How bad is the crime in Woodbridge really???? (Arlington, Dale City: new home, middle schools)

[prettypass2000]

It's not a nice place to raise a family. The last straw that made us move from that area was the hostage situation right next to my children' daycare in Rippon Landing. That scared me to see that situations plus police snipers hundred yards away from where my kids were. Besides, the school systems were falling apart. If we still lived up there, my kids would be home-schooled.

My husband and my best friends were born and raised there. They all have said the same thing that Woodbridge has been badly changed. We couldn't endure the traffic, the loud music from those cars around, and over-populated. The traffic on I-95 was bad, unless you commute with those buses because they can get on an HOV lanes. My husband worked in Arlington, VA and it took him 4-5 hours back and forth everyday because of the traffic [when the actual miles supposed to be just 50 miles both trip]. I am thankful that I moved out of that area.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by Symbolic

Easiest way to research on your own is to just spend an hour or so going through the last 6mo to 1 yr of crimes in your area at:

Prince William County - Government / Police Department / Crime Info Center

All I did was open up each week and do a find for the zip I was interested in (22193). I then looked at the crime, being more concerned with random violence and group attacks along with property crimes.

In one hour of work I was able to ascertain that not one reported crime had occurred within 1 mile of our location in the last year.

I then simply chatted to neighbors for a bit to gauge how secure they felt.

I don't understand all the hate for Woodbridge, maybe I just have been lucky, but I have spent the last 6 months in Misty Ridge apartments (east of rt 1), and have not had a single issue. One of my neighbors too apartments down was held at gunpoint, so that is worth something. (She had left her sliding door open for a breeze late at night)

Take the time to look at the statistics -- Everybody I talk to seems to think Woodbridge is going to be built up considerably in the next 10 years or so, and as long as you make sure you research your area before you buy I think it'll turn out well.

Also as others have mentioned realize A's are closest to I95, which is considered the more dangerous areas which I agree with after looking at the crimes the last year. A good amount take place in the A's, B's, C's.

D's and E's are to the west across Dale Blvd

G's+ are across Minnieville.

For the most part people are correct -- as you go farther NW down Dale Blvd there is less crime, but there are some nice areas (F's I know of) that can be found closer to 95.

Finally I just want to say, this is NOTHING like the bad areas in Florida, Cali etc. I lived in central Maine for most my life and I feel just as safe down here as I did up there.

And to the cops, you will always see the worst parts of the city, please try to realize 99% of the time when you aren't called its a nice place to be.

TLDR; research at Prince William County - Government / Police Department / Crime Info Center . A's are on 95, G's across Minnieville, usually safer farther you go down Dale Blvd NW.

First time I've ever seen this post so I'll only address the part in bold. Your statement is wrong. As a PWC officer I was called to every part of Woodbridge but of course the majority of calls for service were in the bad areas. But bad areas can spill over and even the nice areas generated calls for service. Woodbridge has some nicer areas but I'm afraid it is still Woodbridge. I know every street in PWC and until I can move from this area it is the west end of the county that, to me, is a more desirable area to live.

[HokieFan]

Originally Posted by prettypass2000

My husband worked in Arlington, VA and it took him 4-5 hours back and forth everyday because of the traffic [when the actual miles supposed to be just 50 miles both trip]

IMO, this is not a typical commute time from Woodbridge. My commute is also 50 miles round trip and I'm on the road about 2 hours a day - maybe 2 hours and 15 minutes (and this is in the main lanes - not HOV).

The only instances my commute time is longer than an hour each way is if there is an accident on 95. I have been making this commute for a year and a half and I've only run into this situation 4 or 5 times.

[Mike From NIU]

Originally Posted by prettypass2000

My husband and my best friends were born and raised there. They all have said the same thing that Woodbridge has been badly changed. We couldn't endure the traffic, the loud music from those cars around, and over-populated. The traffic on I-95 was bad, unless you commute with those buses because they can get on an HOV lanes. My husband worked in Arlington, VA and it took him 4-5 hours back and forth everyday because of the traffic [when the actual miles supposed to be just 50 miles both trip]. I am thankful that I moved out of that area.

Sorry, I don't buy this. First, if PWC is loud and congested, where did the poster move that is closer to Arlington, less crowded, less congested, and quieter? Sure, there are individual neighborhoods throughout Woodbridge, Fairfax, Arlington, etc. that are quiet and sparsely populated, but crowded and loud is the norm for NoVA.

Second, as HokieFan noted, there's no way a commute to Arlington takes 4-5 hours roundtrip unless there's exceptional weather (snowmageddon) or a severe accident. Can the commute stink on particular days? Of course. 4-5 hours? Only if you are driving like Miss Daisy.

Woodbridge doesn't have to be everyone's cup of tea. But there's no need to make up stories, and I am very skeptical of a first-time poster's input on any area.

[HokieFan]

Originally Posted by Mike From NIU

First, if PWC is loud and congested, where did the poster move that is closer to Arlington, less crowded, less congested, and quieter?

If you were to add in that the housing cost was equal to PWC, this would be nirvana! Where is this heavenly place? Sign me up!

[Cardiff Kook]

good old hoodbridge. you couldn't pay me to live there

[oneasterisk]

PrettyPass didn't say they moved closer to Arlington, just that they moved out of the area of Woodbridge. So they could have moved out of the county, or out of state, heck even out of the country.

No clue how this factual this site is, but check out the numbers: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

To me, the only figure that stands out is property crime. It shows higher than the Va median, and slightly higher than the national median. I'm sure the west end of the county has lower crime, as it is also less densely packed than the eastern end.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by GMUAlum08

good old hoodbridge. you couldn't pay me to live there

With a few exceptions this name is unfair and unfounded. Neighborhoods like Bayvue and Longview certainly stand out but there are still some good areas in Woodbridge.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

With a few exceptions this name is unfair and unfounded. Neighborhoods like Bayvue and Longview certainly stand out but there are still some good areas in Woodbridge.

A lot of people have good things to say about Lake Ridge. We used to live in the 22192 zip code and didn't feel it was bad at all.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by tgbwc

A lot of people have good things to say about Lake Ridge. We used to live in the 22192 zip code and didn't feel it was bad at all.

We had plenty of calls for service in Lake Ridge to include some SWAT type of calls but LR is also a huge area. For the most part it is nice and quiet. Much of LR calls for service involved juveniles.