Northern Virginia & Marylanders

[Otto's Doll]

DH is considering putting in for a job in the Alexandria/Arlington/Falls Church area... I looked online and real estate is unbelievable in that area. Are there small towns within about 45 minutes where it is cheaper to buy a house? Do you love your area? We are in Northeastern PA (NY/NJ border) and I was wondering about the seasons ~ do you get a lot of snow? How are the taxes in that area? How about the schools?
Any input? Thanks in advance.

 

[Christine]

Oh, so much to say.

No we don't get a lot of snow, however, when we do, it is absolutely crippling because of the traffic and the road conditions. Most always it is a sheet of ice or a glaze on the roads.

Secondly, you REALLY don't want to move outside any more than about 20 miles. The traffic is terrible. I repeat TERRIBLE. I work in DC and I live in Woodbridge, VA which is about 27-30 miles outside of DC. Probably 23 miles outside of the area you are talking about. If your husband leaves for work at 5:30 a.m. he will be fine. Any later than that and it is an awful commute. Although, my area is considered "reasonable." But it will cost you around $400,000 for a 2500 square foot house.

Fairfax County schools are the best in Virginia. Prince William (where I live) is fine too. I am pleased with them. My property taxes on my 2500 square foot house is about $3700.00 per year. For Fairfax County, one of the most reasonable housing areas is Springfield, VA. It has a Metro station (which you will most likely have to drive to) and it is located just "above" some of the worst traffic.

Before you take a job in this area, I hope your DH is getting a BIG raise. The cost of living here is pretty high.

Let me know if you have any more specific questions.

 

[Tina]

Its only worth it if you can afford to live close-in. We live in western Prince William County. I work in Fairfax, DH works in Tysons Corner. The commute is murder. We try to carpool whenever our schedules permit, but it really doesn't help much since the biggest mess is on the side roads on the way to I-66. The drive from my subdivision the the freeway ramp is about 2 or 3 miles, but takes (on average) about 45 minutes. Once we get on the freeway, on a good day, the remaining commute will take 30 minutes; on an average day, 45 - 60 minutes; on a bad day 2 hours +. That's just the time to get to my office. My DH has another 20 to 30 minutes of driving to get to his after dropping me off. This is why we plan to move out of the area ASAP.

Vienna is a really nice place to live, and close in, if you can afford to spend about $800k. Housing in my area runs from $500 to $700k.

 

[kadaten]

We lived there for 3 years, 1999-2002. Made a bundle when we moved
DH worked in Fairfax County at Ft. Belvoir, but we lived just over the county line in Prince William County. The city was Woodbridge, and we were in the Lake Ridge neighborhood. LOVED it! Here's the website....it says Parks and Rec, but that was the official name of the HOA....it also had all the usual covenants and restrictions. Great neighborhood for all types...singles, families, retireees. Housing ranges from rental apartments to multi-million dollar homes...and lots of everything in between! The HOA actually encompasses lots of smaller neighborhoods. In total, there are about 3200 homes in the HOA. We lived in a townhouse in the newest section (last one built) on a ridge above the resevoir/river. We'd never wanted a townhouse, but that was all the budget allowed in the area. We were pleasantly surprised with the noise-proofing and never had the problems we thought we would. Now that we have 2 active kids, though, we're happy to have a yard, but if we were still there, I don't think we'd have one.....still couldn't afford it unless we wanted to move way out.

Here's the site: http://www.lakeridgeva.com/

When we were leaving in 2002, that was getting to be considered close-in. My DH knew folks driving in from West Virginia every day to work. Stafford county is even less expensive than Prince William, but it's all that much further out. But MANY people live out there and commute in. FYI....45 minutes is a normal commute in the area (anything up to an hour is not remarkable) so you may have a hard time finding anything much cheaper.....some cheaper, yes, but it doesn't get a whole lot cheaper until you pass the 1-hour commute mark.

Wish I could refer you to a realtor, but I really wasn't impressed with either one we used while we were there. As the area is so big, make sure you get one that specializes in the area you decide on....that was one of our problems. When it became apparent we had to go south to Prince William county to find anything, our realtor didn't know the area, so we had to do all the research and legwork.

Snow...yes. Enough that you need to consider whether snow removal is included in the HOA fees if you're in one. You do get all 4 seasons, and I will grudgingly admit I will miss the beautiful fall now that we're in FL....but I will not miss that snow! It gets nice and hot during the summer, too I was so happy the first year we moved there....it was the first time I'd lived anywhere it was cold enough to plant bulbs! (Without having to dig them up and refrigerate them, anyway!)

Taxes....higher in Fairfax county than Prince William, and higher in Prince William than in Stafford. But, if you were to rate those three on schools, it would be 1-Fairfax, 2-Prince William, 3-Stafford. MD is also within commuting distance to that area, but all I know about that area is that their taxes were even higher.

Question....is DH military? I think I've seen you talk military before, but can't remember if it was active or retired. If he's active, be assured that the BAH kept up VERY well in that area while we were there. I REALLY miss that fact! (We were in Norfolk for the 3 years after NoVa and it does NOT keep up there. Still waiting on first BAH adjustment here in FL.)

Good luck! Hopefully someone with more recent experience will chime in soon! I know we have several DISers from that area!

 

[Otto's Doll]

Thanks for your replies...wow, it is so expensive. NY is high, but we are in PA and our mort. is under $1000 a month (well under, and includes taxes and insurance.) I know it would be a big raise for him, but I would hate to spend it all on a mort., and to have him commute an hour and a half would be a lot. He drives 45 minutes here, but he is on the night shift, and it is quiet on the Interstate at night. He is military, full time Air National Guard, but his everyday job is as a civilian, so no BAH for us. He would NOT be taking a military job, although it would be a civilian job for the Army. He would most likely join the VA National Guard just to finish out his enlistment. (He has almost 22 years in now.)
This is a big decision!

 

[tiggerlover]

Wow, Jeanne, you guys really have a huge decision to make! The only thing I can say is that we considered that area as well because of the better job opportunities for DH, but once we looked at the real estate and the terrible traffic we decided it wasn't the place for us. If you all are seriously considering a move to that area, I would suggest that you take a couple of days and drive down to check it out. A good source of information about the schools is www.greatschools.net. Good luck!

 

[agotta]

Dh got a job here two years ago and we are planning to move back home, far far away by the end of the year. We just can't afford it. Our rent is more than my parents mortgage and and the traffic is unbearable. It is a beautiful area, but no thanks.

 

[llij]

Otto's Doll - Good luck with your decision! The military has brought my family to this area many times while I grew up. (I have lived in Springfield, VA a few times and lived in Herndon, VA for awhile. My parents still live there.) I settled in Centreville after college and this area certainly has grown. Ditto what everyone says about the traffic. It is terrible and getting worse. I used to commute to DC from Centreville everyday and the commute time got longer each year. I'm glad that I don't have to do it anymore.

I live in Loudoun County now which has been one of the fastest growing counties in the nation over the past few years. While I love it here, the overall cost of living keeps going up. Houses that went for $250K-300K (2500 sq. ft to 3000 sq. ft) 7 years ago now go for over $700K. You can make a killing in the real estate market here if you bought awhile back, but I don't know how people can afford to buy now. I know that we couldn't have bought a house now. The taxes keep going up too, but I don't mind that so much if that helps support the schools and the infastructure.

Loudoun County schools are very good and they keep opening new schools each year. (Hopefully, I will be teaching in one in a few years. ) The amenties offered with the schools are great.

As far as snow, it is very strange here. One flake falls and everyone goes crazy. We do have some years with a lot of snow and some years with no snow. I've lived in this area for over 20 years and the winters are always so different.

Anyways, good luck and let us know if you have any other questions!