NoVa Neighborhood Suggestions for a Bike Commuter?

[Emm]

My husband and I are now getting serious about buying a house this summer. I think we plan to make an offer sometime in May or June, and move in August (VA loans take some time to process). We’re now deciding neighborhoods to really narrow our search with a real estate agent. Do any of you have any thoughts about the following neighborhoods in NoVa, and how friendly they are for bike commuters? Our criteria are stand-alone house, 3-4 bedrooms, 2-2.5 bathrooms, 1750 sq ft or +, w/in a 15 mile bike commute to SW DC, decent public schools, and a yard. Our budget is somewhere in the $600-$650 range, which based on our criteria eliminates most of Arlington, and the Del Ray and Old Town neighborhoods in Alexandria.

Each of the below locations offers a good number of houses that meet these criteria. Do any of you live there, and how do you like it? Does it make for a decent bike commute? Is there anything I need to be concerned about/aware of? Any other neighborhoods in NoVa we should look at, or parts of the below areas to help narrow the search down more?

Falls Church:
Pros: pretty active area with alot to do, W&OD and Custis make good access routes to work and weekend bike rides. Commute can be 8-15 miles from work (or more) depending on exact location. Some of the trails to work get plowed in Arlington, and there is metro access in some places. House prices vary alot.
Cons: When driving, i-66 is the route to work, which according to my colleague is a disaster (he also detests the city tax).

Belle Haven (Fairfax County)
Pros: just outside old town, so fairly close to work.
Cons: houses are on the small side if you stay east of Route 1, no great access point to MVT. MVT doesn’t get plowed.

Fort Hunt (Fairfax County)
Pros: A few good access points to MVT, really scenic bike commute to work which is a huge bonus, large-ish houses with lots of bike storage spaces. We have friends who live here who also bike alot.
Cons: MVT doesn’t get plowed, towards the far end of my commute range, MVT in this area gets some serious flooding and becomes impassable in spots after bad rain storms from what I’ve seen.

Any thoughts or input would help. I’ve only lived in Rosslyn and Del Ray, so I’m sure we’re missing really good potential neighborhoods!

Topic

[Terpfan]

The crossing at Belle View and GWMP is not fun, but I think NPS is coming close to putting a crosswalk in. VDOT running a bike lane/sharrows from it all the way to Rt 1 was a big improvement. Also would agree that aside from the stone bridge way, Tulane is a fairly easy crossing. Then again, I’m not sure it’s consequential to the housing discussion since she mentioned Ft. Hunt, which is further down the MVT.

Me, I cross at Belle View daily. Usually takes about 60 seconds because I’ll end up waiting for a break in southbound traffic. I just wish someone would build a little sidewalk connector up to the road and hypothetical crosswalk. Or maybe some magical elf will just start laying down some flagstone for it one night. ha.

[Author]

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