Another person looking to move and needs advice...how bad is Woodbridge REALLY??? (Arlington: apartment complex)

[lesha79]

Alright so learning from the previous posts, I will start off with...

I will be working in D.C, my boyfriend can work anywhere but he prefers to stay with Firestone and I already checked and there is one in Woodbridge

I want to RENT and can only spend about $1100 a month for an apartment and it SEEMS like Woodbridge is a little cheaper of an area but that might be a BAD thing
I can commute for up to an hour to work
No Kids
I just want a SAFE neighborhood really. Not too picky as to where as far as suburbia or city living
It's important that there are basic stores around, grocery stores and some restaurants.
I DO run, so a place where I wouldn't have to be packing heat in the morning would be good
And I prefer cake over pie

These are the basics. I've been looking online and it seems Woodbridge looks like the best bet as far as my price range and location to my boyfriend's work. The one thing I worry about is I don't want to live within my price range and then suffer with a feeling of safety.

Can anyone possibly recommend a good area in woodbridge or even better a good apartment complex?
I would very much appreciate the help. Many thanks ahead of time

[dullnboring]

Honestly, a commute from Woodbridge to DC could very well regularly take over an hour. Traffic is hell coming up 95. I have no firsthand experience with the VRE from that direction, but I would imagine it would be at least a bit less stressful and maybe shave a few minutes off the commute (maybe), but it may not be cost effective.

At $1100/month for a one-bedroom, you could find a good number of places throughout the DC area. Woodbridge is a bit cheaper than locations closer in for obvious reasons so $1100 will go a bit further there, but I think $1100 could buy you a nicer place in a nicer area with more amenities around, closer in towards DC, and with less of a commute on your end. Not to mention, if you move closer in to DC, your boyfriend would still be doing a reverse commute, so it wouldn't be near as bad for him as it would be for you.

I think you may want to check the areas around Newington, Kingstowne and West Springfield, all within Fairfax County. All are safe communities, most complexes and homes are new-ish, all are very suburban in character and they are located anywhere from 1o-20 miles closer in towards DC and will ease commute via highways and you will also be closer to Metro (Franconia/Springfield). I can't recommend specific complexes in the area but it's less of a crapshoot and you're less likely to blindly pick a shady complex in these areas than you would be in Woodbridge.

If you're set on Woodbridge, it's generally a safe community. It's a bit more rundown and grungy than most of Northern Virginia and has some areas (largely apartment complexes and a few rundown townhouse developments) that are a bit shady, but none that I would really call dangerous. It's not quite as visually appealing either, lots of older strip malls, auto body shops, and the like alongside the traffic-clogged roads, but it's improving and has plenty of nice areas. While higher crime there than perhaps in the communities that I recommended, the crime is more of the petty sort, things like petty thefts and vandalism as opposed to armed robberies and murders. You always have to be mindful of your surroundings, especially at night, but I'd recommend that for anyone in almost any metro area; but your actual likelihood of being a victim of crime is very low, especially if you steer towards better (unfortunately, usually more expensive) apartment complexes. Again, I'm not knowledgeable enough on Woodbridge to recommend specific complexes so I'll leave that to someone else, but my general impression is that it's best to be away from the Route 1 area.

[Dorothy1960]

For the most part I agree with Dullnboring... BUT

Try looking around Lake Ridge - maybe you can rent a small condo for $1100. Lake Ridge is a section in Woodbridge, newer & nicer. I work in that area, and it is very nice & safe. Not near Rt 1... stay away from anything on/close by Rt. 1. (Jefferson Davis Hwy.) Lots of rental properties availabe b/c there is a big military/gov't worker presence there. Folks always coming & going.
You might also look at Occoquan.

You're going to be spending alot of time in the car to drive to DC from Woodbridge, probably more than an hour unless you leave at the crack of dawn.

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by Dorothy1960

For the most part I agree with Dullnboring... BUT

Try looking around Lake Ridge - maybe you can rent a small condo for $1100. Lake Ridge is a section in Woodbridge, newer & nicer. I work in that area, and it is very nice & safe. Not near Rt 1... stay away from anything on/close by Rt. 1. (Jefferson Davis Hwy.) Lots of rental properties availabe b/c there is a big military/gov't worker presence there. Folks always coming & going.
You might also look at Occoquan.

You're going to be spending alot of time in the car to drive to DC from Woodbridge, probably more than an hour unless you leave at the crack of dawn.

Yep, Lake Ridge as a whole is quite nice. I sort of think of it as separate from Woodbridge, but the areas of Woodbridge closer to Lake Ridge are quite nice as well. Lake Ridge is also a tiny bit further north so may shave a few (literally, just a few) minutes off of a commute, but it generally is the nicest part of eastern Prince William County.

Woodbridge has some very nice areas, so my recommendation of moving to Fairfax County instead is based more on commuting issues than anything.

[The Dissenter]

with dull-n-boring on the commute issue that fairfax co. is better. with $1100 to burn why not check out alexandria and arlington? u could find a few nice places in these 2 cities and be even closer to DC and the commute to woodbridge would be cake since it is a reverse commute.

[Yankeesfan]

Avoid renting an apartment in Springfield zip code 22150. With the exception of one somewhat expensive apartment complex between Springfield Mall and the Franconia-Springfield Metro, they are mostly populated by low-income immigrants -- which is not inherently a bad thing, but probably not what you're looking for.

[Dorothy1960]

Check out Woodlee Terrace Apartments in Occoquan, VA -- off of Rte 123.

They are pretty nice inside, and gets you a bit further north but still close to Woodbridge.

[FatherOf2]

Originally Posted by lesha79

Alright so learning from the previous posts, I will start off with...

I will be working in D.C, my boyfriend can work anywhere but he prefers to stay with Firestone and I already checked and there is one in Woodbridge

I want to RENT and can only spend about $1100 a month for an apartment and it SEEMS like Woodbridge is a little cheaper of an area but that might be a BAD thing
I can commute for up to an hour to work
No Kids
I just want a SAFE neighborhood really. Not too picky as to where as far as suburbia or city living
It's important that there are basic stores around, grocery stores and some restaurants.
I DO run, so a place where I wouldn't have to be packing heat in the morning would be good
And I prefer cake over pie

These are the basics. I've been looking online and it seems Woodbridge looks like the best bet as far as my price range and location to my boyfriend's work. The one thing I worry about is I don't want to live within my price range and then suffer with a feeling of safety.

Can anyone possibly recommend a good area in woodbridge or even better a good apartment complex?
I would very much appreciate the help. Many thanks ahead of time

Well, best bet is in Lake Ridge, maybe Dominion Middle Ridge or something like that. But for the most part, there are smaller apartment buildings, condos or townhouses for rent, in or right above your range. Probably have to pick a few that sound good and visit them. The good thing about the place I suggested above, since you're a runner, is that there's a major park (Par 3 golf course, marina and room to run) right by it.

I would agree on avoiding Rt. 1 for the most part, but I was looking recently (just curious on prices renting vs. owning, since I own with a way-too-high mortgage) and there are nice places on Rippon Landing, which is sort of behind Rt. 1. There are also older single-family homes back there which appear nice, but apartment developments are mixed in.

I also wrote a long post on Looking for Info on Woodbridge that gives more of my opinion of Woodbridge as a whole.

Dullnboring and the others on this thread are generally on point though.

Having been in a profession where I needed to visit different neighborhoods, I can speak to specific areas if you are narrowed down to a few and don't know which to choose.

[seldomseen]

The Woodbridge/Lakeridge area is nice...but if you intend on commuting north..good luck!! traffic is going to be attrocious! Like others stated, you may a lot better off living in in Fairfax County, and or any of the other cities: Alexandria, Arlington, etc...You'll pay a little more money, but you will save yourselves alot of the commuting aggravation! Secondly, there are tons, and tons of nice places to rent, and things to do in the Fairfax county area too.