Many different places share the same name in Fairfax County or the Northern Virginia area, and Vienna is no exception. So, Vienna is an area in Fairfax County, and in the center of Vienna, there’s the Town of Vienna.
Different Places to Live in Vienna
Vienna or the Town of Vienna is bordered by Interstate 66 and the Dulles Toll Road or Virginia Route 267. The I-66 is in the southern part of the area, whereas the Dulles Toll Road is in the northern part.
In Vienna, there are larger homes and more real estate transactions as compared to other towns, which means there are more properties in the area.
Now, let’s talk about a couple of different places you could live in if you’re thinking of moving to Vienna.
Country Creek
The first neighborhood we’re going to check out is Country Creek, which is 22 miles from Fort Belvoir, 19 miles from Capitol Hill, 15.5 miles from The Pentagon, and 5 miles from Tysons Corner. Depending on how quickly you walk, the subdivision is only around 20 minutes walking distance from the metro stop.
One thing to highlight about Country Creek is it has cute townhouses that were built between the late 70s to mid-90s. These properties have a very distinct look in comparison with the townhome communities in Northern Virginia where everything looks the same, and there’s just not a lot of variety.
In Country Creek, you’re going to see a lot of three or four-bedroom townhomes with an average sales price of just under $710,000 based on last year’s sales. This is a pretty reasonable price considering that the area comes with top-tier public schools and quick access to the metro stop, the Interstate, and creature comforts. I mean, you really can’t beat that.
This townhome community is unlike any other neighborhood I’ve seen before. The townhomes are a little bit on the older side and include different types of architecture and various styles of exterior properties. There are also plenty of parking spaces in the area, including assigned parking and visitor parking.
Another thing I like about this neighborhood is they have a lot of green space and a lot of mature trees. Obviously, you can’t find mature trees in a development that’s new, because it takes a lot of time to grow trees. If there’s one thing I learned just recently, if you buy an already fully grown tree, it adds a couple of thousand dollars to the price.
Dunn Loring Woods
Next up on the list, we have Dunn Loring Woods, which is 20 miles from Fort Belvoir, 17 miles from Capitol Hill, 14 miles from The Pentagon, and 3.5 miles from Tysons Corner. This neighborhood is bordered by Interstate 66 in the sense that some of the homes actually back up to the Interstate where its barrier is behind these houses.
As we were driving around the area, the barrier for the Interstate is not as intrusive and does a great job of blocking out the noise as well. So, this is just something to consider if you’re going to move to this community.
Nonetheless, what’s really cool about this little area is it has close proximity to the Dunn Loring-Merryfield metro stop. You’ll also have quick access to I-66, I-495, and the southbound HOV lane.
Dunn Loring Woods has different types of single-family homes such as ramblers, ranches, split-foyers, split-levels, colonials, and traditional houses that were built in the early 60s to late 70s. Yet, this isn’t one of those older subdivisions with a lot of teardowns on new construction, but there are a few additions or a couple of new constructions in the area.
To put it simply, a teardown is where you buy an existing property, tear it down, and then build something new. There isn’t that much land in Fairfax County, so people just usually buy a $600,000 house or a small ranch-style house, tear it down, and then make a mansion.
What makes this neighborhood of single-family homes interesting is it has nice quaint smaller homes and nice size lots from a quarter acre to over half-acre with an average sales price of around $800,000, which is reasonably priced.
On top of that, there are also sidewalks in this subdivision, which I personally love. Having sidewalks is much safer and better, especially if you’re walking around the area or if your kids are learning how to ride a bike.
In addition to having sidewalks, the streets are flat in this neighborhood. There is some elevation change here. If have outdoorsy kids, you can get yourself a nice little game of touch football going.
All in all, this is an established community that’s been around for a long time with a lot of mature trees. Even though it’s not a terribly large neighborhood, it had a considerable number of sales last year.
Providence Park
The next community we’re going to talk about is Providence Park, which is 19 miles from Fort Belvoir, 14 miles from Capitol Hill, 10.5 miles from The Pentagon, and 3 miles from Tysons Corner. Providence Park actually borders Fairfax, and it’s super close to I-495, Route 29 or Lee Highway, and Merrifield Garden Center.
What’s really great about Providence Park is it also has close proximity to the I-95 and I-66 exchange as well as the south entrance of the HOV express lane. So, if you work anywhere in the south, living in this area is going to be very convenient for your commute.
This neighborhood is a little bit on the newer side and has townhomes that were built in the late 90s with an average sales price of between $750,000 and $800,000. These brick townhouses have vinyl siding on the side, and they are all three-levels with either single or two-car garages.
I love that this townhome community has two-car garage units because of the fact that the size of modern cars takes up so much space. This little area also comes with a parking slab where you could fit multiple cars or all your junk inside of your property.
Being a pretty small neighborhood, Providence Park doesn’t have a lot of green space. Just like most townhomes, the properties in the area only have a small front yard, which serves people who don’t like lawn care well.
This small subdivision has as many units as it could fit in the allotted space. So, you really don’t have to worry about yard maintenance when choosing to live here because there isn’t much grass at all.
But then again, Providence Park is just right outside of Merrifield Garden Center, which makes up for its lack of green space. Merrifield Garden Center is a massive park that serves as a lovely gym in the community.
As for things to do in the area, all sorts of creature comforts such as cafés, bars, restaurants, and shops are within walking distance to your property. Another bonus to living in this community is having Halstead and Mosaic District just right down the street from your house.
Vienna Woods
The largest area we’re covering is Vienna Woods, which is 21 miles from Fort Belvoir, 16 miles from Capitol Hill, 13 miles from The Pentagon, and 4 miles from Tysons Corner. From this neighborhood, you’ll have access to both the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU and Dunn Loring-Merrifield metro stops.
Location-wise, Vienna Woods is close to a lot of creature comforts, and it’s in one of the top-rated school districts. Not only is there a swim and tennis club in the community but there are also three parks you can walk to from your property, namely Meadow Lane Park, Cunningham Park, and George Yeonas Park, which is a park inside of Southside Park.
As of right now, Vienna Woods is my favorite neighborhood in Vienna. Let me tell you why. This community has sidewalks, which is important to me. There are also flat streets and some elevation in the area. You’ll just have access to so many things here.
If money was no object for our family and if we didn’t mind spending twice the price of the average sales price of a home in Fairfax County, Vienna Woods is where we would live. I think this neighborhood has a lot of things that everybody would want but most people won’t really be able to afford.
That being said, the average sales price for Vienna Woods is over $1.2 million over the last 12 months with prices ranging from low six hundred-thousands to multiple millions of dollars.
Most of Vienna Woods may be on the pricier side, but you can still find some properties within the $625,000 price range in the area. With this price point, people usually tear these houses down and put up a new construction property.
Still, under the $700,000 price range, you can find a smaller home that’s been renovated, which is not necessarily a teardown. So, one of the interesting things about this neighborhood is there are a lot of great new homes.
In Vienna Woods, you can expect to find various types of houses like ramblers, ranches, split-foyers, and traditional homes that were built in the 50s. I just love the look of the different styles of properties.
Actually, Vienna Woods is a transitioning neighborhood where there are whole streets with homes that have been torn down and newer homes that have been rebuilt. There’s also been a lot of newer construction over the last decade, which includes a lot of craftsman houses and a few contemporary homes.
Being an older community, there are pop-top home additions available in Vienna Woods as well. Basically, this type of property involves the process of building a second story on top of a one-story house. So, the pop-tops in the area include new construction for the top portion while the bottom part of the house is from the 50s and 60s.
Wolf Trap Woods
Now, the last neighborhood that we’re going to talk about is Wolf Trap Woods, which is 26 from Fort Belvoir, 20 miles from Capitol Hill, 16 miles from The Pentagon, and 3.5 miles from Tysons Corner. Even though Wolf Trap Woods is in the northernmost part of Vienna, the commute distances are not very different from any of the other subdivisions.
In Wolf Trap Woods, you’ll have access to the Spring Hill metro station on the Silver Line. Although, It’s also important to note that if you move to this area, Leesburg Pike is going through some changes right now, which is a bit of a headache. But I think it’s all worth it once you see the neighborhood.
Wolf Trap Woods is actually adjacent to the Wolf Trap National Park, which is a huge national park in Fairfax County. On top of that, this neighborhood has 117 acres of wooded space, and they have a basketball court, tennis courts, and a lot of trails. However, there is no community pool, which is kind of a deal-breaker for my family.
Nevertheless, Wolf Trap Woods is my wife’s favorite neighborhood out of everything on the list. The main reason behind that is because the area feels like you’re in a middle of a park, and living in a house that is surrounded by a lot of trees is her favorite place to be as a homebody person.
Furthermore, this community has a nice mix of homes that were built in the late 70s to early 80s and new constructions that were built over the last 20 years. This neighborhood has a lot of beautiful contemporary homes, a few colonials, and some traditional houses on nice size lots from a quarter acre to a half-acre.
The average home sales price in Wolf Trap Woods is about $1,070,000, which is a little bit higher than what we’re used to seeing throughout Northern Virginia. But again, it’s a very nice neighborhood with sidewalks, wide streets, and some two-car garage units.
Speaking of two-car garages, if you’re really into parking two vehicles on your property, having a middle divider is extremely important. This would mean that your garage is wider than just having a single panel door, which sometimes could be very deceiving once you get inside them. So, that’s one real estate tip to keep in mind.
Things to Know Before Moving to Vienna
Now that we have finished covering all the different communities in Vienna, it’s time to talk about the public schools, commute time, parks, restaurants, and shopping centers in the area.
Vienna Public Schools
Since you now have an idea of the different places to live in Vienna, let’s talk about the schools that your little kiddos will be attending. So, we always like to tell our clients to check out the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Boundary Locator System if schools are a priority for them.
The FCPS Boundary Locator System is an extremely helpful tool, especially if you have a specific school in mind and test scores or ratings are important to you.
In Vienna, there are three public high schools that service the area, which are Marshall High, Oakton High, and Madison High. These schools are actually highly rated by the U.S. News with Marshall High as the 4th, Oakton High as the 7th, and Madison High as the 8th best public high school in Fairfax County.
In fact, Vienna has the highest concentration of schools that are highly rated, but it has nothing to do with the price of homes since we’ve also covered really expensive areas where the public schools were not highly rated.
Typically, the elementary schools mirror the high schools for being highly rated. Some of the top-rated elementary schools in the area include Wolftrap Elementary, Colvin Run Elementary, Westbriar Elementary, and Flint Hill Elementary, which are all rated eight or higher on GreatSchools.org.
Vienna Commute Time
When it comes to the commute time in Vienna, you’ll have quick access to all of the thoroughfares where you could take I-66 to get into Arlington or Virginia Route 267 to get into some parts of Loudoun.
Basically, Vienna is close to everything such as I-66, I-495, and Virginia Route 267. You’ll also have access to the Spring Hill and Wolf Trap metro stops on the Silver Line as well as the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU and Dunn Loring-Merrifield metro stops on the Orange Line.
Vienna Parks
Fairfax County as a whole has a wonderful park system, and what I like the most about Vienna is its parks. There are lots of trails in Vienna, including the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, which actually runs through the area.
From the W&OD trail, you can also reach the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. Meadowlark is an amazing botanical garden where you get to see lots of different species of plants and trees, plus it has the large Korean Bell Garden, which is the only one in America.
As already mentioned, there’s the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, which is the first in the nation. So, this place has a huge amphitheater where you can go and enjoy concerts from all genres and different types of artists. The National Symphony Orchestra plays here frequently as well.
Vienna Restaurants
Now, what really makes living in Vienna fun and desirable are the creature comforts close by. There are so many restaurants to choose from in the area, particularly on Maple Street.
What I really like about the restaurant scene on Maple Street is there are a lot of locally-owned restaurants and of them is called the Maple Ave Restaurant, which is really popular in the area.
Maple Ave Restaurant is so unassuming that when you pass by you would think it’s a diner, but it’s actually a European bistro that serves seasonal food with new menus every day. So, Vienna is a really great place where you could find a bunch of restaurants to try.
Maple Ave Restaurant
Address: 147 Maple Ave W, Vienna, VA 22180, USA
Phone: +1 703-319-2177
Vienna Shopping Centers
Finally, our favorite part about Vienna is the shops nearby. In Vienna, you’re really close to Mosaic District, which is an urban shopping center that features national retailers, gourmet dining, and a movie theater.
Aside from this, you can also go down the street to Tysons Corner where there are several ways to spend your time and money. So, there’s just a lot of stuff to do in Vienna, and I think it’s a really cool place to live.
Now, the next step is to not make a decision on where you’re going to move inside of the Fairfax County area before checking out this playlist that covers its different locations and everything you need to look out for.
Hopefully, when you’re searching for properties online, you’re using our website as well.
If you’re interested in working with us, fill out our Perfect Home Questionnaire, and we’ll schedule a time to meet online and answer any questions that you have about moving to the Vienna area.
Conclusion
Overall, you have learned everything you need to know before moving to Vienna, Virginia.
Which area were you most interested in?
We’d love to hear from you.
