Stafford County (Virginia Beach, Fairfax, Fredericksburg: crime, how much, homes)

[Oldiebutgoodie26]

Question- is Stafford County still considered part of the mess that is Northern VA? I was looking at Fredericksburg, Falmouth, and Hartwood. Is that area like Fairfax and Loudon counties, as far as traffic, congestion, cost of living? I know that Prince William Co, is, but this is a wee bit farther south. Is it still an area that is as congested as Fairfax? I was looking at teaching there. Anyone have any information on the school system? I am always weary of a place that "desperately needs teachers". Is it b/c of growth, or are the conditions so dire- no one else wants to teach/live there?
Thank you!

[htlong]

my nephew just signed on to teach in bealton in faquier (sp.) county .it is a brand new high school and i drive through this area several times a year every year there are more traffic lights and more traffic so i would venture to say it is becomming a dc suburb.

[dullnboring]

As far as cost of living goes, the areas you're looking to live in Stafford County are significantly cheaper than the exorbitant prices of homes and such in the rest of Northern Virginia. As far as traffic congestion goes, while currently nowhere near the seemingly perma-gridlock state of Fairfax County, I'm hesitant to praise it as some traffic-free utopia both because the county is growing at a mile a minute so the traffic is bound to get worse, and it will probably happen quite fast and the roads and other amenities will be overburdened as people in this area (and probably many others in the US) seem to think that if they just ignore the increasing population and do nothing to change, that everyone will magically disappear. It's not until years down the line when service are stretched to their max and roads are clogged 24/7 that they finally start to take action, thereby seemingly always remaining 10-20 years behind the times. At the moment however, traffic in Stafford can get heavy, particularly going North on 95 or any other major road, but it's not the crushing gridlock the rest of the area is known for. As far as schools go, I don't know a large amount about Stafford County schools. I DO know however that they're not horrible and their dire need for teachers is due to the increasing population as opposed to people not wanting to teach there. There may be other reasons such as pay (I have no clue how much they pay or how it stacks up compared to other districts) and location (exurban and semi-rural), but generally, they can't fill teaching positions in Northern Virginia fast enough due to the exponential growth, and the schools for the most part, tend to be terrific in this part of the state.

[Oldiebutgoodie26]

^
Thank you! That was exactly the kind of information I was looking for.

[jhagen]

You may want to consider living in Stafford and working in Prince William County. I understand they pay the teachers a little more there.

[beachlover1]

Hello, I live in Pennsylvania and I have 2 school age children, high school and middle school. I would love to relocate to the virginia area, I hear it's beautiful there, and the 2 areas I'm thinking of are Virginia Beach and North Stafford. Does anyone have any opinions about which city would be best? I'm looking for nice, clean and safe neighborhoods, (gang free) and good schools. Everyone says there's crime everywhere, and I know that, but there are areas that are safer and so much nicer than others! Any advice and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[onevthoki]

Oldie - To answer your original question, I would say that Stafford and Fredericksburg (to a slight extent), are considered part of northern Virginia. But as to the congestion, it is nowhere near what is closer to DC. Parts of Stafford, specifically those around the major retail areas, such as Rt. 610 in Garrisonville, are busy. And Route 3 in Spotsylvania is also bad during rush hour and the weekends. But because the area is fairly compact, it is very easy to navigate.

As to teaching, I cannot speak much for Stafford, but I have been very happy with the education my children receive in Spotsylvania schools. They have had excellent teachers, and we waited anxiously by the mailbox today to recieve their assignments for this coming year! I do feel that their need was driven by the explosive growth this area saw 3-5 years ago, at a rate of about 5%. Now the school attendance rate has leveled out at about 1.5% projected for this year. I hope this helps!