I grew up in FFX. Co. and I think Lorton is a blight. Miles and miles of plastiky cheepo new houses right on top of each other, like Levittown on steroids. A yuppie ghetto.

Lorton was formerly the prison for the District of Columbia.

The mre important question is where is your job?
The commute up 95 into Washington is a nightmare unless you can move your hours to avoid the traffic.
The schools are not as good down there either.

I'm not familiar with Lorton's schools or developments, but agree that the commute can kill you if you have to drive into the District. New construction is available in areas that are not quite as far out; even in Alexandria (the Ffx county part vs. the city of alexandria).

I know a couple people that are very happy in Bristow VA. It would be too long of a commute for me (off 66 pretty far west) but seems to be OK for people who work in the suburbs. Lots of new construction at reasonable prices.

I drive past (some times through when traffic is especially bad) every work day. There has been lots of new construction, mix of McMansions, town houses and some condos. Once you leave the new developments the area has a tired run down feeling, at least to me. I've lived in Warrenton and would take the 95/395 corridor over 66 hands down.

Well, it doesn't sound very appealing to me!!

DH will commute to CG HQ(a shuttle bus ride from L'Enfant Plaza) and is planning on using metro/VRE unless he can carpool. Bristow looks wonderful but the commute would be a killer. I don't think we want to go much further than Burke-less house but a slightly better commute!

Hi jellyben--

You couldn't pay me to move to Lorton. The development has gone crazy there and we're talking teeny tiny postage stamp lots!

There is nothing negative about the public schools in the south county, though (re: brickeyee's post), new elementary school in 2003, new secondary school in 2005.

Although your h could get the VRE to Union Station in Lorton, the closest Metro station is Springfield....

If you're considering Burke look also at Fairfax Station including Crosspointe and South Run, and also South Run Oaks, which is slightly less expensive. In general, the homes in those neighborhoods will be newer than Burke.

If you post your price range, I could be more specific. :)

Laura, sad to say but I think Ffx Station is pretty much out of our range-we are looking at spending about $650K. But it is such a beautiful area! I think Burke/W. Springfield is more doable for us.

One more question-do you know how much lower than list price things are generally going for? I have been watching some of the same listings sit for months. Thanks!

You know, I don't have a good sense of how much off list homes are selling for because believe it or not that is such a new concept for this area! Up until last summer, homes ususally sold for thousands OVER list with multiple offers!

I can tell you that in the week that our home has been relisted, we received an offer that was almost 8% off list and we countered with ~3% off list.

If you want to email me, I can send you the solds (for 22039) for the past 9 months and that will give you some idea of the asking vs sold pricing.

Agree with all posters. Looked at Lorton before choosing Burke Centre and it was a "no brainer" for us. Among other factors, your h's commute would be dreadful. From where I live, my commute to 20th and C is only 40 minutes door to door after picking up passengers (I am provided with a van) at local VRE and two other stops, and then drop off at two places before pulling in to my garage. Not trying to rush you into making a decision, but dw works part-time at local realtor (she is not) and she advises that business has really picked up in the last three-four weeks. Good luck!

Laura, you have an offer? if so, i really hope it comes to fruition for you, best of luck

Also, last summer when I worked in D.C. I was taking the VRE instead of driving. It was awful--often late and slow b/c of heat restrictions. On paper, what looked like a one-hour commute (one way) often turned into 2-3 hours.

If your husband can find a van pool or slug, that would probably help with his commute, too. Hopefully the VRE will get better, but right now, I'd look at other options if possible.

New Carrolton or Largo to L'Enfant is ~25 min on the metro. I'm another 25 min DRIVE out from there in Anne Arundel County on the water.

Parts of the County are nice, good buys for the money, and have very good schools for the DC metro area, but you have to watch the commute. I have no trouble with commute or parking at the metro. There are commuter bus lots as well in Davidsonville.

We are Central Elementry, South River middle and high district not far off rt. 214

We have a 5 bed/3bath on .28 acre we bought this summer for $430k wit hcommunity beach, boat ramp and clubhouse. Our oldest is in kindergarten and the school is great.

stock photo of our beach-
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Wow, I don't think Lorton is all that bad!-I live just a bit north, & when I was visiting a friend who lives in W. Springfield,we drove up through parts of Lorton I hadn't seen before (I've lived here, off & on, for 7 years), & I thought it was lovely-it was almost like being in the country.

If you live almost anywhere in this area, you're going to have a commute. My SIL is looking at Anne Arundel county, w/ the BRAC realignment, her job will move up there-it will be a question of finding the right place, w/ good schools. If you move to Lorton, the Fairfax Co. schools are going to be better than alot of other places across the country. There are much worse places that you could live...

"There is nothing negative about the public schools in the south county, though (re: brickeyee's post), new elementary school in 2003, new secondary school in 2005."

That means they have no long term history to look over.
Compare them to the schools in McLean.

brickeyee wrote: That means they have no long term history to look over.
Compare them to the schools in McLean

That means that they are brand new physical plants with state of the art facilities and all the latest and greatest with reference to technology, security, etc.
All public schools in Fairfax County have the same standards of learning and the district performs consistently as a whole, that's why it is one of the top districts in the nation. Sure you can rank the schools but the standards of learning are the same throughout the district.
(Compare Langley to TJ: 200+ pts behind on combined SATs...tsk tsk.)

thistle 5, there are some beautiful parts of Lorton--Mason Neck is amazing, and the homes there are valued in the million+ range (there is a home for sale there now that is listed at 8.4 million!). What I meant (and I think the other posters who sounded negative about Lorton were referring to) was the area that has built up on what used to be the Prison property, bordered by Rt123, I-95 and Highway 1. The developement there has just gone unchecked, and the homes are practically on top of one another. It's very unattractive...a blight like someone said above!

I don't know if this Zillow map will show up, but if it does, it shows some of of what I'm referring to.

Here is a link that might be useful: Zillow--Lorton

Laura, when people mention Lorton, you're right, I *do* think of the DC prison (the area around Furace Road and Silversbrook) and I would bet most Fairfax residents would do the same. I don't think of Mason Neck as part of Lorton.

As for schools, almost all the high schools in the county are highly regarded. The school system is excellent and the county residents appear (to me) solidly behind it. I used to work for Fairfax County Public Schools as a planner and sure, everyone wanted to go to Langley High but I don't see any evidence that it's out and out the best school in the county (actually that would be Thomas Jefferson)

I would look at elementary schools as well as high schools. Some elementary schools are very big (over 800 students) while others are smaller in size (500).

My sister lives in Annandale outside the beltway, not a very fashionable place to live, but it's a nice neighborhood. Smaller houses but she's 15 minutes away from Tysons where her job is. She poohed poohed the local high school, Annandale (her kids go to TJ) but it still outranks many many other schools in the country and I think all the high schools in my county.

Kurtg, I'm also in Anne Arundel county. While you may live in an area with good schools, the school system in no way compares to Fairfax County in support, test scores, programs. We found that NCLB should be renamed to NSLB (No School Left Behind). The focus is on getting SCHOOLS passed rather than on the child. As a result, my children are attending private school (this was NOT in our plans - both DH and I are products of public school). I'm hoping the new superintendent gets the county more solidly behind its school system.

jy-md
I don't know where you are either, but we lived in Fairfax (Springfield) for a few years before moving here and the schools are MUCH better than where we were at.

As with all districts your mileage varies depending on your location. We looked at Montgermy County too and their test scores were dropping like rocks as the % of ESL students went up same trend was happending in Fairfax.

"All public schools in Fairfax County have the same standards of learning and the district performs consistently as a whole, that's why it is one of the top districts in the nation. Sure you can rank the schools but the standards of learning are the same throughout the district.
(Compare Langley to TJ: 200+ pts behind on combined SATs...tsk tsk.)"

And the fact that the numbers are different means the schoools perform differently.
TJ is a county wide magnet school and pulls out only the very best students county wide.
It would sort of be expected that such a school with an entrqance test and other strict criteria would score better than the other county schools.
Or do you think TJ is just another count school?

I knew you would miss my point, brickeyee.

But you said it yourself: "The fact that the numbers are different means that the schools perform differently."
IMO, it's more helpful to look at district wide performance, rather than pitting schools within a district against each other with regard to rankings.

And yes, as a (15+ yr) Fairfax County resident (up until last summer) with two school aged children, I know all about TJ. @@

"IMO, it's more helpful to look at district wide performance, rather than pitting schools within a district against each other with regard to rankings."

To bad when you purchase a house you do not get "district wide performance" but the school district (and pyramid from elementary to high school) based on your address.
There are limited outs for moving children within a pyramid, but you have to negotiate with the school drones.
The schools in Fairfax are overall very good, second only to the Falls Church City scholl system in the area.
That does not mean the schools are perfectly uniform in any way. The schools in the southern part of the county do not tend to do as well as the northern parts.
Even Fairfax is struggling with how ESL students are going to be included in school scores and rankings.
You are a relative newcomer. I have lived in Fairfax County for about 48 years, with some short periods in Arlington (a place with badly uneven schools).

Looking at district wide numbers might be useful if you had a free choice of schools. You really do not.

What is the problem with "pitting schools within a district against each other with regard to rankings"?
Some are better than others.
If you have a choice you would willingly choose a school with lower numbers?

Jellyben, returning to your original question, I'd like to offer my two-cents. It's true that Lorton has no cachet among the residents in NOVA. Unless, you are close-in, any commute into the District is nasty. My BIL lives in West Springfield. He carpools to the Library of Congress up 395 and his commute is better than most...30 minutes door-to-door if it's not raining. It's a great area with nice family neighborhoods.

My concerns are a bit different. You are very interested in new construction. I'd caution you to approach new construction throughout Northern Virginia with a gimlet eye. New developments and homes were constructed lightning fast during the boom here. Lorton is an example. I have real reservations about the quality of the production building circa 2003-2005.

We are renting a house in Oak Hill (bleeding edge Reston and Herndon) that was built in 2004. Technically, the houses are detached but are really squashed together on teeny strips of land. In 2002, huge swaths of this area were still farmland. By 2005, townhouse farms and SFH Vinyl Villages had taken over, like weeds. The owners bought the place for $576,000 and the value zoomed to $740,000 in 18 months. You'd think that a half million bucks would land you good solid construction with nice finishes. Nope. This house was built on the cheap. It has all the requisite bells and whistles so it looks nice superficially. But...that lovely granite island is plywood covered with very thin laminate veneers. The shiny hardwood floors scratch and dent with alarming ease. The vinyl siding is beginning to separate from the house. Nails pops are everywhere. When we sit in the family room, our hair blows from the drafts coming in through the back door and windows. We joke that the truck drove past this house on insulation day. Heating/Cooling runs us about $350-$400/month. Crikey, even the toilets require 3 flushes.

I could go on and on...I'm just blown away by the low level of quality combined with a high price. For a two-year old home, this house is showing unbelievable wear and tear. The construction 7-10 years ago is far superior. We moved back here last summer (after a one year job transfer to Ohio) and decided to rent for many reasons. One of them was to take a good hard look at what you can get for 500-700K in newer SFH's. I'm not impressed. The townhomes at those price levels may be of higher quality...I don't really know.

I'm not suggesting that you write off new construction. I'm just saying you may want to approach it with a very careful and skeptical eye. Upon close examination, the look and feel can be very deceptive. In the long run, that brand new construction might cost you more than tweaking a somewhat older home in an older neighborhood that has a nice lot for your kids. I've read your prior posts and think that the Burke/Springfield area might suit your commute and lifestyle desires.

By the way, homes identical to our rental were selling at $740,000 in 2005. They are now sitting for months at $700K. Most recent sale was $650K. A trend? Beats me but we'll see what the spring brings. I am one of those fully loaded buyers sitting on the sidelines...not because I'm looking for a bargain or a give away. I'm looking for the right combination of price and value. Between 2004-2005, those wacky price jumps of $200-$300K in all types of housing were completely disconnected from value IMHO. And that includes the house I sold in Falls Church in the summer of 2005. If I'm going to spend over a million bucks on a house, it better be pretty close to perfect. So far, no cigar.

novahomesick-thank you for that. From what I have read here, and from what I remember of the general area, I don't think Lorton is what I am looking for. We will check it out, but I really like the feel of Burke, so I just see us ending up there.

Hope you find the house of your dreams!!