Husband to work in Dahlgren..where should we live?

[onevthoki]

Have you checked MilitarybyOwner.com - Real Estate near U.S. Military Bases That is a good resource for rentals.

[slduvall]

Have you tried the housing office on Base. I know the senior officer housing is supposed to be pretty good. Here is a link

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It also has some links to the local community.

[CMarie17]

The drive from Fredericksburg to Dahlgren will be a little long, but the actual drive is a breeze. It will be mostly highway driving with only a few traffic lights along the way. We live in Dahlgren and my husband works in Waldorf, MD. It's not a short drive, but again it's all highway driving without having to worry about interstates and a lot of traffic. Waldorf feels a little more 'city' to me than FBurg. That said, I prefer to do most of my shopping in FBurg because of the craziness in Waldorf. From what you're saying, I think La Plata would be too small town for you. There's not even a real mall in La Plata, just a few shopping plazas with the basic stores. So either way, whether you pick Southern MD, or Fredericksburg, the drive won't be that bad.

[niklex]

Well, I hope my response doesn't show up twice - I tried to reply already and I don't see it anywhere! My husband has worked in Dahlgren for 8 years. Long story short, we've moved around a bit and finally settled in at Hanover County, Virginia outside of Richmond. We could not find any other area within a 1 hour drive of Dahlgren that offered the combination of features that we wanted, namely, top notch schools (Hanover overall is top 20 in Virginia); commute at or less than 1 hour; quick access to a "quality" urban area, i.e. real ethnic cuisine, non-chain stores (Yay! Carytown!!), and lots of parks/museums/recreational activities/festivals; and a neighborhood where we could get some decent acreage but still enjoy a communal lifestyle. Yes, driving an hour each way is longer than we'd prefer, but there is NO traffic so it is an easy drive.

We used to live outside of Fredericksburg west of I-95 and Central Park. What a nightmare. Every rush hour, weekend, or holiday we were battling traffic. And for what? To go to a movie, chain restaurant, or big box bookstore. Very few parks or playgrounds. Mediocre schools (per ratings; yeah, I know lots of people say they're good, but I'm just sayin...). Our neighborhood was a bedroom community; I hardly felt "local" as everyone worked somewhere else. We just didn't see any benefit to justify the continuing battle against congestion.

The vast majority of workers in Dahlgren choose to commute from various areas for all different reasons. Good luck with your decision!

[msbondu]

[quote=thomsonaa;7699427] I have lived in San Diego most of my life. We live in a community that has pools, parks, and everything we need within walking distance. I love to be involved in the community, take my kids to parks and libraries, visit the zoo. In a nutshell, I do not like to be isolated!"

I grew up in Colonial Beach and still have one rental property there. I now live in Virginia Beach and all I can say is that CB is the official "Land of the Lost" not only would I beg you not to move there (coming from beautiful, culturally fluent San Diego) but run as fast as you can and don't look back. No decent places to eat; no dry cleaners; nothing to do; lot's of migrant labor and two Dollar Stores (that's the good news.) I started out my Govt career at Dahlgren and now, 21 years later, only go back to visit family. The commute from Fredericksburg to Dahlgren would be well worth living in Fredericksburg (LOTS to do; great places to eat and shop; DC is only 45 minutes by car and available by train.) DON'T GO TO THE ARM PIT OF THE NORTHERN NECK CHILD!

[Alicia Bradley]

(Downtown) Fredericksburg is a very cool, cultural little city - the University of Mary Washington being in town definitely helps. (Plus, Fredericksburg is a fairly major Civil War tourist destination.) There are lovely parks in the city, huge ones outside of the city, and lots of coffee shops, bakeries, cafes, bookstores, boutiques, etc. in the city, as well. D.C. being so close is both a blessing and a curse - a blessing because it's not too difficult to go there, and a curse because of the constant traffic going up and down 95. Within the city of Fredericksburg, though (and in pockets outside the city), it's very easy to forget that there's so much traffic nearby.. it has very much a calm and quiet - not to mention super cute - atmosphere.

[Mdbtyhtr]

the rt 3 corridor from rt 206 to Fredericksburg has some older (Presedential lakes) and newer developments on it that should be looked in to. Remember that VA has a personal property tax that you will pay on your vehicles every year so that too should be a consideration between southern MD (Waldorf, La Plata, Cobb Island) and Virginia. Either way, having lived in San Diego, (father was 30 years Navy) it will be a culture shock to you. Your definition of commuting in Southern California (5 lane parking lots) and Virginia are two different worlds. Rt 95 from 1 pm on is just terrible, but should not affect your husbands commute. Best of luck and thank you for your service to our country.