Difference between Manassas, Manassas City, and Manassas Park? (Woodbridge, Lake Ridge: elementary schools, living in)

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by nrkelly

I saw this post and had to laugh. I moved here in Sept and STILL have no clue as to the difference. Still can't figure out why they all have the same name: Manassas City, City of Manassas, Manassas Park... Don't forget Lake Manassas!

Back in the 1960's, there was a big push for cities in Virginia to make themselves independent of the counties and take over their own governments. You see this all over the commonwealth - Fairfax City, Winchester City, Staunton City, Alexandria City, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, Fredericksburg City, Buena Vista City...

Well, sometime in the 70's the General Assembly put a stop to it, but there was a delay between when the law was passed and when it took effect. Manassas Park and Manassas squeaked under the deadline at the last possible moment and became the last two independent cities allowed.

This was described to me a few years ago, I hope I didn't mess up any of it.

Oh, and Manassas City and City of Manassas are the same thing.

[AMT660]

How is the commute from Manassas to DC by car?

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by AMT660

How is the commute from Manassas to DC by car?

Icky, unless you have more than one person in your car. What time are you travelling?

For instance, I-66 is HOV-ONLY from 6-9am in the mornings once you get inside the beltway. If you are driving single passenger then you have to bounce to Route 50 or I-495 to the GW Parkway to make it in. Horrible commute. Can't even explain.

If you're HOV commuting then Manassas to DC can be bearable, although it's over an hour anyway.

[busymommy3]

Okay, thanks! We just got back from Nova, and found a few nice areas in Manassas (in PWC) off Sudley Manor Dr, but the schools there don't seem up to par. Yikes! We were shocked at the number of foreclosures. We will probably look for something in Fairfax instead.

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by busymommy3

Okay, thanks! We just got back from Nova, and found a few nice areas in Manassas (in PWC) off Sudley Manor Dr, but the schools there don't seem up to par. Yikes! We were shocked at the number of foreclosures. We will probably look for something in Fairfax instead.

The 60's and 70's single family homes off Sudley Manor feed into generally sketchy elementary schools. Not horrible, just not ... desirable. Mullen ES on the other side appears better, but everybody that feeds into there is in a condo or townhouse in the newer section, so if you're looking for single family residence that doesn't work well.

You might try bouncing over to Chantilly or Centreville?

[NicoleJ]

Actually, Sudley elementary is one I'm desperately trying to get my daughter into. GREAT school. Absolutely great. Sinclair on the other hand sucks badly. They're behind even other PWC schools.

[knopfler]

Good to hear, nrkelly! I was thinking about Sinclair and Westgate - I hadn't thought about Sudley.

[fromNYtoVA]

Hello we are looking to move to N. VA. Does anyone have any info on the Woodbridge area? How are the schools there? Is it a doable commute to Alexandria?

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by fromNYtoVA

Hello we are looking to move to N. VA. Does anyone have any info on the Woodbridge area? How are the schools there? Is it a doable commute to Alexandria?

There are abundant threads here on Woodbridge and the areas, but the consensus is to look in Lake Ridge, 22192, as an attractive alternative to Woodbridge 22191 and Dale City 22193. All three are considered to be Woodbridge by the Postal Service, but they are three very distinct areas.

Poke around the threads here - there's tons of info on Woodbridge!

[piano dude 16]

Signal Hill Elem. is good if you enjoy the mediocrity of public elementary school education. I have found that the PW public high schools are good IF you join the specialty program for each school (IT, environmental, etc.)--much better than Manassas City or usually, Manassas Park. In the past, Signal Hill Elem. didn't even meet certification standards, but it was most likely due to it being an ESOL (English as a second language) services school before the illegal immigration crackdown in Prince William County. It is MUCH tamer here now, but I still think it holds its status as an ESOL school. Most parents seem generally happy with Signal Hill, but I have heard that the administration dumbs down parental concerns. There is a stellar first grade teacher there, but I don't know if I can say her name here. The science lab is rarely used, probably due to teaching down to the standards of the yearly SOL (Standards of Learning) test--oriented toward math and reading. If your standards are as high as mine, I'd homeschool with K12 (the name of the on-line company)--lots of homeschooler support in the Northern Virginia area--or I'd try for private school. If it fits, Seton School (7-12) in Manassas is a small conservative Catholic school that was picked as one of the top 50 Catholic schools in the nation--hard to get into though. Fairfax County is still juggling the illegals, now that PW has booted them--has a better total submersion gifted program though. In PW, the gifted antics, which are more like games, make the kids miss their regular schooling with the other regular kids. All in all though, Northern Virginia is a great place with amazing things to do (free Smithsonian)--IF your bread winner finds a decent commute--try VRE (Virginia Railway Express).