Reston vs Alexandria

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Reston/Herdon has some great areas. We live in the FoxMill ES boundary and love it. The ES is very good and has a nice community. Carson is excellent and South Lakes is solid. We like the neighborhood. The commute to Arlington is ok, our commuter leaves after school drop off, so around 9, and the commute takes 40 minutes. Housing prices are more affordable. We are happy out here.

What is a commuter?

A person who commutes.

The context implies the commuter is a bus.

“Our commuter” is a bus? That’s the only way it would take 40 minutes. i lived near Reston a couple years ago. Sometimes it took me half an hour just to get to the Dulles Toll Road from my place.

There is a bus that takes about 30-40 minutes that is direct route to Crystal City, I took that for a few months. DS drives from Reston/Herndon area at 9 AM and gets into the office around 9:45. He is planning on switching to the Metro when the new stops open. Driving and parking at Weihle at his commute time takes too long and parking is hard to find. But several of the new stops will be about 5-10 minutes away.

There are walkable areas in Reston/Herndon. There are some great schools, to include several language immersion Elementary Schools. Wehave had good experiences with rec sports and Scouts. It is a good place to raise a family. We looked at Arlington and Alexandria and did not want to spend that type of money on a house that would need a good amount of renovation. And that was before kids entered the picture. I am thrilled to not being deal with APS right now. We are a 1/2 mile walk to DS ES so I am pretty comfortable with our boundaries.

What s the direct route to Crystal City? TIA.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Does Reston offer a city vibe for 30something young adults or is it suburbia?

suburban hellscape. The founder had noble intentions but it’s been spoiled.

Do you even actually live there?

DP. They are correct. Robert E Smith (RESton’s founder) intended it to be an urban family friendly place that’s walkable. But since he passed, Reston got commercialized and bought out, all while charging their residences 700-800 bucks for their association fees to pay for everything.

Now Reston seems...confused. It’s trying to be a city but it’s mainly just suburbia with a bunch of businesses nearby. Town Center is decent but it’s honestly nothing special, a bunch of chain restaurants at best.

It became ugly. The hospital area is really run down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Herndon, right next to Reston, is a good fit for families. You can find schools that end up at a bunch of different high schools. Fox Mill is walkable, most of the kids walk to school. I can walk to the grocery store, a decent THai restaurant, a good Italian restaurant, the Doctor, dentist, pet store, pet hospital, Glory Days and a good bagel place. There will be a Metro stop about 1 1/2 miles from the neighborhood when the Silver Line expansion opens. Parks (small, school, and a nice size complete with soccer fields and three baseball diamonds), are near by. You woyuld have to join one of two community pools if you want a pool. I know some folks are less excited by South Lakes High School but I have friends who teach there and have not reported any issues outside the normal school issues. The Neighborhood kids who attend South Lakes have good things to say and most are taking some IB tests although I have no idea how many are working on an IB diploma.

People rave about Franklin Farm in there area.

There are a lot of great neighborhoods in the area. With the Silver Line expansion, more of them become a bit more connected with another transportation alternative.

Lake Anne is great, I enjoy hanging out down there. Downtown Herndon is quaint. There is strong community in the area. And there are a large number of reasonably priced houses and town houses in the area.

You lost me at people raving about Franklin Farms. I mean c’mon ....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reston/Herdon has some great areas. We live in the FoxMill ES boundary and love it. The ES is very good and has a nice community. Carson is excellent and South Lakes is solid. We like the neighborhood. The commute to Arlington is ok, our commuter leaves after school drop off, so around 9, and the commute takes 40 minutes. Housing prices are more affordable. We are happy out here.

What is a commuter?

A person who commutes.

The context implies the commuter is a bus.

“Our commuter” is a bus? That’s the only way it would take 40 minutes. i lived near Reston a couple years ago. Sometimes it took me half an hour just to get to the Dulles Toll Road from my place.

There is a bus that takes about 30-40 minutes that is direct route to Crystal City, I took that for a few months. DS drives from Reston/Herndon area at 9 AM and gets into the office around 9:45. He is planning on switching to the Metro when the new stops open. Driving and parking at Weihle at his commute time takes too long and parking is hard to find. But several of the new stops will be about 5-10 minutes away.

There are walkable areas in Reston/Herndon. There are some great schools, to include several language immersion Elementary Schools. Wehave had good experiences with rec sports and Scouts. It is a good place to raise a family. We looked at Arlington and Alexandria and did not want to spend that type of money on a house that would need a good amount of renovation. And that was before kids entered the picture. I am thrilled to not being deal with APS right now. We are a 1/2 mile walk to DS ES so I am pretty comfortable with our boundaries.

What s the direct route to Crystal City? TIA.

Here you go. It departs from Reston North Park and Ride and runs from 5:30 AM to 8:00AM. It returns starting at 3:30 and runs through 5:50.

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/connector/sites/connector/files/assets/documents/pdf/route%20pdfs/route_599_031817_web.pdf

As for Franklin Farms, there have been a number of posts in these threads with people who are happy living there. We have some friends who are very happy living in that area.

[Anonymous]

We weighed this issue 6 years ago when we bought a home.

Reston and Alexandria are both nice places for families. The major difference is the commute and the schools.

We bought a home in Alexandria/FFX county off GW pkwy. The area is already developed and it’s not overbuilt. Beautiful mature trees, a woodsy feel, close to the River and Old Town. I commute to the Navy Yard in rush hour and it takes 40-45 minutes from my front door to my desk.

We put our kids in parochial schools. There are several good ones in the area that are K-8 and a good high school. UMC families in my neighborhood also send their kids to the public schools, so I think there’s also a good cohort there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alexandria. Reston is too far and suburban hell

Families LIKE suburbia, genius.

Most of DC metro IS suburbia, there is no reason to go that far out.

[Anonymous]

Apples vs. Oranges. How did you come up with decision between these two? I don't find them comparable at all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apples vs. Oranges. How did you come up with decision between these two? I don't find them comparable at all

We liked homes in both areas

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We weighed this issue 6 years ago when we bought a home.

Reston and Alexandria are both nice places for families. The major difference is the commute and the schools.

We bought a home in Alexandria/FFX county off GW pkwy. The area is already developed and it’s not overbuilt. Beautiful mature trees, a woodsy feel, close to the River and Old Town. I commute to the Navy Yard in rush hour and it takes 40-45 minutes from my front door to my desk.

We put our kids in parochial schools. There are several good ones in the area that are K-8 and a good high school. UMC families in my neighborhood also send their kids to the public schools, so I think there’s also a good cohort there.

I knew someone in that same area with the same commuting destination who insisted the drive took 10 to 15 minutes, tops, at rush hour. i was deeoky skeptical.

[Anonymous]

The problem is the cut through the heart of Old Town takes a looooong time. I am honestly not sure it’s not that much better of a commute than Reston

[Anonymous]

And the GW Parkway is such a mess these days

[Anonymous]

Reston pros:
Lots and lots of walking paths and trails
hotbed for tech and jobs
Reston Town Center
many sports fields - Great Falls people come to Reston to play
Nature Center
Multiple Reston Community Centers
Central Shopping points
Lake Anne
Multiple other lakes
12 + pools and tennis courts
Reston Zoofari
Watermine and Lake Fairfax
multiple dog parks and skate parks
Farmers Market
Nice houses

Cons:
Some schools have higher than desired FARMs rates.
10-15 miles from DC
Liberal (might be a pro for some)
Multiple socioeconomic levels (again might be a pro for some)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And the GW Parkway is such a mess these days

What do you mean? The section between Old Town and Mt. Vernon is fine. It’s never backed up, not even in rush hour. It doesn’t get bad until the very north part of old town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And the GW Parkway is such a mess these days

What do you mean? The section between Old Town and Mt. Vernon is fine. It’s never backed up, not even in rush hour. It doesn’t get bad until the very north part of old town.

What? That's not what my kids say. They're commuting into DC in 2 different cars (2 different schools). The delays start at Belle Haven. They've tried the GW Parkway, Rt1, what have you. They said it has gotten appreciably worse since the changes on Seminary.

And don't get me started on their commute getting home. The back-up on the GW Parkway starts BEFORE National Airport and it is bumper-to-bumper the whole way through Old Town. Huge problems with cars blocking the box, the HOV lanes not being cleared. I don't remember what day it was last week but one of my kids came back and said they counted 8 cars in the HOV lanes at 4:55 pm. We live in Rosemont. Our kids pick up and drop off kids just down the Parkway.

The idiocy of our Mayor and City Hall is negatively impacting residents on a daily basis. Traffic in Alexandria is a nightmare and getting worse.

[Anonymous]

Beyond commute & schools, it also matters how much you want to spend. Your money will go a lot farther in Reston, especially in light of HQ2. But Alexandria is more immune to downturns, and will probably hold or increase its value far more consistently than Reston. If I had to choose, I'd go with Alexandria. There's just no far Fairfax County equivalent to Old Town and the river.