Marsha moved to her dream home last year. She loved the neighborhood, she loved the schools, she loved that it was close to her work.

She thought that she loved everything about it.

Marsha’s dream home

Marsha loved *almost* everything about her new home

The one thing she didn’t consider before she moved was where the nearest shops and restaurants were.

Before she moved, she didn’t realize that she’d have to drive almost 20 minutes to pick up eggs and milk at the grocery store. Dropping a package off at the post office took 22 minutes each way. And, strangely, there wasn’t a coffee place anywhere in sight.

If you are planning on moving, you’ll want to know where the closest shops and restaurants are to your future new home. One way to do that is to drive around before you buy the home.

You could drive to find amenities near a home

Driving around would be a good way to find the nearest shops and restaurants to a home.

Or, you could “let your fingers do the walking” and start here.

You can find amenities here, at Home by School

You could also start by finding shops and restaurants here, at Home by School, on our Home Search App*.  By looking first at the general layout on the map, you will save yourself from doing lots of driving.

Home by School – Home Search App*

Our Home Search App* can help you select a home that is as close to the amenities as you would like it to be.

Find shops and restaurants on the Home Search App*

Finding shops and restaurants is as simple as clicking on the orange Lifestyle button on the right-side of the map.   A menu will slide out and you can turn on the different categories that you’d like to see displayed on the map.

Lifestyle Categories

This is where the shops are in Vienna

Shops and Coffee in Vienna VA

On the map above, you can see Tysons Corner, as well as the town of Vienna, VA.

• The red dots are food shops.
• The light blue dots are schools, and
• The dark blue dots represent coffee houses.

You can also turn on dots for places of worship, fitness centers, hospitals, and much more.

But let’s say that you have a strong affinity to a certain coffee house, how do you sort through all the dark blue dots?

How to find a specific coffee house by name

You can filter the results on the map by entering keywords on each of the categories. For example, here we are only displaying certain coffee houses with a 1/4 mile radius circle colored around them:

Starbucks in Vienna VA

Or, you can show only certain Mexican restaurants, for example.

Chipotle locations in Northern Fairfax County

As you see, the Home Search App* doesn’t just show you homes for sale and schools, it also shows shops, restaurants, hospitals, coffee places, and much, much more.

Don’t get blind-sided like Marsha

Marsha didn’t realize until too late that the grocery store was too far away for her liking from her new home.

But you don’t have to find out too late if the home you like is close enough to any amenities. Use the Home by School Home Search App* and you’ll be able to find your dream home as close to the amenities as you’d like it to be.

Where to find shops, restaurants (and more) near a home

To find out where the nearest shopping, restaurants, (and even the dry-cleaners), are near each home for sale, check out our Home Search App*.

Once in the App, you can turn on features to show you all that is around a property.

Start your journey by logging in, then selecting a school boundary from the Fairfax County Map.

Click for the Fairfax County Map of High School Boundaries

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