How old are the kids, OP?

One more point on how/where to find connection....

You find "connection" by BEING THE SPARK that starts some little activity. You send out a notice that says "cul de sac happy hour this Thursday" or you set up a Friday night outdoor movie that you project onto your house -- and you encourage everyone to bring some sort of game or snack.

If you come up with a plan -- people will show up and fill in the needs. THAT's how you find connection. You have to be the instigator. Other people want connection too... but they don't have ideas and they don't have the initiative.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the advice, everyone. OP here. Regarding budget, we were hoping to stay under $1.5 million, but it has proved harder than we thought to find what we are looking for- space for four kids, work from home space, ideally a half acre of land, and a three car garage. We can go a little higher but under $2 million for sure. Mostly we are looking for community. Our current neighborhood has a handful of kids to play with ours, but the parents keep to themselves. We want to have fun too!

People who can buy $2M houses are typically...quite sure of what they want. We aint talking $200K, we're talking $2M. At that price range, how in the hell can you not find a house where you want in the DC metro area for 4 (or more) kids and some acreage? That's just asinine.

Either you're trolling, and/or your budget really isn't $2M.

I said we can go a little higher than $1.5 if necessary. And we aren't sure where to look, which is why I posted. We want a great neighborhood, not just a big house with land.

And that's what I was responding to. Why are you not sure? Do you not have a social circle, family, extended family, friends etc that factor into this? Do you not want to be near people with "similar" levels of wealth/education/style/whatever?

Your choice of neighborhood cannot simply be "for young families".

Why does it matter why they’re not sure? Lots of people just live in this area for work away from their families. It’s pretty clear OP is trying to get a feel for which neighborhoods with homes in their price range are friendly and have a sense of community. It’s not like there’s so much inventory that they can be picky about build quality or style of the home.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the advice, everyone. OP here. Regarding budget, we were hoping to stay under $1.5 million, but it has proved harder than we thought to find what we are looking for- space for four kids, work from home space, ideally a half acre of land, and a three car garage. We can go a little higher but under $2 million for sure. Mostly we are looking for community. Our current neighborhood has a handful of kids to play with ours, but the parents keep to themselves. We want to have fun too!

When people spend $1.5-$2 mil on a home with a good bit of land for privacy, they generally DON'T want to be that involved with the neighbors. That's the point of THAT much money/land. Usually, the closer the people are in their homes, the more interconnected they are in how they live and interact. I'm a little surprised you didn't find connections in Willowsford b/c it's such a new community that everyone there is new to the neighborhood and looking to make those connections.

I think you are more likely to find connections via school, scouts, soccer, dance, swim. With four kids, you should have plenty of opportunities to connect with other families who have similar age kids --- through kid-based activities where adults are sitting around waiting for kids to finish.

I think you're looking to solve a desire for connection by finding a particular neighborhood like Mayberry. But, the answer to your desire is not a neighborhood or location... it's in your daily routines/activities and the effort you put into them.

Fox Mill?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People that live in Vienna think Olive Garden is Michelin.

Um. No.

Um. Yes.

Maple Ave.
So there!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the advice, everyone. OP here. Regarding budget, we were hoping to stay under $1.5 million, but it has proved harder than we thought to find what we are looking for- space for four kids, work from home space, ideally a half acre of land, and a three car garage. We can go a little higher but under $2 million for sure. Mostly we are looking for community. Our current neighborhood has a handful of kids to play with ours, but the parents keep to themselves. We want to have fun too!

People who can buy $2M houses are typically...quite sure of what they want. We aint talking $200K, we're talking $2M. At that price range, how in the hell can you not find a house where you want in the DC metro area for 4 (or more) kids and some acreage? That's just asinine.

Either you're trolling, and/or your budget really isn't $2M.

I said we can go a little higher than $1.5 if necessary. And we aren't sure where to look, which is why I posted. We want a great neighborhood, not just a big house with land.

And that's what I was responding to. Why are you not sure? Do you not have a social circle, family, extended family, friends etc that factor into this? Do you not want to be near people with "similar" levels of wealth/education/style/whatever?

Your choice of neighborhood cannot simply be "for young families".

Ignore all these haters, OP. I don't know why people are being so mean.

With your budget and parameters, I would seriously consider Vienna. We recently bought and were looking for your exact parameters (community, decent space, etc. <1.5) and found all that in Vienna.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the advice, everyone. OP here. Regarding budget, we were hoping to stay under $1.5 million, but it has proved harder than we thought to find what we are looking for- space for four kids, work from home space, ideally a half acre of land, and a three car garage. We can go a little higher but under $2 million for sure. Mostly we are looking for community. Our current neighborhood has a handful of kids to play with ours, but the parents keep to themselves. We want to have fun too!

People who can buy $2M houses are typically...quite sure of what they want. We aint talking $200K, we're talking $2M. At that price range, how in the hell can you not find a house where you want in the DC metro area for 4 (or more) kids and some acreage? That's just asinine.

Either you're trolling, and/or your budget really isn't $2M.

I said we can go a little higher than $1.5 if necessary. And we aren't sure where to look, which is why I posted. We want a great neighborhood, not just a big house with land.

You need to go higher than $1.5 for all that you want.

+1. Set your budget for $2 million and then just run your other parameters through Redfin.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the advice, everyone. OP here. Regarding budget, we were hoping to stay under $1.5 million, but it has proved harder than we thought to find what we are looking for- space for four kids, work from home space, ideally a half acre of land, and a three car garage. We can go a little higher but under $2 million for sure. Mostly we are looking for community. Our current neighborhood has a handful of kids to play with ours, but the parents keep to themselves. We want to have fun too!

People who can buy $2M houses are typically...quite sure of what they want. We aint talking $200K, we're talking $2M. At that price range, how in the hell can you not find a house where you want in the DC metro area for 4 (or more) kids and some acreage? That's just asinine.

Either you're trolling, and/or your budget really isn't $2M.

I said we can go a little higher than $1.5 if necessary. And we aren't sure where to look, which is why I posted. We want a great neighborhood, not just a big house with land.

You need to go higher than $1.5 for all that you want.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the advice, everyone. OP here. Regarding budget, we were hoping to stay under $1.5 million, but it has proved harder than we thought to find what we are looking for- space for four kids, work from home space, ideally a half acre of land, and a three car garage. We can go a little higher but under $2 million for sure. Mostly we are looking for community. Our current neighborhood has a handful of kids to play with ours, but the parents keep to themselves. We want to have fun too!

People who can buy $2M houses are typically...quite sure of what they want. We aint talking $200K, we're talking $2M. At that price range, how in the hell can you not find a house where you want in the DC metro area for 4 (or more) kids and some acreage? That's just asinine.

Either you're trolling, and/or your budget really isn't $2M.

I said we can go a little higher than $1.5 if necessary. And we aren't sure where to look, which is why I posted. We want a great neighborhood, not just a big house with land.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the advice, everyone. OP here. Regarding budget, we were hoping to stay under $1.5 million, but it has proved harder than we thought to find what we are looking for- space for four kids, work from home space, ideally a half acre of land, and a three car garage. We can go a little higher but under $2 million for sure. Mostly we are looking for community. Our current neighborhood has a handful of kids to play with ours, but the parents keep to themselves. We want to have fun too!

So let me see if I understand this. You want to live in Fairfax, Loudoun, or PWC. You want a house with 4+ bedrooms, half an acre of land, a three-car garage, a great community AND you wanted to stay below $1.5 mil?!?! I bet you want a move-in ready house with all the bells and whistles, too. SMH.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the advice, everyone. OP here. Regarding budget, we were hoping to stay under $1.5 million, but it has proved harder than we thought to find what we are looking for- space for four kids, work from home space, ideally a half acre of land, and a three car garage. We can go a little higher but under $2 million for sure. Mostly we are looking for community. Our current neighborhood has a handful of kids to play with ours, but the parents keep to themselves. We want to have fun too!

People who can buy $2M houses are typically...quite sure of what they want. We aint talking $200K, we're talking $2M. At that price range, how in the hell can you not find a house where you want in the DC metro area for 4 (or more) kids and some acreage? That's just asinine.

Either you're trolling, and/or your budget really isn't $2M.

I don’t know if somebody has already say this but the bigger your yard, the more distant you’ll be from your neighbors, literally and figuratively. Also the more expensive the neighborhood, the more likely it is to be full of people who aren’t inclined to be socially inclusive. The closest neighborhoods I’ve seen, where people are happy and kids okay together and there is some social support, are duplex areas.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Del Ray is a young family paradise

schools are bad

Translation: Del Ray schools have too many brown kids to suit DCUM women's racist taste.

Translation: “I’m a latte sipping inner beltway liberal white person and I can’t go an entire 24 hour period without calling something or someone racist”