Information about Backlick Road/Little River turnpike (Annandale, Springfield: apartment, crime)

[NoVaFirstTimer]

Hello,

We are looking at buying a townhome in Annandale. Either in Merrifield near Inova Hospital or in Wilburdale near Backlick road and Little River Turnpike.

Can some one give us info about these areas? We saw that the areas in Merrifield seems more settled and expensive. Backlick road that becomes Gallows road in Merrifield seemed fine as well. With some spots of sketchy areas near Little River turnpike.

Thanks.

[DC Oldtimer]

It's difficult to comment without more specific information. But if I had to make a decision based solely on what you've told me, I would say that Merrifield is a better choice. The Little River/Backlick area is in the Annandale High School district. Although I always stress to people that all Fairfax County schools are good, this is not one of the more highly regarded ones. So home in a district that is more highly regarded is more likely to be a good investment.

[JEB77]

Originally Posted by DC Oldtimer

It's difficult to comment without more specific information. But if I had to make a decision based solely on what you've told me, I would say that Merrifield is a better choice. The Little River/Backlick area is in the Annandale High School district. Although I always stress to people that all Fairfax County schools are good, this is not one of the more highly regarded ones. So home in a district that is more highly regarded is more likely to be a good investment.

I would agree with you - but for different reasons.

Merrifield (around Inova) strikes me as a better investment because it's closer to Tysons - which is also an employment center - and the area around Gallows Road and Lee Highway has been getting nicer and is still being redeveloped. The Backlick/Wilburdale area inside the Beltway seems a bit older and I'm not aware of similar plans to spruce it up.

You mentioned that the Little River/Backlick area feeds into Annandale High. I'm not sure if the local high schools were a consideration for the OP - but the townhouses on Gallows Road near the hospital are part of the Falls Church High School district. There's really not a big difference in the reputations or test scores of the two schools. Annandale does have more students (around 2500 vs. 1400 at Falls Church), but there's a good chance the School Board will finally redistrict some Annandale students to Falls Church and/or Stuart - which should have happened years ago - within the next year or so.

[NoVaFirstTimer]

Thanks for the info!

I am an Asian-Indian with no kids and fiancee will not be joining me until she finishes her medical rotations in a year and half. I work in DC near Union Station so need an easy commute to DC with my 250k budget and a desire for either a townhome or a SFH (if at all possible).

We are just looking for a nice place with good schools and no gangs - same as everyone else heh) We know some areas in MD are very sketchy (such as parts of Wheaton in Silver Springs and areas near Twinbrook). But, we are clueless about Northern Virginia and its price points.

We found a few Townhomes in North Springfield area near Backlick road & Little River Turnpike that were cheaper than Merrifield. But the comments about Little River Turnpike combined with the heavy Hispanic presence is making us wonder if that area is on its way down or something.

We are basically checking the school demographics/scores, nearby apartment buildings, crime stats and so forth. Anything else we should be looking at?

Thanks.

[barryhussein]

That Backlick area is less congested, and would give you more sf for your buck. That would be Annandale, but you would actually be closer to Jefferson, but your kid would have to be accepted.
There is a very large Korean presence in the 236 area, which may have kept it nicer than 22150.

[finallyarrived]

I personally do not like the area around backlick and little river, to much traffic. Check Newington Forest zip code 22153.

[pcity]

Yeah, when I think of Little River/Backlick I think of two things: Cheap gas and Korean barbeque. It is pretty much the center of the Korean part of Annandale. The neighborhoods there seem OK to me, though admittedly I haven't explored them much. I get a sketchier vibe from the Lincolnia part of Little River Turnpike- the part between Braddock and 395.