Master planned communities

[Milee]

What do you like/dislike of master planned communities that include golf, swim and country club. Where are these communities in northern va.

[Anonymous]

Mostly out in Loudoun or Prince William Counties. A lot of retirees are heading out to places like Gainesville.

[Anonymous]

Advantages: nearby pools/clubhouse/playgrounds, etc.
I've seen a lot of posts on DCUM in general about joining pools with long waiting lists, high fees, inconvenient hours, etc. It makes me glad that we have a neighborhood pool so I don't need to worry about the waiting list, or choosing which one to join, etc.

Disadvantages: HOA fees, some HOAs are very strict about things you can do to your house (what you can plant, what colors you can't paint the outside, etc). Personally, I'm just not a home improvement/home decorating type.

Personally, I don't spend a lot of time/money/energy thinking of creative ways to make my home look nicer--I maintain it to normal standards of course, but I really don't try to improve on anything and really am ok with "cookie cutter" houses. So HOAs work fine for me--I know what's expected of me, in terms of maintenance, and as long as I follow that, I can be sure that my neighbors do the same so their are no eyesores, etc.

I can see where if someone was really into their home, making fabulous, "stand out" gardens, etc. then being told what they can/can't do would be difficult.

[Anonymous]

Reston and Columbia are "master planned communities." They don't include golf club memberships, but I think there are golf courses in them.

I loved living in Reston. I found the fees to be reasonable for what we got for them. The access to 12 different pools and all the other amenities nearby was worth it.

We were unable to find a house in Reston in our price range when we were able to shop for a SFH. Our current community is great, but we will never be pool club members (no HOA in our neighborhood), which is a shame. We have to hope people invite us to swim in their backyard pools or our friends with pool memberships invite us as guests. Otherwise, we have to pay to swim at the community center 15 minutes from our house or go to the parks with pools in the summer.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone tell me about Belmont country club in loudoun county? Are there a lot of families and sahm in this community. How is the social scene?