What about Reston,Virginia?

It's a newish suburb, mostly built in the 1970s and 1980s, as a planned community--meaning that they started from scratch on farmland and tried to build a place where people would want to live. There are separate communities in Reston, some mostly apartments, some mostly single-family homes. Dotted throughout Reston are small shopping complexes and community centers. There are walking trails, swimming pools (the Water Mine is a great one!), and a golf course. Everything is pretty modern. Reston Center is sort of a downtown to Reston, including a hotel, lots of stores, a multiplex movie theater, and plenty of restaurants. In the winter there's an ice skating rink in the middle of Reston Center.

Reston also includes many office buildings, mostly clustered together near the Dulles Toll Road. There are no factories that I'm aware of.

Huge shopping malls, including Tysons Corner Center and Dulles Town Center, are about a 15 minute drive away from Reston.

On weekends you can drive into downtown Washington, DC in about a half hour to see the museums and the tourist attractions.

There's going to be a new Metro subway line going from Reston into Washington, DC--construction will begin very soon. That should help folks who commute from Reston in the city.

Most folks living in Reston seem to enjoy it.

UPDATE

I said above that construction will begin soon, which is true. There is already preliminary work underway, such as burying utility lines on Route 7 at Tysons. I agree that construction will not be finished for many years. For someone moving to Reston for the mid to long-term, it's still something likely to be of interest.

Don W gave you some very good answers, but the metro will not be in Reston soon...unless you think 5 to 7 years is soon. The metro just received some funding from the federal government, but it is way behind schedule. If was even on it's intended schedule, it wouldn't make it to Reston until 2012. Also, since you are moving there, you have no doubt seen how expensive it is. Reston is not cheap to live, but there is lot's to do.

Reston is a good area, with rents not as high (yet) as in DC and with lots of Agencies so there are lots of professionals... the only downside For Me is the lack of direct access to the metro, fortunately there are buses but nothing compare to direct access to the metro specially if you don't have a car.

great mcdonald