Austria to Va?? (Richmond, Arlington, Alexandria: insurance, condo, violent crime)

[Jennifer Parschauer]

We are Americans (originally from Long Island and then upstate NY), who have been here in Austria 10 years. We are looking at a possible move back to the US - family is in Florida, DC and PA - looked at Florida, but the skyrocketing taxes and insurance combined with bad schools are too scary. Considering Va - always loved the landscape, miss the shore, but - no offense meant - I'm a "northerner" - does the Richmond suburban area offer enough of a melting pot? I keep reading that lots of the areas outside the city are "sleepy", quiet, not much to do - where could you feel a part of a "community", with neighbors etc. After being in Europe, enough of "culture", we want nice! That is, nice, but honest, open, real. How about it - is there a town out there we'd like? Would we feel welcome, or like intruders, like we do here? Are there places for the kids to play, swim, etc.? Decent shopping, malls, outlets, but trails for my husband to jog on??! Thanks!

[templar]

I have always thought that Williamsburg, VA would be the perfect place to live.

Since I have only visited and never lived there I might not be the best to ask- but consider: A major university,a world famous attraction, numerous shopping malls and easy distance to more history and Richmond.

Hope this helps,

Yours in Christ,

Rick Eanes, M. Ed.

[ALI]

na it's really really boring there, the only reason people really kno bout it is cuz they got bush gardens there, and water country usa, that's the only reason people really go, other then colonial williamsburg for skool field trips, other then that, really borin place, countryish, and population is real low, hmmm i think the best place in va for your is woould be somewhere in northern va, it's big, so it ranges in what type of town ur lookin for, u can live in chantilly, where i live, quite place, but not borin, couple shoppin centers, malls, not countryish, mostly quite though, or if u like country u can live a little bit farther west, as far as skools fair fax county 2nd largest county in da nation, really good schools in fair fax county, and if u don't like that you could move into somewhere real populated like arlington, or alexandria, close 2 the city, but much cheaper, however, i think the best place would be centreville, va. good place 2 live, A LOT of shoppin centres, really close distance, big ones, fair oaks mall, and mannasas, realli good, movies for da kids, good skool, they got a lot of hikin trails, and it's a lot quiter then citys, but still a lot to do,......... wel nywayz, i hope that helps you, if you have any other questions, please let me kno, aight bye

[Jennifer Parschauer]

Thank you for your input regarding Williamsburg - I visited as a child and remember it well. The thought of being surrounded by history sounds so nice, espeically after being overseas - I'm looking forward to my children being more exposed to US history and culture after that job being ours exclusively as parents while here in Austria. So much we miss about being Americans. They are not well respected in Europe.

As for Ali and your comments - will also consider, except in my search for good schools, your writing is scaring me. I can appreciate humor, but if your spelling and poor grammar is a reflection of your education, then well, no, I won't be seeking Chantilly out. Sorry!

Any other input on being from up north? I do not drink sweet tea - is this a problem?!

Thanks
Jen

[Mike from back east]

Jen: Hello, hope your move back to the USA is a smooth one. We lived in Chantilly for 27 years and know all of Northern VA quite well. Chantilly is about 25 miles from the DC line via VA Rte 50 and I-66. I spent lots of time commuting to the Williamsburg area to visit Fort Eustis and to the Richmond-Petersburg area to visit Fort Lee. That whole area near Williamsburg is called "Tidewater" and I don't care for it - too flat & sandy, mostly pine trees and too far from anything else. Not as well-to-do as Northern Virginia (NOVA), although Williamsburg is getting that way as people find it nice to retire to. It's way down the peninsula there and it's a bit of a drive to get to Richmond or DC for culture, although there is one Amtrak train serving Williamsburg to DC. Richmond isn't much better, but I'm not that well versed on it. If I wanted to be down-state, I'd go way west of Richmond. That entire area is very flat, wet, hot and humid, the mosquitoes will carry you away most evenings. Sorry, but I find that area just yucky.

If you want great schools, culture, a melting pot world and a wide variety of housing styles, and great jobs, you'll only find that in NOVA.

Downside is terrible traffic every day and high housing costs, though not sure your $$ situation. A really nice single family home will cost $600K to $1M. Townhouses (TH) aren't much cheaper, unless you get a plain small basic one way outside the city. The closer to DC you go, the higher the cost goes. From Chantilly, every mile closer to DC you go, add $10k per mile to your housing costs for comparable homes.

Avoid being in DC at all costs.

Inside the beltway, most of the housing is older stuff, further out you go, the newer and nicer it gets. Many areas inside the beltway (Falls Church, Annandale, Springfield) are very ethnic melting pots, with a huge Korean / Asian influence in the Falls Church area. JEB Stuart High School brags that over 100 languages are spoke in their halls.

Some really superb older homes are in close-in N. Arlington if you can handle $1M (think CIA HQs and Congressional types, among others).

Alexandria is so crowded and old that I'd skip it, but you could go down towards Mt Vernon for some nice homes. Waterfront there is hard to find and $1M-$2M per property when you do find it.

If you go out to western Loudoun County, you can get closer to the $600k mark. If you want urban high-rise condo living, look at close-in Arlington County - near a Metro subway stop; good choices might be Ballston, Rosslyn or Crystal City. If you do move close-in, you really want to be near metro, as traffic is murder and parking is expensive. You can use your bicycle in some areas.

A good choice for the melting pot, schools, proximity to culture and great stores/shopping is Reston, VA. It has a mix of single family, TH, condo, and is the only "planned community" in NOVA. An award winner. Same cost and traffic issues, 20-25 miles west of DC. Someday the subway will go via Reston on its way to Dulles Airport, but the main routes now are the Dulles Toll Road & Greenway and Rte 7 corridor. Ashburn is further out on the same roads, in Loudoun County, whose schools are a tad less regarded than Fairfax County Schools (among the nations best). There are great bicycle paths in this area, and you can ride a bike from Reston all the way to DC if you have the legs & heart for it, or west to the foothills at Purcellville - all on the W&OD Trail. I think the Reston corridor is your best bet.

See my posting in the OTHER TOPICS section on tips and techniques for searching out the housing options via the www.

Send me any questions you may have.

s/Mike

[Jennifer Parschauer]

Well, Mike, I don't know how I could have given the impression that we had money, but umm, looking at the 200K range - not 1M. In my dreams only. Guess that changes things, huh? And we want to avoid traffic at all costs - my husband has a home office, and we'd rather it be more quiet and easier for me to get around. We live on the Austrian/Slovenian/Italian borders now and it's pretty "countrified". Our house is in a village in the mountains and the kids walk home in between farms. My sister lives in Bethesda, so we'll get plenty of time in DC without needing to live in it. I don't think we could handle the cost of NOVA.
You mentioned going west of Richmond - like towards Lynchburg? Thing is, we need an airport not too far away, and I've read that Charlottsville is getting pricy too. And like I mentioned, I'm from up north, and am a bit afraid of getting into community that, if you're not born into it, you just won't fit. We've had enough of being "outsiders". My kids speak German and read English pretty well, but will have some adjustment time for sure - is the west side "tolerant" and open to "different", or will they have no appreciation for my kid's Austrian quirks? I think they will work out in time, but initially, I'd rather teachers show an interest in how they are different, rather than them be embarassed. My husband was born and raised in an American/Canadian family in Germany for 15 years, and he always thought he was an American until they came to the US (New Hampshire) - then he was a German. I know, some parts are unavoidable but doing the best we can with the budget we have...

Anyway, thank you so much for your input and time. It's amazing how much "stock" we can put in what a "stranger" says; here we are reading and evaluating where to live based on info. from folks we don't know - welcome to the US, where people care. Have a great night.

[Mike from back east]

Jen: For $200k you'll be heading for the hills, about 150 miles from DC. Yes, over towards Lynchburg, or Roanoke (which should have an airport) and is lovely country. Also try Front Royal, Strasburg and Winchester but I'd bet they are too close to DC to be in that price range. I've no idea of the schools anywhere as never had any kids. Not sure about Blacksburg, a college town, and Lexington seemed to have some increased levels of intellectuality for some reason. Be sure to use the realtor.com website to check housing prices in any given area. I'm not a realtor nor associated with the industry in any way.

s/mike

[Faughorn]

I know western VA, so pretty! No matter where you move in the US you will always hit the "red necks" but Virginia has a very high tolerance for other cultures. With your price range you will definitly want to stay away from DC. Richmond is nasty, I wouldn't recommend that either. Winchester is nice, if it is too pricey you may want to try the Strasburg area, airports are relatively close. Roanoke/Blacksburg has an airport down south and isn't too expensive. If you are looking for historic small town USA then try Lexington. The houses are inexpensive and there are plenty of parks around. The natural bridge, Washington and Lee, and Virginia Military Institute are all there as well.

[Cindy]

Hi Jen,

Ok, I'm going to try to help. My family and I live in King William County in Virginia. We are about 40 minutes from the city of Richmond and the Richmond International Airport. We are rural living, (well within your price range) We have a major grocery store, free library, 4 public schools, County sponsored Parks & Recreation Department, home to the Pamunkey and Mattaponi Indian Tribes. We are between Tappahannock and Mechanicsville, Virginia on Route 360 in a town called Aylett, Virginia. We are between 2 hospitals within 15 minutes of us going either way. Williamsburg is about 30 minutes from us. We are a town on the river and also our county is home to the river town of West Point. We are growing in shopping opportunities for our residents with a shopping center currently under construction. We are not overcrowded nor overpopulated and we have a diversified community although we are not high volume. You would love it here if you want the best of both worlds. We are about 30 minutes from a Virginia Center Commons Mall. We have 2 medical facilities (Doctors offices) We have a Walmart in Mechanicsville (15 miles away) blockbuster video, Restaurants. But this communtity has virtually no violent crime at all. I can't tell you when the last time a murder was commited here. The last sheriff's office alert was when an elderly resident disappeared, and was found wandering down a rural county road. This community helps each other, but not at the expense of being a pain in the neck, We are all here because we want our privacy.

This truly is the best of both worlds. If I can help you with any questions, I would be honored to help you come home to the states, and we would love to have you call our fair town home.

Here is a link to the county's website. http://www.co.king-william.va.us/


AND YES..... IT'S OK THAT YOU DON'T DRINK SWEET TEA!

All the best to you,

Cindy