Looking to move to northern VA. (Hampton, Dale City: apartment, rental, condos)

[quakerchick]

I want to move to northern Va. I really like Virginia as a state but many parts of northern Va is expensive and where I looked in the Hampton roads area would pay me 15,000 less. Plus, most of my family lives in the DMV area. Is there an affordable part of northern Va that has good schools and is pretty safe? By affordable I mean I could rent a decent 3 bedroom under 1500 or I could buy a home under 300k. Ideally, the neighborhood would be family friendly and no more than an hour from DC (not super important though, I do not plan to work in DC). If anyone has any suggestions your help would be greatly appreciated.

[FCNova]

-rent 3 BR for $1500/buy house for <300k
-good schools
-less than 1 hr from DC

I think hitting on all those is going to be really tough in Northern VA. Since distance from DC is the one you're least concerned about you may have to compromise there. Maybe you could find a townhouse rental for that price within an hour but I think it'll be hard.

[jillybean720]

Less than $300k is going to be tough for a 3br with good schools in a safe neighborhood. If you compromise on the 1hr from DC, you might be able to find something further out in Loudoun or Prince William counties.

[kww]

Originally Posted by quakerchick

I want to move to northern Va. I really like Virginia as a state but many parts of northern Va is expensive and where I looked in the Hampton roads area would pay me 15,000 less. Plus, most of my family lives in the DMV area. Is there an affordable part of northern Va that has good schools and is pretty safe? By affordable I mean I could rent a decent 3 bedroom under 1500 or I could buy a home under 300k. Ideally, the neighborhood would be family friendly and no more than an hour from DC (not super important though, I do not plan to work in DC). If anyone has any suggestions your help would be greatly appreciated.

you could get into PWC for that range (Townhome in a more family oriented neighborhood, detached home in an older developed neighborhood with less 'family type' things right outside your front door). Couple dozen detached homes scattered throughout Woodbridge for $300,000 or less at the moment.

Look into Lake Ridge or Montclair. Both 'older' neighborhoods, but lots of space for kids to do kid things. One or two homes in Montclair currently under $300,000, about a dozen and a half in Lake Ridge.

These two neighborhoods, being on the Eastern part of the County, will allow you access to 95 easily if you need it, or the VRE that you can take into DC (if your need to go into DC works around the VREs somewhat limited operating hours). If not, Springfield isn't far up the highway and then you have Metro access.

anything North of PWC is going to exceed $300,000 unfortunately, unless you look at condos (and a 3 bedroom condo will likely have a monthly condo fee that eats up any additional housing allowance you've set aside.

edit*

to add onto what others up top have said, the DC commute time will be the kicker of the criteria. My father commutes from Dale City into DC and it takes him about 1.15 hour, with him driving to metro in springfield and then taking the train into the City.

Would he try and make the drive all the way in, with no slugs, it would be a lot worse of course

[FindingZen]

Do you know where your employer will be?

$300K is not a lot for a SFH or even a TH in areas that are within reasonable distance from Northern Virginia job centers. Your rental and buying budget might each merit a 1-2BR condo, depending on the location. Your search would probably start in Prince William County and points south.

Also note than "an hour' commute can be as little as 15 miles - or even less! - as traffic is a bear around here. Living in Prince William or Stafford Counties is likely to put you beyond your preferred commute time unless your employer offers flex-time so that you can commute outside of rush hour.

EDIT: I defer to kww's more expansive knowledge of the Prince William County housing market.

[smarterguy]

If you bump your range up to 350k, you should be able to find something and have a little more choice. 300k will be very tough.

If not, look for an apartment or town home. Its just the reality of living close to a major city with plenty of jobs.

Also, in the Ft Washington area, you CAN get a great home for 300k and be very close to DC, but you'll be in Ft Washington, which, depending on who you ask, is awful or just fine.

[Mnseca]

Originally Posted by quakerchick

I want to move to northern Va. I really like Virginia as a state but many parts of northern Va is expensive and where I looked in the Hampton roads area would pay me 15,000 less. Plus, most of my family lives in the DMV area. Is there an affordable part of northern Va that has good schools and is pretty safe? By affordable I mean I could rent a decent 3 bedroom under 1500 or I could buy a home under 300k. Ideally, the neighborhood would be family friendly and no more than an hour from DC (not super important though, I do not plan to work in DC). If anyone has any suggestions your help would be greatly appreciated.

You can get a new townhome in Gainesville for under 300K. I don't think a single family home, though, and I'm not sure how that commute is for your job.

[NOVA_guy]

You could probably find something in Triangle, Dumfries or Stafford in that price range... the only issue is your commute would be pretty brutal some days.

[HokieFan]

OP, where do you plan to work? Because, in NoVA, that dictates where you should live...

[quakerchick]

I will be working as a RN. My family works for sentara and is helping me get a job.