What school are you zoned for in Arlandria (hoping Mount Vernon) just hijacking the thread because love how you describe where you live (except the metro part) and we really cannot afford DC anymore, but hubs has strong strong requirements for walkability and transit. |
Bluemont/Bon Air in Arlington. Near a lot of biking trails. Relatively diverse for Arlington. Decent schools. Walkable to Ballston. I think Falls Church City would also work. |
OP in all seriousness, the only 2 places in NOVA that will give you that old fashioned main street feel are Falls Church City or Alexandria 22314 or maybe Del Ray (also in Alexandria). Which you pick depends on your school requirements. While Vienna has a bustling main street and chirch street, its more suburbia vibe. However, Vienna wins for conveniences. |
I, however, don't know a lot about ex-burbia, i.e., Ashburn, Leesburg, etc., There is a lot within an hour of Reston. Leesburg probably has a large downtown. |
Agree with Town of Vienna. Search for houses with zip code 22180 -- there is a large area that is called Vienna but is not part of the town. Tons of nice houses/neighborhoods, but really not walkable. Yes, Vienna has a lot of strip malls but it is a wonderful community with lots of events and strong community pride. Not terribly diverse but if you are looking to spend $1.8 million, you will not end up in a very diverse area. |
Falls Church City does not have an "old fashioned main street feel." Nor does Vienna have a "main street." Both Falls Church City and Vienna have commercial areas along busy commuter arteries - Route 7 (called "Broad Street" in FCC and Leesburg Pike elsewhere) and Route 123 (called "Maple Avenue in Vienna and Chain Bridge/Dolley Madison/Ox Road elsewhere). Just because they have local governments doesn't mean these areas have old-fashioned downtowns. Not even close. |
In Vienna, we are talking Church Street, not Maple Avenue. |
This, if you're open to MD. I would highly consider the area that feeds into Wood Acres Elementary. Near trails, the C&O canal, close to DC/VA. |
If you're open to Maryland, Kensington? |
If you’re commuting to dc, you should be looking at Bethesda! |
That's a very small retail area. Vienna posters always over-hype how much of a small-town feel it has to compensate for living in an area with horrendous traffic outside the Beltway. |
The central area of Falls Church looks the same as a thousand other major city suburban downtowns. It is not an old fashioned main street feel. Really nowhere in northern Virginia has that unless you go outside the immediate suburbs to places like Culpeper or maybe Leesburg. Alexandria has a fantastic streetscape of course but it is more of a city. |
I am just outside fcc limits but walking distance to harris teeter. Where exactly do you get the old fashioned main street vibe? Lil city creamery? I was honestly thinking about this yesterday thinking fcc gets a lot of attention for having a small town feel but it’s really not that charming. Sitting outside eating ice cream while cars rush by on Broad isn’t that fun. Brown’s hardware is great but you wouldn’t exactly shop up and down the street like old town alexandria. I think it’s pretty overrated. restaurants are meh. Farmers market is no better than okay. |
Not a lot of diversity in NOVA. It's a pretty rich place in general. |
Reston is a good choice. |