I have been in the market to purchase a new home and will likely purchase in the 1st half of 2012. Our preference would be to stay in Fairfax County where we are currently renting in Centreville. We looked quite a bit over the summer and the homes we liked were just out of our price range (we had been focused on looking in Little Rocky Run in Clifton). We (wife & 2 kids, with a planned 3rd) initially were looking at homes in the $500k range with a 20% downpayment. We're approved for up to $520k but I don't want to be house poor so we've scaled it back to around $475k. The more and more I thought about it though we came to the reality that $500k doesn't go a long way in Fairfax County unless you want a smaller house that hasn't been updated in years. I like a big yard as much as the next family, but I don't want to have to spend all weekend maintaining it. Something simple for the kids in order to setup a swingset is fine by me.

We had considered South Riding several times in the past considering it's close proximity to Centreville along with getting a little more value for the money. In hindsight I wish we had at leasted rented in SR to get the lay of the land to determine if we wanted to stay long term. We always shyed away though because I commute daily to NW, DC (25 miles each way door to door) for my job where working from home is never an option. My hours are flexible however as I currently am able to commute from Centreville starting at 9am and get to my office by 10am. I never leave between the hours of 7am-9pm because all it takes is an accident or rain to delay my arrival to work at 10am anyway. Anyway I usually work until 7pm then it takes be about 30-45 minutes to get home. As my children start elementary school I am going to have to go with an earlier schedule like 6:30am-3:30pm in order to handle more of the parenting duties.

While I realize metrorail is coming to Loudon and the widening of 50 is starting these really won't have any sort of effect or benefit for a few more years, especially Metro.

So we're back to considering South Riding because the homes are more affordable, seems to be a magnet for familes and their just isn't much out their on the home market in the Centreville or surrouding areas. Yes I realize that the builder quality of new homes in recent years has been put into question and their are a lot of folks under water in their current homes in SR. We would consider both new homes and homes a few years old. I also realize that taxes are more in Loudon as well but it seems the schools are on par with FFX County. Bottom line is that I don't want to be house poor. I want to be able to contiue investing in things like my retirement and kids college funds, vacations, etc. Eventually my wife will return to the workforce as well once the kids are in school full time.

So tell me, where in SR should we consider? My understanding is that SR is boxed in between Rt. 50 and Braddock road north to south and Pleasant Valley and Gum Springs east to west. Is the 4 way stop sign at Braddock and Pleasant Valley that bad in the morning for folks trying to get to 29/50/66? I can tolerate plane noise just fine considering having lived in Centreville. It's just the traffic noise that gets to me and considering the size of SR I assume it will not be a problem.

Spare me the milf, lonely wives and SR Inn swinger jokes.

Thanks in advance for input and feedback.

The commute would be the only issue. Not sure about the cox farm intersection back up, I think if you take poland road to pleasant valley instead of braddock, you may be okay. You could always take 606 to 267 to save substantial time. There is a bit of lower income housing... Good luck searching!

Ogie33 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have been in the market to purchase a new home
> and will likely purchase in the 1st half of 2012.
> Our preference would be to stay in Fairfax County
> where we are currently renting in Centreville. We
> looked quite a bit over the summer and the homes
> we liked were just out of our price range (we had
> been focused on looking in Little Rocky Run in
> Clifton). We (wife & 2 kids, with a planned 3rd)
> initially were looking at homes in the $500k range
> with a 20% downpayment. We're approved for up to
> $520k but I don't want to be house poor so we've
> scaled it back to around $475k. The more and more
> I thought about it though we came to the reality
> that $500k doesn't go a long way in Fairfax County
> unless you want a smaller house that hasn't been
> updated in years. I like a big yard as much as the
> next family, but I don't want to have to spend all
> weekend maintaining it. Something simple for the
> kids in order to setup a swingset is fine by me.
>
> We had considered South Riding several times in
> the past considering it's close proximity to
> Centreville along with getting a little more value
> for the money. In hindsight I wish we had at
> leasted rented in SR to get the lay of the land to
> determine if we wanted to stay long term. We
> always shyed away though because I commute daily
> to NW, DC (25 miles each way door to door) for my
> job where working from home is never an option. My
> hours are flexible however as I currently am able
> to commute from Centreville starting at 9am and
> get to my office by 10am. I never leave between
> the hours of 7am-9pm because all it takes is an
> accident or rain to delay my arrival to work at
> 10am anyway. Anyway I usually work until 7pm then
> it takes be about 30-45 minutes to get home. As my
> children start elementary school I am going to
> have to go with an earlier schedule like
> 6:30am-3:30pm in order to handle more of the
> parenting duties.
>
> While I realize metrorail is coming to Loudon and
> the widening of 50 is starting these really won't
> have any sort of effect or benefit for a few more
> years, especially Metro.
>
> So we're back to considering South Riding because
> the homes are more affordable, seems to be a
> magnet for familes and their just isn't much out
> their on the home market in the Centreville or
> surrouding areas. Yes I realize that the builder
> quality of new homes in recent years has been put
> into question and their are a lot of folks under
> water in their current homes in SR. We would
> consider both new homes and homes a few years old.
> I also realize that taxes are more in Loudon as
> well but it seems the schools are on par with FFX
> County. Bottom line is that I don't want to be
> house poor. I want to be able to contiue investing
> in things like my retirement and kids college
> funds, vacations, etc. Eventually my wife will
> return to the workforce as well once the kids are
> in school full time.
>
> So tell me, where in SR should we consider? My
> understanding is that SR is boxed in between Rt.
> 50 and Braddock road north to south and Pleasant
> Valley and Gum Springs east to west. Is the 4 way
> stop sign at Braddock and Pleasant Valley that bad
> in the morning for folks trying to get to
> 29/50/66? I can tolerate plane noise just fine
> considering having lived in Centreville. It's just
> the traffic noise that gets to me and considering
> the size of SR I assume it will not be a problem.
>
> Spare me the milf, lonely wives and SR Inn swinger
> jokes.
>
> Thanks in advance for input and feedback.

the SR market should be good now with the new houses coming on line along Tall Cedars Parkway providing competition.

I live off Poland Rd. I leave the house three days a week around 7:10 and two days around 6:20. Early is better, of course. I drive 50 to 66 to the Vienna Metro, but you can't do that unless you start leaving earlier, because you can't get a parking space after 9 unless you spring for one of the premium spots that are saved until 10 am.

Have you also considered Brambleton and Stone Ridge? Both are growing massively. Might as well throw in Kirkpatrick Farms as well, which is just past SR on Braddock, and is also booming.

I've heard from various people that 267 into DC is a waste of time, plus it eventaully hits 66W which is HOV2 anyway between 5:30am-8:30am. Plus if I am going to pay for my commute via tolls, it had better be worth it.

We had only been considering South Riding because it was our limit as far as how much further west we were willing to move. We should probably consider Stone Ridge as well given it's proximity to South Riding but Brambelton is too far Northwest. Hadn't heard of Kirkpatrick Farms but see it's right near Stone Ridge.

Looks like we'll be going to look at some new homes this weekend.

Thanks for the input.

The only thing I can tell you, bro, is that ANYWHERE in Eastern Loudoun County is superior to living in Centreville and Chantilly. Centreville has some nice pockets, but so much of it is filled with losers. Therem is no comparison when it comes to raising a family. Brambleton is nicer than South Riding. Getting to DC is going to be a hassle no matter what, but Loudoun also has buses that can bring you in - 45 minutes and you get dropped off neat the Mall.

I have been in my SR home 13 years and enjoy almost everything. The only real problem is commuting anywhere. Unless u work from home or work strange hours the commute problem is serious. I am now retired so my life is much better. Before that my commute to a job in DC using the metro from Viena was between 1 hour 15 and 2 hours each way. What you have to do this far out.

>Is the 4 way
> stop sign at Braddock and Pleasant Valley that bad
> in the morning for folks trying to get to
> 29/50/66?

Yes. Eastbound on Braddock backs up from the stop sign to the first entrance into S Riding. It's a long haul. The other directions are not nearly as bad.

You can go PV north to 50, which is right at the point 50 eases up (because it widens to 3 lanes in each direction). They are widening 50 but it will take a couple of years apparently. When that's done, it will be a huge improvement.


>I can tolerate plane noise just fine
> considering having lived in Centreville.

You stop noticing any plane noise after about a week. It's actually much worse in Ashburn.

It's just
> the traffic noise that gets to me and considering
> the size of SR I assume it will not be a problem.

Depends on the street. If you're on a major thoroughfare (Tall Cedars, Loudoun Co Pkwy, Center Street), you might have some noise. Otherwise it is very quiet.


> Spare me the milf, lonely wives and SR Inn swinger
> jokes.
>
> Thanks in advance for input and feedback.


It's a nice neighborhood. Almost zero crime, and what their is is teenage theft stuff. You don't have to really worry about getting shot/mugged/raped. 'Houses are kept up nicely.

Ogie33 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've heard from various people that 267 into DC is
> a waste of time, plus it eventaully hits 66W which
> is HOV2 anyway between 5:30am-8:30am. Plus if I am
> going to pay for my commute via tolls, it had
> better be worth it.
>
> We had only been considering South Riding because
> it was our limit as far as how much further west
> we were willing to move. We should probably
> consider Stone Ridge as well given it's proximity
> to South Riding but Brambelton is too far
> Northwest. Hadn't heard of Kirkpatrick Farms but
> see it's right near Stone Ridge.
>
> Looks like we'll be going to look at some new
> homes this weekend.
>
> Thanks for the input.


Brambleton is directly north of Stone Ridge (659 which is Gum Spring Road at the eastern side of Stone Ridge becomes Belmont Springs Road, whch goes right through Brambleton). Also, the building in Brambleton is heading south, and looks like it will go all the way down to Evergreen Mills. There are some really nice homes there, as long as you'll be in the neighborhood you should just drive over to get a look.

We're going to check it out this weekend since we will be in SR ans Stone Ridge anyway looking at new homes. It looks like the lions share of single family homes are south of Ryan Road and to the east and west of Belmont Ridge Road. Some of the new homes are still priced in the high $500's and low $600's. I thought housing was more affordable than this in Brambelton? Guess we will find out.

You would think a traffic light at Pleasant Valley and Braddock Rd. would be a no brainer but then again, this is VDOT we're talking about.

ogie33 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> You would think a traffic light at Pleasant Valley
> and Braddock Rd. would be a no brainer but then
> again, this is VDOT we're talking about.

That corner is a "self-service" operation -- people know to take turns, which is fine, but the problem is that the lines of waiting traffic are never the same length. In the afternoon, the line south on Pleasant Valley is really, really long while there are virtually no cars heading east on Braddock.

ogie33 Wrote:

>
> You would think a traffic light at Pleasant Valley
> and Braddock Rd. would be a no brainer but then
> again, this is VDOT we're talking about.


Even a traffic circle would be much better than the 4 way stop.

According to the census, South Riding has more residents under the age of 10 than any other community in the country. This factoid is probably a direct result of an abundance of 4-6 bedroom houses, and MILFs (had to get that in). So, if you are looking for lots of people like you with kids, SR may be the place to go.

Also living in harmony in SR are lots of people from the Asian subcontinent. The schools are among the best in the nation, with a brand spanking new middle school.

Problems with South Riding;
A) Ice cream truck always shows up at dinner time, causing kids to go ballistic.
B) Lots of door to door solicitations for home repair or lawn services.
C) The intersection of Hendon and Pleasant Valley; many third world nations have better road conditions.
D) Early morning backups on Tall Cedars, and Edgewater.
E) HOA quarterly inspections of every house, and annual full yard inspection, including decks (they take pictures, and keep a file on each home).
F) Expect to pay upwards of $40.00 for Halloween candy each year; they just keep coming.
G) The dumbest elementary school districting you will ever encounter.

Well we went and checked out all three locations this past Saturday. Brambelton was VERY nice and the style of homes were very attractive....but it was so damn far out there. While Stone Ridge was closer, it was far enough with still a lot of development ongoing to strike it off our list.

SR was as advertised and the majority of development is completed. The only remaining new homes however were not what we were looking for. Specifically we looked at some Toll Brothers homes in the villages which were really nice but had the garages in the back, which took away any backyard you might have. For $500,000, no thanks. Checked out some Ryan homes and they were a little too close to Braddock Road for my taste.

Any specific neighborhoods within SR with quality homes you would recommend?

Ogie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well we went and checked out all three locations
> this past Saturday. Brambelton was VERY nice and
> the style of homes were very attractive....but it
> was so damn far out there. While Stone Ridge was
> closer, it was far enough with still a lot of
> development ongoing to strike it off our list.
>
> SR was as advertised and the majority of
> development is completed. The only remaining new
> homes however were not what we were looking for.
> Specifically we looked at some Toll Brothers homes
> in the villages which were really nice but had the
> garages in the back, which took away any backyard
> you might have. For $500,000, no thanks. Checked
> out some Ryan homes and they were a little too
> close to Braddock Road for my taste.
>
> Any specific neighborhoods within SR with quality
> homes you would recommend?


Did you check out the homes being built along Tall Cedars Parkway just west of Poland Road? Those look very nice, but they are not actually in SR if that's important to you.

I'm a resident of South Riding and a Realtor.

You've done your homework on traffic. I LOVE South Riding. It's a wonderful wholesome community. Neighbors are TRUE NEIGHBORS and there are tons of block parties in the summer. Downside would be the only way in and out would be Route 50 or pop down to 29/Rt. 66.

When I have buyers who consider South Riding vs. Ashburn/Leesburg, most pick Ashburn/Leesburg because there are many secondary roads available for use to commute. Ashburn/Leesburg also offers great communities.

Wholesome?
Our neighbor in South Riding was just arrested for defrauding the government.
We had a teen suicide last year because a father didn't know how to handle his son.
What about the middle schoolers getting drunk before school?
What about the b*#B threat at Lunsford last week?
What about all the stolen bikes and scooters each year?
What about the vandalism at the Highland Hills Pool over the fourth of July, or Little River Elementary just two weeks later. How many were arrested at the Little River vandalism party, five, six?

Why is it every holiday eve we have kids over on Talamore shooting fireworks in the air? Fireworks for MLK Day?

Did you attend the science far at Hutchison Farms? Every third kid's science experiment was "What happens when you combine Mentos and diet coke." You don't find it disturbing that so many SR parents would let kids get way with this?

And don't get me started on the South Riding Inn.

Too many households in South Riding are double income and the parents don't get home until after 6:30 PM in most cases. Therefore,we have lots of preteens and teens running amuck through our well cared for front and back lawns. If you move to South Riding, you need to assess your kids' friends and your neighbors carefully. There are good people in South Riding, and then there are parents that come home tired every day and let their kids outside until way past dark.

Being in real estate, you must be aware of a lot of house jealousy in South Riding. Five years ago you would pay $599,000 for a four bedroom house. Today you get a six bedroom house for the same price. Five years ago you would pay $950,000 for a 4800 sqft house. Today that house is under $630,000. Because of these drops in home prices, newcomers are treated as freeloaders in many of these neighborhoods.

If you commute to western Fairfax, South Riding can work. If you can afford to have one parent at home with the younger kids, and work part time when the kids get older, South Riding can work. But if you are planning to leave South Riding by 7:00 AM to be at work by 9:00 AM, and you won’t be home until after 7:00 PM, South Riding doesn't work for you. Buy a 60's era rambler in Annandale and be done with it.

I don't have any honest advice for y'all, but SR Resident, you are too funny. Ice cream truck coming during dinner time is a problem? You're lucky you don't live in the inner city where you can expect a bullet in your head at around dinner time. Wake up!

gah Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't have any honest advice for y'all, but SR
> Resident, you are too funny. Ice cream truck
> coming during dinner time is a problem? You're
> lucky you don't live in the inner city where you
> can expect a bullet in your head at around dinner
> time. Wake up!

I think they did. That's why they live in SR. So they can be worried about ice cream trucks instead of bullets.

Have you looked into Ashburn. I live in the Broadlands area and can get from my house to the toll road in 90 seconds. Yes it can get expensive but it can be convenient when commuting to the Pentagon or DC. That backup on 50 to Southriding really sucks.

While having the metro close to Ashburn in 2014, that is wayyy to far out for me. At least South Riding is only 6-7 miles more than where i currently am in Centreville.

Can someone elaborate on the elementary school districting? My oldest will be starting kindergarten in the fall and I don't want this to be a potential issue. What exactly is the issue?

The housing market hasn't picked up yet but I imagine it will the closer we get to spring. I also haven't ruled out renting in SR for a year or so before deciding if it's really for us.

I have lived in South Riding for over 12 years. I think it is a great place to live. Like any other location this far out any commute to the city is no fun. I made that commute for years and it has only gotten worse. I have since retired so have very few reasons to get into the daily traffic problems outside of SR. I hope the housing market does start recovering over the next couple of years so when I decide to head further south out of the cold weather I can get more out of my home sale.

If you are looking for homes in SR, the nearest elementary school to the house you are look at, in many cases, will not be the elementary school for that neighborhood.

You need to ask what elementary school is that home districted for.

My next door neighbor in South Riding bought 70 bags of mulch last weekend.

Well it looks like Brambelton is becoming more likely. Not sur ei fit's due to election year or whatever but there is very few houses on the market this year. Our search in Little Rocky Run of Clifton came up empty for the most part. The hosues that we did like, we couldn't afford and even some of those didn't have finished basements.

Bottom line is that I'm going to get more value for my money in Ashburn. My commute is going to SUCK, so I am going to have to start a 6am-3pm type shift to try and retain some of my sanity. Now, I just have to find a realtor familiar with Brambelton.

Ogie33 Wrote:
My commute is going to
> SUCK, so I am going to have to start a 6am-3pm
> type shift to try and retain some of my sanity.

Definitely go out to Brambleton at least a couple of days at 5am or so, and actually drive the route at 6am. Drive 'home' the route too.

It sounds like a major pain in the ass, but if you're going to live there for YEARS and spend hundreds of thousands of $$$s, you'd better make an informed decision.

CGMhX Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ogie33 Wrote:
> My commute is going to
> > SUCK, so I am going to have to start a 6am-3pm
> > type shift to try and retain some of my sanity.
>
>
> Definitely go out to Brambleton at least a couple
> of days at 5am or so, and actually drive the route
> at 6am. Drive 'home' the route too.
>
> It sounds like a major pain in the ass, but if
> you're going to live there for YEARS and spend
> hundreds of thousands of $$$s, you'd better make
> an informed decision.

Nice advice from CGMhX! Commuting any distance in/around immediate DC suburbs will likely take some getting used to no matter where you reside. A trial AM and PM dry run from your intended neighborhood might reveal a driving issue that you can't deal with down the road. Good luck with your home purchase.

I understand this post is 2 years old but I have lived in South Riding for 9 years so my question is this: What "lower income housing" are you talking about? I don't recall ever seeing any "low income" houses in the entire community?!

Corner of Elk Lick and Tall Cedars... the apartment community is Section 8 low income housing.

I understand this thread is old, but we've been in South Riding for 2 years. Our neighbors, with the except of one nasty older lady, have been super nice. Our son doesn't even go to the school within walking distance, he gets bussed all the way to Little River for some reason.

We didn't know the area very well when we moved here, but looking back, I would have searched in Aldie proper (not 'stone ridge' aldie) or even Middleburg. And yes, they do have some affordable property. We looked in Brambleton and Ashburn and disliked the layout and set up of both, although South Riding is similar, it's not as as bad as Ashburn for layout.

We've managed to find the shortcuts within the neighborhood to get to 50 or Braddock faster in the mornings and at night time. I find going down Planter's Field and cutting thru to Poland/Herndon St to Pleasant Valley works well. Then south on Pleasant Valley to Braddock. At least you move, with I cannot say the same for Rt. 50. I've seen cars from behind me go in the turn lane and then immediately pull in front of me just to get one car ahead. Hopefully the revamping of 50 will ease a lot of traffic when finished.

Braddock and Pleasant Valley are slated to eventually have a traffic circle. Part of the land is protected woodland and flood areas, so it will be in a slightly different location when done.

Fuck South Riding and its bull shit traffic. Braddock road backs up past the middle school and the fucking county is cramming MORE fucking houses in further down Braddock to make traffic worse.

This county is shit, the traffic is shit and South Riding is a piece of the shit souffle called Loudoun.

Stay the fuck away from South Riding and Loudoun in general. This place sucks and yet more suckers move here every fucking week.

This place sucks and yet more suckers move here every fucking week."

Reminds me of Yogi Berra's "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

I can understand the frustration of the previous poster, but in all honesty South Riding was a great community to live in. Recently we moved a bit further (5 mins) west to sizable community on the intersection of gum spring and braddock, Virginia manor.

A year ago, the commute to Fairfax (Gmu area) would take over 1 hour. But it has become extremely reasonable with my average time decreasing to 35 minutes with around 25 minutes during off hours. The construction on 50 is finally paying off with 3 lanes ready for opening next month.

In addition while Brambleton has a great town center that the route 50 corridor lacks, there are major developments underway already. Dulles landing and Arcola center will help create a nice bubble SR and Aldie area residents will never really have to leave. The new massive hospital and the soon to start expansion of 606 are exciting projects in the area too. There are also even more to come!

Once the metro is completed, the 606 station will be exclusively used by residents of the 50 corridor with little competition from Ashburn. The distance is about a mile more, but the expanded 606 will go through an industrial area making the commute far easier than traveling through the traffic choked residential areas found along most suburban metro stations.

Right now there are no more new homes being sold in South Riding, but many new communities have opened up nearby. I would not be surprised if the prices of the route 50 area really boom compared to traditional older suburbs in southwestern fairfax like Chantilly or Centreville due to the relative ease in accessing the metro and many new & desirable neighborhoods.

Yes traffic isnt ideal, but it gets better. Living in a new development area takes time to reach all the expectations people may have at first. The patience many south loudoun residents have displayed have just begun to pay off!