We are considering moving to VA from NJ sometime during the next year. We have looked around on the internet and have asked someone we know who lives in Reston and we are now seriously considering Leesburg, VA. Can anyone give me info about it. How is the school district? Is it a child-friendly town (parks, playgrounds...)? Crime rate?

Is the downtown as cute as it looks in pictures?
Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Yes it is. Leesburg is cute and quaint. Antique shops. One of a kind stores. I've taken my mom and out-of-towners who like antique to Leesburg for shopping. There are a couple very good independent coffee shops, and bakeries. Non-chain restaurants in the core downtown streets. Old houses from the civil war era are within a few blocks. On the periphery, Leesburg is surrounded by a lot of nice newer surburban neighborhood developments along Rt15, Rt 7 and the Greenway (toll rd). River Creek is nice and there are numerous others. These roads can become very congested at times like rush hour.

Would you be living in the town of Leesburg, or surrounding development (Loudoun County) ?

Parks. The W&OD rail trail passes through Leesburg on its way out to Purcellville. I've biked this trail many times, one of the prettiest parts is between Leesburg and Purcellville. Leesburg is a good stop for coffee and pastry. There are some parks in town, but other than the W&OD, I'm not familiar with them. I've hiked at Balls Bluff regional park, its now surrounded by development.

Schools. Well...Loudoun County pays a higher teacher salary than Fairfax County. For a young teacher starting out, that few percent can make a difference. A lot of new schools have been built. the Virgina DOE has a list of SOL test scores by school, which you can use to compare and evaluate. A lot of young families live in Ashburn, Leesburg, Broadlands, South Riding. They are nice neighborhoods and good schools.

I would recommend you visit. If someone in the family would be commuting to say...Reston, Tysons, or DC from Leesburg, I would suggest you visit during the weekdays and drive the commute to get a feel for the local traffic situation. Do some local shopping, in the cute downtown, but also in the places you will probably do much of the "real" shopping, i.e. grocery, big box, & mall.

Spring and Fall are pleasant, winters generally mild (compared to NJ) but the summers can be hot and muggy.

I live in Leesburg and can verify the info like2travel has provided. Ida Lee Park & Recreation Center is the largest park in town. The downtown historic area is cute and there are a number of older houses and neighborhoods, but surrounding that is lots of modern development. Loudoun County has been the or one of the fastest growing counties in the US for the past few years. One of my favorite things about Leesburg is that there are still farms within a short distance from town, and you can find yourself in the countryside within a 10 minute drive from town. Also, you can see the mountains when approaching from the east. Leesburg housing prices are much lower than in Reston -- in some cases as much as $100k for the same property. Neighborhoods run the full range of prices up from a good amount of public and lower priced housing into the millions (Raspberry Falls, River Creek, Lansdowne). Crime is definitely lower than closer in suburbs.

My son and his family live in Leesburg and I agree with everything the above posters said. In addition there are some nice wineries nearby. In general home prices have fallen recently and Leesburg home prices have fallen a bit more than those in the surrounding area. The difference is that a few years ago when home prices hit their peak, the homes in Leesburg hit a higher peak than elswhere because of the desirability of the area, so there was more air in the balloon to let out so to speak.

My son is within walking distance to town, Ida Lee Park, the library, and the swim center and I think that is an ideal location. Leesburg really is a nice place to live and for kids.

Leesburg would be a great place to live. Are you coming from a highly urban part of NJ or are you out in the country?

Where would you or your spouse work? I'd tread with caution if it is going to be DC. The commute would be heinous and expensive - the Greenway is currently 3.50 per ride, and possibly will be over 5 per ride in the next several years although they are tinkering with that formula. There are less cars on the actual Greenway as a result of that, but they all meet up at Route 28/Toll Road so expect delays there and on into town.

Thank you so much for the wonderful information. We are currently living in Bergen County, NJ so the real estate market here is still very expensive. My husband owns his own company so he can pretty much open an office wherever he wants so he would not be in DC. As for me, with three little ones (5, 3 and 1) and am VERY interested in whether there are mommy & me programs, local camps, good schools...things of that nature. Leesburg just seems like the perfect mixture between rural and urban living. My husband and I would absolutely love to buy several acres and build a house and barn (he's an architect) and get some horses. We are country people at heart!

That's Interesting danaro. before he moved to Leesburg my son had just that, a few acres, house and barn in Lovettesville, about 25 from Leesburg. That is a lot of grass to cut! All of the kids activities were in Leesburg so he moved there and is glad he did.

I am very interested in hearing information about Leesburg too. We are going to rent there starting in the summer and I am not sure which areas to look in.