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Alice
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I know two of you irl! Hi Laura! Hi Alice!

 

I'm in NoVA near Ft. Belvoir. I'd love to get together sometime.

 

Are any of you going to the convention in Richmond in June? Even tho' I may not homeschool next year, I still would like to go, as I would like to hs jr. high instead of sending dd to public school. But that's not for a few years.

Wouldn't it be fun to meet up and at least have someone to have lunch with?

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Me too! I'm near Abingdon, where are you?

Susie in SWVA

 

We are looking in the Abingdon area. We want to rent for a year, before we commit to an area. Do you have a recommendation for a newspaper to get or an agency to call?

 

We are driving up this weekend to look around. How is home schooling there? Any ballet schools, Suzuki violin/piano teachers? I have lots of questions.....

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  • 1 month later...

We've tried this before, and it didn't work. I really think it's going to actually happen this time, though. If not, I think I'll give up.

 

We are planning to move to the DC area, in May/June. DH will be working all around the area (but often downtown), so we just kind of have to pick a place to live and hope it works out well :D

 

Any tips? Where are the wonderful, but affordable, areas? (LOL) Okay, how 'bout we start with wonderful, and see where we can go from there ...

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Chiming in from the Fredericksburg Area... in Stafford County (17). Building a new house out here -- break ground in May (WE are actually building it).

 

As far as "affordable" housing goes, you really should probably rent in this declining market. It will give you some time to feel the area out. Several analysts have predicted continued price declines throughout 2008... maybe into 2009 -- and after that a period of price stagnation. There are lots of areas that are over-built, and lots of foreclosure activity in Prince William, Louden, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties.

 

The most difficult part of this market is getting an appraisal the banks will take. Some areas with some of the "best" deals right now, have no sales activity, so no comps.

 

If you're interested in building, I can point you to some great lots here off of Rte. 17 in Stafford -- that's the best pricing we've found.

 

We're building a 3600 sq. ft. home (with an 1875 sq.ft basement) on 3 wooded acres for $425k (or less). Hardwood throughout (except for kitchen/bath), 4 bedrooms 3 1/2 bathrooms -- and a kitchen I've been dreaming about for years.

 

Closest in pricing to this is on a 1/4 acre lot, and has vinyl, carpet and builder grade pretty much everything.

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My husband takes a commuter van to the Washington Navy Yard every day. It's a far cry from the 15min. commute he had in Ft. Smith (about an hour), but -- just as anyone in No. VA can tell you -- you can live 15 miles away and it STILL take an hour to get into DC during rush hour.

 

Commute-wise it just depends upon what you're willing to do. I know some people who drive 30 min. to get to a commuter lot, and then another hour-hour fifteen to get in.

 

Early risers have it easier -- they can adjust to the leave house by 5:00am to avoid the traffic schedule.

 

Home-bound traffic (on I-95) starts to get heavy around 3:30-4:00pm (Pentagon -- lots of in by 6 and out by 3 or in by 7 and out by 4 schedules).

 

Do you have any idea where in DC your DH will be working? If he can avoid commuting during rush hours (6:30am-9:00am and 3:30pm-6:00pm), just about anything is possible!

 

Love to have you as a neighbor!

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I'm about 10 miles north of LisaK.

 

I would agree with renting at this point. Lots of nice rentals on the market. If you like access to county pool, library, and shopping, it's hard to beat North Stafford. All are within a mile or 2 of my house. It's nice to save on gas!

 

Neighborhoods I would recommend renting in are: Park Ridge (library is located in subdivision), Hampton Oaks (county pool is located just inside, just a mile from the library) and many parks. These are your typical mid-90's subdivisions with small lots and sidewalks. Aquia Harbor is a more rustic neighborhood (lots of hills and trees) and has it's own amenities and great access to I-95.

 

My dh only commutes to Woodbridge, but I know many commute to DC via commuter vans or the VRE. Unfortunately, traffic during rush hour and some weekends can be frustrating.

 

It's the price you pay for living a popular, government/DC economy driven area. Since so many people in transition are military, you may want to check out for sale/rental sites aimed at the military. Perhaps Battlemaiden knows the web address.

 

BTW, Battlemaiden's home is here in North Stafford. From the pictures, it looks really nice!!

 

hth,

let us know where you end up.

 

K

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So, tell me about the VRE. How is it? How well does it work? Do the trains tend to run on time? Is it safe? Is it a good, doable option to live out in, say, Manassas or Stafford, and ride the VRE into DC for work?

 

My husband would very much mind an hour or so commute by car, but would not mind it by train. If the VRE trains are a good option, that very much opens up our possibilities for where we can choose to live. But if it stinks, I'd like to know that up front.

 

If the VRE is a Good Thing, I think Stafford looks like a great area.

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I think these folks give a fairly good assessment if somewhat negative of the commute from Stafford to DC.

 

http://www.city-data.com/forum/northern-virginia/109124-anyone-commute-stafford-k-st-downtown.html

 

I noticed that they didn't mention commuter buses or vanpools. Stafford has many of these (A friend of mine commutes to Maryland from one) and I think the time may be shorter that the times they are giving, but probably at least 1 hour if not more. Friday night commutes (especially in the summer) are pretty bad.

 

It's really nice here, but I understand about the importance of having a workable commute and how that is a priority for your family (it's mine too).

 

If you can take a look at TrafficLand.com traffic cameras, you can look up traffic in No Va. Check it out on Friday. You can get a taste of it.

 

Hth

k

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Guest Shanna

For those who are in the Tri-state area (WV, VA, MD) we are having a homeschool game night at our home tomorrow night. If you would like more info PM me. I know this is a late notice but hopefully you can come or otherwise I will let you know the next time we do one.

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Okay, so, if my husband were to work in Falls Church ... where could we live that we would only pay $2000/month in rent? As close as possible to Falls Church ... but we really can't go over $2000. A town house is fine.

 

Where should we look for that price range? I've done a little looking, and I'm in sticker shock at the prices.

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Guest Shanna

We moved here a yr ago from Dallas. Oh the prices!!!!! Anyways, if I remember correctly Falls Church is south of Herndon/Reston. I would look in Gainesville and Manassas. Gainesville has the cheapest gas around so I would think that they would have cheaper housing. But, I could be wrong. HTH!! Keep us updated.

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We moved here a yr ago from Dallas. Oh the prices!!!!! Anyways, if I remember correctly Falls Church is south of Herndon/Reston. I would look in Gainesville and Manassas. Gainesville has the cheapest gas around so I would think that they would have cheaper housing. But, I could be wrong. HTH!! Keep us updated.

 

Thank you, Shanna!

 

The prices in Manassas look good, but I keep hearing that it's not a good place to live - more run down and higher crime. Do you have any idea about this?

 

We'll be using a realtor, but I just want to figure out some places to look in in advance. I'm pretty stressed about the prices. I haven't looked at Gainesville. We don't want a horrendous commute, but I'm starting to be afraid that we can't live anywhere closer in, on our budget!

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Guest Shanna
Thank you, Shanna!

 

The prices in Manassas look good, but I keep hearing that it's not a good place to live - more run down and higher crime. Do you have any idea about this?

 

We'll be using a realtor, but I just want to figure out some places to look in in advance. I'm pretty stressed about the prices. I haven't looked at Gainesville. We don't want a horrendous commute, but I'm starting to be afraid that we can't live anywhere closer in, on our budget!

 

I dont know about Manassas. I know that Gainesville is pretty. My midwife lives there.

 

I do understand the commute. We live west of Leesburg and my husband commutes to Herndon every day. Takes 45 mins - 1 hr depending on traffic. We couldnt afford city prices and honestly did not want to live in the city.

 

Do you have a realtor yet? It seems everyone is a realtor here. I know there are a few homeschool mom/dads that are. Let me know if you need any info on that.

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until I had the kids. I left early and my commute was about 45 minutes. There are "back roads" through Clifton area that go over to Fairfax and then to Falls Church if you want to avoid the highway.

 

I would avoid the City of Manassas and stick to the area of Manassas that is in Prince William County. I think the zip is 22109 (22110 is the zip for the city). I lived in the City and loved many aspects of the City government, but the area was changing and not in a good way when we left.

 

There are many foreclosures in the area and you shouldn't have trouble finding a nice rental. If I were looking in that area, I'd suggests you ask your realtor about homes in the Signal Hill, Hastings and Lake Jackson areas. The back road way to Falls Church was off of the Prince William County Parkway and these developments are closer to that than to I-66.

 

Manassas had many good things going for it. My kids loved visiting the train station and old town. We enjoyed the historic aspect of it too. Loads of shopping choices very close.

 

hth

K

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  • 3 weeks later...

Centreville isn't far from Falls Church, a little closer than Manassas. Crime is very low here (Manassas is a little dicey), and there are lots of townhomes. We have a three bedroom that we're renting for under $1500, not bad for DC. Only problem is, DH commute (to downtown DC) takes 1 1/2 hours!

 

The VRE is rather unreliable. I wouldn't chance it if I were you.

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Centreville isn't far from Falls Church, a little closer than Manassas. Crime is very low here (Manassas is a little dicey), and there are lots of townhomes. We have a three bedroom that we're renting for under $1500, not bad for DC. Only problem is, DH commute (to downtown DC) takes 1 1/2 hours!

 

The VRE is rather unreliable. I wouldn't chance it if I were you.

 

How funny that you should post this. DH just got finished looking at some townhomes in Centreville - good sizes at good prices. It's a definite possibility. We also found a house we like in Springfield. It's closer to Falls Church, but more expensive, of course. Ugh, your dh's commute has got to be killer, though.

 

Thanks for letting me know that crime in the area is low. We were looking in the 20120 area code.

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I am in Stafford just over the Fauquier County line (NW Stafford).

 

For those of you moving to the area, Leeland Station is a nice subdivision near the Leeland Station VRE train. I have a friend who lives nearby and her husband takes the train in every day. He is a nuclear engineer in DC (government agency) and finds the commute relaxing. He takes his laptop and spends the time reading. There are also places in this area on more land and not in a subdivision. Lots of different kinds of things to choose from.

 

It is just north of Fredericksburg, just over the Rappahannock River and near Ferry Farm (Geo. Washington's boyhood home).

 

Manassas/Woodbridge are kind of going downhill although there are bright spots here and there. It actually costs less to buy a house in those areas than in Stafford even though they are closer to DC.

 

I also had a friend who lived in a gorgeous townhouse near the Rippon Landing VRE Station in Woodbridge and her husband walked to the train. Very cushy commute.

 

BTW, IKEA is in Woodbridge. We buy practically all our furniture there:).

 

HTH

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