moving to woodbridge area soon which area within to avoid? (Dale City: renting, crime)

[tbinvestments21]

I'm moving to VA for the first time and would like honest REAL opinions about where are the trouble areas within Woodbridge. I heard mixed opinions but would like to weight other outside ones as well. what areas are safe for a family with kids. Thank you for your time on the subject matter.

[Bigfoot424]

You should really start looking and then ask questions about specific neighborhoods. Budget also plays a role in how we can respond. The ones I know I would avoid are Georgetown Village and immediate areas. Anything along Longview Dr and Mt. Pleasant Dr near the Rt 1 area. Get further back and it was always quieter. But it really is hard to name the areas to avoid so how about looking and then coming back and list what looks doable to you. I'll tell you a little secret. If you call the PWCPD they officially cannot tell you what is a good vs a bad neighborhood. For obvious reasons. But find an officer getting coffee at a convenience store and they'll tell you what they think about the neighborhoods in their beat as they know it better than anyone else.

[ChristineVA]

I echo Bigfoot's comments. I would add some of the Dale City "alphabet" neighborhoods (Ashdale, Birchdale, Cloverdale, and so on). I don't think those Dale City (Hylton builders) neighborhoods normalize until you get to the P and Q neighborhoods. The others, I would avoid. I read about a lot of petty crime (and worse) in those areas.

[Mike From NIU]

I would also suggest defining what you mean as "trouble areas." If you mean heavy drug and gang presence with drive-by shootings (ie, places in Chicago where I lived in the past), those are very rare.

If you are troubled by people who work blue collar jobs and bring their work vans home at night (and yes, we've had posters who imply that such things are signs of a "bad" neighborhood), then a whole lot of Woodbridge will be off limits.

Of course, recommendations of places to look for or avoid also depend on your budget and housing needs. Either way, I would recommend renting for a little bit before buying, both to get a feel for your neighborhoods and also commuting needs. By the way, where will you or your spouse be working?

[Finallystoppedlurking]

Originally Posted by tbinvestments21

I'm moving to VA for the first time and would like honest REAL opinions about where are the trouble areas within Woodbridge. I heard mixed opinions but would like to weight other outside ones as well. what areas are safe for a family with kids. Thank you for your time on the subject matter.

IMO Non Trouble areas:
Locations in the Colgan school lines....
Montclair
Some locations in Lake Ridge
Some areas in Rippon Landing
Some areas in Triangle VA (technically not woodbridge)
Some neighborhoods off Cardinal Drive North of rt1
Some areas in occquacaun (technically not woodbridge)

Not really trouble areas that have problems every blue:
Port potomac (i lived there)
Eagles Point (friends who lived there)
Potomac Shores (coworkers who live there)

All of the locations have had petty crime/theft... some of the more serious stuff (shootings/break ins/ car theft)has occurred in pptomac/eagles pt.

Do i consider them trouble areas tho...... honestly no. People call it hoodbridge but they haven't lived in the hood to make an accurate comparison. For example... You might wake up to gunshots.......and find deer hunters in the woods. Lock your stuff up and you won't have issues.


Now... the Dale areas... and Georgetown/williamsburg... and areas around dumfries... sketchy.... and immedate south of the bridge... behind the shopping center... super sketch...

[Bigfoot424]

The OP never came back. But this is the norm.

[MedvedActual]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

The OP never came back. But this is the norm.

Ha, true. Although, when has that ever stopped this crowd from commenting or better yet then coming back 5 years later to revive an old post? I say we keep going. There are definitely not enough Woodbridge posts already in existence on this site.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by MedvedActual

Ha, true. Although, when has that ever stopped this crowd from commenting or better yet then coming back 5 years later to revive an old post? I say we keep going. There are definitely not enough Woodbridge posts already in existence on this site.

True. But Woodbridge has changed a lot over the years and much of it for the better. I started with the county in 79 and Woodbridge earned its name Hoodbridge. But it slowly started changing and by the time I retired in 09 and moved to another job many areas were improving dramatically. Still some areas I would avoid but this is to be expected when this many people live in an area this size. Most people that bad mouth on here may be justified based on their experiences but their experiences are normally limited to certain areas. Or they base their opinions on the more negative crime stories in the news which of course sells the news source. Having worked every square inch of the county for 30 years I know it as well as anyone can and there are plenty of areas families can move to and live a good suburbia life.

[oneasterisk]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

The OP never came back. But this is the norm.

With a name like tbinvestments21, did you think they really wanted to live there? Lol