Are there any areas of FXCO you just love or long to live in? I've lived here 10 years and we're looking to buy a larger home, but no town or city stands out as THE place to be. We'd like a newer home that isn't a money pit.

Lorton is growing and has nice homes, but it seems to far out and inconvenient to shopping, malls, etc. Anyone here live there that can share their opinions?

Vienna is nice, but so congested and most of the homes are older, no?

Fairfax City has some nice things to offer, but the nice things are inconvenient and the congestion keeps getting worse. It seems like there's always a lot of traffic, no?

Fairfax Station has some nice areas, but no neighborhood stands out and again many houses there are old.

Reston/Herdon - I really know anything about, but you don't paint a pretty picture of it here on FU.

McLean/Falls Church - no doubt out of my price range.

Clifton - what neighborhood would you recommend?

So where would you live if you could choose your spot? Where should I start my search? Or would you leave FXCO all together and try Prince William or Loudon? I've found realtors to be absolutely no help whatsoever. They won't give me a straight opinion or a definitive answer to any of my questions.

22308

What is an Eutopia?

Burke/West Springfield is convenient for commuting to most parts of NoVA/DC.

We were renting in 22308 and moved as soon as we could. Did not like the houses in 22308--overpriced for the conditions they were in. Too hard to drive to other parts of the county. Also did not like the clique-y people in the neighborhood (just north of Fort Hunt National Park, off GW Parkway). They ran the FCPS elementary school like a private school, but the quality of instruction was mediocre at best. The pushy parents ran things there. The people in the front office would take out their anger on students or parents who did not have influence in the community.

Avoid 22308!

22030, City of Fairfax is fine. Find a decent house and you will be in the middle of everything. Traffic isn't THAT bad - have you been around Tysons lately?

A Mason Neck waterfront home (with private dock) would be my "eutopia".

Kirby Road area. I guess it is McLean/Falls Church. Very quiet with no dangerous minorites with guns.

­



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2013 06:30PM by chuckhoffmann.

Parson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
I've found realtors to be absolutely no
> help whatsoever. They won't give me a straight
> opinion or a definitive answer to any of my
> questions.

What questions? You seem to have virtually ruled out every neighborhood in Fairfax county for one reason or another. Someone else can't tell you where you'd like to live. Generally people have some idea and then look with a realtor.

Clifton is paradise - everything is 5 acres or more and zoned that way. It's nice out here - you don't even feel like you're still in Fairfax Co., but you're just down the road from Burke, Fairfax, etc.

Parson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Vienna is nice, but so congested and most of the
> homes are older, no?



The older homes are built much sturdier than anything built in the 90s and 2000s.

Vienna houses may be smaller, but they usually have more backyard space and are higher quality construction than the Fairfax houses constructed during the housing boom. This is a fact.

Same goes for the older homes in Falls Church.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2010 12:01PM by eesh.

+1


NewToClifton Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Clifton is paradise - everything is 5 acres or
> more and zoned that way. It's nice out here - you
> don't even feel like you're still in Fairfax Co.,
> but you're just down the road from Burke, Fairfax,
> etc.

CliftonResident Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> +1
>
>
> NewToClifton Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Clifton is paradise - everything is 5 acres or
> > more and zoned that way. It's nice out here -
> you
> > don't even feel like you're still in Fairfax
> Co.,
> > but you're just down the road from Burke,
> Fairfax,
> > etc.

Yeah, pretty much. I love Clifton.

It just costs so much to live there. Understandably.

I live in Fairfax City and like it very much, but Clifton is where I'd live if I could afford it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2010 12:12PM by Kardinal.

Parson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are there any areas of FXCO you just love or long
> to live in? I've lived here 10 years and we're
> looking to buy a larger home, but no town or city
> stands out as THE place to be. We'd like a newer
> home that isn't a money pit.
>

Until you provide the following -

Work location
Price range
Your personal trade-off of distance from work vs. housing cost

you won't get any meaningful answers to your question.

Reston is the bomb, and I'm the Ted Kaczynski of this joint.

==================================================================================================
"And if any women or children get their legs torn off, or faces caved in, well, it's tough shit for them." -2LT. Bert Stiles, 505th, 339th (On Berlin Bombardier Mission, 1944).

22308 is home to Waynewood Elementary, the whitest elementary in Fairfax County. But the thing is they still gotta go to West Potomac.

I think Eutopia is utopia for Europeans.

Sorry about the "Eu"topia - it's a family joke.

I haven't ruled out any area, it's just that no area calls to me. There's a lot of give and take with each area. One never really knows what an area is like until they live there. When I've talked to realtors and asked about various neighborhoods they say "drive around and see if you like it". Well, I've been driving around NOVA for 10 years and no one area stands out for me.

I work in Crystal City. I'm looking for a SFH in the 650k-700k range. I like the VRE as I'm not sold on Metro yet. I shop Wegmans, Trader Joes, and Safeway mostly. I golf, enjoy live music, and have kids in sport/arts. I prefer established neighborhoods where people keep up their houses and there is consistency (no cars parked on lawns, no year round Christmas decorations,etc.). Thoughts?

NewToClifton Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Clifton is paradise - everything is 5 acres or
> more and zoned that way. It's nice out here - you
> don't even feel like you're still in Fairfax Co.,
> but you're just down the road from Burke, Fairfax,
> etc.


Yes, Clifton is very nice, but that 5 acre zoning thing is relatively recent. There are plenty of homes down there on less than 5 acres, and I'm not talking about in town.

The gentrification of Clifton is relatively recent also. In the 50's and 60's land in Clifton was dirt cheap (the black church on Kincheloe is from the old days). I wish I had bought a bunch yaers ago.

Parson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I work in Crystal City. I'm looking for a SFH in
> the 650k-700k range. I like the VRE as I'm not
> sold on Metro yet. I shop Wegmans, Trader Joes,
> and Safeway mostly. I golf, enjoy live music, and
> have kids in sport/arts. I prefer established
> neighborhoods where people keep up their houses
> and there is consistency (no cars parked on lawns,
> no year round Christmas decorations,etc.).
> Thoughts?

Finally some answers, Check out Lake Barcroft, Falls Church.
The homes are older but very well built...you are in the price range for Lake Barcroft. The community activities are fabulous and unending for families.
The price range would not be on the lake but in the community and it's great. Most homes are generally well kept but free of HOA. Dues $350.00 per year including the lake, beaches w/ guards, book clubs, new comers club etc. amenties galore. Close to Pinecrest golf course. Trader Joes & Safeway are in the neighborhood.

Check out this listing for a house in your price range in Clifton. Plenty of privacy, quiet, yet close enough to be convenient.

http://franklymls.com/FX7430854

Or, if you are a Tea Partyer type this place has a fall-out shelter!

http://franklymls.com/FX7381634

Check out West Springfield. The community behind the private golf course is established and nice. Walking distance to Whole Foods, Starbucks, Panera, great Thai restaurant, Austin Grill, Giant. Short drive (8 minutes) to Safeway, Trader Joe's. Great schools (elementary through West Springfield HS). The area will be worth more since the new Geospatial Intelligence building (Fort Belvoir) is just down Rolling Road (8K new employees soon). Good access to Pentagon (busline)_ and Metro. VRE is right up Rolling Road.

I'd stay away from Clifton, there's a lot of asbestos in the soil and the school is slotted to close due to being old and decrepit with contaminated water. The traffic really sucks through there also.

For convenience, Reston and the 20171 Herndon area are great choices. When the Metro goes through the property values will increase in both towns. Falls Church is also nice, as is Great Falls, although Great Falls is a little further out.

If you're on a budget, perhaps check out Centreville, Chantilly, Lorton, or just across the county line is Lake Ridge, in PWC.

-------------------------------------------------
“We don’t have any rude, unpleasant people here. We’re different!”

Reston has rich sections and poor sections. By the Lakes and the Reston Town Center are nice. The apartments close to Hunters Wood Plaza are bad areas.

The Little ROcky Run section of Clifton is beautiful too. Nice proximity to old Clifton, Burke, Fairfax. Beautiful and spacious well built houses, although the lots are usually pretty small. With the schools right in the neighborhood it definitely feels like an enclave within Fairfax County.

fairfax City is nice the traffic seems bad. there are alot of side streets to get around the traffic. If traffic is your main concern you might want to move off the eastren shore to the mid west.

I'm in the Utopia called Brookfield. Close to main roads, shopping, and can walk to shopping at wonderful Stein Mart, AutoZone, Kings Bite, and Staples. Beautiful neighborhood.

priapus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What is an Eutopia?

I think it is a European Utopia

Waynewood, Ft Hunt Rd, Mount Vernon east of Rt 1 area NE of Mount Vernon

captain22 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> priapus Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > What is an Eutopia?
>
> I think it is a European Utopia


I think OP is just a bad speller.

Franklin farm/Franklin Oaks, might be a place to call home.

Falls Church City - the run their own very well run school system, so if you have kids not squalking about FCPS. After that - Fairfax City. In other words, avoid the County.

FC City -- if you can only spend $700k expect a house from the 50s through the 70s, albeit one that has been renovated/expanded and is on a nice lot.

FFX City -- you can get some recent construction there.

Duchess: Why would you want to avoid the county? I mean, it's not like the FFX City/County operating agreement's going to end anytime soon.

I LOVE RESTON! It's the BEST place to live!

I grew up in Waynewood (22308). It is a great place to be a kid, but West Potomac HS is not great and it is a pain to get anywhere since it is south of he beltway. Things changed when Ft. Hunt HS closed.

I now live in Annandale, outside the beltway, just west of Wakefield Chapel Rd. The houses here were built in the late '60s so not so old, and very solid. The schools are great (wakefield forest/frost/woodson) and being located at the beltway, right in the center makes for an easy drive to most anywhere.

Since you have kids you need to get ratings for high schools. I've heard that North Arlington has good schools and its' close to Crystal City. In FC Langley, Madison, Oakton are good schools. Reston, Fairfax and Herndon high schools are just ok as I heard. Also, check Falls Church schools as well. Do you prefer urban or suburban settings?

Parson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry about the "Eu"topia - it's a family joke.
>
> I haven't ruled out any area, it's just that no
> area calls to me. There's a lot of give and take
> with each area. One never really knows what an
> area is like until they live there. When I've
> talked to realtors and asked about various
> neighborhoods they say "drive around and see if
> you like it". Well, I've been driving around NOVA
> for 10 years and no one area stands out for me.
>
> I work in Crystal City. I'm looking for a SFH in
> the 650k-700k range. I like the VRE as I'm not
> sold on Metro yet. I shop Wegmans, Trader Joes,
> and Safeway mostly. I golf, enjoy live music, and
> have kids in sport/arts. I prefer established
> neighborhoods where people keep up their houses
> and there is consistency (no cars parked on lawns,
> no year round Christmas decorations,etc.).
> Thoughts?