I would encourage you to rent where you plan to buy so you do not have to move your children out of one school and into another.

Do you have any thoughts on what your buying budget will be?

How about looking in Sterling? One of my good friends lives right off of Rt 7 -- she owns but I bet you could probably rent for the amount you mentioned.

Good luck.

PP here-- although, DH was going the opposite way your DH would be going, so that would probably affect the commute time.

Anonymous wrote:How's the commute from Ashburn to McLean? Is it under 45 mins? (I know it'll be on the high end of that.)

It's not bad. DH used to commute to Ashburn from DC (!!) and the stretch from Ashburn to McLean was pretty quick-- usually 1/2 hour or less. It was going from McLean to DC that was the killer.

Anonymous wrote:Who ARE these PPs? We're renters in McLean and unless you want 800sqft POS Pimmet Hills house there are NO homes for rent under 2K in McLean, Falls Church, Tyson's, or Vienna.

But you could easily find a 2 BR apartment in that range.

Anonymous wrote:How's the commute from Ashburn to McLean? Is it under 45 mins? (I know it'll be on the high end of that.)

I suspect it would be the high end of that as Rte 7 can be pretty nasty in the AM. Ashburn is a great family community but not a whole lot going on, you will have to drive everywhere. Schools are good but Loudoun County cancels at the drop of a hat because there are so many rural roads even if the cities like Ashburn and Leesburg are fine. Tons of communities, the homes are newer, not super green, everything is sculpted. Reston is a bit older, the first "planned community" in the US from what I understand, and they LOVE some trees. Also more convenient to the toll road if he takes it to McLean vs Rte 7. If you're in Ashburn and he plans on taking Rte 7, factor in the cost of the Dulles Greenway, which has gotten insanely expensive over the years. Peak travel rate is 4.80 one way. Add in Toll Road costs (different from the Greenway) and you can easily spend $11/day getting to and from the Tyson's area.

Reston or Herndon. If you insist on "better" schools or want shinier/newer, then Ashburn, or Leesburg if you find Ashburn too boring.

How's the commute from Ashburn to McLean? Is it under 45 mins? (I know it'll be on the high end of that.)

Reston or Herndon. The downtown area of Herndon has some charm.

Live in McLean, but agree that Reston would be a great choice for you. Good luck!

We are in a similar situation except that DH will be working near Dulles, and after reading this thread http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/261736.page we decided we definitely want to live in Reston. We are moving from the pacific northwest and Reston sounds like it might have a similar vibe - liberal, environmentally conscious, diverse, family-friendly, etc. (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Who ARE these PPs? We're renters in McLean and unless you want 800sqft POS Pimmet Hills house there are NO homes for rent under 2K in McLean, Falls Church, Tyson's, or Vienna.