Washington Post’s “Local Explorer” Good Source For Local Information

Looking for general information on Loudoun County, Virginia? Need data and statistics on Loudoun County schools, crime rates, etc? Then check out The Washington Post’s Local Explorer. Type in a specific address such as "43330 Junction Plaza Ashburn, VA" or just "Ashburn, VA" and you can find information on places in the area, schools, recent home sales and crime, all on a map.

"Local Explorer" also has facts and figures, local news, classifieds and upcoming events that will help take you further inside Loudoun’s communities. It’s a good tool for anyone moving to or new to Loudoun County, as well as those already in the area looking for information.

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Links To Loudoun County Communities And Home Owner’s Associations

Resources (Other Than Real Estate) For Loudoun County, Virginia

Moving To Loudoun County, Virginia? How Far Will Your Salary Go?

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Loudoun Wiki, LoudounPedia – Come Contribute!

A while back, the Loudoun County Public Library started LoudounPedia, a wiki for Loudoun County. The wiki has some good information available as well as links to local sites and blogs with resources on a variety of things.

Despite the wiki being around for a while and having a lot of information, LoudounPedia still hasn’t hit critical mass. It seems that it’s stalled and will go one of two ways – up or down. It has the potential of being a great tool for everyone in and outside of Loudoun so I hope that it goes up.

That’s why I invite everyone who has anything to do with Loudoun County to check it out and contribute. Whether you live, work or just hang out in Loudoun here and there, you definitely have something to contribute that would help others. And you’ll probably get information from others that you didn’t have before. It’s win-win for everyone!

Note: I do not work for the Loudoun County Public Library nor do I have any interest in the wiki other than this blog being in the process of being added to "Loudoun blogs/wikis" links section. Personally, I really like the idea of "wikis" and would love to see LoudounPedia take off in order to help all of us.

Loudoun County Community Overview – Ashburn Village

Ashburn Village is a subdivision located within Ashburn, Virginia in the eastern part of Loudoun County. Ashburn Village opened for development in 1987 and is nearly complete. It’s situated on over 1,500 acres (6 km²), with over 5,000 residential units and 15,000 residents.

Ashburn Village has four recreation centers and three swimming pools, two outdoor and one indoor. It’s largest recreation center is the Ashburn Village Sports Pavilion, located in the center of the community. The Pavilion contains a full size gymnasium, weight rooms, and enclosed tennis courts. There are also fitness classes and events held at there, which is one of the largest community-based recreation centers in Virginia. Access to the Sports Pavilion is available to those living in Ashburn Village. There is no additional fee to use the Sports Pavilion though it’s included in the Ashburn Village HOA fees, which are about $20 more per month than surrounding areas such as Ashburn Farm.

Ashburn Village contains a large shopping center with restaurants, an anchor grocery store and numerous other retail outlets. It’s also located close to two shopping malls, Dulles Town Center and the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets.

Elementary school children (kindergarten through 5th grade) are split between two schools: students residing in the northern part of Ashburn Village attend Ashburn Elementary School, and students living in the southern part attend Dominion Trail Elementary School.

Middle School students (6th through 8th grade) attend Farmwell Station Middle School. Students in 9th through 12th grade attend Broad Run High School, located directly south of the community.

***Please check with Loudoun County Public Schools as the information above is deemed correct, but not guaranteed.

Further Reading:

Ashburn Village Home Owners’ Association

Loudoun County Community Overview – Ashburn Farm

Ashburn Farm in Ashburn, Virginia is a master planned community situated on 1370 acres in the west central part of Ashburn in Loudoun County, Virginia. It’s well known for it’s abundance of trees, greenery, trails and amenities. The majority of "The Farm" is located on what was originally the Gray Dairy Farm. Cavalier Land Development Corp., developers of Ashburn Farm, planned the community to blend with the natural rolling terrain, resulting in winding boulevards and lots of trees. Ashburn Farm is north of the Dulles Greenway and bordered by Belmont Ridge Rd to the west, Ashburn Rd to the east, and the W&OD Trail to the north. Construction started after the concept plan was approved by Loudoun County in 1986.

Ashburn Farm has 1,807 single-family homes, 1,499 townhouses, 460 condominiums, 162 apartments and over 10,000 residents. The first home in Ashburn Farm was purchased in 1988. Architecture is typically traditional colonial with brick and/or siding as the general choice of facade. The Farm has everything from condominiums (Westmaren Community) to Tudor style single family homes unique to the entire area (many call them “the castle homes”) so most everyone is able to find something that fits their specific criteria and taste.

The Farm is equipped with a 10,000 sq ft community center, 3 swimming pools, 12 tennis courts (6 of them lighted), 8 multi-purpose courts, 2 soccer fields, 2 baseball diamonds at Greg Crittenden Memorial Park and several more at Trailside Park, a sand volleyball pit, 13 tot lots, 5 ponds, an in-line skating hockey deck, and over 10 miles of bike and exercise trails.

Ashburn Farm is also home to the Ashburn Library and has an interchange of the Dulles Greenway at Claiborne Pkwy. The Farm also contains 2 shopping centers: Ashburn Farm Village Center (30K sq feet) and Ashburn Farm Town Center (104K sq ft).

Ashburn Farm Village Center businesses: Shoppers Food Warehouse, Exxon Tiger Mart,  Goodyear Tire & Auto, Dry Cleaners, Hair Cuttery, Carlos Hair Designers, Pizza Hut, Kwon’s Karate Studio, VA Nails, Hong Kong Restaurant, Dental & Orthodontics Practices, Carpet & Blind Center, Wachovia Bank, and Long & Foster Realtors, Provident Bank, Taiwan Thai Cuisine, Buffalo Wing Factory, Toyama Sushi, Pedal Ice Cream, Dry Cleaners.

Ashburn Farm Town Center businesses: BB&T  Banking, McDonald’s, Exxon Tiger Mart, Giant, Starbucks, Video Warehouse, Domino’s Pizza, Super Cut’s, Subway, United Framing, Dry Cleaners, Nagoya Steak & Seafood, Kwons Karate, Good Fortune Chinese, Trevisos, Parcel Plus, Ashburn Animal Hospital, Orlando Hair Studio,   Ace Vacuums, EastCo Wireless,  Little Gym, Suntan Shop, Pottery You Paint, Loudoun Chiropractics, Nail Spa, CC Sells Team/Keller Williams Realty, Hershey’s Ice Cream,  Dentist, and Optometrist. There is also Merchants Automotive.

Professional Office Park businesses (3 buildings):   

20905 Professional Plaza contains: Ashburn Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, Avery Hess Realtors, Broadlands Family Practice, Family Foot and Ankle Centers, INOVA Physical Therapy Center, Loudoun Imaging Center, Project Support Services, Inc., Sterling Behavioral Health Services, LTD, and Wright Medical Technology, Inc.

20925 Professional Plaza contains:  Genetics & IVF Institute, Grace Community Church, Internal Medicine, Dina Darwish – MD, Next Health, Perfectly Female Women’s Health Care, Positively Chiropractic, Potomac Psychological Center, T. Wesley Daczkowski – DDS, Whole Child Pediatrics, and Zoltan Rusznak – DDS – PC.

20955 Professional Plaza contains: Ashburn Dental Associates, Ashburn Family Practice, Ashburn Pediatrics, Cavalier Land Development Corp., CC Sells/Keller Williams Realty, Edward D. Jones – Inc., Highland Title and Escrow, The Law Offices of Paul R. Dean, Jr., – PLC, Middleburg Bank, and Women’s Care Group – OBGYN.

In addition, the community has Sanders Corner Elementary School, Stone Bridge High School, 3 Day Care Centers and 2 Churches.

Ashburn Farm is located approximately 20 minutes from Reston, 30 minutes from Tyson’s Corner/Mclean/Vienna, 45 to 60 minutes from Washington, DC and 10 to 15 minutes from Leesburg (though times may vary during “rush hour”).

Further Reading:

Ashburn Farm Home Owner’s Association

Loudoun County Public Schools

Loudoun County At A Glance

Loudoun County is located 25 miles west of Washington, DC and is one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. The eastern part of the county is where many high tech and internet-related companies are headquartered. Eastern Loudoun County is home to Dulles International Airport (IAD), which had over 2.25M travelers fly in and out in August of this year. The eastern part of the county is bordered by the Potomac River. The western, and more rural part, is bordered by the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Loudoun County is home to over 263,000 residents and growing. It also one of the top 3 counties in the nation in terms of median household income. Ammenities include Dulles Town Center and the Leesburg Premium Outlet Mall with more than 110 stores. The town of Leesburg is proud of its downtown historic district, which is lined with brick sidewalks and unique shopping and restaurants. Here you can also find Colonial and Civil war walking tours.

The county has 21 parks, including the 700 acre Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve and 357 acre Claude Moore Park. Claude Moore has nature activities as well as a Sportsplex with baseball fields, a football field and other practice fields. There is plenty of tradition and history in equestrian facilities, civil war and historic landmarks, wineries and hiking and biking trails.

Known as the "Learning Corridor" located on Route 7, many well-known Universities and Colleges offer higher education, certificates, specialized training and research. The public school system consistently ranks above the state and national averages in SAT scores and new schools are continously being built to house the growing number of children of school age in the area.

Loudoun County offers the benefits or a rural location without the feeling of being left out the loop or lacking ammenities of more popluated areas. Less than an hour from Washington, DC as well as the mountains, you get to enjoy the best of both worlds, rural and urban.

Further Reading:

Moving To Loudoun County, Virginia? How Far Will Your Salary Go?

Links To Loudoun County Communities and Home Owner’s Associations

Resources (Other Than Real Estate) For Loudoun County, Virginia

Loudoun County Property Demographics

"Local Explorer" Good Source Of Info About Loudoun County Area, Schools, Home Sales, Crime