Great Falls or Reston?

[Anonymous]

DH and I both work in Tysons and we have a 2 and 4 year old. Heavily debating where to live but narrowed it down to Reston or Great Falls. He's pushing for Great Falls I'm pushing for Reston - his main points are GF's schools and my main points are Reston's trails/walkability/things to do and feels more like a community. We both love the mid-century modern/contemporary homes that we've found in both places and that there still is a lot of nature.

We don't particularly care for Vienna/Burke/Oakton.

I know there are a ton of threads and I've read through most of them, but tell me things I need to know!

[Anonymous]

Walkability in Reston can be limited depending on where you are if you are talking about walking for daily needs, etc. If you are just looking to get some exercise there are great options in both places.

We have lived in both and strongly prefer GF but its a personal preference. Reston was good for us too. Having lived in both I would say the sense of community is stronger in GF because it's smaller. Density doesn't always equal community. GF is more private and quieter and accessible to anything you want to do in Reston. Both get a bad rep on here so I wouldn't expect a lot of positive feedback either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having lived in both I would say the sense of community is stronger in GF because it's smaller.

How do you get a sense of community when all the houses are on big lots far away from each other and you can't even walk to anything?

[Anonymous]

Have you practiced the commute? Reston you have the option to metro, which is nice. I see that you don't care for Vienna, but trails/walkability/things to do screams Vienna to me.

[Anonymous]

Reston is walkable to a point. Unless you are moving directly within a .5 mile radius to the town center, it’s not very “walkable” unless you like it where you can walk to someone’s house or neighborhood.

9 times out of 10, you still need a car in Reston unless you live right near one of the shopping centers.

[Anonymous]

We lived in Reston for a decade then moved to Great Falls for the schools. Reston was nice but we've found much more community in Great Falls. We do buy into the Reston pools - they're great for kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We lived in Reston for a decade then moved to Great Falls for the schools. Reston was nice but we've found much more community in Great Falls. We do buy into the Reston pools - they're great for kids.

OP here - interesting, I don't know why I didn't think about buying into the pools. The pools were a selling point for me with Reston. The houses we've been looking at in Reston are walking/biking distance to at least 1 school and pool.

[Anonymous]

Op again - I've also been very overwhelmed with all of the "One Fairfax" stuff on the VA Public Schools forum so I didn't even bother to post there. Since my kids are still 9/10 years out from HS would I be silly passing up Reston solely to pick Langley over South Lakes?

[Anonymous]

OP, I would guess, repeat, guess, that at some point, western parts of GF will be headed to one of the Reston high schools. So, even if you pick GF, i think you need to really ensure you get inside the LHS pyramid, versus picking a house near the border. As for hiking, well, Great Falls does have the Great Falls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op again - I've also been very overwhelmed with all of the "One Fairfax" stuff on the VA Public Schools forum so I didn't even bother to post there. Since my kids are still 9/10 years out from HS would I be silly passing up Reston solely to pick Langley over South Lakes?

I am in the Fox Mill ES boundary. The kids in my neighborhood seem to be enjoying South Lakes High School. I know that the change to South Lakes was not an easy one but it seems to have smoothed out. The ones I talk to think that the academics are challenging and are doing well. The reality is that your kids are likely to be taking honors or IB classes and in with a group of kids that are academically strong. South Lakes has been steadily improving. And while not Reston, we can walk to the grocery store and a bunch of smaller restaurants. There are parks near by for the kids to play at and a strong sense of community. The metro will be opening in September, maybe, so we will have a metro stop about 1 1/2 miles away. We are close enough to Reston to enjoy the trails and belong to a local pool.

Schools are important but an invested parent is likely to make sure that their child is in a place to succeed. Your children would be fine at South Lakes and you can save more money for college and retirement buying a less expensive house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op again - I've also been very overwhelmed with all of the "One Fairfax" stuff on the VA Public Schools forum so I didn't even bother to post there. Since my kids are still 9/10 years out from HS would I be silly passing up Reston solely to pick Langley over South Lakes?

Not necessarily. Much depends on how much Reston and GF change over the next 10 years. Seems to me more likely that Reston will experience greater changes than GF. They are building lots of high-rises in Reston, and if nothing else that could mean more crowded schools. Plus there will be a lot of Herndon kids at SLHS, so it's not just about Reston.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having lived in both I would say the sense of community is stronger in GF because it's smaller.

How do you get a sense of community when all the houses are on big lots far away from each other and you can't even walk to anything?

That’s interesting, because I would say the opposite as a Reston resident. We love our neighborhood and the kids all play outside together all the time. My best friend lives across the street. We always run into our friends out and about at dinner, the farmers market, grocery store, etc. I know the parents of my kids’ friends well and they’re now my friends as well.

One word of advice for GF as your kids get older. You’ll spend A LOT of time at your kids’ schools. And for high school especially if they are at all active. Langley isn’t exactly close to many parts of GF and that traffic can be a bitch.

[Anonymous]

I live in Reston. I am with in walking distance of 3 Starbucks/mini town centers and the metro. I can also bike to Reston Town Center; on a nice day I can walk to Town Center (it is bit more than 2 miles). I also have small children and I love the number of kids and playgrounds in my neighborhood. My dh also commutes to Tysons. He loves he can take the metro or hope on the toll road. The toll road does get jammed! Now, Reston is diverse. If you do not want diversity, move to Great Falls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having lived in both I would say the sense of community is stronger in GF because it's smaller.

How do you get a sense of community when all the houses are on big lots far away from each other and you can't even walk to anything?

That’s interesting, because I would say the opposite as a Reston resident. We love our neighborhood and the kids all play outside together all the time. My best friend lives across the street. We always run into our friends out and about at dinner, the farmers market, grocery store, etc. I know the parents of my kids’ friends well and they’re now my friends as well.

One word of advice for GF as your kids get older. You’ll spend A LOT of time at your kids’ schools. And for high school especially if they are at all active. Langley isn’t exactly close to many parts of GF and that traffic can be a bitch.

I agree with the Reston person. After a year living in Reston, I could not go anywhere without running into someone I knew. These were happy run ins since I am a social person.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! You're making me like Reston even more! Now to get DH fully on board...