Christian Family Moving to VA / DC / MD Area (Arlington, Alexandria: real estate, house)

[JESALAZ]

What do you think about Burke and West Springfield?.

I have worked in searching the "Best Places to Live"in VA and MD, using Money Magazine Information, I have also searched information on Security & Safety, comming up with the following places (please give you comments and best place that you recommend):
- Eldersburg
- Waldorf
- Crofton
- Linganore
- Centreville
- Green Valley
- Laurel
- Mount Airy
- Gaithersburg
- Rockville
- Reston
- Fairland
- Green Haven

[mlv311]

Here is a link to the private schools in Northern VA. This way you can get an idea about the Christian schools in the area and the tuition rates:

Private Schools in Northern Virginia- Private School Directory

[VEIK]

What is security and safety?

What are you scared of?

[JESALAZ]

Originally Posted by mlv311

Here is a link to the private schools in Northern VA. This way you can get an idea about the Christian schools in the area and the tuition rates:

Private Schools in Northern Virginia- Private School Directory

This is Perfect!, thank you.

[JESALAZ]

Originally Posted by VEIK

What is security and safety?

What are you scared of?

I am scared that my children or wife get robed or killed. Do I need to be scared?. Some people told me that I need to be careful of gangs there in VA. I do not know what places I need to avoid. Thats what I am scared of.

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by JESALAZ

I am scared that my children or wife get robed or killed. Do I need to be scared?. Some people told me that I need to be careful of gangs there in VA. I do not know what places I need to avoid. Thats what I am scared of.

Places w/ gang activity i'd avoid: East Springfield around the mall, Seven Corners/Bailey's Crossroads, Arlandria, anything immeadiately off Rt. 1 north of Ft. Belvoir and south of I-495.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by JESALAZ

What do you think about Burke and West Springfield?.

I have worked in searching the "Best Places to Live"in VA and MD, using Money Magazine Information, I have also searched information on Security & Safety, comming up with the following places (please give you comments and best place that you recommend):
- Eldersburg
- Waldorf
- Crofton
- Linganore
- Centreville
- Green Valley
- Laurel
- Mount Airy
- Gaithersburg
- Rockville
- Reston
- Fairland
- Green Haven

Hmm. A lot of those places are in Maryland. Most of them are pretty good places. Add North Potomac to the list and scratch Gaithersburg off of it. Waldorf doesn't sound like a place that fits you, and Mt. Airy is a long, long way from Fairfax. Just my thoughts.

[Tone509]

You don't want to commute from Maryland. On your worst days, you will spend much of those 90 minutes sitting on the Beltway. As a rule of thumb, take the number of miles between Fairfax City and your potential home and double it. That figure will be likely be the number of minutes you will commute on an average day. You will likely have a lot of "above-average" days as daily traffic snarls are inevitable.

Most of Fairfax County is sprawled-out suburbia with some outstanding neighborhoods. Gangs unfortunately exist as in most major metros but they mostly deal with each other and are easy to avoid. As it is, even in the current real estate market $350K would only get you a foreclosed SFH in this county.

I think you and your family would be happiest further west in Loudoun County towns like Ashburn, Leesburg and Purcellville(sp?) as well as Prince William County towns such as Haymarket, Gainesville and Bristow. Most of these contain planned communities that are touted for their family-friendliness. You're much more likely to find SFHs in your price range. And you will be well-prepared for the commute. There are numerous threads on the forum about the virtues of each of these towns... but I'm sure others here will share their thoughts on any questions you might have.

While Fairfax County is said to have one of the best school districts in the country, Loudoun in general and the Prince William towns I mentioned specifically are no slouches themselves. That said, people do place a value on a smaller student-teacher ratio as well as other intangibles so I can respect those who choose to go the private route.

[mlv311]

Originally Posted by JESALAZ

I am scared that my children or wife get robed or killed. Do I need to be scared?. Some people told me that I need to be careful of gangs there in VA. I do not know what places I need to avoid. Thats what I am scared of.

There are pockets you may want to avoid, mostly at night, but I don't consider Northern VA to be a "dangerous" place. If you are working in Fairfax, you might want to consider finding a place to live in Northern VA rather than MD. Fairfax County encompasses a large area so you might need to narrow down your focus based on your workplace and find neighborhoods to consider based on your commuting options, housing budget and family priorities.

[VEIK]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

Places w/ gang activity i'd avoid: East Springfield around the mall, Seven Corners/Bailey's Crossroads, Arlandria, anything immeadiately off Rt. 1 north of Ft. Belvoir and south of I-495.

^^^
He said it best

Northern Virginia is not PG County or NE DC now