Moving to NOVA from out of state, where would you move in NOVA? up to 1.6 mm house budget

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an amazing house in McLean:
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Mclean/1855-Massachusetts-Ave-22101/home/9483685

Why does this home feel so small and crammed together? Very odd decisions in building this one. For that price you can buy a new home with a much more open and practical layout.

These homes would be much better, love the 3 car garage on this one
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/3600-John-Marshall-Dr-22207/home/11226353
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Mc-Lean/1928-Franklin-Ave-22101/home/9483514
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Mc-Lean/1848-Patton-Ter-22101/home/9483609
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Mclean/1951-Massachusetts-Ave-22101/home/12072257

[Anonymous]

Three-car front garage? Otherwise the front and the back of that house in Arlington look the same - yuck.

[Anonymous]

Country Club Hills in Arlington 22207 or Franklin Park in McLean 22101

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What school area / area of town would you move in NOVA for the following:

neighborhood with friendly people (relatively friendly)
nice grocery stores like whole foods, trader joes, etc
good school curriculums with good after school programs
good sports like gymnastics, soccer, tennis, fitness club
nice restaurants with ethnic cuisine
running trails / biking trails

budget of house:
up to 2mm for a 5 bedroom house
tiny yard with space for a small garden
house must be on cul de sac or non busy rd

Am willing to consider Loundon, fairfax and arlington however commute is from Reston so no more than 30-45 min commute.
I have been to a lot of areas but am really undecided on nieghborhood / school pyramid area.
thanks for your thoughts

do you want these walkable or do you not care if you have to drive all the time?

Clarendon/Lyon Village if want walkable/ N. Arlington 22207 or McLean if you don't care about walkability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What school area / area of town would you move in NOVA for the following:

neighborhood with friendly people (relatively friendly)
nice grocery stores like whole foods, trader joes, etc
good school curriculums with good after school programs
good sports like gymnastics, soccer, tennis, fitness club
nice restaurants with ethnic cuisine
running trails / biking trails

budget of house:
up to 2mm for a 5 bedroom house
tiny yard with space for a small garden
house must be on cul de sac or non busy rd

Am willing to consider Loundon, fairfax and arlington however commute is from Reston so no more than 30-45 min commute.

I have been to a lot of areas but am really undecided on nieghborhood / school pyramid area.

thanks for your thoughts

Ashburn would be a good fit. Great schools, plenty of ethnic restaurants (but admittedly plenty of chain restaurants too), wonderful biking and running trails, Wegmans, Whole Foods currently being built, people are much friendlier than DC, you can find an amazing home well under your budget. For specific neighborhoods, off the top of my head, I'd consider looking at Belmont Country Club, Brambleton and Willowsford (a little farther out but still a reasonable commute to Reston).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school area / area of town would you move in NOVA for the following:

neighborhood with friendly people (relatively friendly)
nice grocery stores like whole foods, trader joes, etc
good school curriculums with good after school programs
good sports like gymnastics, soccer, tennis, fitness club
nice restaurants with ethnic cuisine
running trails / biking trails

budget of house:
up to 2mm for a 5 bedroom house
tiny yard with space for a small garden
house must be on cul de sac or non busy rd

Am willing to consider Loundon, fairfax and arlington however commute is from Reston so no more than 30-45 min commute.
I have been to a lot of areas but am really undecided on nieghborhood / school pyramid area.
thanks for your thoughts

do you want these walkable or do you not care if you have to drive all the time?

Clarendon/Lyon Village if want walkable/ N. Arlington 22207 or McLean if you don't care about walkability.

Why do you feel the need to draw a false contrast between "walkable" places (Clarendon/Lyon Village) and places where you have to "drive all the time" (N. Arlington/22207, McLean).

This region is not so well served by public transit that those in Clarendon/Lyon Village can dispense with cars entirely without having a circumscribed lifestyle, and you can live in some parts of N. Arlington/22207 or McLean and have some walkability.

It seems like some always try to stack the deck in favor of their own area. The exaggerated converse of the question you posed would be "do you want privacy and good schools or do you not care if your neighbors can see into your house and your schools aren't so highly rated"?

[Anonymous]

Years ago, I went to a boundary meeting in Fairfax County. The one consistent thought: EVERYONE liked the high school district they were in and did not want to change. Even if others did not want that district. I think the same thing applies on DCUM. I love my neighborhood--but I know it is not the ONLY good neighborhood in Nova. There are LOTS of great options for OP.
If I were OP, I would purchase close to work--there are lots of great neighborhoods that fit her bill: Oak Hill, Vienna, parts of Reston, etc.

[Anonymous]

It seems like some always try to stack the deck in favor of their own area.

Really? PP was just pointing out that generally one area offers better walkability than another. It's not necessarily a valuable thing unless it's important to OP. OP didn't mention it in her list so perhaps not. No need to get all huffy about a benign comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It seems like some always try to stack the deck in favor of their own area.

Really? PP was just pointing out that generally one area offers better walkability than another. It's not necessarily a valuable thing unless it's important to OP. OP didn't mention it in her list so perhaps not. No need to get all huffy about a benign comment.

BS. Claiming that others "have to drive all the time" is obviously an attempt to imply other areas have no walkability, not just that one area offers better or more walkability than another. It's intended to conjure up a false image of living where you can't do anything other than maybe fetch your morning paper without spending hours in your car.

I'll get less huffy when you get more honest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Three-car front garage? Otherwise the front and the back of that house in Arlington look the same - yuck.

+1

Yuck.

Live the Patton Terrace house though. I'd love to have a little sitting room/FP right off the kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It seems like some always try to stack the deck in favor of their own area.

Really? PP was just pointing out that generally one area offers better walkability than another. It's not necessarily a valuable thing unless it's important to OP. OP didn't mention it in her list so perhaps not. No need to get all huffy about a benign comment.

BS. Claiming that others "have to drive all the time" is obviously an attempt to imply other areas have no walkability, not just that one area offers better or more walkability than another. It's intended to conjure up a false image of living where you can't do anything other than maybe fetch your morning paper without spending hours in your car.

I'll get less huffy when you get more honest.

Wow. There are people who don't mind driving everywhere. Some people actually PREFER it. Again, you're reading too much into PP's words.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It seems like some always try to stack the deck in favor of their own area.

Really? PP was just pointing out that generally one area offers better walkability than another. It's not necessarily a valuable thing unless it's important to OP. OP didn't mention it in her list so perhaps not. No need to get all huffy about a benign comment.

BS. Claiming that others "have to drive all the time" is obviously an attempt to imply other areas have no walkability, not just that one area offers better or more walkability than another. It's intended to conjure up a false image of living where you can't do anything other than maybe fetch your morning paper without spending hours in your car.

I'll get less huffy when you get more honest.

Wow. There are people who don't mind driving everywhere. Some people actually PREFER it. Again, you're reading too much into PP's words.

I'm reading into PP's words exactly what was intended. Phrases like you"ll have to "drive everywhere" or "drive all the time" are not used on DCUM as selling points to those who enjoy driving or prefer having some distance between their homes and retail establishments. Get real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:City of Falls Church....hands down.

+1 great schools, inside beltway, easy airport (IAD & DCA) access, close to two Metro stops, Harris Teeter coming soon and possibly Whole Foods, homes hold value, small town with only 4 schools (2 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high) all of which are highly rated.

[Anonymous]

If I were in your shoes, I would choose (based on current friends and local knowledge in Arlington alone)

-Williamsburg/Yorktown neighborhoods.. Once the new elementary school is built, the schools won't be as over-crowded and you "hopefully" don't have to worry about getting rezoned for elementary, middle or high schools.

-Lyon Village - in Clarendon - amazing location with restaurants, bars, tons of parks all within walking distance. Great schools, but some complain about the bar-crawls seeping into their neighborhoods.. not sure I would want to have teenagers in that area.

other neighborhoods are supposed to be fantastic as well: Cherrydale, Jamestown/Country Club Hills, Donaldsun Run. I just am not as knowledgeable about these locations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:City of Falls Church....hands down.

+1 great schools, inside beltway, easy airport (IAD & DCA) access, close to two Metro stops, Harris Teeter coming soon and possibly Whole Foods, homes hold value, small town with only 4 schools (2 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high) all of which are highly rated.

I love the City of Falls Church.. but for me, it just felt too "small" and my family wanted a bit more diversity and larger scale.