Relocating to Woodbridge, VA (Arlington, Burke: real estate, apartment complex, rental homes)

[Patisha]

I just received a job offer in Woodbridge that I will be starting in 2 weeks. I will be staying with a relative in Maryland and temporarily commuting until I find an apartment. I just wanted information on some nice apartment homes or rental homes in that area. I'm moving from Upstate New York so any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[rubytue]

ouch! Commuting from MD is going to take its toll. You don't mention budget or the type of community you are looking for, if you gave us that information, we might be able to help a bit more.

That said, give nothing but what you said, I would tend to recommend Springfield, Kingstown, and Burke. Lorton is close, but I wouldn't recommend the apartment complexes there. If you can find a private condo rental in Lorton, those are very nice. The reason I'm suggesting Fairfax county is that Woodbridge isn't really the nicests, safest area. Its kind of sketchy in parts, but its cheaper than Fairfax. But, since you will be working in Woodbridge, you could live up in Fairfax and have a (relatively) quick, reverse communte (south in the AM, north in the PM). Actually, there is one apartment complex in Woodbridge where I had some friend living and they liked it - I don't remember the name, but its on the Prince William Parkway, just east on 95, near Potomac Mills.

[Michelle Boyle]

Ok, So I agree that parts of Woodbridge aren't soo good. But there are also a lot of Great Places in Woodbridge, Virginia. I live in Lake Ridge, which is a small community located just to the north west of Woodbridge. And I have to say, I LOVE IT! We really hit the jackpot when we found this place. We moved here almost 3 years ago, from Rochester, NY. Actually it was Canandaigua, NY, but more people have heard of Rochester, so we say that. You probably know what I mean. Anyhow, Lake Ridge is a very safe, friendly, and beautiful place to live. You didn't mention having a family, but there are a lot of nationally recognized schools here too. Great Shopping, Restaurants, Recreation Facilities. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Why pay more money for a house or apartment in Fairfax, then commute to Prince William? Springfield, and Burke are about 20 minutes to a half hour away depending on what part of Woodbridge your going to. If you didn't mind a 20 minute commute, then go south to Montclair, Dumfries area. There are really great communities there too. Also, Woodbridge in the next few years is going through a transformation. Alot of improvements, redevelopments, and new developments going on. Did you hear, there putting in a new Wegmans in Woodbridge, across from potomac mills mall? My husband works there, at the one in Fairfax, that's why we moved here by the way. Anyhow, getting off topic again. To answer your question about apartments, I would look into Fox Run Apartments, or Dominion Middle Ridge. I know there are more, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. Check back or send me a message, and I can give you more info. What is your price range by the way? Now take a deep breath, and exhale.

[quell]

We are movng to Woodbrdige and my spouse works in DC/Georgetown area. What is the commute like , how far is the entertainment, shopping, etc from this area and what is the crime level and demographics, diverse..?

I found a property in LakeRidge for rent and noticed you said you live in this area. We do have children and would like to know some of the schools you are referring too? They are in elementary school

[sweet-t-virginia]

To Patisha, I would recommend living in Woodbridge in some of the places which Michelle suggested. If at all possible, try to stay off I-95 during rush hour. You are going to find that your commute from MD to Woodbridge will be rough so I'm sure you will want to find a place near work ASAP.

To quell, ditto what I said about staying off I-95 during rush hour. You will be going with the traffic and a fender bender will cause I-95 to come to a complete stop. You may want to try Arlington which is very close to Georgetown. It will be an easy (relatively speaking) commute to Georgetown from the Clarendon area, Cherrydale or Rosslyn where there are still houses left. There are also a lot of apartments in that area as well. A word of caution: be prepared for real estate/apartment sticker shock as this is a very expensive area. The Arlington areas I mentioned have outstanding schools as well.

[ZorroRojo]

Originally Posted by quell

We are movng to Woodbrdige and my spouse works in DC/Georgetown area. What is the commute like , how far is the entertainment, shopping, etc from this area and what is the crime level and demographics, diverse..?

I found a property in LakeRidge for rent and noticed you said you live in this area. We do have children and would like to know some of the schools you are referring too? They are in elementary school

I live in Woodbridge and work in Bethesda, MD. My commute is about an hour on a very good day (like today) and an hour and a half most days. That's one way. I believe a commute from Woodbridge to DC/Georgetown would be at least an hour.

As for shopping: There are plenty of dept stores, grocery stores, and such near by. From where I live I can be at a Walmart, Home Depot, PetsMart, or the Potomac Mills Mall in about 10 minutes.

From what I have seen there are plenty of people from many ethnic back grounds. I don't know much about crime levels except to say that I do see police and/or apt security on a regular basis but don't see them doing much more than patrolling most of the time. I have 4 children with the oldest being almost 12 and the youngest is 6 and a half. I feel safe where I live. I do not live in the area of Woodbridge called Lakeridge but near it. I live close to route 1 and the Prince William County Parkway. The parks are nice places to take children to, at least the ones near me including Veterans Park.

[dcindc]

Commuting across the bridge, (whichever one) will be difficult.

I'd budget an hour drive time for the first week and take note of how many times you are late.

We need more details. Where in MD will you be staying? You will be working in Woodbridge? Correct?

What is your budget?

Renting or buying?

Just you? or spouse/family?

I can recommend areas of Woodbridge once we know these answers.

[mroy]

I lived in the Lake Ridge area of Woodbridge for several years, and would agree that it is a very nice place to live! I would check out the areas all the way down Old Bridge Rd in Lake Ridge, off Springwoods and Westridge. Its quite nice down that way and close to shopping.

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by quell

We are movng to Woodbrdige and my spouse works in DC/Georgetown area. What is the commute like , how far is the entertainment, shopping, etc from this area and what is the crime level and demographics, diverse..?

I found a property in LakeRidge for rent and noticed you said you live in this area. We do have children and would like to know some of the schools you are referring too? They are in elementary school

Lake Ridge is generally a very nice area to live in. Generally speaking, whatever school you go to in Lake Ridge will be of acceptable or better quality - yours will likely be Antietam Elementary, but it's a large enough area that I could be wrong on that.

The really important thing you need to do is research OmniRide, the Prince William County direct-to-Metro-and-DC bus service. Commuting by car to DC/Georgetown from Woodbridge is absolutely nuts unless you pick up (slug) commuters at a commuter lot to get in the HOV lanes, or you commute at very off-peak hours. If your commute is going to reasonably at the same times of the day every day, do yourself a HUGE favor and check out:

OmniRide and Metro Direct Schedules/06

Brian

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by dcindc

Commuting across the bridge, (whichever one) will be difficult.

I'd budget an hour drive time for the first week and take note of how many times you are late.

We need more details. Where in MD will you be staying? You will be working in Woodbridge? Correct?

What is your budget?

Renting or buying?

Just you? or spouse/family?

I can recommend areas of Woodbridge once we know these answers.

Yes, but in the meantime, *generally speaking* in Woodbridge if you are West of I-95 you are in better shape in terms of crime rate, education, and property upkeep than if you are East of I-95.