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1 hour to DC
1.5 hours to Baltimore
1.5 hours to VA Beach
1 hour to Williamsburg
1 hour to the mountains
30 minutes to Richmond
15 minutes to King Dominion
Next door to the potomace shoreline
3.5 hours from Philly
4.5 hours from NYC
3 hours from NC's outer banks
5 hours from Myrtle Beach
That is if traffic conditions are perfect.
Lastly, mild winters.
I have never in my life made it to any of those places in that time frame. Even at 2am when NOONE is on the road. 15 minutes to Doswell? Kings Dominion? I don't know how you drive but give me some tips!
And as for the winter. I don't think that applies to this last year haha.
2+ feet of snow.
I agree with Catrina, Fredericksburg is an all around awful place to live. I would never subject my children to growing up in a town filled with people who still have a pre-civil war mentality. Fredericksburg is ugly and is getting overly congested. All the shopping is in one ugly clusterfreak of a shopping center called Central Park, which is an absolute madhouse on the weekends. If you want anything even remotely upscale or specialized, you have to drive an hour (make that three hours if it's rush hour) to Fairfax. If your husband absolutely has to set up a practice in Massaponax, I would live in the Lorton area of Fairfax County and do a reverse commute, since I value education for my children and I would never force them to live amongst the... in Fredericksburg.
Last edited by FindingZen; 04-22-2010 at 07:43 AM..
Reason: watch the stereotypes, please
I am moving to Fredericksburg next month. I have traveled there several times and always felt comfortable. This past weekened I went to the book sale at the downtown library and did some shopping. I was impressed how most people were very nice. Those whom I have had to do business with were not rude at all.
I currently live in GA and believe me this is a part of the country that is trapped in circa 1920. I being a Northerener am happy because if Fredericksburg turns out to be "Confederate" country I am only a few hours away from home which is NY.
Yes I have made the drive to NY from Fredericksburg to NYC more than once in 4 hours time only
I have never in my life made it to any of those places in that time frame. Even at 2am when NOONE is on the road. 15 minutes to Doswell? Kings Dominion? I don't know how you drive but give me some tips!
And as for the winter. I don't think that applies to this last year haha.
2+ feet of snow.
I'd have to agree that those times are rather optimistic, particularly heading north. It takes me 3.5 hours just from Alexandria to get to Philly. An additional hour to NYC isn't that realistic, assuming that one is observing the speed limit. And having stayed in Florence, the last I-95 exit before turning off to 501 and Myrtle Beach, it takes six hours just to get there.
But you have to admit that two feet of snow is a "once-in-a-lifetime" event around here. Fredericksburg is practically a suburb of Richmond which is not known for getting snow either yet got its fair share as well this winter.
We have been here a year. Came from out of state (grew up in wisconsin and spent 10 yrs in central coast california and so cal-san diego area). Here is my take:
Fredericksburg is a nice area. There are many things I do like about it and disagree with some of what was mentioned.
Fburg is NOT congested LOL. I really have to laugh at this. There is barely any traffic. Come one everyone--lets look at this rationally. There is some traffic on weekends due to shopping but I don't think I have ever sat in traffic more than 5 min at that is at route three near the mall on a weekend. Coming from ANY larger city the traffic here is nonexistent. I think the only people who really complain are the locals.
Now there IS traffic on 95 (both N and S) and you will have to plan events around this, especially on weekends if you're plannng to drive up to DC for an event or to VaBch on a nice warm day. It is terrible on the 95 but in and around the burg-no--nothing other than a bit more crowded near the shopping areas.
People are not rude necessarily but coming from other parts of the country I would definitely say people keep to themselves around here. Even on our very quiet suburban street parents aren't really seen hanging around and chatting. Kids are out without parents (and quite young at that which again was very different from other areas I have lived. I guess people have a trust out here with allowing their kids to walk around residential streets without anyone around. (I do not share the same trust). People aren't rude though. In fact one of the things I do see is that children here do tend to be more respectful and have a much less sense of entitlement. The high school kids take the BUS! In california they don't have buses, no one takes them--they all are in their BMWs (I am not kidding here). So for that alone--it is nice to see.
Another things--not as many stay at home moms. I do work part time on weekends occasionally as a nurse, but ALL (and I mean ALL moms I know of) work full time, do the daycare thing from 6am to 6pm. It is VERY common here. Kids are bused to school from daycare center buses. It is nothing I have seen anyone else-anywhere.
Violence is not high--not even close. Again-not sure if this is a local who never went to a bigger city of more than 50K or what but seriously this is a bedroom suburban community, mainly of families commuting to quantico/DC or richmond. Nothing more. It's very quiet around here, and even on a friday night--not much going on unless you're at the movie theatre or downtown--again which is VERY quiet compared to any city with a stretch of bars or clubs.
Schools-well having been in numerous districts now--they are average here. I would say at least a year behind academically where my kids were in san diego which really surprised me. The schools are MUCH larger here, but have the same ratios in the classrooms, the state as a whole has lower standards though (keep that in mind) its not the local districts. Spotys and stafford co public schools I'd say are pretty even, fburg city schools I have been told aren't as "good" but I know a teacher in the city district who pulled her kids out of stafford schools to go there with her and she thought they were all pretty much the same. I can say we've had a very good teacher here and despite the fact that the schools are larger (twice as large as any school my child has ever been in in other states) the principal knows him directly, knows me, is very personal and the teachers have been stellar.
For me, I like it OK. I personally enjoy history and so I like that. I think it is a nice average suburban(-ish) area that has close proximity (well not really, by mileage maybe not by drive time) to some great things to see. I don't like the fact that the 95 is plugged a lot. Sometimes we feel a little closed in here even though there is so much around us because of the 95. I wish there were more options (I know there is the 1 but again--the stop and gos, and traffic no and south on weekends).
I think the area is a matter of personal opinion. I'm either here nor there with it. My husband is in the Navy so we'll move out in 18 mo and I think I'll be happy to get back to the west coast. That said, the area here is nice and it has been a nice place to have our family temporarily. I prefer it to the DC area for sure yet I don't think it's a place I'd call home forever. Hope this gives you some more perspective.
We also wonder whether we should move to Fredericsburg or somewhere else in Virginia?
Since my husband and I are looking for a 4 season climate in which to retire, we had begun to consider Virginia. (We're currently from the midwest but have lived in New Jersey and North Carolina.) We've begun looking at Fredericksburg and Charlottesville.
After reading all the negative blogs posted here for "Should I move to Fredericksburg?" from 2007-April 2010, we're becoming uncertain that Fredericksburg would be a right fit for us. We began to have a real concern when we saw the plunge in the housing market and so many houses on the market that foreclosed. What's the reason? I see that the houses had risen ridiculously high and now are becoming more reasonable in prices. But are they still declining and is the community declining? We don't want to move into a dying community or one that's only interested in maintaining historical sites.
We also saw that there were a number of superfund sites in Fredericksburg but it's air quality is better than Richmond's. We want a community that is environmentally healthy.
Things we are looking for: a nice community feel that we could get involved in, a progressive community, green conscious, a variety of cultural events that we could attend without "breaking the bank" (more than what it looks like this local university offers), inexpensive indoor and outdoor recreational activities, rivers nearby, excellent internet service, and easy access to downtown and shopping as well as the coast and mountains. Any recommendations for what city in Virginia would be good for two retired college professors who love nature and progressive thinkers?
After reading all the negative blogs posted here for "Should I move to Fredericksburg?" from 2007-April 2010, we're becoming uncertain that Fredericksburg would be a right fit for us. We began to have a real concern when we saw the plunge in the housing market and so many houses on the market that foreclosed. What's the reason? I see that the houses had risen ridiculously high and now are becoming more reasonable in prices. But are they still declining and is the community declining? We don't want to move into a dying community or one that's only interested in maintaining historical sites.
As mentioned earlier in the thread, Fredericksburg has become popular with families and households looking for affordable homes while commuting much further north. The largest concentration of jobs start 2-3 counties north in Fairfax County and would include Loudoun and Arlington Counties as well as DC. So when the housing bubble burst and gas prices shot up, there were relatively more households further south who made some tough decisions.
Quote:
Things we are looking for: a nice community feel that we could get involved in, a progressive community, green conscious, a variety of cultural events that we could attend without "breaking the bank" (more than what it looks like this local university offers), inexpensive indoor and outdoor recreational activities, rivers nearby, excellent internet service, and easy access to downtown and shopping as well as the coast and mountains. Any recommendations for what city in Virginia would be good for two retired college professors who love nature and progressive thinkers?
If you think in terms of "red" and "blue", Fredericksburg and surrounding areas are part of a reddish streak that starts roughly in Prince William County and extends southward until it hit the bluish "speedbump" of the City of Richmond. Downtown Fredericksburg is quaint; Central Park, as mentioned earlier, is the main retail area although instead of a walkable tree-lined area that the name might imply, it is instead essentially a massive strip mall of the usual mid-scale chain stores and restaurants.
F'burg is somewhat convenient to the Potomac River and James River as well the Hampton Roads area (Williamsburg, Virginia Beach). The Shenandoah (Mountains) Valley is a few hours west.
You'll probably have to prioritize your wants. The closer you are to DC (e.g. Alexandria and Arlington), the more progressive people you're likely to find. But large-scale equivalents to Berkeley or Ann Arbor don't really exist on this side of the (Potomac) river.
Hmm... based on Google Maps and other online resources, I'd say that downtown Fredericksburg has a higher concentration of indepdendent, cutesy, yuppie-ish business (you know, wine and cheese bistros with culinary classes, book & toy shops, bakeries and coffee-pastry [including funky-chunky nut-and-fruit-sfuffed bars!!] nooks, quirky home decor and kitchen gadget boutiques, etc.) than anywhere else in NoVA, minus - of course - Old Town Alexandria (and maybe some other small, semi-touristy town[s] out as far as Fredericksburg in some other direction.. not Front Royal, though, and Middleburg is cool but tiny). Not that 'yuppie'-ish shopping is associated with any particular political party (it is associated with plenty of other variables, though, but that's a rant for another post).
Fredericksburg IS a college town, which might lend it the barest hint of a progressive vibe (the 'college towns' in the DC suburbs proper [esp. College Park, MD] don't exactly deserve to be called such, though, in my book, so don't set your expectations too high).
Front Royal has a degree of the "independent, cutesy" stuff, it's not all big-box shopping. Probably not as much as Winchester or Fredericksburg, though. If you want urban living then you will want those two places, or maybe close-in Leesburg.
Royal and Main have a fair number of independent restaurants and businesses; whether it's punching below its class in that department is up for debate. I would focus on living west of Royal Avenue, the other part of historic Front Royal between Main, South, Royal, and Commerce can be hit or miss (the further north you go the better.)
Middleburg is not terribly convenient for a generic commute but it'd be great if you wanted a small town experience.
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We also wonder whether we should move to Fredericsburg or somewhere else in Virginia?
