Anonymous wrote:We are in the eastern part of wakefield in annandale near duncan and we certainly have that. Modest to nicer homes, medium sized lots, lots of trees and kids around. Lots of sports in the culdesacks and other roads, everyone knows everyone and kids all play together. Nice feel here....

We are in the next neighborhood over (off Braeburn) and agree with the PP that the kids all play together, lots of neighborhood pools, good schools, easy commute to Arlington and many options for a commute to Chantilly.

Look at Vienna inside of the town lines

OP Here. We're ideally looking at 400,000 to 525,000 homes, but will buy a 600,000 home as a stretch. We need between 1800 and 2500 s.f. including a basement that is or could be refinished if the homes in the neighborhood have these. We would like the neighborhood to be very safe although we are ok with a grided street neighborhood where we might have to watch children when they are young. We would like a school where ideally the majority of the parents also speak english although the race or ethnicity doesn't matter. It is just more of a communication barrier for us geting to know neighbors if they speak another language. We also would like a good school that doesn't have a lot of safety issues or majority of low test scores. Thanks again for your help.

You really need a price range. We live in a great old neighborhood where original, 2300 sqft on 1/3 acre, 40 year old ramblers/splits sell for $850,000.

We are in the eastern part of wakefield in annandale near duncan and we certainly have that. Modest to nicer homes, medium sized lots, lots of trees and kids around. Lots of sports in the culdesacks and other roads, everyone knows everyone and kids all play together. Nice feel here....

F Farm has some smaller SFH that may be in your price range as does Chantilly Highlands. If you're open to a townhome, Fair Woods, at the intersection of 50/7100 is next to Fair Oaks hospital and feeds to Navy. Home sizes vary from 1700 to 2500 sq ft.

I cant speak for the safety of Greenbriar on the other side of 50 but I've always been a fan of the sprawling ranch style homes, large lots and beautiful trees. Check out the schools and maybe look over there too? It is on the south side of 50 and west of 7100. Check out the Pender community too. It may feed to Navy as it's off West Ox Rd.

Chantilly Highlands is nice and feeds into Oak Hill ES. The neighborhood is very similar to Franklin Farm. Also, Fair Oaks estates in fairfax which feeds into Navy ES.

Falls Hill is generally more expensive than Franklin Farms, so I'm assuming that won't work for the OP.

I know that the Mantua area gets hyped on this forum, but a neigborhood like Mantua Hills may be worth a look. A bit less expensive than Franklin Farms; good schools; the homes are older but also typically over 2000 SF.

We're in Falls Hill in Falls Church. Love it! Kids everywhere, playing in the front and backyards. I let my 4 year old DS play out front without any concerns. Depending on where you are in the neighborhood, you can walk to WFC metro, the elementary school (Shrevewood), the W&OD trail, and shopping along Route 7.

The West Springfield area definitely has that Mayberry feel. Parents stand in the front yard to chat as kids run from house to house in big groups. Lots of people walking their dogs, out running or going on family walks. A good mix of older, more established people, families with teens and young families. Most people walk to the neighborhood schools. Easy access to the Fairfax County Parkway and blue line. If it is not too far out for you, check out the W. Springfield/Hunt Vallet/Sangster line of schools.

OP again. Thank you for the information on Frankin Farm. It looks like a very nice neighborhood. Those houses are probably at the top of our price range and the house sizes are larger than what we need, but we will definitely check it out. If there are any other neighborhoods similar with perhaps split levels or ranch houses please let me know. Thanks.

OP here. Older houses are fine as long as they are around 2000 s.f. or more. Thanks.

We are in Franklin Farm and we love it. We were looking for the same type of neighborhood as OP. My kids love it,.... and yes you can open the front door and have the kids run out and play, while you sit on the porch and watch. We are on a cul-de-sac and the older kids will roll their ping-pong table out there so everyone can play.

Anonymous wrote:We're looking to buy soon and we have jobs in Chantilly and Arlington. Both of our children will be starting elementary school in the next 2 years. I'm trying to find a very friendly neighborhood with good, safe schools to move to. I'd like a place where not only the schools are good, but the adults look after everyone's kids on the block and the children feel free to go from house to house and perhaps actually walk somewhere to run errands, etc. Fairfax in general seems to have so many neighborhoods where the homes are far apart and many residents seem to keep their children indoors a lot. Any recommendations for a neighborhood more like "The Wonder Years" in Fairfax County?

While there are areas in Fairfax (Great Falls, parts of McLean and Vienna, most of Oakton, Fairfax Station, Clifton) where houses tend to be on large lots, there are also neighborhoods that fit your description. So it really depends on your price range, whether you're OK with an older house, and the extent to which you're focused on school pyramids with top test scores to the exclusion of other areas.

We're looking to buy soon and we have jobs in Chantilly and Arlington. Both of our children will be starting elementary school in the next 2 years. I'm trying to find a very friendly neighborhood with good, safe schools to move to. I'd like a place where not only the schools are good, but the adults look after everyone's kids on the block and the children feel free to go from house to house and perhaps actually walk somewhere to run errands, etc. Fairfax in general seems to have so many neighborhoods where the homes are far apart and many residents seem to keep their children indoors a lot. Any recommendations for a neighborhood more like "The Wonder Years" in Fairfax County?