Scenery on a Par With the Area's Best

Nearly half the Pinecrest's residents live in town houses, which range from 1,200 to 2,400 square feet.

Newlyweds Martin Zhu and Yi Wang bought a Pinecrest town house as their first home in January and paid less than $135,000 for a cozy two-level model.

"We looked at a lot of the newer homes in the area and they all seemed so small . . . almost like condos, with no yard," said Zhu, a software developer for Computer Sciences Corp. in Falls Church. In addition to the modest fenced-in yard, the neighborhood's location was the key selling point, Zhu said.

Less than five minutes from Interstate 395 and 15 minutes from the Pentagon and the District, small wonder that the Pinecrest counts among its residents a large number of government employees, civil servants and government contractors.

While it certainly appears to be a haven for raising children--particularly with Columbia Elementary and Holmes Middle School just across the road--the neighborhood has relatively few young residents.

But Adrianne Hamilton, co-director of the Pinecrest Parents Network, said the number is growing.

With more than 30 families, "the network is a way for young parents to socialize, trade babysitting duties if they want, and exchange ideas for making the neighborhood more child-friendly," she said.

The Parents Network recently negotiated the replacement of the Pinecrest's two aging playgrounds with safer, more durable "tot lots." It also successfully lobbied the property managers to substitute organic pesticides for the more harmful chemical pesticides sprayed on grassy common areas where many of the neighborhood children play.

Liz and Paul Gill, both Parents Network members, have lived in a town house at the northern rim of the golf course with their two toddlers since 1995. As a stay-at-home mom, Liz Gill edits and publishes The LinksLine, the Pinecrest's monthly community newspaper. Gill said that she and her husband have made some close friends through the network.

"You get to know who you're compatible with and who has kids closest to the ages of yours," Gill said. "We've become good friends with another couple whose kids are in the same preschools, and it works out nicely because we car pool and often swap kids for babysitting."

Gill said she especially values the neighborhood for its proximity to "just about everything" she needs. "There's a Fresh Fields, a Starbucks and a video store just across the golf course," she said. "It's nice to have them within walking distance of our home."

Also within walking distance is Mason District Park, a 129-acre reserve that includes playing fields, an amphitheater and dozens of trails wending through miles of woods.