Relocating to Fredericksburg (Williamsburg: new home, neighborhood, elementary schools)

[ethel_rascel]

Check out Aquia Harbour in Stafford County. It is an HOA on a navigable creek, Aquia Creek.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by heartinhawaii

We've decided to rule out LOW. The house we'd seriously been considering sold, but I consider that a blessing. While doing research, I came across three registered sex offenders in the community, two of whom were on the same street as a house we were looking at.

Only three? Heck, I've got ten. I don't lose any sleep over it. As a problem, they aren't on the radar screen. Deer jumping the fence and digging up the back lawn are a problem. Sex offenders...not. Otherwise, I'd say your suspicions about costs in VA versus HI are about right. Food and fuel will be about the only real differences. Haven't been in HI since 2004, but unless things have changed markedly since then, those two would pretty much be the only two. By the numbers, housing would be cheaper here too, but it's sort of like the wind-chill index...it feels like it's just as expensive here as there...

[Crazy_Daisy]

Fredericksburg is too expensive to live, because everyone keeps moving here. You have to be pretty well off if you want to live here now. Rent is high, and the prices of homes have skyrocketed.

[lthompso]

My family currently lives in Leeland Station and love it...unfortunately, we are military and have to relocate to Florida. My husband used the neighborhood VRE to get to work at the Pentagon and he also drove into Ft. Belvoir. Yes the traffic is terrible here!! But we love living in Leeand Station and will miss the community. The HOA fees are very reasonable. There are neighborhood trails and a community center with pool. The elementary school is within walking distance. I would definately recommend buying in the neighborhood.

[Lowaresident]

I am assuming your child's gym is due to gymnastics. If you do relocate to Fredericksburg area I recommend you visit Paragon Gymnastics. The facility is less than five years old but the Paragon has been around for about 15 years and the competitive teams are very well coached.

[GMom]

Lots of good stuff in Stafford now at great prices - especially new construction. The housing market softening here has created great incenitve packages from builders including free options, closing costs assistance, etc. Depends on where you want to work. The other nice thing about new communities is that a few of them have fitness facilities right in the community or at least nearby. Good luck!!

[texas_bound]

Hi heartinhawaii, welcome to Virginia!

I've lived in No. Va. for 35 years and have elem and middle school aged kids. My parents sold real estate for 20 years here, and I know the area well. I've bought homes in 2 subdivisions in Stafford County and highly recommend Stafford for your family. First, even though Spotsy and Orange Counties don't appear too much further south than Stafford, there is a HUGE difference in commute times! It used to be true that by going further out from DC you would be able to purchase more home for the money. NOT true in this area at this time.

At one point I looked at moving to Leeland Station as well; have several friends living there, and really like it for family living. A few considerations per my friends there: The lot sizes are on the smaller size (but average for most planned subdivisions here) with few trees between them. No privacy which may or may not be a problem, depending on your neighbors. The elementary school Conway has had a rough start and has issues obtaining their SOL accreditation (a benchmark for educational standards in this county-some people discount the scores but at least it's a decent way to compare schools within this county). The traffic in that section of Stafford can be really bad compared to other areas here, based on high density communities versus inadequate roadways, etc. (example: Rt. 1 and Rt. 1 for starters). The VRE train offers commutes into DC with stops near your husbands target location. It sounds great; but, all us locals have read enough articles in the free-lance star to know the headaches VRE passengers suffer, especially in the summer, when train speeds are greatly reduced and commute times can easily double. VRE is a great backup plan but it's not fool proof. That being said, Leeland is nice and a great place to raise your family. You need to check it out yourself and make sure the immediate area surrounding it is to your liking as well.

If you are looking for other subdivisions offering more of a buffer or at least more trees on the lot, check out Cardinal Forest (Rt. 17 north near Rt. 95. pool, tennis), Shelton's Run (Rt. 610 west approx 5 miles from Rt. 95 no pool but tot lot), and a little further drive but worth it for the 3 wooded acres are Queen's Guard (Rt. 610 west. approx 15 miles from Rt. 95 - more country but great schools, no pool but only 4 miles to nice Curtis Park/Gauntlet), the Willows (Rt. 17 or Mountain View exit, not far from Rt. 95, no pool but close to the nice Rt. 17 Y), and many many estate other home subdivisions offering beautiful wooded lots (and a buffer from your neighbors...just in case) in the 400-500k range.

For an overall "gist" of specific areas or zip codes check out homefair dot com neighborhood info. You'll find crime stats and other averages. And for school scores, student ethnicity, and free lunch percentages check out greatschools dot net. Even though your kids are homeschooled, checking out the school demographs help define the people you are living among in that area. Hope this helps!

[43north87west]

I just moved from Fredericksburg, VA to Scottsdale, AZ in January, and let me tell you, Fburg is not cheap compared to Scottsdale, but it sure has a more down to earth feel to it.

There are a lot of really nice areas in Fredericksburg. Personally, LOW is nice, but I'd also check out some of the great and inexpensive (relatively) places you can get out in southern Fredericksburg area. Out on Mine Rd. off of Jefferson Davis Hwy (east of Jeff Davis Hwy) are some nice places and newer homes. Good values, plus the real estate market there is a little softer now so you can make out. I can't remember the names of all of the places out there, but if you take a drive or a look on a map you'll get the jist of it. Plus, the proximity to town is good, and the area is great.

The other option, is to live in town. The availability is more limited in town, which makes sense because there are some absolutely beautiful residences that I'm sure people aren't interested in parting with. There is also UMW nearby (so be careful about the neighborhood IF you aren't big on noise or drunken college students). The whole area, students or not, is a great place, but the university is a little noisier that is all. The homes are more expensive in town, but in your price range, you could definitely buy there. The advantage is walking distance to the train station (VRE) and just the location in general. There are SO many nice restaurants in that area, I miss it badly. I lived right on the edge of the town of Fredericksburg, and worked south just off of rt 17 and Cosner Rd. The whole life I led there, although short, was very enjoyable. I actually miss it a whole lot.

If you're going to live in LOW, keep in mind that the traffic on Rt 3 is a pain in the rear, and it isn't getting better. The commute to DC in the morning is a disaster. On a summer Friday afternoon, plan on up to 3 hours between Pentagon City and Fburg, bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go. I have never been so annoyed or frustrated in my life. And if someone wrecks, just forget it entirely. You could be gone for another 3 hours.

Because of the geography of the area, the Potomac River restricts traffic to I-95 with virtually no options anywhere in the area. This means that you can face horrible traffic on any day of the week, at any time of the day. Usually you'll be OK between 9am and 3pm, North and South respectively. Also, after 7pm going south is a cake walk. I did this so many times, I have the times of day right down to the minute. But, if your husband is going to be a prime time (6-8am, 3-6pm) guy, maybe bite the bullet and move close, and let him take Metro. Seriously, you will spend more on a house closer to the city, but save on commute costs, beating up your cars, gas, and destroying your marriage (because he will be a real beast to deal with after sitting in traffic for hours per day... even if he is a prince otherwise).

All things considered, the Fredericksburg area really is a nice place. I came from a very nice community in the midwest, and initially thought that Fburg was a dump. I now think it is wonderful and wish I didn't leave. The only bad thing is that it is located on the I-95 corridor, which can plug solid in both directions on holiday weekends and during summer.

Good luck and enjoy the community.

[ReadytoRetire]

Originally Posted by heartinhawaii

We're relocating from Hawaii to Virginia and need to find a nice 4BR, 3BA single family home under 500K with less than an hour commute to Lorton and Dumfries.

To date, my focus seems to have been on Spotsylvania, Stafford and Orange County.

We're seriously considering homes in the following places:

Fox Point in Fredericksburg (two homes)
Lake of the Woods, Locust Grove (several homes)
Leeland Station, Fredericksburg (several homes)

Ideally, we'd prefer a new (less than 5 years old) home or a really old (more than 50 years) home; not much for houses inbetween. We'd love some land (1+ acres), but willing to trade off for ammenities (water access, nature trails are at the top of the list) and a price we can afford. We have two children, ages 7 and 4. Both are homeschooled, so schools are only important as far as resale value.

What can anyone tell me (good and bad) about the above mentioned communities? What communities can you recommend? What communities should we avoid? Would we be better off moving closer in? What sort of commute are we looking at? My husband can set his own hours to some extent, so can avoid rush much of the time. We really like Lake of the Woods (lots of bang for the buck), but are concerned with the commute and the wide range of prices for homes.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Hi,
I live on the Fredericksburg/Stafford line (Falmouth) off RT17...
It is about 3 miles to I95 in a good location..I live in a subdivision
called Cardinal Forest. I can highly recommend this area..
There are currently 3 houses in the $400K - $500K area...
It should be an area to check out..

[5stones]

bumped for the other poster questioning lake of the woods