burke Station square and Burke centre?

[Anonymous]

Possible neighborhood for you….Virginia Run in Centreville. Approx 1500 homes - ranging from 5 acre estates to 1/4 acre lots. There are no townhomes in the subdivision. FCPS Elementary school is located in the subdivision. Community pool w/active swim team, community tennis courts, basketball courts, trash service, bike trails/paths through the community, and lots of community social events. Homes built in the 1990s but generally well taken care of and remodeled.

https://www.olddominionrealty.com/s/va/centreville-city/virginia-run-subdivision

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, here are 2 houses on the market in the Brookside community on the border of Prince William and Fauquier County. You can get to DC in an hour from here on the toll lanes.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1174-Brittle-Ridge-Rd-Warrenton-VA-20187/121425863_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4602-Bee-Ct-Warrenton-VA-20187/124012476_zpid/

Beautiful!
Isn't that toll stuff a total racket tho? Like could be $20 a day round-trip? That adds up!

It is, but I only go in 2x a week max and I don’t have to pay for parking (excellent job perk), so it’s not that much more than when I lived close in and parked at the metro station and took metro in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd look at Ashburn near the new metro station, especially the Moorefield Station area. You could get a large TH within your budget, walkable to metro, elementary school, and some retail. More retail is planned, but it will probably be awhile, to be honest. But there are playgrounds and lots of areas to walk and be outside. Lots of kids out playing, families walking their dogs, ect. Nice HOA pools. Metro to downtown about 1 hour (train ride itself, not including waiting for train).

+1.
Look at Broadlands. There are some areas that are walkable to restaurants/shopping etc and most of it is close to the metro and the Dulles toll road. 800k would probably get you a nice townhome.

Are there parts of Ashburn that are much better than others ? Seems like a pretty big area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a difference between Burke Station square and Burke centre?

Yes. Burke Station Square is across from the Rolling Road VRE station. Burke Centre is a larger neighborhood comprised of 5 smaller sections, different VRE station.

[Anonymous]

Fox Mill in Reston/Herndon area. You can get a 4 bedroom house and be about a mile from the Silver Line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd look at Ashburn near the new metro station, especially the Moorefield Station area. You could get a large TH within your budget, walkable to metro, elementary school, and some retail. More retail is planned, but it will probably be awhile, to be honest. But there are playgrounds and lots of areas to walk and be outside. Lots of kids out playing, families walking their dogs, ect. Nice HOA pools. Metro to downtown about 1 hour (train ride itself, not including waiting for train).

+1.
Look at Broadlands. There are some areas that are walkable to restaurants/shopping etc and most of it is close to the metro and the Dulles toll road. 800k would probably get you a nice townhome.

Are there parts of Ashburn that are much better than others ? Seems like a pretty big area.

Broadlands is really good for schools.

I personally like being as close to 7 as possible just because of everything along 7 spanning from the eastern edge of Leesburg to One Loudoun. Ashburn Village is really nice and has some good price points. Belmont Country Club and vicinity is also a great location. I also really like Lansdowne which technically is Leesburg but very convenient to Ashburn.

[Anonymous]

This is the PP… also look at One Loudoun itself. There are some nice resales on the market from time to time. You could walk to the town center which has lots of restaurants and shops (including the Ashburn Trader Joes), and the school pyramid is very good (zoned for Riverside HS). Only downsides are most of the houses don’t have much in the way of yards, and it could get plane noise if that bothers you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:15:39 poster back again

In case you are interested in Prince William county, I will quickly explain "Manassas"

Certain parts of Prince William county are referred to as "Manassas." These areas are part of Prince William county, zoned for Prince William county schools, policed by Prince William county Police, etc.

There is also the "City of Manassas"--which is different. City of Manassas has it's own school system, it's own police force, it's own city government, etc.

There is also another city right next to Manassas along route 28, called "Manassas Park." That is also a completely separate city with it's own school system, own police force, etc.

Fun confusing fact: The high school for the city of Manassas is called "Osbourn high School." One (of the 13) High Schools in Prince William county schools is called "Osbourn Park High School.'
The two high schools are only about 2 miles apart.

AND...
Osbourn Park high school (remember, that's in "Manassas" that's part of Prince William county--NOT the city of Manassas) is literally right on the border of Manassas Park, the next street over is in Manassas Park.

I found this all very confusing when I first moved here.

Nestled in this confusing configuration (great explanation, btw) is this little gem of a neighborhood called Occoquan Forest. It's p/o PWC zoned for Osbourn Park HS. When houses come up for sale, the go fast. Voluntary HOA (~$250), unique houses and larger plots, access to riverside neighborhood trails, parties, boat dock/launch, dog park, and playground with several properties along the water with their own docks. Inland properties have access to the river through a trail system. Very active neighborhood if you want to get engaged, otherwise be a hermit. To each their own. Awesome community with an interesting history.

https://www.redfin.com/neighborhood/62454/VA/Buckhall/Occoquan-Forest

https://occoquanforest.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a difference between Burke Station square and Burke centre?

Yes. Burke Station Square is across from the Rolling Road VRE station. Burke Centre is a larger neighborhood comprised of 5 smaller sections, different VRE station.

Seems like driving around may be the best way to get a feel for the whole area. I can’t quite tell on Redfin what is what but there are a few nice homes I see! Just not in BSS it seems. Waiting til spring may be necessary

[Anonymous]

you could look at 22033. Your commute might be a little more than an hour. We are zoned for Navy, Franklin, Oakton and our house/neighborhood hovers around $740-850k. neighborhood pool is a big deal with a swim team. Franklin Farm also would probably fit in your price range (high school is Oakton or Chantilly depending which part you live in).