Please verify if I have this right (Schools, Neighborhood, driving, etc.) near Quantico MB (Manassas: best neighborhood, to rent) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

omw2dc · 01-17-2011, 11:47 PM

Hello Everyone,

Initially I came on here asking about areas around D.C. However, our orders have now been changed to Quantico, VA. As a result, I have been doing extensive research on this site. I would greatly appreciate any feedback you may have.

We have a family of 4 with two children (elementary school and high school). My hubby will be working at the Quantico base. We are looking to rent a home for under $2,000. From what I gather, the best neighborhood for us to be in as far as safety, schools, and commuting, etc. Looks like its the Dumfries/Montclair Rd area. The elementary schools look to be high on the scale, but not the high schools which seem to be my dilemma. Looks like Forest Park is one of the best but its in woodbridge which doesn't seem to be recommended on here.

Any other suggestions?? Thank you in advance.

ChristineVA · 01-18-2011, 05:51 AM

You could look in Stafford, although that will put your husband in with the normal commuters; however, not for a long distance.

Forest Park is a fine high school. Woodbridge High Schools are very diverse. That tends to be part of the "negative" for many people. Other than that, if that bugs you, the programs at the high schools are good as is the school itself. Montclair, IMO, is a great neighborhood.

tgbwc · 01-18-2011, 06:58 AM

Forest Park is a good high school and does have a Woodbridge address. So what? It's an address. Montclair has a Dumfries zip code and people aren't biting at the bit to move to Dumfries either. Forest Park HS is literally sandwiched between the neighborhoods of Montclair and Ashland. You can walk between the two. Spriggs Road seperates the two communities. Ashland is a nice neighborhood (we lived there for 8 years) and most of Ashland has a Manassas zip code. If you read what people say about Manassas and paint it with a broad brush, you might write it off your list too. But don't. Look at homes in the communities of both Ashland and Montclair. They are both nice and convenient to Quantico.

EricD · 01-18-2011, 08:03 AM

Just because something has a certain mailing address... doesn't mean that it is in that area. A home could be 10 miles or more from the actual town that it has an address of... meaning that it could be in a good area, even if the town itself has a bad reputation.

As another person said, don't be afraid to check out Stafford County!

Good luck on your search.

dc032873 · 01-18-2011, 08:05 AM

Check out Stafford County. Good schools, safe area and close to Quantico.

omw2dc · 01-18-2011, 05:09 PM

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I don't want to exclude anything that would be a good fit for the family. I know that you guys speak from experience and that's what we need. Its very hard trying to find a place all the way from Japan. I am sure we will figure it out...with your help ofcourse!

Regardless if I live in Stafford or Montclair, my son can go to Forest Park, is that correct? From what I remember, you can only go to the school you are zoned for. Is this not the same there?

Also, does anyone have a good realtor they would recommend we contact once we are on our way to the area?

Again, thank you everyone for your input. It is greatly appreciated!!

tgbwc · 01-18-2011, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by omw2dc

Regardless if I live in Stafford or Montclair, my son can go to Forest Park, is that correct? From what I remember, you can only go to the school you are zoned for. Is this not the same there?

Also, does anyone have a good realtor they would recommend we contact once we are on our way to the area?

Again, thank you everyone for your input. It is greatly appreciated!!

Your son can go to Forest Park IF your address is zoned for that school. Stafford is not even the same county. The communities of Ashland and most of Montclair would go to FPHS. I'm not sure if Montclair gets split or not, maybe it is all FPHS too.

omw2dc · 01-18-2011, 06:58 PM

That makes sense. Thank you for the pointers. Now I see how I have to do my searches.

ChristineVA · 01-19-2011, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by omw2dc

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I don't want to exclude anything that would be a good fit for the family. I know that you guys speak from experience and that's what we need. Its very hard trying to find a place all the way from Japan. I am sure we will figure it out...with your help ofcourse!

Regardless if I live in Stafford or Montclair, my son can go to Forest Park, is that correct? From what I remember, you can only go to the school you are zoned for. Is this not the same there?

Also, does anyone have a good realtor they would recommend we contact once we are on our way to the area?

Again, thank you everyone for your input. It is greatly appreciated!!

Your son can go to Forest Park if he lives in Prince William County and applies to their specialty program. That is the only way you can attend Forest Park if you are not living its boundaries.

ajzjmsmom · 01-19-2011, 06:15 AM

Stafford has some really good schools and alot of people who live here work at Quantico. While it doesn't offer quite as much shopping as Woodbridge does, if I am not mistaken it is only about 16 miles to Woodbridge, while only 13 miles from Fredericksburg.

One high school in particular is reputed to be excellent in Stafford and that is Colonial Forge, everyone I know who goes there sings it praises and I think even if your address is not zoned for there you can still put in to have your child attend school there. The elementary school that is zoned with Colonial Forge is Winding Creek and it also is very good.

As others have said since the job will be at Quantico, Stafford is a good option.