Ranking Every Top Place to Live in Northern Virginia: A Full Team Driving Tour with Chris Colgan

Overview

I grabbed three agents from my team and we drove from the far western suburbs all the way to Old Town Alexandria, ranking every major area in Northern Virginia along the way. We've got Peter, who grew up in Haymarket and now lives in Falls Church. Vince, who grew up in the area and just moved to Strasburg. And Mal, who's newer to NoVA and brings an outsider's perspective. We hit Gainesville, Haymarket, Loudoun County, Leesburg, Ashburn, One Loudoun, Reston, Falls Church, Alexandria, and Arlington, giving honest grades and calling out what nobody else will tell you about each area. (0:00)

Key Takeaways

• Gainesville: B to C+ range. Great variety and location but data centers are changing the landscape fast. (6:16, 6:32, 6:54)
• Haymarket: A range across the board. Golf, wine, Dominion Valley, Piedmont, space, and history. (22:35, 22:48, 23:02)
• Leesburg: A from the locals, B/B- from those who hate parking. Cobblestone downtown, outlet mall, great food. (23:10, 23:29, 23:37)
• Ashburn/One Loudoun: A to S-tier. Expensive but the expansion and amenities are unmatched. (37:56, 38:06, 38:15)
• Reston Station: A+ for the view and luxury. JW Marriott, Comstock development, metro access. (50:19, 50:24, 50:30)
• Falls Church: B range. Convenience and restaurants are incredible, parking is a pain. (57:22, 57:31)
• Alexandria: A to A+. Waterfront, walkability, history, and self-sustaining lifestyle. (1:13:22, 1:13:26)
• Arlington: B+ to A. Young professionals and retirees. Metro everywhere, parking brutal. (1:24:53, 1:25:07, 1:25:17)

Gainesville: The Data Center Dilemma

We started the tour in Gainesville at Virginia Promenade near Shotted Coffee and Rockwood. The variety is the big selling point here. "If you can think of a department store, it's probably here somewhere. Kohl's, Old Navy, Lowe's, Target, HomeGoods, Best Buy, and then every fast food restaurant. Some really good restaurants as well." (0:43)

The location is strong. "29's right here. You got 66 right there. 234 is close by also. Location is everything." (1:05) Condos in the area go for about $350,000 to $400,000. (3:18) Over on the 234 side, there are houses with a couple of acres in areas like Lawnvale and Stephanie Plantation. (6:16)

But the elephant in the room is data centers. "I feel like the county has gone insane with the data centers. There's a big lawsuit going on right now. The world's biggest data center campus right off of Paige Lane, which is right by the battlefield." (1:33) The team acknowledged the trade-off: data centers bring jobs and tax revenue but change the visual character of the area. "Two people that I know that couldn't find jobs got jobs in data centers, making a lot of money." (3:45)

Schools are solid, including Tyler Elementary. (3:14) Wegmans is a draw that multiple YouTube viewers have specifically asked about. (5:26)

Team grades: Chris: B. Mal: A. Peter: B+. Vince: C+ with room for re-evaluation. (6:24, 6:32, 6:39, 6:54)

Haymarket: Golf, Wine, and Never Moving

Heading into Haymarket, the team noted the visual change from the new shopping centers. "They kind of ruined the look of it when they put the new shopping center in because they got away from the red brick look." (4:12) Peter, who grew up here, remembers when "it was a true mom and pop town with the train caboose as the mayor's office." (4:25)

The neighborhoods are the draw. "You've got Piedmont, Dominion Valley, which are both nice neighborhoods." (7:21) Piedmont is "a big gated golf community. Goes like $800 to a million dollars." (10:24) Dominion Valley sits on the old Disney property with its own shopping center and was "built for 20 years." (12:02) New townhomes off I-66 are "going for in the sevens." (8:36)

A new 55+ active adult community is being built by the hospital, and Heathcote Commons shopping center is going up with Chipotle and Sprouts. (10:01, 10:14)

"I'll tell you what, you'll absolutely love this area if you love to golf. Golf and wine." (11:38) Peter loves the space, the mountain (Bull Run Mountain), and "the old mill. If you want the space, it's there. If you prefer the community, the golf course, you got Dominion Valley, Piedmont." (7:54)

"Who would not like Gainesville or Haymarket? If you're single looking for a party scene. And you don't have a car." (8:55)

Team grades: Chris: A. Mal: A-. Vince: A. Peter: A (hometown bias acknowledged). (23:02, 22:35, 22:48, 22:58)

Loudoun County: Leesburg, Ashburn, and Everything In Between

Crossing into Loudoun, we passed Creighton Farms. "That's where all the super super rich people. Funny story, they wrote me one day and told me they would sue me if I talked about them." (19:56)

"I like Ashburn a lot, but I like Leesburg more." (20:19) Peter cited the cobblestone streets, bars, and restaurants. "It's been there longer. It's just got more history." (20:22) Mal prefers Ashburn for the spacing and modern feel. "Ashburn has been my favorite city since I've moved here." (20:44)

The Purcellville area came up as a value play. "If you want five-bedroom, 3,000 square feet and you want to stay in the sixes, that's where you go." (21:06)

"Loudoun, they got in early on the data centers, so your taxes are a little bit cheaper." (25:19) Houses in Leesburg run about "$50, 75 grand more" than Gainesville/Haymarket, with some "up to 100,000 more." (27:56)

Condos in Leesburg and Manassas start at "$250 to $300." (28:27)

Leesburg grades: Chris: A. Peter: A. Mal: B-. Vince: B. (23:10, 23:17, 23:29, 23:48)

Ashburn and One Loudoun: The Expansion Everyone's Watching

"Ashburn is probably the most popular town on my YouTube when I talk about it." (24:37) One Loudoun is doubling in size with an ice skating rink and new retailers. (24:45)

The team drove into the One Loudoun neighborhood. "These townhomes are probably $1.3 million. They're huge. They got like a four-level with a terrace." (37:48) The single-family homes "have a lack of a yard. There's no yard whatsoever." (39:06) But the walkability is the trade-off. "You can just walk downstairs. The coffee shop's two buildings over, get a coffee, relax, go see a movie, all while just walking around." (40:42)

Key spots include the Lost Fox Hideaway rooftop bar, Bar Louie, Alamo Drafthouse, Eddie Merlot's, and Sweetgreen. (36:51, 37:08, 36:29, 36:44, 37:30)

"For a single or a couple that doesn't have kids or maybe not planning to have them, this is a perfect area because there's so much to do." (36:06)

The Silver Line Metro connects Ashburn and Leesburg to Dulles, Tysons, and DC. "A lot of people don't even aren't even aware that it comes out here." (33:48)

Ashburn/One Loudoun grades: Chris: A. Mal: A+/S-tier. Peter: B- (price point concern). (38:06, 38:08, 38:22)

If forced to pick one Loudoun area: Peter: Leesburg. Mal: Ashburn. Vince: Ashburn. (40:22, 40:27, 40:31)

Reston Station: The Luxury Play

The team visited Reston Station, the Comstock development near Dulles Airport with the new JW Marriott hotel and luxury residences. "I think Reston is probably the coolest place to live, if there's such a thing." (48:09)

From the model unit: "What a great view on a sunny day. Breathtaking, actually. This view is awesome." (50:15) The wraparound balcony overlooking the area was the highlight.

Comstock has bought the other side of the highway and plans to "tear down all the old office buildings and build that up nice." (47:24) Google's office is visible from the property. (47:45)

Team grade: A+ to S-tier unanimously. (50:19, 50:24, 50:30)

Falls Church: The Little City

Peter lives here and gave the rundown. "If you don't have a car, there's bus stops everywhere. There's the couple of metro stops at East and West Falls Church. Merrifield's kind of a newer area that's technically right outside of Falls Church, which has the movie theater and upscale restaurants and bars." (50:58)

Houses here were "built in the 50s, your standard Cape Cod style homes that start in the low sixes. One that's been updated, you're probably closer to a high six, low seven. And then you'll also see a lot of these redone homes that crawl all the way up to a million bucks." (51:39) New colonials are "easily in the millions." (54:04)

"Most of these houses do have a quarter acre. Unlike some of these newer areas where you're dealing with 0.1, 0.2 acre lots, you do get a little bit of a yard." (53:47)

Falls Church is "kind of chasing Arlington. They've kind of renamed it the little city." (54:43) Cranes are everywhere with a major facelift underway. (51:20)

Key spots: State Theater (cover bands, comedy), Four Provinces (Irish pub, amazing squash soup), Dogfish Ale House, Chasing Tails (Louisiana cuisine), and the new Whole Foods with Amazon returns. (55:07, 55:28, 55:38, 55:47, 56:18)

Lake Barcroft is the premium pocket. "If you've got a waterfront spot there, you're talking multiple millions. It's a private lake." (56:36)

Best for: "If you work at the Pentagon, if you're a federal employee, and generally at this price point, you're probably a multiple income family." (53:28)

Team grades: Chris: not explicitly stated. Peter: B (prefers country). Mal: concerned about parking. Vince: aligned with parking concerns. (57:22, 57:31)

Alexandria: The Full A+

Peter's sister-in-law lives here, and the team fell for it. "Once you're down there, you can walk to 20, 30 different establishments. Antique shops, boutique stores, great bars and restaurants, and then you got the waterfront." (52:56)

Housing runs the full spectrum. "If you're looking to buy in Alexandria, you're thinking about Delray, Rosemont, Backlick Run, Huntington's. As you get closer to the waterfront, the price just goes up. Every block your price increases a little bit." (1:04:31) The team estimated a median around $680K due to condos pulling it down. Newer townhomes "start in the sevens, go up into the millions. Single family home, you're looking at 900 minimum." (1:05:25)

Old Town Alexandria is the crown jewel but "all multi-million dollar." (1:04:07) The Spite House got its own history lesson: "This guy was sick of people taking their horse and carriages up his driveway through the alley. So he built a little tiny house to block the alley." (1:11:16)

The water taxi into DC, metro access, cobblestone streets (Peter's obsession throughout the video), and the upcoming Virginia Tech innovation campus all came up. (1:10:00, 59:41)

"Once you live here, the only reason you're leaving is to visit family because your friends are coming to see you. This is a very self-sustaining area." (1:13:51)

Not great for: "If you've got a family with four kids and you're looking for travel baseball, football, the Arlington and Alexandria area wouldn't be great. You need to be out Gainesville, Woodbridge, Loudoun County." (1:14:54)

Team grades: Chris: A+. Peter: A. Mal: A+. Vince: A. (1:13:22, 1:13:26)

Arlington: Young Professionals and the Parking Problem

The final stop. "If you're going to move to Arlington, you're definitely going to be a 20-something going to the bars and to DC, or a younger family. There's also a lot of retirees in Arlington, believe it or not. A lot of 55+ condo communities." (1:17:15)

Crystal City and Pentagon City anchor the young professional scene. Ballston and Clarendon have the walkable nightlife. "Before I got married, in my 20s and early 30s, I loved Clarendon and Ballston." (1:23:07)

The lifecycle pattern came up: "People will graduate high school, college, they'll move to Arlington, and then they eventually settle out in Ashburn, Gainesville, Woodbridge." (1:18:45) The team's friends all followed this pattern.

Single-family homes are "minimum 1.2 million." (1:22:21) Townhomes run $1.5M. (1:22:48) But condos and apartments are "still in the threes" in some areas. (1:23:46)

"My negative with Arlington is the parking situation here is really bad. If you don't have a house with a driveway, you're definitely not going to have a car." (1:23:54)

Key insight on commuting: "Traffic going north and south is way worse than traffic going east to west." (1:26:59) The I-66 corridor from Arlington through Falls Church, Vienna, Oakton, Fairfax, Centreville, Manassas, and out to Haymarket/Gainesville moves better than the I-95 corridor.

Team grades: Chris: not explicitly stated. Peter: B+. Mal: B+. Vince: A. (1:24:53, 1:25:07, 1:25:17)

If You're Priced Out of NoVA

The team discussed options for buyers who can't afford Northern Virginia proper. Vince picked Culpeper: "There's a lot to do. Good wineries. The only con is getting back is at least 45 minutes to Gainesville. But it's an easy drive." (15:18) Starter homes there go for around $400K. (15:53)

Peter picked Front Royal and Winchester direction: "You get 66, Route 7, Route 17, Route 55. So you have four or five options to get around people." (16:43)

Mal picked Stafford: "You're closer to 95, but you can still get a new construction for the high 300s, low 400s." (18:55) But the team agreed that I-95 traffic is brutal and most locals avoid it. (19:22)

Biggest Mistakes People Make Moving to NoVA

The team called out several common errors. Chris: "Listening to people at your job when they tell you where to live. Some people will be like, 'Oh, move out in Fredericksburg,' and they'll be in downtown DC, and you don't know how bad the traffic is going to be." (25:36)

Mal: "You'll look up the distance from your job to the place you're thinking about moving and then once you actually move, you'll realize that hour drive you thought you'd be doing is actually an hour and 30." (25:57)

Vince: "A lot of people need to realize what major artery they need to live off of when they're choosing neighborhoods. And people buy undersized homes or undersized garages." (26:10)

Chris on new construction: "When people get hooked on new construction, you end up paying like a hundred grand over a resale. And they try to get you to use their lender." (26:42) Builders sometimes demand higher down payments (10-20%) versus the 3.5% FHA or 5% conventional available through outside lenders. (27:00)

Peter on neighborhood positioning: "Sometimes when you get right into the heart of certain towns, you can add 15-20 minutes to your commute without even realizing it. If you're five turns, two lights from your house to the main thoroughfare, it can screw your commute." (28:42)

Areas That Got the Lowest Grades

Mal gave Woodbridge the lowest grade: "95, Route 1, overall traffic, dated shopping centers. There is affordability, but I'm finding my affordability in another area." (42:22)

Vince's pick was Manassas Park: "Just a little too crowded for my taste." (42:39)

Peter and Chris both flagged Springfield: "You get all the traffic. It's expensive. It also needs a facelift. A lot of the homes back up to highways." (43:03) Though they acknowledged "the mall is actually great. They've really done a great job making that better." (43:32)

Full Grade Summary

• Gainesville: B (Chris), A (Mal), B+ (Peter), C+ (Vince)
• Haymarket: A (Chris), A- (Mal), A (Peter), A (Vince)
• Leesburg: A (Chris), B- (Mal), A (Peter), B (Vince)
• Ashburn/One Loudoun: A (Chris), A+/S-tier (Mal), B- (Peter, price), A (Vince implied)
• Reston Station: A+ to S-tier (unanimous)
• Falls Church: B range (team consensus)
• Alexandria: A+ (Chris), A (Peter), A+ (Mal), A (Vince)
• Arlington: B+ (Peter), B+ (Mal), A (Vince)
• Lowest rated: Woodbridge (Mal), Manassas Park (Vince), Springfield (Peter and Chris)

Final Take

Northern Virginia is huge and every area has a different personality. The consistent theme from the whole team: the further west you go, the more space and affordability you get, but you trade convenience and nightlife. The further inside the Beltway, the more walkable and exciting it is, but parking is a nightmare and prices are premium. The I-66 east-west corridor moves better than the I-95 north-south corridor, which matters more than most buyers realize. And no matter where you're looking, talk to someone who actually knows the area before you commit. Email me at info@colganteam.com or text 571-437-7575.

Watch the full team driving tour on YouTube · Explore Northern Virginia Communities