Relocating from So.Cal. to Fredericksburg (Richmond, Woodbridge: for sale, real estate, HOA) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

ARAH · 03-11-2009, 04:25 PM

We may be relocating to Fredericksburg VA from Southern Ca this summer or fall 2009, given we can sell our home here. I would love some general demographic info on the area so we may begin our search for a new home.
I have never been to VA so am having some trouble deciding on which areas to look at for real estate, we hope to find a good fit for our growing family. We are a young family and would love to find a neighborhood with other small children and great schools. We also need access to shopping where we can find organic produce and healthy food choices. Here in CA we have Whole Foods and Trader Joes, but I don't see that they have any stores in the area. I also love gardening so would be so happy to find an area that has bigger lots so I might plant a summer veggie garden. Although big lot size to us Californians may be "small" by VA standards.

Any advise on any of these things would be greatly appreciated!

ARAH

oneasterisk · 03-12-2009, 06:29 AM

Any idea where you or your husband will be working? That might give other posters some idea of where to suggest. I don't really spend a lot of time in Fredericksburg so I can't really help, other than to welcome you here.

onevthoki · 03-13-2009, 12:06 PM

ARAH -

You might want to do a search for postings by myself and EricD. We have both posted lots of info on specific subdivisions in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania (neighboring county).

EricD · 03-13-2009, 12:49 PM

I doubt you'll want to litterally live IN the city of Fredericksburg, so I'd suggest looking at Spotsylvania county and Stafford county.

They are almost done building a Wegman's grocery store in the back of the Central Park shopping center (where Rt. 3 and I-95 intersect). Wegman's is a Rochester, NY chain which has HUGE stores, and has a lot of organic and healthy options. they have a section in the middle of the store which is all organic, and it's almost as big as a standard sized grocery store. The store is set to open on June 21st of this year.

If you can give a price range, and the type of community you'd like to live in, I could maybe point you in the direction of places to look at. (I know you said you wanted to live with other young families, but do you want there to be a playground nearby, close to a school, do you want an HOA? Newer homes, or older homes? things like that)

Good luck with selling your house!

ARAH · 03-15-2009, 04:46 PM

Thank you for your responses!
Thanks Onevthoki, I'll loook up your posts!
ErikD, Good to hear about what exactly Wegmans is, I heard that one was going in but didn't know what it was. Sounds pretty nice.
The home price we will be looking at would depend on our sale here, unfortunately we stand to loose most of our savings by selling in this market. But I'm guessing we will be able to afford something between $270-$350. I really would like to be near good schools and with in 20 mins (in traffic) to husbands work in Berea area (off 17). I need to be within 10 minutes to shopping if possible. Don't care for HOA but it's a fact of life out here so if we had to, we'd deal. Newer homes are very appealing since it is what we are used to but I personally love charming old homes, historical areas, treelined streets, but I'm assuming the size of home we need would be out of our price range.

ChristineVA · 03-15-2009, 04:55 PM

Bad news: I went to Trader Joe's today (in Springfield). Told the manager that they needed a TJs in Woodbridge. She said "yeah, we get a lot of that--people also want us to come to Fredericksburg, but we'll never do that. They have a Ukrops there. TJs will never build near a Ukrops."

I'm afraid if you move to Fredericksburg you're going to have to give up Trader Joes.

camrynh · 03-15-2009, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

Bad news: I went to Trader Joe's today (in Springfield). Told the manager that they needed a TJs in Woodbridge. She said "yeah, we get a lot of that--people also want us to come to Fredericksburg, but we'll never do that. They have a Ukrops there. TJs will never build near a Ukrops."

I'm afraid if you move to Fredericksburg you're going to have to give up Trader Joes.

Sounds like that manager isn't too aware of the goings-on in her company. TJ opened a store in Richmond several months ago -- just a few miles down the street from a Ukrops.

EricD · 03-15-2009, 09:12 PM

Berea, A.K.A. the Geico office.

Check out Stafford Lakes. It's right next to the office, and has a lot of homes in your price range.

You could even look off of Garrisonville Road, since there are some back roads you can take to work.

I'd honestly avoid looking south of the river, especially if you want to be within 20 minutes of work. (It could easily take him 45 minutes just to go down 17, get on I-95 south, and cross the bridge in the evenings)

ARAH · 03-17-2009, 11:36 AM

Thanks so much for the info! LOL about AKA Geico... It must be out in the middle of a field or something. :-) Stafford Lakes looks pretty good, Battleground Estates are higher priced but oooh they look so beautiful. If we could get out of here with our shirt we might be able to swing something in that area...
This is very helpful, I appreciate you guys taking the time to help me out! Good to know about traffic south of the River EricD. I went back and examined the map and it appears there is only one way over, that makes sense that it would be jammed.
Interesting about the TJ's and Ukrops stores. What is Ukrops anyway? Is it like TJ's? I looked at their website and it wasn't very revealing. They had an ad for Coke so I assume it's a regular store selling big brand foods?
So does anyone have an idea for what the elementary schools around Stafford Lakes and also Battleground Estates are like? I am also wondering what are the areas near town are like? I see some nice looking homes for sale in the BelAir area.
Thanks for four feedback!

EricD · 03-17-2009, 03:58 PM

Can't help you too much about the schools, but I do know that (in general) Stafford schools are well rated.

BelAir is close, but during rush hour, your husband would be stuck in traffic. On top of there not being many bridges over the river, Rt. 17 is a fairly major truck route, and has lately been covered in traffic lights... and lots of trucks plus traffic lights = traffic back-up. that's why I had suggested stafford lakes, which is just west of geico, and areas off of garrisonville Road, which you can use back-roads to get to work, and miss the traffic.

Of course, anything within a 15 mile radius is considered a very short commute here. I believe about 45% of people in Stafford work more than a 45 min's drive from home.

Ukrops is just a normal Richmond-based grocery store. It's maybe slightly on the nicer end of the scale, but nothing too special. there is one in Fredericksburg, which is their northern most store.