Transfered to Fairfax Office and am looking for town to commute from (Burke: apartment, to rent)

[tgbwc]

From the Lake Ridge area of Woodbridge, you could probably get to Fairfax in about 45 minutes (maybe less depending on your drive time) by shooting up Route 123. No public transportation though that I know of.

http://franklymls.com/PW6925224
http://franklymls.com/PW6934414
http://franklymls.com/PW6917781

This community is about 5 minutes from me (I pass it on my way in the morning)
http://franklymls.com/PW6492307
and I make it to West Springfield in about 35 minutes leaving at 7am.

[hicksticks2001]

Thank you all very much. This is very excellent information. Thank you!

[car54]

I would rent for a while (near your job). Rents should be getting cheap with all the people giving up trying to sell.

I don't think home prices have anywhere near hit bottom. I'm looking for early 90's prices before it's all over. I think the next wave of foreclosures (prime) will hit in the next year or so.

Sit tight, rent, and explore the area at your leisure. Time is on your side!

[nva79]

Why not live in Fairfax? It is very nice and has lots of stuff to do. Good food, good entertainment, good transportation. I live near GMU and would highly recomend it. If you are looking for a new home, Prince William County is a little cheaper/more new homes, but not as nice. DC is great, but probably to far away. Pretty much all of the area is nice, just try to choose a home you like that is a managable commute. Also, I have never heard about these "sex offenders". The crime in all of NoVa is very low, including PW county.

[Denton56]

It is going to be difficult to find a house in that price range, but it can be done. This blog might help, as it shows the top discounts in the area:|

Northern Virginia Housing Bubble Fallout

I also like ziprealty.com because you can search by area, price, also reduced prices, foreclosures, and short sales.

Another site, with a good map for house locations is Trulia - Real Estate, Homes For Sale, Sold Properties, Real Estate Maps

This one is based in northern Virginia and has good searches too:
FranklyMLS.com Virginia & DC MLS via Keyword Search & Wiki. Homes for Sale Frank will also send you updates for the areas where you are searching. Email him with what you want to find. He's very good.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by HereinVA

There isn't a very close "nice" mall--I'd say the closest nice one would be Fair Oaks, which is about 20 miles away. I'd compare Fair Oaks as being something similar to the Shops at Mission Viejo, maybe a bit lower as there is no Nordstrom or Saks. .

FYI, the very nice malls are in Tysons Corner, next to McLean, the money area of DC. I rent in Merrifield so I split time between Arlington and Fairfax. Fairfax is very suburban, family oriented, Arlington has a bit of everything. Both are great for different reasons.

[HereinVA]

Originally Posted by leighland

FYI, the very nice malls are in Tysons Corner, next to McLean, the money area of DC. I rent in Merrifield so I split time between Arlington and Fairfax. Fairfax is very suburban, family oriented, Arlington has a bit of everything. Both are great for different reasons.

Yes, I've been to Tyson's corner before. In terms of comparing it to Orange county malls, it's on about the same level as South Coast Plaza. I was just talking about the closest "nice" mall to Bristow, not the DC area in general.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by HereinVA

Yes, I've been to Tyson's corner before. In terms of comparing it to Orange county malls, it's on about the same level as South Coast Plaza. I was just talking about the closest "nice" mall to Bristow, not the DC area in general.

Its not like Fashion Island but Its just as nice as Fashion Valley in SD (which is better than South Coast IMO). You're not the only SoCal 'er here

[ateo]

I can see the sign on the IFC building from my town house. Unfortunately these townhouses are still running over 350K and they are 30 years old in a neighborhood with MS13 graffiti all over the place.

I'd try Burke, Springfield, Oakton, Vienna, Fairfax.

Prices in most of those areas other than Burke and Springfield are probably out of your range though.

[ChristineVA]

We live in Woodbridge and my daughter commutes to her private high school in Fairfax, which is also off Lee Highway and fairly near your office. We live down closer to the southern end of Woodbridge and she drives up to Rt. 123 and takes that all the way up, past George Mason and then over to Lee Highway. It takes her about 35-40 minutes and she leaves the house around 6:30 a.m.

$200-250K is going to be pretty tough in Woodbridge but with the housing bust it is not unheard of. Just be very careful of the neighborhoods you choose. I would stay out of Dale City proper. You might want to look around in the neighborhood called Montclair. Very affordable, nice community, zoned for good schools. It has a Dumfries, VA address but, honestly, it is Woodbridge.