Towns in Virginia (outside DC)
 

Hello!
I am researching possible towns to move to in Virginia outside of DC. We are a family of four and our kids are in elementary school. We currently live in Rockville, MD. My husband works in Chantilly, VA and so the commute is absolutely soul crushing!
We are thinking it makes sense to move even though we love Maryland. I'm hoping experts out there can help us. Here is the wish list:
- we like the idea of being near the mountains but we don't want to be in a remote backwoods area
- we would love a town with a vibrant downtown -- historic, quaint, good dining, etc.
- coming from MD, you may have guessed we lean left on the political spectrum so we're hoping for a town that is not too conservative
- we don't want to live in Alexandria or Arlington
- Thoughts on Leesburg?
- which are the best school districts?
- we like an artsy, eclectic and diverse population -- (think Takoma Park)
Not sure if this exists in Virginia, but I'm hoping to find a gem on here. Regarding house prices we could do between 350k to 500k single family neighborhood.
Thank you for any advice!!
Frieda

It sounds like you want to live in Charlottesville. It's near the mountains, has a vibrant downtown and while it may be more conservative than you are used to in Maryland, it does have the first-rate University of Virginia (so you are amongst some really intelligent people). The only drawback to Charlottesville is that it's a 2-hour drive to Chantilly.

I may be biased, but if you are looking for the best school district, you should be looking at Arlington. All three of its high schools are in the top 2% of high schools nationwide based on Jay Mathews' Challenge Index. Arlington is also very diverse (particularly South Arlington where I live), has a vibrant arts scene (Artisphere, Signature Theatre) and is about as liberal as it gets.

And just how much of a COMMUTE is acceptable to you? How much does politics matter to you? BTW, Arlington is THE most liberal and Democratic-leaning jurisdiction in the entire Metro area.

I cannot believe that the commute isn't going to win in the end on this. Be sure to let us know not only where you move but how good/bad the travel is.

Hi Longhorn, Can you recommend neighborhoods in Arlington where we could find a single family house in our price range? Thank you!!!

It seems like Arlington is too expensive. And we do want a more country setting. Thoughts on Leesburg, Culpeper or Ashburn?

Country setting is not compatible with that commute. It just is not.

Winchester would offer what you are looking for, but it would be about an hours drive. A direct drive though on route 50 but quicker than coming from Culpeper.

Perhaps Saraho can give you a better idea as I believe she is in Winchester.

My cousins love Warrenton, and Google Maps says it is 36 minutes from Chantilly. Well, maybe, but it has got to be better than the Beltway every day, and it supposedly has the best ice cream in VA

Theylive in the country but o ly a few minutes to town.

Fairfax, Falls Church, Reston?

Actually, there's an enclave of people living in Harper's Ferry who commute hither and yon. It's a pretty and historica town. Can't speak to the schools, though.

I have an officemate who lives in Leesburg and commutes to Falls Church, where we work. Leesburg sounds like a possible good bet for what you want. Warrenton is about as far from Chantilly as Rockville, although I don't know what the commute would be like.

Reston is a modern planned community from the 1960s, I don't think it fits the requirements of being historic, although it might fit the other requirements.

McLean, Langley, Oakton/Vienna and Falls Church have very good schools. Most of Northern Virginia does, it does with the income levels, of course. I think Loudon county also has decent schools. McLean, Vienna, etc are pretty expensive, though. I'd pick Falls Church if you could find something you could afford, I think it can bemore reasonable.

If the idea is to move because a commute between Rockville and Chantilly is too far, I can't imagine moving far away to Charlottesville, that sounds crazy to me, that's 100 miles. Shepherdstown, WV is only about 50 miles, and is cute and historic, etc., but that would still be a long commute. YOu can't get a great house in Shepherdstown for $400K, either.

I live, technically, in Charlottesville, but 1/2 mile from Crozet. I moved from CA, and I LOVE, LOVE Charlottesville. In fact, my parents (in MA), in-laws (in NJ) and aunt (in NH) have visited many times, and they like it so much that they are considering a move down here. It has a lot going on all the time, especially since UVA is here. We have mountains, wineries, history, good schools. We get great concerts - Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, U2. So much to offer. You might find this video interesting:

Crozet
http://realcrozetva.com/2011/12/13/crozet-in-video/

Falls Church inside the Beltway, Leesburg outside the Beltway.

Winchester would be an excellent choice but it is still a far commute.

I don't think I would want to relocate to Virginia only to fight suburban traffic, which is what will happen in any "country" setting. If you are going to move to improve the commute, then I really think that would trump all.

Why don't you drive into Fairfax, take roué 50 west to Winchester to see what is along the way, and then take route 7 back into Fairfax, or cut over back to MD on route 15 from Leesburg? Another day you could do the Northern VA towns.

I don't blame you for wanting to move. I spent seven years driving from Fairfax Station to Rockville and I hated it and that was back in '73-'80 when Korvette's was still open.