Looking at THs in these NoVa areas — please advise

[Anonymous]

This is OP. Aggressively middle of the road might be my exact vibe! Haha. Not politically — our family is ultra liberal, non-traditional. But we are aggressively middle of the road in terms of income and interests and desires for our kids. We just want a normal, happy, healthy life.

My kids are not athletic, so the comment about Burke being super into sports is interesting. They are still young but they are more chess/ reading/drama kids at the moment.

There are kids in chess/drama/music, etc. here in West Springfield (35 year person here). My kid was into music and he has very good friends from that (and he still sees them even though he has been out of school for 12 years). A few kids in our neighborhood put together a band and my own kid used to practice under a beloved tree with other kids. The schools have great music and arts programs. Everybody finds their niche wherever you live (because there are a lot of families in all of these suburbs!). Our kid was in recreational sports and enjoyed that too, but that is not where he found his friend group. And we had chess club in our schools (and my kid participated in that for many years too). You will find whatever you want to do here. I will say that scouts was dominated by the military kids/families and that vibe was not really for my kid or for us. But you can choose from many, many activities here. Lots of kids just ride their bikes/scooters and play in the neighborhood too. And we lean left politically and have neighbors who do as well, but that's not the most important thing to us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Aggressively middle of the road might be my exact vibe! Haha. Not politically — our family is ultra liberal, non-traditional. But we are aggressively middle of the road in terms of income and interests and desires for our kids. We just want a normal, happy, healthy life.

My kids are not athletic, so the comment about Burke being super into sports is interesting. They are still young but they are more chess/ reading/drama kids at the moment.

I think it might be Fairfax County as a whole, but a lot of families including my own have kids super into sports.

This is OP. We’re in Arlington now, and some families are super into sports but many, many are not. One of the high schools has a big sports reputation but not the other two.

We also don’t do Kumon or similar and don’t plan to, and I’ve heard that might make us not the norm in Fairfax Co. It’s rare to do outside enrichment in Arlington, or at least among the people we know. Kids do lots of activities but not academic ones.

Your look zones are all over the map - how do you get from living in North ARL which gives you familiarity with ARL/Falls Church/Mclean to Reston/Oakton [Hunter Mill corridor] to Burke/Springfield? Budget? Specific type of townhouse or SFH? Reston is not cheap so why not look also in Mclean ?

A nice area in north Reston is on Lake Anne and goes to Lake Ann/South Lakes https://www.redfin.com/VA/Reston/1676-Moorings-Dr-20190/home/9223848 water views and a dock for a paddle boat! Another newer North Point is about the same price and is Aldrin/Herndon. No lake access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:West Springfield and Burke are aggressively middle of the road. Tons of military and act like only they are “normal” - everyone else is somehow too poor or too rich. If that’s your vibe, go for it. Otherwise Reston is more interesting and has better access to Metro.

Would have never thought to describe this area in this way but it's true 😂.

[Anonymous]

Charleston in Cardinal Forest, I own a house nearby. We have lived in the are for almost 15 years. Safe, quiet.
Example of recent sale. https://tinyurl.com/mr2y4679

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:West Springfield and Burke are aggressively middle of the road. Tons of military and act like only they are “normal” - everyone else is somehow too poor or too rich. If that’s your vibe, go for it. Otherwise Reston is more interesting and has better access to Metro.

Would have never thought to describe this area in this way but it's true 😂.

That comment made me laugh too but it’s quite accurate! And for some people, that is a good selling point, after experiencing the crime in the city. You can walk in peace around Burke with no fear of getting accosted or mugged

[Anonymous]

Reston has been our favorite home in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:West Springfield and Burke are aggressively middle of the road. Tons of military and act like only they are “normal” - everyone else is somehow too poor or too rich. If that’s your vibe, go for it. Otherwise Reston is more interesting and has better access to Metro.

NP and damn I hate when someone else comes up with something genius that I should have thought of 😭😭

We are an ultra liberal family that lives in West Springfield and I think aggressively Middle of the road is so accurate. But, we love that about the area. We don't flaunt our politics but we know plenty of neighbors that share our views. We also know quite a few that have different viewpoints, but everyone is neighborly.

We have elementary school kids and one is big into sports (but isn't crazy competitive about it) and one is kind of into sports but will likely never be great. They're both comfortable here. The schools are welcoming environments and, while high performing are not pressure cookers.

We love the area and loved in THs for a while that were a great experience.

[Anonymous]

West Springfield and Burke are pleasant areas with good schools, where many of the residents are military or civil servants. Commuting from those areas to the Pentagon or to downtown isn't too difficult. Vienna and Reston make for more difficult commutes to those areas, so residents (speaking in broad terms) are more likely to be employed in the private sector. All are in the same county, so have access to good rec centers, excellent fire/EMS/police services, good libraries, and county parks. Within Fairfax County, crime is higher along the Route 1 corridor and in "downtown" Springfield (not West Springfield), areas with lower socioeconomic populations.

All are good areas, you may choose to pick one based more on any commuting considerations or how far your $ goes for a specific property than on speculative "vibe", which will only become apparent once you move in and which is something very dependent upon your specific neighbors and neighborhood within any area.

[Anonymous]

Lived in Kingstowne for a decade with K-12 kids, it felt like a town and was largely walkable. It had all the amenities we sought (shopping, rec centers, etc.) and was close to three Metro stations. Might be a Springfield adjacent location to consider.

[Anonymous]

I would never live anywhere that included I95/395 as a commuting or errands possibility.
I would not live east of 95. Worse microclimate.
Reston is far out but if you could walk to Metro.,,

[Anonymous]

We love Reston and as another PP pointed out, there’s a wide range of TH styles. We love access to the paths, pools, lakes, tennis courts. The nature center and community center offer loads of kids activities and summer camps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never live anywhere that included I95/395 as a commuting or errands possibility.
I would not live east of 95. Worse microclimate.
Reston is far out but if you could walk to Metro.,,

Why? It seems far preferable to 66. I've honestly never had a problem on 395 and I don't use the express lanes.

I feel like I barely have a commute from Fairfax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Aggressively middle of the road might be my exact vibe! Haha. Not politically — our family is ultra liberal, non-traditional. But we are aggressively middle of the road in terms of income and interests and desires for our kids. We just want a normal, happy, healthy life.

My kids are not athletic, so the comment about Burke being super into sports is interesting. They are still young but they are more chess/ reading/drama kids at the moment.

I think it might be Fairfax County as a whole, but a lot of families including my own have kids super into sports.

This is OP. We’re in Arlington now, and some families are super into sports but many, many are not. One of the high schools has a big sports reputation but not the other two.

We also don’t do Kumon or similar and don’t plan to, and I’ve heard that might make us not the norm in Fairfax Co. It’s rare to do outside enrichment in Arlington, or at least among the people we know. Kids do lots of activities but not academic ones.

So like the entire county sends their kids to Kumon? WOW. Is it like mandated by the school system? And like nobody in Arlington has ever done enrichment or cares about sports? Like Arlington Soccer is just a really lame rec associate that nobody cares about?? OMG.

You sound really stupid, OP.

[Anonymous]

Clearly OP lives in SOUTH Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We love Reston and as another PP pointed out, there’s a wide range of TH styles. We love access to the paths, pools, lakes, tennis courts. The nature center and community center offer loads of kids activities and summer camps.

I agree with all the above. My family went to a “neighborhood with sidewalks” elsewhere in Virginia to Reston. Not even close. Reston is fabulously green and accessible. And the planned community aspect shows in how much more traffic flows. Plus I’d never consider buying in a community without metro.