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I live in the 22192 zip code of Woodbridge. I feel relatively safe and enjoy living in Lake Ridge. It is a diverse community. The school ratings are probably lower than some of the other area schools but if your kids are set up for success at home, I believe that they will succeed in school.
I saw a place I liked in Lake Ridge that was affordable. I will have to take a closer look at the schools. I am aware that no school is perfect, but part of what is making this move difficult is that my kids are already in great schools here, I just feel like we could have a much better quality of life socially/activity wise possibly if we were in a little more progressive area.
No one gives us any trouble, however, as soon as you turn off of the main road I live on, there is a big bright confederate flag flying loud and proud. To each their own I guess. Being a native of NC in addition to hundreds of years of ancestors all the way back to the start of this place (a city beside Raleigh was named after my 3rd great grandfather and my 6th great grandfather signed the petition to incorporate my current city), I have strong roots here, but am ready to branch out. Most of my ancestors began in Va. above Richmond in area called Goochland (I haven't figured out why so many went there when arriving from England) and eventually all moved to NC through the generations.
I saw a place I liked in Lake Ridge that was affordable. I will have to take a closer look at the schools. I am aware that no school is perfect, but part of what is making this move difficult is that my kids are already in great schools here, I just feel like we could have a much better quality of life socially/activity wise possibly if we were in a little more progressive area.
No one gives us any trouble, however, as soon as you turn off of the main road I live on, there is a big bright confederate flag flying loud and proud. To each their own I guess. Being a native of NC in addition to hundreds of years of ancestors all the way back to the start of this place (a city beside Raleigh was named after my 3rd great grandfather and my 6th great grandfather signed the petition to incorporate my current city), I have strong roots here, but am ready to branch out. Most of my ancestors began in Va. above Richmond in area called Goochland (I haven't figured out why so many went there when arriving from England) and eventually all moved to NC through the generations.
Quite a few sightings of the stars and bars in the Fredericksburg area, to include a big one flying just off I-95N, a few hundred yards past exit 126. Just shows how 'far' some people have progressed.
Woodbridge, just like everywhere, has pockets where there is more crime. You can read the Daily Incident Reports on Prince William County Police Department's FB page, and you'll see that a lot of the crime is between individuals who are known to one another.
I live in the 22192 zip code of Woodbridge. I feel relatively safe and enjoy living in Lake Ridge. It is a diverse community. The school ratings are probably lower than some of the other area schools but if your kids are set up for success at home, I believe that they will succeed in school.
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Originally Posted by MedvedActual
Can't comment on schools, as I have no experience there, but having lived for a few years in Fredericksburg and NoVA I will say this (something that you will also find in other similar threads). Real estate gets cheaper as you go away from DC; south in this case. There are also fewer walkable areas/things to do further south. Suppose it just depends on what you desire. The Quantico area itself is just south of Dumfries/Woodbridge and north of Stafford. Suppose there is a reason Woodbridge is at times called Hoodbridge. There are certainly nicer areas of it, but I am not intricately familiar with the specific neighborhoods. There is a LOT of traffic - with the overwhelming volume flowing toward DC in the morning and back south in the afternoon/evening. I-95 has been more or less a parking lot last few years and most of the time it is hard to predict how bad it will be. I have sat on I-95 going north and south on Saturday morning, weekday nights, etc. I would just say if you do choose to move to this area, and can afford housing north of the place of employment, it will save you hours in commuting.
Thanks for the advice! What would you say the range of time is that you have to sit in traffic from best to worst?
Thanks for the advice! What would you say the range of time is that you have to sit in traffic from best to worst?
Hmm, well if you were commuting to say Quantico from Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania, I'd say best case scenario is about 25-30 minutes depending on how far off I-95 you are. Worst case scenario depends on whether it is just traffic backed up, an accident, or something else. I have spent countless hours on that road and I think the worst, when 95 had major accidents, it took me 2-3 hours to cover that distance. Problem there is you have to cross the river and there are only a few viable options - I-95 and Route 1 and if one is jammed up, you can count on the other one being the same if not worse. Normally though I would count on about an hour each way. This is excluding Friday southbound traffic; 95 just looks like a parking lot then. If you were to say live in Stafford, there are some back road options, but still though, it's likely you'd be going out of your way for a portion of the route and then still have to deal with traffic when getting back on the major roads. I will also say that having moved from Fredericksburg to Alexandria, although my commute is about twice as long (mile wise) now, it takes me seemingly no time to get to and from work; traffic just keeps moving.
The good thing about Woodbridge is it's reasonably priced for NoVa standards and it's the only part of NoVa that is reasonably priced and you can have a reasonable commute, I use reasonable loosely. Woodbridge has neighborhoods and parts that look no different from what you see in FFX and Loudoun. Woodbridge also has parts that are an eye sore and one should probably avoid but that's no different from anywhere. So OP, if you are staying in NoVa I'd look towards Woodbridge.
Once you start talking Stafford and Fredericksburg, yeah it's reasonably priced but your life will be reduced to sitting on 95 and back roads all morning and evening.
Thanks! Sounds good! Which parts of Woodbridge are similar to FFX and Loudoun? What would you suggest I search for on Craigslist, Realtor.com or any other site as far as zipcodes/neighborhood etc.?
Hmm, well if you were commuting to say Quantico from Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania, I'd say best case scenario is about 25-30 minutes depending on how far off I-95 you are. Worst case scenario depends on whether it is just traffic backed up, an accident, or something else. I have spent countless hours on that road and I think the worst, when 95 had major accidents, it took me 2-3 hours to cover that distance. Problem there is you have to cross the river and there are only a few viable options - I-95 and Route 1 and if one is jammed up, you can count on the other one being the same if not worse. Normally though I would count on about an hour each way. This is excluding Friday southbound traffic; 95 just looks like a parking lot then. If you were to say live in Stafford, there are some back road options, but still though, it's likely you'd be going out of your way for a portion of the route and then still have to deal with traffic when getting back on the major roads. I will also say that having moved from Fredericksburg to Alexandria, although my commute is about twice as long (mile wise) now, it takes me seemingly no time to get to and from work; traffic just keeps moving.
So, it sounds like southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening is the way to go then!! My high school best friend married a guy who is a US. Marshal and they were living in Alexandria for his position several years ago. They live in TX now. She urges me not to move to NoVa because of traffic and said it took her 5-6 hrs to get home to NC at that time on a Friday afternoon to visit family. Another family member moved from Rockville further south recently for the same reason-traffic-too crowded. While I understand their advice, neither of them are necessarily looking for a racially diverse area as we are. Another friend in Lanham has instructed me to live as close to the job as possible or my life will be traffic. Every blog I read points directly to NoVa as the best place to raise biracial kids/family. Of course they mention California/Minneapolis/Seattle- but that is just going to be too far from my family I think. Some people say Raleigh and Charlotte, but most say NoVa.
So, it sounds like southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening is the way to go then!! My high school best friend married a guy who is a US. Marshal and they were living in Alexandria for his position several years ago. They live in TX now. She urges me not to move to NoVa because of traffic and said it took her 5-6 hrs to get home to NC at that time on a Friday afternoon to visit family. Another family member moved from Rockville further south recently for the same reason-traffic-too crowded. While I understand their advice, neither of them are necessarily looking for a racially diverse area as we are. Another friend in Lanham has instructed me to live as close to the job as possible or my life will be traffic. Every blog I read points directly to NoVa as the best place to raise biracial kids/family. Of course they mention California/Minneapolis/Seattle- but that is just going to be too far from my family I think. Some people say Raleigh and Charlotte, but most say NoVa.
Yup, I fully agree that if you can live as close to work as possible, with all or most of your desired criteria fulfilled, you will save a ton of time commuting. Every major road in this area is busy, but at the same time I personally really like the area (Alexandria and closer to DC specifically) and post move from further south could not have wished for a better environment. 'Choosing' to drive south on 95 or west on 495 in 'rush hour' or especially on a Friday is just like knowingly subjecting oneself to abuse. I have spent quite a bit of time in Rockville/Bethesda area as well and that is no picnic. Traveling there and back from NoVA is a pain and the area itself, say Rockville Pike at least, is very traffic heavy. Plus personally I am not a big fan of MD for a number of reasons.
Thanks! Sounds good! Which parts of Woodbridge are similar to FFX and Loudoun? What would you suggest I search for on Craigslist, Realtor.com or any other site as far as zipcodes/neighborhood etc.?
22192, definitely and 22193 but make sure to stay west of 95 (Hoadly Rd, Minnieville Rd) lots of good neighborhoods that are similar to what you'd see in Loudoun and Fairfax.
22192, definitely and 22193 but make sure to stay west of 95 (Hoadly Rd, Minnieville Rd) lots of good neighborhoods that are similar to what you'd see in Loudoun and Fairfax.
I am looking at at Woodbridge east of I-95 and appreciate the information! I have seen houses that at least form the pics of the house and yard, that I would buy. I will be taking a closer look at Springfield and a few other areas close by. Is Dale City similar to Woodbridge?
Yup, I fully agree that if you can live as close to work as possible, with all or most of your desired criteria fulfilled, you will save a ton of time commuting. Every major road in this area is busy, but at the same time I personally really like the area (Alexandria and closer to DC specifically) and post move from further south could not have wished for a better environment. 'Choosing' to drive south on 95 or west on 495 in 'rush hour' or especially on a Friday is just like knowingly subjecting oneself to abuse. I have spent quite a bit of time in Rockville/Bethesda area as well and that is no picnic. Traveling there and back from NoVA is a pain and the area itself, say Rockville Pike at least, is very traffic heavy. Plus personally I am not a big fan of MD for a number of reasons.
I don't know a ton about MD, but when we ended up lost in Baltimore about 10 yrs ago coming from NYC, there was trash all in the streets and a horse showed up out of nowhere in the middle of the street while we were at the stoplight. lol! We were also a little surprised at the amount of liquor stores. We were truly lost and I still don't know where we were at other than some part of Baltimore. I had never seen anything like it! All of the hotels/motels in this particular area only rented by the hour?! and had red lights in the windows! I've never seen that anywhere else. In some online coursework I was taking, I noticed a disclosure that MD residents were not allowed to be enrolled in the courses for some reason.
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We were also a little surprised at the amount of liquor stores. We were truly lost and I still don't know where we were at other than some part of Baltimore. I had never seen anything like it! All of the hotels/motels in this particular area only rented by the hour?! and had red lights in the windows! I've never seen that anywhere else. In some online coursework I was taking, I noticed a disclosure that MD residents were not allowed to be enrolled in the courses for some reason.
