Living in Centreville, Chantilly, Burke... need real insight

[Anonymous]

Burke: boring in all the right ways. Kids play in the street, neighbors watch out for each other, I can post on my neighborhood Facebook page asking for a cup of flour and have 5 offers in 3 minutes. Parks are plentiful, kids activities are all within 15 minutes, schools are good. People walk their dogs and say hi, there are social events at the pool all summer, neighborhood events and parades, and it’s just an awesome place to raise kids.

Are there festivals and nightlife? No. But there are school carnivals and high school theater and concerts at the patriot center. I can get downtown in under 30 minutes on a Saturday to go to the Kennedy center.

I lived a few years in crystal city and a few more in Alexandria. I am happy now in Burke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just moved to Lorton (not a city on OPs list but close enough to Burke) after more than 15 years in Arlington and DC proper. It's definitely a big adjustment (my chest still gets tight sometimes driving out in the wide open streets) but I think has been a little easier given that we can't really leave the house much right now. If I had done it in normal times, I'd be MISERABLE.

Pluses: neighborhood does have a pool which will hopefully be open this summer, walking trails, several playgrounds nearby, and it is kinda nice to have ample parking for anything you need in the immediate vicinity. Also I love the physical house and all the space in it which is good since we're all here all the time. We're also walking distance to all of our schools which maybe aren't creme of the crop FCPS but hopefully better than anything we had in DC, plus I will say it is nice not having to worry about the lottery

Minues: there is hardly anybody out and about in our neighborhood, I don't know if this is cuz of winter or Covid or both but I very rarely see my neighbors and there are never kids at the aforementioned playgrounds so we're not really making friends yet. I hope that changes when spring comes and hopefully we get some normalcy. Not having neighborhood restaurants nearby will truly sucks but it seems like my DoorDash is well populated

Check out Occoquan for some good restaurants. It's an easy shot down 123 or Route 1 depending on which part of Lorton you are in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in Little Rocky Run, a community in Centreville/Clifton. Its a great place to raise kids—walking distance to elementary, middle and high schools, multiple pools in the neighborhood, etc. Its a very family-focused area, we know a lot of families like ours that moved out here from DC, Alex or Arlington because they can get much more house/yard for the price.

There is a very large Asian (Korean predominantly) community in Centreville, so there are some neighborhoods where you are in the minority if you arent Korean. That happened to us in the first neighborhood we lived in when we moved out here (Centre Ridge). Our neighbors were all very nice and said hello, etc,. But we were clearly not part of the community.

There are good restaurants everywhere. Two great reataurants—Trummers and Villagio—in the town of Clifton. And every shopping center has good non-chain restaurants as well as chain restaurants. Fairfax City also has good spots.

There are good wineries in Clifton and Centreville and of course further West.

I mean, its surburbia. Lots of people drive minivans. If you accept thats where you are in your life, you will be happy.

I like Little Rocky Run a lot. Have several friends there, including one who moved out the neighborhood near Chantilly HS discussed above. The houses in your hood are newer and bigger than ours. Having the HOA pools vs our private pool club is definitely a bonus. Does Centreville HS parade through for homecoming?

[Anonymous]

What’s up with the idea that people aren’t out and about in the suburban neighborhoods? We see people walking with their pets and/or families all the time. It does help that we have sidewalks, which were lacking in some of the places we looked while house hunting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s up with the idea that people aren’t out and about in the suburban neighborhoods? We see people walking with their pets and/or families all the time. It does help that we have sidewalks, which were lacking in some of the places we looked while house hunting

The argument is more that you can't walk to Chipotle or Starbucks, you have to drive to those chains instead, which is the primary difference, and a reasonable concern.

But you're right, it's easy to be out of your house in the suburbs. It's just a different type of out. I'm out more cause I'm an outdoors person, but not a hang out at the local bar type of person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Little Rocky Run, a community in Centreville/Clifton. Its a great place to raise kids—walking distance to elementary, middle and high schools, multiple pools in the neighborhood, etc. Its a very family-focused area, we know a lot of families like ours that moved out here from DC, Alex or Arlington because they can get much more house/yard for the price.

There is a very large Asian (Korean predominantly) community in Centreville, so there are some neighborhoods where you are in the minority if you arent Korean. That happened to us in the first neighborhood we lived in when we moved out here (Centre Ridge). Our neighbors were all very nice and said hello, etc,. But we were clearly not part of the community.

There are good restaurants everywhere. Two great reataurants—Trummers and Villagio—in the town of Clifton. And every shopping center has good non-chain restaurants as well as chain restaurants. Fairfax City also has good spots.

There are good wineries in Clifton and Centreville and of course further West.

I mean, its surburbia. Lots of people drive minivans. If you accept thats where you are in your life, you will be happy.

I like Little Rocky Run a lot. Have several friends there, including one who moved out the neighborhood near Chantilly HS discussed above. The houses in your hood are newer and bigger than ours. Having the HOA pools vs our private pool club is definitely a bonus. Does Centreville HS parade through for homecoming?

I grew up in LRR, my parents bought their house as a new construction in 86. Yes the homecoming parade goes through every year - except for 1999.. I could explain but I don't believe that statute of limitations has passed

Great neighborhood to grow up in. It's about as suburban as suburban gets, but a lot of people are into that.

I live in Burke now and prefer it to LRR. It's a little more central then LRR and has a few more things to do. Great access to county / state parks, mountain biking and you can get Wegmans delivered.

I'm 40 with two kids. I lived in Arlington for four years and DC for 10. Restaurants and festivals are fun, but just aren't a priority for me at this point of my life. Even pre covid I am much happier having a few neighbors or friends over for a BBQ or a couple of drinks around the firepit then a night out in Shaw.

We had a SFH in Arlington prior to moving to Burke near Westover. Thought we were going to stay there forever, but slowly began to realize our neighbors were all uppity assholes and we wanted more space.

[Anonymous]

You all sound like such bitches. Glad I don't live in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most people still prefer the schools, parks, restaurants, charn of Arlington to Centreville, Burke, etc.

But NOT the bitches who live there!!! So glad to have moved to fairfax county-falls church. One town away, much, much nicer people. OMG and not everyone here is white, it's amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s up with the idea that people aren’t out and about in the suburban neighborhoods? We see people walking with their pets and/or families all the time. It does help that we have sidewalks, which were lacking in some of the places we looked while house hunting

The argument is more that you can't walk to Chipotle or Starbucks, you have to drive to those chains instead, which is the primary difference, and a reasonable concern.

But you're right, it's easy to be out of your house in the suburbs. It's just a different type of out. I'm out more cause I'm an outdoors person, but not a hang out at the local bar type of person.

I can walk to restaurants - no chipotle in our shopping center, but there are several other chains there (cafe rio for Mexican fast food). We have a Starbucks, a Dunkin Donuts, a McDonald’s and a First Watch Cafe for your breakfast needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all sound like such bitches. Glad I don't live in Arlington.

It’s funny how several of us reported living in Arlington for years before moving out for more space and some people still can’t believe we’re happy. Like PPs said, it was fun in my 20s but priorities changed. I’m perfectly happy out in the burbs and yes, walking distance (just a few blocks) to a Starbucks and much more. Nothing against Arlington - I loved it and still like to go back sometimes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Centreville and I was depressed for several years after moving from Arlington. The restaurants are terrible, the parks are AWFUL, frankly a lot of the people are just not as interesting.

This is too bad to hear. I also don’t want to move somewhere with only chain restaurants. Would you describe it like that? Not sure how people are less interesting though.

Are you OP? You know that this is just a bunch of rich bitchy housewives responding, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people still prefer the schools, parks, restaurants, charn of Arlington to Centreville, Burke, etc.

Arlington has 0 charm. It has advantages, but charm isn't one of them.

Can someone point me to some “charm” in Arlington? Okay, maybe Westover is cute. Other than that, Clarendon, Pentagon City, Ballston, etc. are literally full of chains. Schools? Let’s not even go there. The system is a joke. I lived in various parts of Arlington for 9 years and don’t feel like I prefer it over anything else. Quite frankly I don’t miss it much. If I ever do it’s only 30 minutes away.

I didn't find Arlington charming, at least not North Arlington which is what most of you are talking about. I find incredibly racist and classist. I absolutely hated being the only non-white person pretty much everywhere I went, and I didn't want my child to grow up feeling like the odd man out (it's how I grew up and it was awful), so we moved a little further out to a diverse part of close in Fairfax County, and now that we need more space, we're looking to move even further out, so I'm finding this thread interesting. I've found that these suburbs seem to be pretty diverse (well, not Burke, Burke seems pretty white b/c of the military families), but I'm curious if some of you who live in these areas could talk about diversity? I'm South Asian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m in the Chantilly HS district, right on the line between Fairfax and Chantilly. Fair Lakes is right around the corner and has everything you need. Our neighborhood is lovely, has a private pool (but it’s hard to join), parks, walk to all 3 school levels, etc. Really just a nice laid-back place and so much more affordable than closer-in. I don’t feel like we settled at all, and we used to live in Arlington for years.

I can’t speak for further out in Chantilly/Centreville.

Hmm, this sounds like that ugly neighborhood behind Bob's Discount Furniture right off route 50. Glad you have a positive attitude about it. But I would not consider that area "lovely" or "walkable".

Wow, okay. That’s on you then. I live in a perfectly nice neighborhood where the people are very friendly and yes, it is walkable whether or not you enjoy what it’s walkable to. You forgot to mention the Starbucks, Giant, many restaurants, Total Wine, etc. in that same shopping center. But you sound snobby so I’m not surprised you pick the one store you find crappy to deride my neighborhood.

+1 Hello, neighbor! I love our neighborhood. It is one of the most affordable with all the amenities WE need. We actually bought when my husband worked in Ashburn and I went to Lorton a couple days a week. I now work in Reston and my husband in Stafford.

Walkability to all 3 levels of school was so important to us when we bought. We also walk to the shopping center in nice weather and the library (I used to hold Girl Scout meetings over there when my daughter was a little younger). There are a couple parks we can easily walk to, and the little one loves the trail by the creek in the middle of the hood. We haven't paid the ridiculous fees to join the pool since I am not a SAHM and we just can't spend the entire summer at the pool, but we have enough friends with memberships that my kids can usually go a few times in the summer.

We are in the process of renovating our house right now and should have it all fixed up in the next couple months - new windows, updated bathrooms, new siding, etc. Lots of people have been sprucing their homes up lately.

Yes, we visit a lot of chain stores and restaurants. It's the burbs. We're fine with it.

I had thought about whether we should move early on in this mess for a little more room, but the good things about this neighborhood keep me here. I love being able to hear the games and band over at the HS from my backyard. I love that the Homecoming parade goes right by my house (in normal times). I love that my daughter has a best friend right next door. It is so very small town, honestly. Our neighborhood has an active social media where we all help each other out with recommendations and sharing things, etc. It'sreally nice and I just can't leave it.

Do you mind sharing more info for those of us that are house hunting? What school district?

[Anonymous]

My next door neighbor/father of my child’s best friend is originally from Iraq, but as a Kurd, he fled Sadaam’s regime. He had to become a refugee when his passport was stolen from his apartment in a neighboring country. He eventually wound up in Prague, where he met his American wife and they had their child there. She is the Director of a cultural exchange education center for another Middle Eastern country in DC. He is now an American Citizen. And they live all the way out in the boring burbs with us ;p

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m in the Chantilly HS district, right on the line between Fairfax and Chantilly. Fair Lakes is right around the corner and has everything you need. Our neighborhood is lovely, has a private pool (but it’s hard to join), parks, walk to all 3 school levels, etc. Really just a nice laid-back place and so much more affordable than closer-in. I don’t feel like we settled at all, and we used to live in Arlington for years.

I can’t speak for further out in Chantilly/Centreville.

Hmm, this sounds like that ugly neighborhood behind Bob's Discount Furniture right off route 50. Glad you have a positive attitude about it. But I would not consider that area "lovely" or "walkable".

Wow, okay. That’s on you then. I live in a perfectly nice neighborhood where the people are very friendly and yes, it is walkable whether or not you enjoy what it’s walkable to. You forgot to mention the Starbucks, Giant, many restaurants, Total Wine, etc. in that same shopping center. But you sound snobby so I’m not surprised you pick the one store you find crappy to deride my neighborhood.

+1 Hello, neighbor! I love our neighborhood. It is one of the most affordable with all the amenities WE need. We actually bought when my husband worked in Ashburn and I went to Lorton a couple days a week. I now work in Reston and my husband in Stafford.

Walkability to all 3 levels of school was so important to us when we bought. We also walk to the shopping center in nice weather and the library (I used to hold Girl Scout meetings over there when my daughter was a little younger). There are a couple parks we can easily walk to, and the little one loves the trail by the creek in the middle of the hood. We haven't paid the ridiculous fees to join the pool since I am not a SAHM and we just can't spend the entire summer at the pool, but we have enough friends with memberships that my kids can usually go a few times in the summer.

We are in the process of renovating our house right now and should have it all fixed up in the next couple months - new windows, updated bathrooms, new siding, etc. Lots of people have been sprucing their homes up lately.

Yes, we visit a lot of chain stores and restaurants. It's the burbs. We're fine with it.

I had thought about whether we should move early on in this mess for a little more room, but the good things about this neighborhood keep me here. I love being able to hear the games and band over at the HS from my backyard. I love that the Homecoming parade goes right by my house (in normal times). I love that my daughter has a best friend right next door. It is so very small town, honestly. Our neighborhood has an active social media where we all help each other out with recommendations and sharing things, etc. It'sreally nice and I just can't leave it.

Do you mind sharing more info for those of us that are house hunting? What school district?

This is Greenbriar. The homes are 50 ish years old, so they are in various stages of repair. Lots of chances to buy something and fix it up to your liking. There are 2 ESs in the neighborhood (very creatively named Greenbriar East and West), Rocky Run MS and Chantilly HS. Seriously, it is very Brady Bunch/Leave it to Beaver out here in the old timey feel.