op, if you are looking at South Riding, that is in Loudoun County, yes? If so, look into the Loudoun County Connector to get your husband downtown. People that I know who live in Loudoun County RAVE about it. WiFi on the bus, etc.

South Riding is great for kids, a good family community. However if you are doing South Riding/Loudoun County, why not Brambleton or One Loudoun? Simply because 50 is AWFUL. It will be a total pain for you to get to GMU. Much quicker for you from Fairfax County's Chantilly (near Greenbrier/Chantilly library).

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'd look in Kings Park West or Burke Center. DH can take the VRE or express Pentagon buses and it's a snap to GMU. Schools are great and you'll find something great in that budget.

This is the correct answer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in chantilly area (my address says fairfax, but the HS and library are right around the corner)

I would not move here if my job was downtown. It is not a great commute. My next door neighbor does it and it is wearing on her.

Lots of people in our neighborhood work in other points in nova. When we moved in, my husband worked in ashburn and I worked in lorton pt. It was a decent in between point then.

We're pretty happy where we are. We can walk to the shopping center up the street. We can walk to all 3 school levels. We can walk to the library and a few parks. Fair lakes, fair oaks, fairfax corner, Reston, Herndon, city of fairfax - all within a few miles. The airport is close. While I know people laugh at big box retail and chain restaurants, we're a suburban family with kids-name practically any of these, and we can get there in a short amount of time.

It's a nice area-it isn't the city by any stretch, but we can walk to a decent amount, the families are nice and the schools are highly rated.

Well, the airport is close. But proximity to the other places does not excite me.

Doesn't have to excite you. I was just pointing it out for op.

Enjoy Fair Lakes.

OP, I'd look in Kings Park West or Burke Center. DH can take the VRE or express Pentagon buses and it's a snap to GMU. Schools are great and you'll find something great in that budget.

I would not do Chantilly with a DC commute. No way in hell. It's not even that convenient to GMU. Look at Burke. It's too far out for us, but everyone I know who lives there likes it a lot, and the houses are newer and less expensive than the metro corridor communities.

Anonymous wrote:Average four hour daily commute. Airplane noise from BWI.

Average four hour daily commute. Airplane noise from BWI.

What's your budget? I'd probably look at City of Fairfax if you can afford it - the commute would be great for you and not terrible for your husband. You might also look at the parts of Annandale 22003 that feed into Woodson; there's some nice neighborhoods.

Chantilly to downtown DC is really tough because you have no choice but to take 50 and 66 to get to Vienna metro. I would say you're looking at 1.5 hours each way on average. There are people who do it, though. And it wouldn't be too bad of a commute to GMU.

But if by Chantilly you actually mean the South Riding area, then that's a different story. Because that would be crazy. It could take almost an hour just to get to Vienna metro from there. South Riding has all the cons of living in Chantilly that people have mentioned, but worse.

City of Fairfax would put you really close to GMU and about 1 hour door to door for your husband. If that's not in your price range, look at some of the houses off Braddock Road between FFX parkway and Burke. For example, there's a development called Cloisters of Fairfax off Shirley Gate Road that has newish sf homes right at 700k or under. Burke itself doesn't really have modern homes built in the last 20 years or so, but some of the houses have been nicely renovated. You could also check out the Annandale area outside the beltway between 50 to the north and Braddock to the south. It's a lot like Burke, but closer to the orange line for your husband. I wouldn't put much stock into the VRE for commuting to McPherson Square. Lots of people from Burke talk up the VRE, but it's hours are really limited, it runs infrequently, and it only makes sense if you work near L'enfant plaza or union station.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would move to Syria before I moved to Chantilly.

Shut up. People are dying there you asshole.

+100 kajillion

Shut up, you cretin.

Meh, maybe this person will actually go to Syria and do society a favor by dying.

The commute to downtown will be HORRIBLE. My husband works in Chantilly and we live in Vienna and he hates his commute (and he's doing it backwards and only going halfway). I work downtown and my commute sucks. Seriously, stay in a hotel for a week out there and do the commute. I guess if your husband is gone a lot, maybe he won't care, but it would kill me. However, everyone is different, so you may prioritize a new house over a shorter commute. I think you'll find Tysons to be pretty far away (depending on where you are in Chantilly). I feel like whenever I go out to Chantilly on the weekend it's like a day trip. Downtown Fairfax is super cute, although I doubt you'll get a new build for that price out there. But I'd choose that over Chantilly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would move to Syria before I moved to Chantilly.

Shut up. People are dying there you asshole.

+100 kajillion

Shut up, you cretin.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in chantilly area (my address says fairfax, but the HS and library are right around the corner)

I would not move here if my job was downtown. It is not a great commute. My next door neighbor does it and it is wearing on her.

Lots of people in our neighborhood work in other points in nova. When we moved in, my husband worked in ashburn and I worked in lorton pt. It was a decent in between point then.

We're pretty happy where we are. We can walk to the shopping center up the street. We can walk to all 3 school levels. We can walk to the library and a few parks. Fair lakes, fair oaks, fairfax corner, Reston, Herndon, city of fairfax - all within a few miles. The airport is close. While I know people laugh at big box retail and chain restaurants, we're a suburban family with kids-name practically any of these, and we can get there in a short amount of time.

It's a nice area-it isn't the city by any stretch, but we can walk to a decent amount, the families are nice and the schools are highly rated.

Well, the airport is close. But proximity to the other places does not excite me.

Doesn't have to excite you. I was just pointing it out for op.

Oh, you're talking south riding, not chantilly in fairfax.

That is a different ballgame. My post above about being walkable and convenient to things was pretty specific to my neighborhood, Greenbriar.

I don't know if south riding will make your commute a ton better.

You might have to give up on new construction. You really should focus on Burke and surrounding areas.

Anonymous wrote:I would move to Syria before I moved to Chantilly.

Shut up. People are dying there you asshole.