Alexandria, VA...Do you live there?

[theSurlyMermaid]

Originally posted by Christine

And to the person who said Springfield is "not a nice place anymore"--well I guess it is all based on your perspective. I would have a "dream" commute into DC from Springfield. I have many office mates who come in from there and they get in the office in under 30 minutes. They are also all very nice, professional people and they love Springfield. Yes, the homes are older, but it certainly isn't a bad place at all. I guess if you are looking to live in McLean, Fairfax, Oakton, Vienna, Falls Church--well then you CAN forget it. Remember, everyone's gotta start off in the "not so nice place" before you can get the good areas. I've worked my way from P.G. County in Maryland, to Prince William in Virginia--next stop FAIRFAX!!

I am "the person." And again it's what I'VE BEEN TOLD.

I have also been told West Springfield is a nice area to live.

I did my "not so nice" places in law school. I'm through with them now.

And we will live in Fairfax. It will just be on a double income with no possibility of children. It's a tradeoff, but apparently so is much of life.

 

[corky805]

WOW!! I never expected such strong opinions on this. I appreciate everyone's input....we are off to do more research and hubby is going to go visit the area in the next few weeks.
Thanks for all the warnings and advice.

 

[castleview]

DH and I often flirt with moving to NoVa. I would love to raise my girls amid all the culture there and the schools are top notch.

However, last week we were in Richmond for a Christening and we hit traffic on Saturday all through Arlington, Fairfax, and Prince William Counties. Coming back on Sunday wasn't bad but the southbound side of I-95 was still awful and I couldn't figure out why.

One big issue that keeps us from going there is that we have a nice house here in CT with 2 acres of land. We could trade this for the same size house in Fairfax, but the house would only be on 1/4 of an acre. Several NoVA natives told me most houses were on small lots.

Another thing that floored me about Fairfax was the amount of 4 lane highways everywhere. I guess I'm shocked because I remember driving out to Dulles Airport when I was younger (I'm 34) and there was NOTHING there.

Good luck with your decision. The traffic is brutal there, but if I could find a home I loved (preferably near a metro), I'd be there. It is a gorgeous place

 

[kbeverina]

Patty3 and Christine--we almost bought in Montclair 11 years ago when we moved out of Alexandria. We looked at several houses, loved the community. My son plays soccer against Prince William teams there often.

At the time, we were only married a year, expecting my son, and decided that it would be worth it to move further south "just for a year or two" to find something more affordable for us at that time. So we bought in North Stafford and probably will stay here until the kids are off to college. We just like it. I grew up in Sterling (were you in Sterling Park or Ashburn, mickeyfan?) and he grew up in Springfield so Stafford was the epitome of the boonies for us, but it feels like home now.

My husband takes the train from Quantico to the Alexandria station, he works on the edge of Old Town across from the new courthouse. It's a really good option if you're able to take the train--the commute is about an hour, which is less than commuting from Ashburn or Gainesville, and the housing is still affordable unless you're buying something new.

My experience is that people who've grown up here wouldn't want to live anywhere else. People who've been transplanted do tend to love it or hate it. We're pretty resigned about the traffic, just try to work around it.

We lived in Old Town our first year--trust me, it was the last cheap area of Old Town, right across from the train tracks near the Embassy Suites. We loved it and still go spend an occasional weekend there. I also lived off Duke Street before that.

We talk about going back to Alexandria eventually, but it feels like here we have the best of both worlds--great schools, ranked top 20 in the nation, ranked in the most recent poll of great places to live, but still that home-town feel, like our kids are growing up just like we did.

Good luck--it's a tough decision, but exciting if you do decide to take the plunge.

 

[mickeyfan1]

I lived in Sterling Park, kbeverina.

But here's my Nova story. I moved (thanks to my father) to Springfield when I was 9. We lived there for 2 years. They bought a house in West Springfield, we lived there 3 and 1/2 years, we moved to (Lorton mailing address) Harbor View for 2 and 1/2 years, we moved to Rose Hill (another ALexandria mailing address) for 2 years, we moved to a townhouse off RoOute One (another Alexandria mailing address) for 2 years, I then moved into Mount Vernon Square apartments with my then BF now DH for a year and a half, we moved to a subdivision with a Burke mailing address for 3 years, we moved to an apartment in West Springfield for a year, then we moved to NEwberry - townhouses in Sterling park, We lived there for 9 years, the longest I have ever lived in one hous. We sold that and moved to another TH for a few months on the other side of Route 7, then we bought a house in Forest Ridge subdivision in Sterling Park. We lived there for 3 years then moved to Georgia. 2 moves since then and I am still not finished, I am moving tomorrow!

I lived in Nova when there was no Dulles and when they built it, we all thought it was terribly far away, but we would drive out there a lot and stand out on the observation deck to watch the planes. Ashburn was just getting started when we moved out of the state.

Corky, do your research, it can be a great place to live and there are tons of places to live. I have friends who owned a daycare center in Montclair, it is a nice area. As is Stafford. Even tho the traffic can be a bear, they do have commuter rail and lanes on the highways. And the police enforce the car pool rules, a lot. I think you will find it a lot different from the heart of Pittsburgh.

 

[snoopy]

kbeverina, you live in Stafford, right? My brother and his wife live in Stafford, they love it. We always say when we visit that its such a nice area to raise a family -- kids actually outside playing, unheard of in most neighborhoods. We're more city dwellers, but if we ever did move out to the suburbs Stafford would be at the top of our list of places to live. The only drawback is of course the commute, but like anything else, sometimes you have to sacrifice one thing in order to get another.

 

[wuv tigger]

I guess we are the exception. We live in Western Fairfax County in a SFH (glad we bought last year!!), DW stays at home with the kids, my commute to Herndon is 25 minutes, and I make just under the median level income for the area.

We were blessed to have purchased a townhouse 12 years ago when we were both working which gave us the equity to move up last year, but it is still about choices. We choose to have DW stay home and still go to WDW a few times a year.

Pace of life is fast, schools are good, jobs are plentiful, crime is low and opportunities are many. You also get 4 seasons. Our experience is that you meet the kind of people that you are, so we know lots of nice, non snobby people.

We like the area alot.

David

 

[snoopy]

Nope, David, you aren't the exception (except for the fact that I don't stay at home, I could have written your post). For those of us in our late 30's, early 40's, life is good here in Washington. We started small and worked our way up, but it was possible to start small back then. For those a little younger, its a tough place to get started. Obviously that would factor into the OP's decision.

 

[caitycaity]

yeah, the problem for us is that buying a townhome that is about the same as our current apartment but adds another 20-30 minutes to our commute is more expensive than our current rent.

 

[kbeverina]

mickeyfan--we lived right by where they built Rolling Ridge Elementary for a few years, starting in 1969, and then moved across the boulevard a few streets over from Park View.

My parents moved to Forest Ridge in 86--Pin Oak Ct--after I'd left for college. They're moving to Williamsburg next month, so it will be weird not to have ties to that area anymore.

snoopy--where in Stafford do they live? It has changed so much in the past 11 years. We live off the Garrisonville exit, right near the new Target/Kohl's shopping center. We never thought we'd stay down here and honestly a lot of our friends don't really understand it. It was funny to go from Old Town where we could walk to everything, meet our friends down on the waterfront on weekends, walk across the street to the Metro--I loved living there. We think we'll probably move back there some day. That's more our thing, but the kids are so used to how it is here, I can't imagine moving right now. Plus, we like our $600 house payments.

 

[snoopy]

They also live off the Garrisonvile exit, kbeverina! Its the first left after you get off the ramp to that exit, I am not remembering the route/road number. They love their neighborhood. My brother works for the Secret Service (as does my husband) so they are always trying to get us to move out there too -- both DH and DB work odd hours so the commute isn't as bad when you aren't going to and from in rush hour. They have no desire to move closer in, they have everything they need out there (wasn't the case when they first moved there) and their kids are thriving, so no need for them to move. I could see where someone might have some real issues with that drive every morning in rush hour tho!

 

[ValerieK]

wuv tigger I grew up in Reston and lived there until 2 years ago when we bought our house. Dh and I owned a townhouse near Lake Anne. We looked in Reston for a SFH, but couldn't find anything in our price range in the school area we wanted. We ened up buying a house in Loudoun County near Lowes Island. We love it here. DH works in Oakton and has a 30 min. commute.

 

[kbeverina]

snoopy--I'm guessing Hampton Oaks or Austin Ridge?

We take the first right off the ramp, Sunningdale Meadows. Even though this area is growing--I think 2nd or 3rd fastest in the nation--it's still very small town if you've been here a while. I bet we'd have many mutual friends.

Do they have any middle-schoolers? My son will be starting at H.H. Poole next year.

 

[Patty3]

Snoopy and Christine, what a small world. Snoopy, my DH is a retired Secret Service Agent, which is why we moved here in 1982, and my DS is an active one. As for living out here, you really need to get to know the back roads. Weekends on 95 in the summer can be brutal and you never know what you are going to hit. We have become quite good at listening to the traffic on the radio and if it is heavy then we take the back roads. Unfortunately, the radio is not always on the ball with their information. House prices here have risen quite dramatically in the past 18 months, but still affordable. Our lake is just beautiful. On the 4th of July, we have fireworks at the main beach and it is so nice to sit on the beach with your neighbors and watch this. At Montclair, you can have your canoe or row boat docked and stored at one of the beaches there for your enjoyment. You can not have speed boats, it is just a wonderful place to live.

 

[snoopy]

kbeverina, yes, I believe its Hampton Oaks!

Patti, it IS a small world! There is another lady who's DH works for the SS on here too, I haven't seen her in awhile though. Your neighborhood sounds lovely.

 

[Patty3]

My DS was going to buy at Hampton Oaks when he was transferred here last August from Ct.. He ended up buying a house in Asland, which is a development off 95 and just off route 234. His house has gone up well over $50,000 in 9 months and that is just in Prince William County.

 

[soccerchick]

Would Arlington be a possibility? There are many very nice sections. My DH grew up there and it could be an easy commute to Alex. Schools have a good rep. there, esp. elem. Prices will still be very high though. We lived there for a short time while waiting for our house to be built. I would love to live there fulltime where I could walk or take Metro everywhere.

I have lived in NoVa all my life (except college and waiting for our house to be built). I am out in Loudoun County in Leesburg. I do love it, but lament many of the changes that have occured over the last 20 years.

Mickeyfan1 -- I grew up in Sterling!

Good luck on your moving decision!