Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 16:22     Subject: Re:Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Look at South Riding in Loudoun. I used to live there and loved it. Not sure about DC commute though.



I’m in South Riding now and I would recommend skipping us and going a little further west in Loudoun out 50. South Riding isn’t aging well. We’ve been here 15 years and kid will be leaving elementary school next year and we’ll try to get out of here before middle school. If you were to explore this area I’d encourage you to stay within Little River elementary boundaries.

Restaurants aren’t great, limited options, traffic is getting insane up and down 50 and the data centers are popping like weeds. For your price point Virginia Manor in Aldie, Lenah Mills or others past StoneRidge would probably fit the bill.


PP again It takes my husband 1.5-2 hours to commute to DC.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 16:20     Subject: Re:Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Anonymous wrote:Look at South Riding in Loudoun. I used to live there and loved it. Not sure about DC commute though.



I’m in South Riding now and I would recommend skipping us and going a little further west in Loudoun out 50. South Riding isn’t aging well. We’ve been here 15 years and kid will be leaving elementary school next year and we’ll try to get out of here before middle school. If you were to explore this area I’d encourage you to stay within Little River elementary boundaries.

Restaurants aren’t great, limited options, traffic is getting insane up and down 50 and the data centers are popping like weeds. For your price point Virginia Manor in Aldie, Lenah Mills or others past StoneRidge would probably fit the bill.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 14:06     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Anonymous wrote:Ok…Back to Burke…

We like it here ! But don’t see a huge difference between BSS and other areas? And it looks like BSS feeds into a lower GS ranked ES? Although I know that’s not supposed to matter, I’m not sure how else to differentiate.



West Springfield resident here and when we decided to move to the area we really tried to look beyond the GS ratings. We spoke to neighbors in the neighborhoods we were looking at and even reached out to a few principals. The neighbors were candid and we viewed the reaction from the principals as telling. Some were very open(invited us to visit or to back to school nights) some were not. We trusted the feedback from neighbors and our interaction with principals more than GS and we've been thrilled with our decision even though it's "only" a GS 5 elementary in a GS 9 pyramid
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 12:18     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Ok…Back to Burke…

We like it here ! But don’t see a huge difference between BSS and other areas? And it looks like BSS feeds into a lower GS ranked ES? Although I know that’s not supposed to matter, I’m not sure how else to differentiate.

Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 12:16     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of options with an 800k price point, but they will vary greatly depending on how far out theft are. OP, are you still someone that feels the pull of the city, do you still go in for date night, or on the weekends, etc.? Or are you over the city, want more space, more quiet, a bigger home, etc.? I feel like the answers to these questions will really drive whether you should focus on Fairfax or Loudoun/PW. If you are over the city, I would definitely look further out where that 800k will get you a large updated home; but, if you still love being close to the city I wouldn’t bother with looking further out and would explore the neighborhoods suggested by PPs that are closer in and at your price point.


Thanks for asking ! I work in the city so I have to go in a few times a week. And I do love a good restaurant but mostly my office necessitates convenience
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 10:51     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
There are a lot of options with an 800k price point, but they will vary greatly depending on how far out theft are. OP, are you still someone that feels the pull of the city, do you still go in for date night, or on the weekends, etc.? Or are you over the city, want more space, more quiet, a bigger home, etc.? I feel like the answers to these questions will really drive whether you should focus on Fairfax or Loudoun/PW. If you are over the city, I would definitely look further out where that 800k will get you a large updated home; but, if you still love being close to the city I wouldn’t bother with looking further out and would explore the neighborhoods suggested by PPs that are closer in and at your price point.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 10:38     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Anonymous wrote:Does Fairfax county also pay property taxes on CARS?? I hate that!!


Everywhere in VA pays personal property tax on cars. Not a Fairfax-specific thing.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 10:37     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:you could look at 22033. Your commute might be a little more than an hour. We are zoned for Navy, Franklin, Oakton and our house/neighborhood hovers around $740-850k. neighborhood pool is a big deal with a swim team. Franklin Farm also would probably fit in your price range (high school is Oakton or Chantilly depending which part you live in).


+1 on 22033. Also look at Greenbriar. - few houses up/coming soon meeting your budget and requirements. For Greenbriar specifically - very walkable to libraries, parks, all 3 levels of school, retail. Great community feel.

Personally I wouldn’t move out of Fairfax County on an $800k budget and commuting to the city 2x/week but that’s just me.


Like here? Does seem good! Not a lot of inventory. Is this also a military turnover spot?

https://redf.in/SsaIFB


Yes, that neighborhood. Not a while lot of inventory anywhere right now but should get better in the spring. No, not a military turnover spot although I’m sure there are some military families.

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Fairfax/4103-Mt-Echo-Ln-22033/home/9505724

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Fairfax/13117-Penndale-Ln-22033/home/9496585


Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 10:35     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Does Fairfax county also pay property taxes on CARS?? I hate that!!
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 10:34     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:you could look at 22033. Your commute might be a little more than an hour. We are zoned for Navy, Franklin, Oakton and our house/neighborhood hovers around $740-850k. neighborhood pool is a big deal with a swim team. Franklin Farm also would probably fit in your price range (high school is Oakton or Chantilly depending which part you live in).


+1 on 22033. Also look at Greenbriar. - few houses up/coming soon meeting your budget and requirements. For Greenbriar specifically - very walkable to libraries, parks, all 3 levels of school, retail. Great community feel.

Personally I wouldn’t move out of Fairfax County on an $800k budget and commuting to the city 2x/week but that’s just me.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 10:30     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:you could look at 22033. Your commute might be a little more than an hour. We are zoned for Navy, Franklin, Oakton and our house/neighborhood hovers around $740-850k. neighborhood pool is a big deal with a swim team. Franklin Farm also would probably fit in your price range (high school is Oakton or Chantilly depending which part you live in).


+1 on 22033. Also look at Greenbriar. - few houses up/coming soon meeting your budget and requirements. For Greenbriar specifically - very walkable to libraries, parks, all 3 levels of school, retail. Great community feel.

Personally I wouldn’t move out of Fairfax County on an $800k budget and commuting to the city 2x/week but that’s just me.


Like here? Does seem good! Not a lot of inventory. Is this also a military turnover spot?

https://redf.in/SsaIFB
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 10:14     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
London county is too far out. Stay in Fairfax county.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 09:59     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Not sure if this is the right place for this question, but we are considering a move out of North Arlington as our landlord is selling and it's time to bite the bullet and buy.

I may still need to drive into the city once or twice a week, so I'm trying to stay no more than an hour away.

Ideally, we'd like to be in the 800 range - 3 bed minimum - and a house that doesn't need serious cosmetic upgrades...which may put us out of luck in FFX?

We have two small children so good public school elementary is a must (although I'm less concerned about MS/HS now).

We'd love a community feel - kids running around - pools, clubs, etc. And, it would be nice if there is some retail within a mile so we can walk or bike to things. A "city center" or "old town" feel that isn't just chain restaurants would be a huge bonus

Is this a unicorn? Do these neighborhoods exist? We've driven around West Springfield and parts of it are nice, as well as Kings Park West - but inventory is low and price range challenging. Same with Annandale.

Any other ideas?? Thoughts on Ashburn? Burke? Haymarket? Gainesville? Leesburg?




You're describing the Ft Hunt area of Fairfax. Great elementary schools with neighborhoods centered around community pools. The middle and high school options are more questionable


Thought good SFHs in fort hunt now are 1M+
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 09:59     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Anonymous wrote:you could look at 22033. Your commute might be a little more than an hour. We are zoned for Navy, Franklin, Oakton and our house/neighborhood hovers around $740-850k. neighborhood pool is a big deal with a swim team. Franklin Farm also would probably fit in your price range (high school is Oakton or Chantilly depending which part you live in).


+1 on 22033. Also look at Greenbriar. - few houses up/coming soon meeting your budget and requirements. For Greenbriar specifically - very walkable to libraries, parks, all 3 levels of school, retail. Great community feel.

Personally I wouldn’t move out of Fairfax County on an $800k budget and commuting to the city 2x/week but that’s just me.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2023 09:11     Subject: Neighborhoods in Fairfax/Prince William/Loudoun Counties?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is there a difference between Burke Station square and Burke centre?


Yes. Burke Station Square is across from the Rolling Road VRE station. Burke Centre is a larger neighborhood comprised of 5 smaller sections, different VRE station.


Seems like driving around may be the best way to get a feel for the whole area. I can’t quite tell on Redfin what is what but there are a few nice homes I see! Just not in BSS it seems. Waiting til spring may be necessary


When we were shopping a few years ago we really wanted BSS but even in spring nothing came open. May be a luckier year though. regardless, anything Burke or W Springfield definitely is worth waiting to see what comes open during the spring military turn over season.