Looking for info on Woodbridge (Arlington, Alexandria: 2009, apartment complex, high crime)

[MovefromFla]

Originally Posted by Perry Putnam

If you plan on living in NoVa for any period of time forget Woodbridge and check out places in Fauquier county. It's beautiful and has a lot to offer. The commute to Springfield isn't all that bad when you consider what you get in return.

Perry, if I leave in Woodbridge, near Lake Ridge or not Dale City at all, would it be considered a safe area for a family.
A number of you have given me information on Woodbridge, which has been very helpful. However, what if one does not live near or in Dale City, is it considered a safe area?
Thanks

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by Jazzygrl

My husband and I will be moving to VA from MD this January. We are in our late 20's, no kids (yet), two dogs. My husband will be working in Springfield. I have been researching different areas for a couple months now. It seems that Woodbridge isn't too far from where my husband will be working (not sure about traffic). Prices of homes are a bit less and I like the Potomac Club community. BUT I am sure there is a reason Woodbridge is a bit less. Please let me know what you think of the area. Is this an up and coming area? We will probably rent first but I would like to get into another home asap.

The two predominant knocks on Woodbridge is 1) the potentially horrible commute times, and 2) the sub-par high schools. Truth is, though, Woodbridge is three separate zip codes with three *very* different feels. 22191 is Woodbridge "proper" and is largely East of I-95. 22191 is pretty sketchy in most places, and I can't think of a school that falls in 22191 where I'd want to send my kids. There's a fair amount of gang activity there. 22192 is considered "Lake Ridge" although it has a Woodbridge postal mailing address, and is a very nice place to live with nice schools, generally. There's some gang activity but no more than you'd find living anywhere else in NoVA. 22193 is considered "Dale City" and is somewhere in between the descriptions for the other two zip codes, though probably closer to 22191.

My recommendation would be to reserve your housing searches to 22192, and to look seriously at public transportation. The drive from Woodbridge (any of the zip codes) to Springfield as a single passenger car driver is at least an hour, each way.

PRTC Omniride is one avenue you'd want to consider - web site is Prince William-Metro Direct AM Schedule and OmniRide and Metro Direct Schedules/06.

Brian

[jaywallace]

Originally Posted by Andrewhutchinson2

Father of 2, thank you so much for your input. This is Andrew's wife writing. Your information sold us. We are two professionals also originally from Massachusetts (we had moved to Florida to sample warm weather) and I think we would fit in well with Nova. As far as not having Main Street or downtown in Woodbridge, I am fine with that because as your email indicated, there is history nearby.

We do have family in Alexandria and Lorton but they purchased their homes many years ago and paid a much more reasonable price than today's market price.

Although it may be a bit of a drive to visit them, we love the suburban lifestyle that Woodbridge seems to offer.
You have sold us on Lake Ridge/Woodbridge. Thanks for your detailed input.

By the way, are there any particular areas we should avoid in Woodbridge/Lake Ridge area?

Don't let fatherof2's liberal rant fool you, I grew up in Woodbridge and am now a police officer (for 10 years) in the Prince William County area. Woodbridge (not Lake Ridge) on Rt.1 is a MESS. The illegals have taken over and the schools are filled with gangs. Not a nice place to raise your family. Take your change driving on Rt.1 when the bars let out and the illegals are crashing into everybody and driving away because they have no insurance. It's got nothing to do with being a "closet racist", the truth is the truth. Go to Woodbridge near Marumsco Plaza and find out for yourself. Good luck.....

If you like Prince William i would advise going West to the Gainseville area or Bristow. Much less crime and the schools are MUCH better.

[jaywallace]

Originally Posted by MovefromFla

Perry, if I leave in Woodbridge, near Lake Ridge or not Dale City at all, would it be considered a safe area for a family.
A number of you have given me information on Woodbridge, which has been very helpful. However, what if one does not live near or in Dale City, is it considered a safe area?
Thanks

Dale City isn't the best place to live. Westridge or the the Springwoods areas in Lake Ridge are nice. Otherwise, go west to Bristow, Nokesville, or Gainesville. Trust me, stay away from anything off of Rt1 (woodbridge or dumfries). The only nice place in Dumfries is Montclair. But your kids go to school with the nuckleheads from the other bad parts. Good luck.

[jaywallace]

Originally Posted by knopfler

The two predominant knocks on Woodbridge is 1) the potentially horrible commute times, and 2) the sub-par high schools. Truth is, though, Woodbridge is three separate zip codes with three *very* different feels. 22191 is Woodbridge "proper" and is largely East of I-95. 22191 is pretty sketchy in most places, and I can't think of a school that falls in 22191 where I'd want to send my kids. There's a fair amount of gang activity there. 22192 is considered "Lake Ridge" although it has a Woodbridge postal mailing address, and is a very nice place to live with nice schools, generally. There's some gang activity but no more than you'd find living anywhere else in NoVA. 22193 is considered "Dale City" and is somewhere in between the descriptions for the other two zip codes, though probably closer to 22191.

My recommendation would be to reserve your housing searches to 22192, and to look seriously at public transportation. The drive from Woodbridge (any of the zip codes) to Springfield as a single passenger car driver is at least an hour, each way.

PRTC Omniride is one avenue you'd want to consider - web site is Prince William-Metro Direct AM Schedule and OmniRide and Metro Direct Schedules/06.

Brian

This poster hit the nail on the head.

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by nitrovic

This poster hit the nail on the head.

Thanks! And from a liberal, no less! *chuckle*

[MovefromFla]

Originally Posted by nitrovic

Don't let fatherof2's liberal rant fool you, I grew up in Woodbridge and am now a police officer (for 10 years) in the Prince William County area. Woodbridge (not Lake Ridge) on Rt.1 is a MESS. The illegals have taken over and the schools are filled with gangs. Not a nice place to raise your family. Take your change driving on Rt.1 when the bars let out and the illegals are crashing into everybody and driving away because they have no insurance. It's got nothing to do with being a "closet racist", the truth is the truth. Go to Woodbridge near Marumsco Plaza and find out for yourself. Good luck.....

If you like Prince William i would advise going West to the Gainseville area or Bristow. Much less crime and the schools are MUCH better.

Thank you so much for sending me that information. We visited Woodbridge and Dale City and hated it. We would not be happy living there with a 4 year old son.
However, we loved Lake Ridge, we really, really loved it. It seemed very family oriented, etc. Is Lake Ridge safe? We have a 4 year old son and we really need to be in a safe place. Thank you so much, Officer. This was soo helpful..
Please help us... We are thinking of purchasing in Lake Ridge. Is it too close to Woodbridge to be considered safe? That is my biggest concern. I am afraid that Lake Ridge will have the crime from Woodbridge and Dale city spill over because of its close proximity to the Woodbridge and Dale City areas. In addition, we would like to use Route 1 to commute to Lake Ridge from D.C., and Alexandria when we do not want to jump on I-95.
Is Route 1 from Alexandria to Lake Ridge a safe commutte?
Thank you so much for all of your help in this.


Thanks again for all of your help in this.

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by MovefromFla

Thank you so much for sending me that information. We visited Woodbridge and Dale City and hated it. We would not be happy living there with a 4 year old son.
However, we loved Lake Ridge, we really, really loved it. It seemed very family oriented, etc. Is Lake Ridge safe? We have a 4 year old son and we really need to be in a safe place. Thank you so much, Officer. This was soo helpful..
Please help us... We are thinking of purchasing in Lake Ridge. Is it too close to Woodbridge to be considered safe? That is my biggest concern. I am afraid that Lake Ridge will have the crime from Woodbridge and Dale city spill over because of its close proximity to the Woodbridge and Dale City areas. In addition, we would like to use Route 1 to commute to Lake Ridge from D.C., and Alexandria when we do not want to jump on I-95.
Is Route 1 from Alexandria to Lake Ridge a safe commutte?
Thank you so much for all of your help in this.


Thanks again for all of your help in this.

Lake Ridge is as safe as NoVA gets - you'll be fine there. Lake Ridge has been fairly insulated from Woodbridge proper for some time now; I don't anticipate that changing.

I'll reiterate that you really, really should look into public transportation options if you're trying to get from Lake Ridge to Alexandria. Otherwise you're looking at over an hour each way, easy. My perception is that you'll reconsider using Route 1 as a commuter route and stick to I-95, but you're quite welcome to give it a try.

Safety of the commute should not be an issue, though.

[MovefromFla]

Thank you so much!

[Tish Thompson]

Route 1 traffic is an absolute nightmare no matter what time of day you're on it.

I guess you're interested in new construction??? I don't know if DR Horton has any lots in Potomac Club, if so, tread lightly. A client of mine moved in there and they know nothing about customer service. Even though it's new construction, you can have the property inspected...you want to be sure the work is up to par. My client wasn't allowed to have the inspection until 2 hours before settlement, and the inspector said that the house should never have been cleared to close. DR Horton told us that if we didn't show up at settlement, there would be a 3% penalty, as far as they were concerned the house was ready for settlement. My client settled and gave the home inspection results to DR Horton. They gave her contact numbers for the contractors who built the homes. Lo and behold, none of the contractors my client called had ever done any work in that neighborhood. It's been a little over two months since we went to settlement and the home inspection items still haven't been addressed.