Woodbridge and Manassas: Decent Community?? (Dale City, Lake Ridge: for sale, real estate, 2011)

[jrazoux]

My husband is taking a job in the Washington DC Navy Yards, and we are considering moving into either Woodbridge, VA or Manassas, VA or the surrounding areas. We're looking for an affordable area that is in a nice community, not upscale just decent!

We are looking for a home under $200,000. Does anyone have any suggestions about these areas or realtors that we could contact?

thanks.

[Margery]

You will be deluged with opinions about how horrible the neighborhoods are in Woodbridge or Manassas. Pay no attention and form your own opinion. In any area, the neighborhoods can vary in appearance from block to block. You need to do some driving around and walking the neighborhoods to get a feel for them. Go to HomesDatabase, click on Virginia, click on Prince William County and go from there. There are plenty of good deals in both Manassas and Woodbridge, but I think Woodbridge will be better for commuting to the Navy Yard. I do not work in that area of Prince William county, I am in Loudoun county, so I am not after your business. When you decide on an area, contact a real estate brokerage in that area and ask the managing broker to refer you to an agent in the office who is experienced with buyers. Preferably find someone with the ABR designation, they have had special training in working with buyers. Some agents have a lot of patience and enjoy working with buyers, others would rather work with sellers. Good luck to you, and let us know how it works out for you.

[tgbwc]

Know that "Manassas" and "Woodbridge" zip codes cover a large area. Our address is Manassas, for example, and everyone automatically thinks we are out around 66. However, we are only 4 miles from I95 and our community actually straddles Woodbridge and Manassas zip codes.

Are you looking for a townhome or condo?

[blossom4792]

I know Manassas quite well; I've spent time in Woodbridge but don't really know the neighborhoods. Both have good and not so good parts (both also have very good parts). I would agree that you might want to first look at the commute and go from there. If you want to commute on 95, then you'd want to look at Woodbridge or maybe Manassas 20112 down 234 (but not other parts of Manassas, too far). On the other hand, some parts of Manassas are convenient to 66, but I don't think that's the right road for your commute. There also might be a few other communities to consider off of 95, but Woodbridge/Lake Ridge seems like a good starting point.

[jaywallace]

Originally Posted by jrazoux

My husband is taking a job in the Washington DC Navy Yards, and we are considering moving into either Woodbridge, VA or Manassas, VA or the surrounding areas. We're looking for an affordable area that is in a nice community, not upscale just decent!

We are looking for a home under $200,000. Does anyone have any suggestions about these areas or realtors that we could contact?

thanks.

I would stay away from Woodbridge. Personally I would pick the west end of the county of Lake Ridge (Westridge to be exact).

[EMTnest]

Woodbridge is comprised of many neighborhoods including Lake Ridge which Westridge is part of. There are plenty of homes available for sale in the area. I would either stay in the Lake Ridge area or head toward Gainesville (which is not close to I95). Don't know if you have children but be sure to buy a home with "good" schools otherwise it might be a little tougher to sell if you move again.

[car54]

I would think that a home under $200K in Prince William is going to mean a townhouse in a decent area vs. a SFH in a seedy area.

[quedeque]

Originally Posted by nitrovic

I would stay away from Woodbridge. Personally I would pick the west end of the county of Lake Ridge (Westridge to be exact).

There are plenty of nice neighborhoods in Woodbridge - unfortunately, most of them are probably out of your price range, even with the depressed housing market in Prince William. I'd probably look for the newer housing (condos/townhouses, etc.) for something in your price range. Don't listen to people who tell you that Woodbridge is crime-ridden -- of course, there is crime, but probably only to an extent where it is just slightly higher than the average in the Virginia suburbs of DC. This doesn't mean that Woodbridge is dangerous by any means - I would like to stress that because after reading some of the comments on here you'd think it was southeast DC or something...

[jaywallace]

Originally Posted by quedeque

There are plenty of nice neighborhoods in Woodbridge - unfortunately, most of them are probably out of your price range, even with the depressed housing market in Prince William. I'd probably look for the newer housing (condos/townhouses, etc.) for something in your price range. Don't listen to people who tell you that Woodbridge is crime-ridden -- of course, there is crime, but probably only to an extent where it is just slightly higher than the average in the Virginia suburbs of DC. This doesn't mean that Woodbridge is dangerous by any means - I would like to stress that because after reading some of the comments on here you'd think it was southeast DC or something...

The "nice" neighborhoods are generally surrounded by some "not so nice" places. Like I said, I would stick with Lake Ridge or go to the west end of the county. I know a tad bit about crime in the county, and Woodbridge indeed has it. Then again, Dumfries and Dale City actually have a worse crime rate. I would stick with Gainesville or Bristow.

[American Arrogance]

someone post stas of the crime rate and post the types of crimes as well.

I live in Dumfries, southbridge to be exact and I think its a great neighborhood. So great that I'm moving out of my townhome and into a single family home within my same neighborhood.