We love living in Oakton (and no, the people of Oakton are not mostly Mormons). Our neighborhood which is off Vale Rd is full of families/kids and really nice people. Unlike the Town of Vienna, Oakton isn't walkable to any retail, restaurants, Metro stops, etc. but that doesn't really bother me. My only regret about where we live is that we have no sidewalks in our neighborhood. We bought before we had kids and didn't think through that very well. Also, the surrounding roads are tough to travel in ice and snow - lots of hills, trees that fall, etc. If you go with Oakton, I'd suggest buying into the neighborhoods that feed into Madison HS vs Oakton HS.

I think if I lived in Vienna, I would choose the outlying neighborhoods (over by the Toll Road and towards Wolf Trap) versus the town of Vienna, Nutley Street area, or Tyson's area. I prefer a larger lot and more green space vs being close to Rt 123/strip malls.

Anonymous wrote:Where are you commuting to? If Fairfax isn't too far, take a look around there. Houses will be more affordable than Vienna or Oakton. And that often corresponds to more young children in the neighborhood.

Both Vienna and Oakton are great for those who commute to Reston.

Vienna is a great place to live, but lots tend to be smaller in the town.

Oakton has larger lots and offers a Great Falls like experience and the Metro is only a few minutes drive.

Anonymous wrote:Oakton is mostly Mormons

Oakton happens to have a Mormon church located there. It is not mostly Mormon nor is it mostly Unitarian or Lutheran, even though there is a Unitarian Church and a Lutheran Church.

Tysons & Reston /weihle

Where are you commuting to? If Fairfax isn't too far, take a look around there. Houses will be more affordable than Vienna or Oakton. And that often corresponds to more young children in the neighborhood.

OP. Looking at houses now. Vienna feels a little older ; meaning houses are older. I see chantilly area also feeds Oakton HS. The kids are pretty active in activities. It looks like activities might be in Vienna or fairfax. I would like to move where we do activities and things with kids in the area. But I guess that might be hit or miss.

Oakton is mostly Mormons

Anonymous wrote:Depends on where you are looking in Vienna. Parts of Vienna have more of a small town feel. Lot of Community events in Vienna. I live in town in Vienna and love it but a lot of the parts of Vienna outside of town may as well be Oakton.

Exactly. We live in Oakton close to metro and closer to D.C. than some parts of Vienna.
Every neighborhood is different, it's kind of a crap shoot when you select a neighborhood. Could be tons of kids in the neighborhood but none your child's age or gender... Our neighborhood is packed with kids but there are a lot more boys so my DS has a great group and there are very few kids my DD's age and very few girls in general.

Depends on where you are looking in Vienna. Parts of Vienna have more of a small town feel. Lot of Community events in Vienna. I live in town in Vienna and love it but a lot of the parts of Vienna outside of town may as well be Oakton.

Areas by Tyson's Corner have Vienna addresses so there can be quite the variety in the area. We just moved from Oakton and we were close to the Vienna-GMU metro stop. I would say there are a lot of young families with elementary age children in the area where we lived. We also lived in a townhouse so that may have had something to do with the number of young families.

parts of oakton vs parts of vienna -- an extra 30 mins in traffic

I would not say there is a huge difference. Oakton generally will have larger lots than Vienna, and it tends to attract more conservative buyers. Vienna appeals more to those seeking proximity to DC and community amenities.

Oakton is more spread out that Vienna. Town of Vienna is more densely populated. Be. Careful though and know that non town parts of the county called "Vienna" are also pretty spread out like oakton.

I'm new to the area and would like to know what type of differences might exist between moving to Oakton vs Vienna.
I'm curious to know if there is any real difference in the type of family that might choose Oakton vs a family that would choose Vienna.
the house prices seem relatively comparable.
Personally, I would rather move to the area where there is a lot of families with young children - such as elementary age.
As we are moving to the area, I'd like to choose the place where it is more probable to make friends / establish connections.