Relocating to Alexandria, VA (Old Town) (Hampton, Dale City: for sale, real estate, apartment)

[Vilynn]

Hello. My husband has been offered a promotion with his company and we are considering relocating. The job is in Old Town Alexandria. We would like to find something within a half hour drive of Old Town. We are a family of 4. My husband and I are in our late 30's and our boys are ages 6 and 8 and we have a dog. We are looking for good schools, safe and friendly neighborhood, easy access to DC. We currently live in Chicago and have a 3 bed, 2 bath single family home with a nice size yard. We would be looking for something similar near Old Town. We are thinking of renting before we buy to make sure we like the area. Would love some advice on good cities/neighborhoods for us. Our budget would put $300K home in high range of our budget.
Thanks!

[spencgr]

You may want to move oyur post ot the Northern virginia sub-forum. Unfortunately, I don't think that budget will find you what you are looking for within 30 minutes of Old Town. You'll need to commute longer or opt for a smaller townhouse or condo.

[Vilynn]

Sorry, this is my first post on this site. How do I get to "sub-forum"s?

[robbobobbo]

You probably will be limited to a townhouse unless you either move further out or choose a less-desirable neighborhood.

Check zipcode 22310 for listings, it will mostly be townhouses. For a detached house, look at Prince William County east, like Woodbridge, Dale City, Lake Ridge. Others can tell you better than I what the better neighborhoods there are, and if and by how much you'd exceed a 30 minute trip time to Old Town.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by Vilynn

Sorry, this is my first post on this site. How do I get to "sub-forum"s?

At the top of the forum, the sub-forums are listed (Charlottesville, Hampton Roads, etc). Just click on Northern Virginia, and you are there....

[shoes426]

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[ersatz]

If you don't know the area, you are very wise to rent first as you suggested. There are a number of more specialized local realty sites, but I recommend Zillow - Real Estate, Homes for Sale, Recent Sales, Apartment Rentals as a quick and easy first screener. You can choose to look either at For Sale or For Rent sites.

22310, 22315, 22307, 22306 all have rentals that may suit you and may have homes to consider as well. For example, 5538 Edgemont Dr, Alexandria, VA 22310 MLS# fx7818066 - Zillow.

22303, 22304, 22311, 22312 have have clusters of nice neighborhoods interspersed with not so nice neighborhoods. A 30 minute commute into Old Town may be pushing it due to workday traffic patterns from the last two zips though.

Zips north of Old Town are likely either too urban or too pricey for your needs. If a particular neighborhood looks good to you, click on the Northern Virginia link at the top of the forum page as spencgr suggested and post your questions there. Also, use the expanded City-Data features to also look at neighborhood demographics. To do that, click on the City-Data.com logo at the top left of the page. Feed the zipcode into the search box on the middle of the page that you find. There will be a wealth of demographic info displayed. Keep going down the page to find the area listing neighborhoods. The neighborhoods have their own hyperlinks that allow you to drill down in much more detail for your target area.

Also keep in mind that if a particular rental or sale looks really good, it goes really fast!