Dumfries (Alexandria, Dale City, Manassas: for sale, rental, townhouse)

[linux_n_Pontiac]

Hi, list. I have found a nice house on a nice street in Dumfries. I am aware of the traffic that I will encounter working in Alexandria. In looking around, I found that I would choose not to live in Marumsco or Dale City. Can anyone offer insight for Dumfries? From what I have seen, there should be no reason for me not to pursue this. I am talking about route 1, not Montclair. There are no kids involved, so schools are not an issue.

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by linux_n_Pontiac

Hi, list. I have found a nice house on a nice street in Dumfries. I am aware of the traffic that I will encounter working in Alexandria. In looking around, I found that I would choose not to live in Marumsco or Dale City. Can anyone offer insight for Dumfries? From what I have seen, there should be no reason for me not to pursue this. I am talking about route 1, not Montclair. There are no kids involved, so schools are not an issue.

There are parts of Dumfries that are very nice, especially if you like older, established neighborhoods. There are just a couple of rotten neighborhoods in and around Dumfries - Williamson comes to mind? - that have spoiled its reputation somewhat. I'd say as long as you enter into the commute with eyes wide open (and see if you can carpool/rideshare/VRE/Omniride/slug, if possible) then you'll be fine.

Welcome, in advance, to Prince William County!

[linux_n_Pontiac]

Thanks. I think that I was able to locate that neighborhood on a map. Do you know anything about Knolls? That is where I am considering. It is only a few streets right off of route 1.

[jaywallace]

Williamstown, Linden Park area are HORRIBLE. Anything off of Graham Park Rd. area and South stay away from. All the new communities North of Rt.1 and Rt. 234 are pretty nice. But if you have kids they will go to the same School as the kids from Williamstown, not good. I would go wtih Montclair if you could, that is the best community in that area. Even if you have to get a townhouse, it is well worth it.

[Dorothy1960]

Originally Posted by knopfler

There are parts of Dumfries that are very nice, especially if you like older, established neighborhoods. There are just a couple of rotten neighborhoods in and around Dumfries - Williamson comes to mind? - that have spoiled its reputation somewhat. I'd say as long as you enter into the commute with eyes wide open (and see if you can carpool/rideshare/VRE/Omniride/slug, if possible) then you'll be fine.

Welcome, in advance, to Prince William County!

There are rotten neighborhood everywhere...FYI

We know several folks in Dumfries. Nice location for commuting north, good shopping areas, etc. Getting developed nicely... there used to be just one grocery store only a few years ago. Unless you are one of the lucky ones who bought a house 10-15 years ago, or have a lot of $$ saved to buy a house closer in, you will be driving. Everyone does...its a fact of life here in Northern Va.

[beth ann]

I lived in Dumfries (Montclair) for two years and then headed back to Fairfax county as soon as I could

Even though Montclair was nice, immediatly outside was like living in the "hood". I drove Route 1 daily and saw more "gang-type" people, toddlers/children riding in cars without buckles, and other scary people all the time. I literally would lock my car doors at red lights. It was bad. Really bad. Dale city was no better.

The commute to DC for my husband was sometimes 1.5 to 2 hours EACH way....it was ridiculous and defintley not worth it.

Being back in Fairfax county is wonderful....I wouldn't move back to Dumfries if you paid me. Just my experience.

[koko61]

I live in Prince William Estates in Dumfries, which is directly beside Knolls on the same side of Route 1. If you have visited the neighborhood by now, you should be familiar with the Quik Shop that is right just before the entrance to Knolls. The entrance to my neighborhood is between the Pizza Hut and the Quik Shop, at the traffic light. I don't know anything about Knolls specifically, but I suspect that it is very similar to my neighborhood considering the close proximity.

I moved here in 1997, and the value of my home has tripled since then. For the most part, the neighborhood is quiet and peaceful, but we have recently had a few issues with two rental properties next door to each other (owned by the same person). Those two homes are currently being rented by groups of young Hispanic males, so we have had some problems with noise (mostly music), multiple work vehicles, and that sort of thing....but nothing major.

Mail delivery is generally very reliable and the post office is literally two minutes away. Snow removal is done by the town and our streets are usually cleared very early, sometimes even before the main streets. There were some problems with trash pickup at one point, but we got a new service a few years ago and haven't had any problems since. Police officers drive through the neighborhood on a regular basis (on patrol, not answering calls), at least once or twice a day that I've noticed. Voting has been very convenient (at Town Hall) with no excessive waiting in lines, and my husband has always been able to stop and vote on his way to work with no delay at all. All other business that I've done at Town Hall (paying taxes, get stickers for our cars, etc.) has always been very quick and easy.

As far as shopping goes, there are three major grocery stores (Giant, Shoppers & Bloom) within a ten-minute drive and one smaller grocery store (Bottom Dollar). There is a Wal-Mart within a five-minute drive and a Target within a ten-minute drive. There is a Rite-Aid practically across the street, a new CVS about five minutes away, and another CVS and a new Rite-Aid within a ten-minute drive. There are several fast-food restaurants in the immediate area (McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Five Guys and Quizno's, to name a few), as well as several pizza joints. For a sit-down dinner, there is a Ruby Tuesday's, Applebee's and Cracker Barrel about five minutes away, plus several local resturants. There are also many specialized stores in the immediate area such as Autozone, Blockbuster, dry cleaners, etc. If you want to venture a little further, you can go to Stafford (about 15 minutes south) for all of these stores plus a Lowe's and Home Depot, Kohl's, Bed, Bath & Beyond, etc., or you can go north about 15 minutes to the area around Potomac Mills for all of the same stores. For major retailers (Sears, Penney's, etc.), you can go south to Fredericksburg (about 30 minutes), west to Manassas (about 45 minutes) or north to Springfield or Landmark.

As for the commute, I used to drive to DC and had very few problems, but I usually left very early and came home late to avoid the HOV restrictions. My husband now drives to the most northern part of Alexandria and usually has very few problems. He leaves home about 6:15 am and travels up Route 1 to Woodlawn, and then takes the GW Parkway up to Old Town, and I think he usually makes it to work is just about an hour or a little more. Sometimes the traffic can be pretty slow going through Woodbridge, especially if there is a major problem on 95, but it's usually not too bad at that time. The only thing he really complains about is coming home on Friday nights, especially in the summer. That trip can sometimes take more than two hours, but he has learned some back ways that save a lot of time even though it adds a lot of mileage.

The only other issue that I've seen mentioned here is the bad area of Williamstown/Graham Park Road. All I can say about that is that it does have a bad reputation and, if you drive through it, it looks like a slum. However, we were concerned about that when we moved here and wondered if it would spill over to our neighborhood, but fortunately it has not. The funny thing about that area is that, if you drive through it, there is another well-established neighborhood behind it that has huge, million dollar homes. I figure if the people that live there can drive through that neighborhood and are fine with it, then I should be ok on the opposite side of Route 1.

That said, aside from a few very minor issues that can and will happen in every neighborhood, I have been very happy here and have no plans to leave any time soon. If you are still interested in the area and have any more questions, just let me know and I will do my best to answer. As a matter of fact, there are two homes for sale on my street (Curtis Drive) right now and I'm sure that you would feel very welcome here.

[linux_n_Pontiac]

koko, thank you for the detailed response. That is what I suspected of Knolls, and now you have opened my eyes to Prince William Estates.

[koko61]

Originally Posted by linux_n_Pontiac

koko, thank you for the detailed response. That is what I suspected of Knolls, and now you have opened my eyes to Prince William Estates.

You're very welcome. Good luck in your search and, hopefully, welcome to the neighborhood!

[jaywallace]

Originally Posted by beth ann

I lived in Dumfries (Montclair) for two years and then headed back to Fairfax county as soon as I could

Even though Montclair was nice, immediatly outside was like living in the "hood". I drove Route 1 daily and saw more "gang-type" people, toddlers/children riding in cars without buckles, and other scary people all the time. I literally would lock my car doors at red lights. It was bad. Really bad. Dale city was no better.

The commute to DC for my husband was sometimes 1.5 to 2 hours EACH way....it was ridiculous and defintley not worth it.

Being back in Fairfax county is wonderful....I wouldn't move back to Dumfries if you paid me. Just my experience.

You hit the nail on the head. I used to live in Montclair as well, they finally got their wish and are no longer a part of Dumfries. Various police agencies in the area call Dumfries "the pit" for a reason...