Like several other towns and cities in the Northern Virginia region, Sterling is not a typical city with a long history, “downtown” area, city government, police department, or other staples of a municipality. It is, rather, a Census-Designated Place (CDP), which essentially means the residential and commercial development and fast-growing population in the last half of the 20th century lead to the creation of a post office, officially recognizing the region as a “city” based on the census.
Sterling is the eastern-most city in Loudoun County, bordering the Loudoun/Fairfax county line. It borders Ashburn to the west, spans along the Potomac River in the north, and includes part of Dulles International Airport in the southern most point of the city.
Sterling is about 30 miles away from Washington DC and is crossed by major roads- VA-7 and VA-267 (the Dulles toll road) running East-West and VA-28 running North-South. Because of the easy accessibility to these major highways, as well as its close proximity to Dulles airport and the new Metro train Silver Line, Sterling remains a highly-desirable location to call home, especially for DC commuters or those who frequently fly around the world for their work.
Homes and neighborhoods in Sterling range from the original 1960s development of “Sterling Park” created primarily of single-family houses that remain some of the most affordable single-family homes in the region, to a vast array of modern and more urban condos and townhouses, to luxury multi-million dollar homes in the northern Sterling communities of Potomac Falls, Cascades, and Lowes Island.
Shopping and restaurants in Sterling are abundant, with seemingly every type of big-box store and retail chain available, especially near the Dulles Town Center shopping mall, which is located near the intersection of VA-7 and VA-28, minutes from the airport.
Sterling is also home to the Loudoun County campus of Northern Virginia Community College.
Read more about Sterling, Virginia on Wikipedia.
