Best place to live near/in Fredericksburg, VA (Alexandria, Reston: housing, rental)

[LizfromPA]

I am just starting to do research about moving to the Fredericksburg area. I have yet to visit Spotsylvania/Fredericksburg but have lived in Herndon for a few months. I was just wondering where some good places would be to live in the area for a 25 yr old...I like to walk to shops and go running. Is the city of Fredericksburg safe to go out alone? Also, I like the bar/music scene, does Fredericksburg have something like that to offer?

I am pursuing a job in the town of Spotsylvania and I'm also wondering how long the commute would be (I'm guessing it wouldn't be bad).

Is the Fredericksburg area a good area for a single female to meet others?

Thanks so much for help and advice; I know I asked a lot of questions!

[Flamingo13]

Wish I could help - as much as I like to visit occasionally - there is way too much traffic for me to consider living anywhere around there...lol - and this is coming from someone just outside of Old Town Alexandria. Good luck!

[EricD]

If you lived in Downtown Fredericksburg, and worked in Spotsy, you'd be traveling against traffic each way, so the trip would be easy.

If I were you, I'd look into staying in the historic area of downtown... but be carefull, things can change within one or two blocks. (It's a small city)

There is a local music scene, and bars and such to go to at night.

Good luck on your move. Fredericksburg is like Northern VA-light. Most people just complain about the traffic, but if you learn from an insider, there's ways to avoid it, and if your 'commute' is against traffic, it would be easy.

[cb at sea]

Living in downtown is "walker friendly" for the bar scene! Most of the nightspots are downtown. My daughter lives in a really cute apartment and walks everywhere! Of course, you want to exercise due diligence, just like anywhere else, but it's pretty safe. Parking downtown is at a premium, unless you rent a place with designated parking.
Traffic on Rt. 3 (going to Spotsy.) can be pretty crowded--our roads haven't kept pace with our growth. Depending on WHERE in Spotsy you need to go will determine the travel time--Spotsy is a big county!
All in all, this area is pretty nice---we're getting more stores and restaurants all the time! It's expensive, but a nice place to live!

[EricD]

Well, she said the "town of Spotsylvania", so I would assume the Spotsy Courthouse area? In which case she could take Rt. 1 down to Courthouse road all the way to work... it's a HORRIBLE drive if you were going with rush-hour traffic, but when going against traffic, it can be done in like 20 minutes.

[Blondie4now]

I used to live in Herndon/Reston area, and I go to Fredericksburg VA all the time... if I were 25 & single, I'd be staying in Herdnon or maybe looking at Alexandria. Spotsy is a lot different than where you are living right now, take a drive down & check it out. Personally, I like the Fredericskburg area much better than Herndon/Reston, but then I'm married and not looking for a singles scene.

[barefootchick]

Hi, there. I'm a 26-year-old female. I grew up in Spotsylvania (Partlow) and moved to Fredericksburg about a year ago. Like cb_at_C said, Spotsy's a big county. My parents still live in Partlow and they're a half hour from the nearest library and 45 minutes from Rt. 3. I live over on Rt. 2, halfway between the Fredericksburg and Caroline lines. Everything's not too far (between fifteen and twenty minutes), but I live a half hour from one of my work places and it's only 12 miles away (down by the Spotsy Courthouse) Actually, if you're looking to move down here, Rt.2 isn't half bad. Downtown Fredericksburg is about ten minutes away, but there's a few sketchy places as well
(laundrymat). If you're living in downtown Fredericksburg, it'll be more expensive for rent, especially if you're living by yourself. I would check out craigslist classifieds: jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, events, forums for rental possibilities.

Downtown (old town) Fredericksburg is about the only area to walk to shops around here. Things are spread too far apart here and the rest of the area isn't pedestrian-friendly at all. However, if you snag an apartment at the Greenbrier complex on Rt. 3, there's a really nice park right behind the complex and you could walk to old town Fredericksburg (if you're feeling brave).

I've almost never felt unsafe around here. Just keep your wits about you and listen to your instincts. I feel perfectly comfortable walking around Fredericksburg by myself.

As for the music and bar scene, there are quite a few bars in old town and Central Park. There's live music at the Griffin and at other places in the area. The Weekender in the Free Lance-Star is a good place to check out what's going on every week.

In regards to the single scene, I'm kind of oblivious to it because I met my boyfriend at work about a month ago. You can meet people at the gym or work or through friends. I've actually met quite a few friends through work.

Good luck on everything!

E-mail me if you have any questions: sjparker42@hotmail.com

[francine131]

We have three children, ages 15,13 and 9. We may move to Fredericksburg from Fort Collins, CO. Do you find the town family friendly?

[dwiggin3]

Originally Posted by francine131

We have three children, ages 15,13 and 9. We may move to Fredericksburg from Fort Collins, CO. Do you find the town family friendly?

Totally off topic by why would you want to leave such a beautiful place as CO? I've heard great things about FT. Collins. Best of luck!

[EricD]

Originally Posted by francine131

Do you find the town family friendly?

Yes.

I do.