Originally Posted by aa73

D.C. Area is pretty simple - the farther west you go, the cheaper it gets. I've been living in the area since '98 (Loudoun County just west of IAD) and what used to be reasonably priced around IAD has absolutely skyrocketed since then. Town houses in my area go for low to mid 400s currently...single family homes are 600 and up. However, the Loudoun County schools in that area are some of the best in the nation. Going west, many pilots live in Warrenton, Front Royal, Purcellville, etc... you can get much more reasonably priced housing out that way. That would keep you within an hour of IAD but still keep you in a somewhat rural setting close to the Blue Ridge. Not sure about schools out there though.

Keep in mind, the majority of DCA flying for AA is, well, DCA. Very little IAD stuff (we only have 737 based out of IAD and a couple flights a day to LAX, MIA and DFW.) DCA has 737 and 320, much more variety, so you'd be mostly driving to DCA for your trips.

Good luck and shoot me a PM if you ever need more info.