About the Centreville/Chantilly, Virginia Area 

Family living in the greater Washington DC Area is both exciting and fun. Events for all family members are culturally stimulating and include: sport, recreation, concerts, parks and National Museums.  

In Northern Virginia the school systems for your children are highly regarded and nationally competitive. From Grade school to College and Universities, the area offers a multitude of choices for you and your family members.  

Just 30 miles east of downtown Washington D.C, Centreville and Chantilly are close to all that the nation's capital has to offer, while also being distinct communities with some of the country's best schools, superb public transport, ample and varied shopping, and quality parks and recreation. Housing is a good investment in this economically sound region, and there are a wide range of architectural styles to choose from in this historic area. 

About 49,000 people live in Centreville and about 42,000 in Chantilly. 

Location
Centreville and neighboring Chantilly are found in Fairfax County, Virginia, about 29 miles west of Washington D.C. Chantilly is just south of the Washington Dulles International Airport and Centerville is south of Chantilly. 

Geography/Terrain
Centreville and Chantilly are beautiful historic settlements, with plenty of parks and old growth trees. This semi-mountainous region has rolling hills and undulating terrain that affords ample scenic views. 

Distance to 3 closest major cities
Tyson's Corner and Vienna, Fairfax County's primary economic powerhouse besides Washington D.C, is just 18 miles northeast of Centreville and Chantilly. D.C. is about 29 miles east. Manassas is just under 7 miles southwest. Chantilly is about 3.5 miles northeast of Centreville. 

Jobs
Fairfax is one of the nation's most economically dynamic counties, with a varied industry base and highly educated workforce, and stimulated by the proximity of the nation's capital. Washington D.C. is only 29 miles east of Chantilly and Centreville and many locals choose to commute to work. The Tyson's Corner/Vienna region is another huge commercial and retail center for Fairfax and less than 20 miles from Centreville and Chantilly. Local businesses are varied; primary employment sectors include from retail, computers and technology, financial, professional, and hospitality. Fairfax County has one of the largest commercial office markets in the county, and many of these are in the Centreville/Chantilly area. Northern Virginia's high-tech corridor is in Chantilly, on Route 28, between I-66 and the Dulles Toll Road. Centreville is a neighborly community, and residents make an effort to support local businesses.  

Relocating or start-up companies can apply to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority for assorted state and local investment incentives, including a Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit (a tax credit of 1,000 per qualifying employee) and a Workforce Services Program (which provides qualifying businesses with consulting, hiring and training help). 

Housing
Centreville and Chantilly are great places to buy residential property, thanks to a steady real estate market that benefits both buyers and sellers. Real estate appreciates at a dignified and consistent pace and there are always a good number of properties on the market to choose from.  

Both communities are undergoing a period of extensive growth at present; Centreville has almost doubled in size over the last ten years. As buyers you may choose a single family home, apartment, or condo in one of the new housing developments, or you may fancy the historical character of a home in an older neighborhood.  

There are 95 official neighborhood communities in Centreville (operated by local home owner associations) and these are fairly diverse. You can choose a wooden nineteenth-century villa; a post-WWII ranch houses or a brand spanking new estate home. A similar range of choice exists in Chantilly. 

Currently, list prices for homes in Centreville range from about $225,000 to over 2 million; the average price for a single family home is about $548,000. In Chantilly, list prices range from about $237,900 to $1,499,900; the average list price for a single family home is $628,398. 

Parks/Sports/Recreation/Golf
Ample parks, recreational facilities, public plantings, and old growth trees and shrubs make green Centreville and Chantilly lovely communities in which to live. These communities each have good aquatic and recreational centers, and nearby national parks and the nation's capital grant plenty of additional recreational opportunities.  

Parks, ball fields, and picnic spots are found throughout Centreville and Chantilly. The Potomac is about 30 miles east of Centreville and Chantilly; locals take pleasure in boating on the water or jogging along a riverbank trail; fishing is enjoyed in season. The invigorating salt air of beautiful Chesapeake Bay is within an hours drive east, and locals enjoy ocean swimming, boating, sailing, and more. The Blu Gnu Kayak Company runs exciting sea kayak trips on Bay and the Potomac and Occoquan Rivers. 

There are several large parks and wilderness areas in Fairfax County, the closest to Centreville and Chantilly being the Bull Run Regional Park. A popular spot for local weddings, Bull Run has large camping fields, extensive wild woods (with hiking trails), and a shooting center, which has trap and skeet shooting and an archery range. There is also an outdoor swimming pool and miniature and disk golf in summer. 

There are several superb golf courses in the Centreville/Chantilly region. Fairfax National, near Bull Run, is a semi-private club with a 27-hole course designed in 1959 and known for its quick greens and long par fours. The Chantilly Country Club is a beautiful private facility and Twin Lakes is a public course operated by Fairfax County. Known for its diversity of play, Twin Lakes has the Oaks course built in 1998, and the Lakes course, built in 1967. The Oaks is a superb championship course that meanders through stands of mature oaks and has played host to four United States Golf Association tournaments. 

Washington D.C. is an exciting sporting town and has several top national sporting teams, including the Redskins (NFL Football), Capitals (NHL Hockey), Wizards (NBA Basketball), and Mystics (WNBA Basketball), and the D.C. United (MLS Soccer). 

Special Attractions/Events
Chantilly and Centreville are lovely historic towns, with charming eighteenth and nineteenth-century architecture, ample parks and pretty public spaces. Mature oaks grant shade and add to the character of these communities. There are plenty of historic sites in and around Centreville and Chantilly, including the Sully Plantation (now a museum), Mt Gilead House, and the beautiful eighteenth-century Old Stone Church. Centreville's downtown has a great deal of character, with eighteenth-century buildings and old earthworks dating from the community's beginnings in the late seventeen-hundreds. 

Centreville and Chantilly are made up of diverse neighborhoods administered by association, and this organization helps to create a real sense of local community. Neighbors meet at the local association pool, have block parties together, and more. Plenty of family friendly events occur throughout the year, from local sporting meets to seasonal celebrations, and the annual Centreville Days festival in the heart of the historic downtown celebrates the community's history and draws hundreds to town.  

The Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly is easily Northern Virginia and Washington DC's premier facility for consumer shows and trade events, and provides a big draw to the region. Many Washington DC area attractions are within a short distance, including Dulles International Airport (about 6 miles away), the National Air and Space Museum, the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, and beautiful Mt Vernon. Local music, theater, and dance is world-class in Washington D.C 

Interesting Facts/Historic Buildings and Places
Centreville has a lovely downtown historic district that runs for several blocks, with eighteenth-century houses, churches, a trading post, and old earthworks dating from 1792 when the community was chartered.  

The former Sully Plantation, now in a pretty park, was built in 1794 by Richard Bland Lee, Northern Virginia's first representative to Congress. Furnished in the federal style, the house is a reminder of Virginia's slavery past, and may be experienced by guided tour.  

The beautiful Mt. Gilead house dates back to the early seventeen-eighties and was General Joseph E. Johnston's headquarters for a time during the Civil War (about 40,000 of his Confederate troops were quartered in Centreville). St. John's Episcopal Church stands nearby, on the corner of Mount Gilead Road and Wharton Lane. Originally used as a hospital during the Civil War when it was largely destroyed, the church was rebuilt in the late eighteen-sixties. The adjoining cemetery has a number of interesting gravestones, and some unmarked graves. The beautiful Old Stone Church stands on a neighboring lot and is another charming historical reminder. The site of an historic battle, Ox Hill is another local site of interest. 

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