MOVING To Oakton VA
Location
Oakton lies to the west of Vienna, and they share a border. Oakton is also north of I-66. Oakton’s population is 36,000. You have easy access here to the Vienna Metro Station, which is the recently opened Silver Line. Maple Avenue in Vienna becomes Chain Bridge when it gets to Oakton.
History
Settlers first came to Vienna in the mid 1700’s but Oakton was settled later, in the 1800’s. In the mid 1800’s it was known as Flint Hill. The Flint Hill Schoolhouse was built in 1850. In 1883 a post office was built next to an Oak Tree and that is how Oakton got its name. But that’s not the last we will hear of the name “Flint Hill.” Read on.
Real Estate
In Oakton, you will find homes at a variety of price points, but the range isn’t what you see in neighboring Vienna. Oakton is further out, a little more suburban and the prices for single family homes are from $800,000 to $2M. Prices pretty steadily move from the $800’s to the $1.2M range, then the number of homes for sale drops off. There are a few jumps in price for larger homes or larger lots but there are not a huge amount of homes over $1.3M for sale here.
There are teardowns here but they are not as ubiquitous as you see in Vienna or McLean. There is a lot of housing here from the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s and the house types built then wasn’t the rambler. Often you will see that these homes are center hall colonials or split levels which are larger and can often be renovated or added on to instead of being demolished.
Condos in Oakton start in the mid $200’s and go to about the $400,000’s. Townhouses are in the mid $400’s to the $800’s.
Food
Oakton just has Giant. If you want other options, you can head east to Vienna where there is another Giant, Whole Foods, Fresh Market – all off Maple Avenue. Harris Teeter is a bit south near 66.
There are a few mom and pop type restaurants here, but for the most part you will be venturing east to Vienna or Tyson’s, or west to Fairfax Corner Shopping Area which has a huge selection of restaurants.
Shopping & Fun
There is a little shopping in Oakton. You can get the basics along Maple Avenue, which is now called Chain Bridge, in a few different shopping centers. If you can’t find what you need in Oakton, you will either venture over to Vienna to hit Maple Avenue, which is the Main Street of Vienna or to Tyson’s Corner for all the options there. From Oakton it’s also super easy to head west to Fair Oaks Mall or Fairfax Corner Shopping Center where there’s a movie theatre and some shops and restaurants.
In Oakton, the Recreation Center is actually not an Oakton facility but a county one. Oak Marr Recreation Center has an Olympic size pool, gym and a mini golf course. There are fitness classes as well as classes and camps for kids and a golf center.
The W & OD (Washington and Old Dominion) Trail goes right through Vienna just a couple miles to the east. The entire trail is 45 miles and runs from Shirlington in South Arlington to Purcellville, Virginia.
Wolftrap is a national park for performing arts. Lots of concerts happen here during the season, May – September, of all music types, dance performances, opera.
Kids
People move to Oakton for the same reasons anyone would move to a sought after suburb. The family activities are plentiful, the living isn’t hectic and the schools are good. In Oakton, almost 33% of the households have children under the age of 18.
Elementary schools in Oakton are either Oakton, Flint Hill or Waples Mill. Flint Hill elementary is different from Flint Hill School, which is a private K-12 in Oakton. The middle schools are Thoreau, Jackson or Franklin. For High Schools, homes in Oakton feed to either Madison or Oakton High School. Those looking for Advanced Academics you can go to Sunrise Valley in Reston for elementary, and Jackson again for middle.
Madison’s academic programs include AP classes, Global Classroom with partnerships with Colombia and France, and Residential Governor’s Programs for 10th and 11th graders interested in Visual and Performing Arts. They have a separate website, Warhawk Sports, with information about the sports at Madison. They have a really robust sports program – Football, Tennis, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Dance, Golf, Basketball, Baseball, Crew, Softball, Lacrosse, Track. They have a ton of sports fields, it is incredibly impressive.
Oakton High School also offers AP classes and tons of sports. They also have a separate website for sports, offering Football, Volleyball, Tennis, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Dance, Golf, Basketball, Baseball, Crew, Softball, Lacrosse, Track. They also have a robust program of clubs and honor societies.
Borge Street Park in Oakton has a playground and basketball court.
On the border of Vienna and Oakton is Nottoway Park which is a huge county park with a playground, sports fields, tennis courts and picnicking. In the summer there is a concert series.
Dogs
Dogs are well represented in Oakton. One of the best specialty vets in the area is in Vienna – Hope Vet. You can see them for general veterinary visits, but they have ophthalmology, cardiology, and oncology. Oakton has the well rated Hunter Mill Animal Hospital.
Oakton has Blake Lane Dog Park.
