Thinking of moving to Gainesville in near future... (Centreville, Woodbridge: real estate, rent)

[leh0405]

My husband and I currently live and work in New York City, myself as a school psychologist and my husband as a Spanish teacher. We make good salaries and like living here, but we just got married a little under a year ago and are strongly considering getting out of the "rat-race" and purchasing a 1st home that is (much) more spacious than anything we can afford in NYC, and settling down in a place with a higher quality of life. I am originally from Northern VA (Woodbridge, to be exact), and my immediate family still lives there, which is a huge plus considering we want to be among family when we have our children. My husband's family lives in Dallas, TX, so we are also considering Austin as a place we may want to move to.

To cut to the chase, I would love to gain any feedback about living in Gainesville, specifically the financial aspects. The problem we currently have is that it appears that Fairfax Co. (the school district we want to work in, mainly because of its strong reputation and the fact that the salaries are nearly the same as NYC educator salaries) has a hiring freeze right now and we have not heard anything from the vacancies that my husband applied to. I have not even found any vacancies to apply to at all there. On the other hand, we have heard from the Austin school district who wants to interview us, but we are hesitant to move there for various reasons.

From what I can estimate, we would be looking at buying a house within the 300K range (obviously, the lower, the better). From what I can gather from NoVa homes, everything is colonial and a lot of homes need updates, which is something Im keeping in mind in terms of what that would cost. I would prefer to have a green home; if there is the option to have one built "green" that we can afford, great. Can anyone shed some light for me on the taxes in VA (mainly property, as well as auto, income, etc.) and some of the other things we should budget for when making our decision to move? We want our move to be to a place where we can expect to stay for some time, have children, etc. The reason why we are leaning against Austin and more toward Gainesville is because Austin's salaries are very flat, i.e., there is not much room for your salary to increase over time. I have heard great things about Gainesville in terms of it being a nice, newer family-oriented community with more affordable real-estate given its position further away from DC.

Having said that, if we were to commute to Fairfax (if we ever get jobs there, that is), and if we were to rely on 66 to get us to work, would we be looking at, on the average, about 1 hour or so commute? Being from the area, I know that traffic is horrendous when commuting north. One strong con in our book, coming from NYC where we are used to riding passively and stress-free on public transportation.

I am a product of Northern VA schools and I felt like I received a good education. I believe that Gainesville schools are part of PWC school district (where I attended). How would you say Fairfax CPS compare? I'm just wondering if it will all be worth the commute in the end, or if we should suck up the paycut and work more locally. For anyone who works in any of the school districts in NoVa, what are the benefits like?

Also, if anyone has any insight into this said "hiring freeze" and if positions for school psychologists are actually attainable, please fill me in. Any information about Gainesville in general is welcomed...we'd appreciate any feedback that would help us decide what would be better for us in the end.

[Fern435]

Hello leh0405!

I would pick Gainesville, Virginia (over Austin, Texas) for a few reasons.

*You grew up in this area and still have family in Woodbridge. Very important if you are looking at starting a family.

*Austin sounds like a great place! But Texas property taxes are pretty high, from what I've seen. Financially, I think Northern Virginia would be a better move. Job openings in your field will always come up in this area.

I have no idea what commuting on I-66 is like, but according to WTOP traffic news, traffic snarls are frequent on it. Semi truck carrying sweet potatoes tips over, a load of beer gets dumped as a truck negotiates a curve, etc. (these are NOT made up--they really happened here recently! Maybe not all on I-66, but I think the beer one did). Be sure you can handle a commute here. The best suggestion: Live as close to work as you can afford. Perhaps rent first?

Sorry this is sort of tossed haphazardly out there. But you have a good handle on what things you need to look at, and more people will come on with suggestions. (I am a military spouse who rents, by the way. Not a homeowner.)

Tone509--I just promoted northern Virginia!

[Bigfoot424]

I 66 traffic sucks bad. Let me repeat. I 66 sucks.

[spidercharm]

Keep in mind that you may end up spending major chunk of your life stuck in the traffic if you live that far. I am sure you know but rush-hour traffic here is one of the worst in the country.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Originally Posted by leh0405

My husband and I currently live and work in New York City, myself as a school psychologist and my husband as a Spanish teacher. We make good salaries and like living here, but we just got married a little under a year ago and are strongly considering getting out of the "rat-race" and purchasing a 1st home that is (much) more spacious than anything we can afford in NYC, and settling down in a place with a higher quality of life. I am originally from Northern VA (Woodbridge, to be exact), and my immediate family still lives there, which is a huge plus considering we want to be among family when we have our children. My husband's family lives in Dallas, TX, so we are also considering Austin as a place we may want to move to.

To cut to the chase, I would love to gain any feedback about living in Gainesville, specifically the financial aspects. The problem we currently have is that it appears that Fairfax Co. (the school district we want to work in, mainly because of its strong reputation and the fact that the salaries are nearly the same as NYC educator salaries) has a hiring freeze right now and we have not heard anything from the vacancies that my husband applied to. I have not even found any vacancies to apply to at all there. On the other hand, we have heard from the Austin school district who wants to interview us, but we are hesitant to move there for various reasons.

From what I can estimate, we would be looking at buying a house within the 300K range (obviously, the lower, the better). From what I can gather from NoVa homes, everything is colonial and a lot of homes need updates, which is something Im keeping in mind in terms of what that would cost. I would prefer to have a green home; if there is the option to have one built "green" that we can afford, great. Can anyone shed some light for me on the taxes in VA (mainly property, as well as auto, income, etc.) and some of the other things we should budget for when making our decision to move? We want our move to be to a place where we can expect to stay for some time, have children, etc. The reason why we are leaning against Austin and more toward Gainesville is because Austin's salaries are very flat, i.e., there is not much room for your salary to increase over time. I have heard great things about Gainesville in terms of it being a nice, newer family-oriented community with more affordable real-estate given its position further away from DC.

Having said that, if we were to commute to Fairfax (if we ever get jobs there, that is), and if we were to rely on 66 to get us to work, would we be looking at, on the average, about 1 hour or so commute? Being from the area, I know that traffic is horrendous when commuting north. One strong con in our book, coming from NYC where we are used to riding passively and stress-free on public transportation.

I am a product of Northern VA schools and I felt like I received a good education. I believe that Gainesville schools are part of PWC school district (where I attended). How would you say Fairfax CPS compare? I'm just wondering if it will all be worth the commute in the end, or if we should suck up the paycut and work more locally. For anyone who works in any of the school districts in NoVa, what are the benefits like?

Also, if anyone has any insight into this said "hiring freeze" and if positions for school psychologists are actually attainable, please fill me in. Any information about Gainesville in general is welcomed...we'd appreciate any feedback that would help us decide what would be better for us in the end.

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by Fern435

Tone509--I just promoted northern Virginia!

Great job! You get the Gold Star for today!

[Tone509]

Generally speaking, Fairfax County schools are seen as the "best" in NOVA these days - if not also one of the "best" in the country - with Loudoun running a close second. Obviously PWC schools did very well by you although the district isn't held in quite as high regard on this forum.

You are correct that Gainesville/Bristow/Haymarket has become a popular destination for families looking for affordable SFHs. The trade-off will definitely be the commute.

[Fern435]

Originally Posted by Tone509

Great job! You get the Gold Star for today!

Aw, shucks!

[statecollege]

You should give serious consideration to the impact of your commute. The quality of life issues you judge here over NYC could be mitigated some or greatly if you spend excessive time and money in a slow commute (e.g., I-66 east in the a.m. and west in the p.m.). On the other hand, living closer in virtually eliminates a decent home for $300k, unless you are looking for a condo (however, don't forget the condo fees). Maybe you can find a townhouse in that range.

As for a green home, forget it. You would have to have one custom built--way out of your affordability. You can, however, do your part for the environment in other ways when moving into a non-green home. Here are some things, for example that I do:
- Compost organic kitchen scraps and minimize/eliminate what goes through the sink disposal.
- Eliminate/minimize chemical application on the lawn.
- Use manual tools over gasoline powered (e.g., push mower, hand edger, electric blower).
- Recycle almost everything (e.g., paper, cardboard, metal, bottles, cans).
- Grow a garden for many vegetables.
- Remodel with green materials to the extent possible (e.g., low VOC paint, Marmoleum (linoleum tiles) floors, low-flush toilets).

Although not possible for everyone, try to survive on one salary. Once you have kids, your quality of life will decrease some with the trips to and from day care and the added stress of getting there on time through traffic and making dinner on short time.

I am not sure how the two school systems compare, but I know Fairfax is rated well, and I suspect PW is very good, also. My advice is that a lower salary in the PW system is balanced by your ability to live in that county in a nice home that you can afford and --high on the list--reduce your commuting negatives considerably (which, by the way, makes you "greener!").

Sorry, but I am not knowledgeable on any hiring freeze or other teacher-related matters.

I live in Fairfax Co., and real estate taxes are pretty high. I pay about $4.5k annually for a home the county assesses at $437k.

Finally, should you make the move to NoVA you would be buying at perhaps the best time you may ever have here. Home values have decreased significantly, and mortgage rates are attractive. If you shop hard, you might be able to negotiate yourselves into a home that meets your needs at a very affordable price.

Good luck.

[leh0405]

Based on everyone's responses, I can see that my concern (traffic) is a big one. I do know how horrendous it is from growing up in the area, but I've never lived in Gainesville, so it is hard to know the traffic on 66, which I thought was relatively better than 95 (I guess no matter which way you look at it, the traffic is awful). This has been very helpful, because I'm wondering if, rather than living all the way out in Gainesville and commuting to Fairfax, I should look into Leesburg or other places in Loudon Co., and then either work in Loudon Co. or Fairfax Co. schools. (Im assuming the local commute if living and working in Loudon Co. wouldn't be an issue, but what about living in Loudon CO. and commuting to Fairfax schools? Aren't they counties that are right next to each other?)
So, I guess I'll take this thread in a bit of different direction and ask about Loudon Co. now. My parents say great things about this area, i.e., that it is booming and that it is very pretty. Any advice on that area? Would this at least help the commute issue?

[michgc]

Your commute from Loudoun to Fairfax would depend a lot on where you live in Loudoun and where you commute to in Fairfax. A Leesburg to Great Falls commute would not be ideal, but a Sterling to Herndon commute would be fine. So, I think a lot depends on how choosy you can be when picking a job, and that I have no idea about. I know when a friend of mine who worked at a school in Centreville got married and moved to Maryland she was able to switch schools to a Great Falls school to be closer to her home, but I don't know how easy that really is to do. Lots of nice places to live in Loudoun, though. I'll let others comment on that since I don't live there.