Living ? and where are 20s/30s Stay@Home Moms? (Reston: middle-class, apartments) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

VAVeg · 06-22-2011, 11:40 AM

If anyone has recalled my previous post, the hubs, babes, and I are looking for a place in NoVa that is somewhat particular but we are coming across NOTHING that is in our range.

Ultimately, our priority is to make friends. We can suck up a year of living in a one bedroom if it is in a good area. I need to be able to feel safe walking the neighborhood, hopefully meeting people, and would LOVE to be able to walk to shops, etc.

We are a vegan couple but can obviously be friends with omnis. We l-o-v-e music, food, and good beers and wine. I love vintage shopping and finds, design, photography, and my husband is a scratch golfer, surf/snowboarder, and sports (mainly baseball) lover.

I am not working now but would consider work in the next year if close to home and daycare is an option. My work history is with high end automotive dealers and retail. Basically customer service, so another reason I want to be closer to metropolitan living, more my client base.

Because I am not working, our rental budget is low - preferably under $1,500.

Any metropolitan type living areas with like-minded individuals have a large one bedroom for that price range? (One small dog as well.)

Please help. I love all the posts from my previous request but this time we ARE considering a one bedroom. Hope this opens something up for us.

PS I would also LOVE an honest, no holds barred opinion on Fredericksburg. We still haven't made our way down there.

JfromReston · 06-22-2011, 12:15 PM

You may have occupancy limit problems: many one bedroom apartments will not allow three people and a dog.

VAVeg · 06-22-2011, 12:27 PM

Ahh. Good point. Hoping den options may be available and understanding to situation. We are in a 1 with den now (just not in VA)...

Mike From NIU · 06-22-2011, 01:00 PM

VAVeg,

You need to spend some onsite time in Fredricksburg and some of the other communities that have been mentioned in your various threads. Honestly, you're going to have to compromise somewhere.

1) Woodbridge is a suburban bedroom community, with all that it entails- strip malls, outlet malls, bad rush hour traffic, and quiet daytimes. Most of the areas within a reasonable commute of Woodbridge are also bedroom communities. A positive, though, is that there are a lot of stay-at-home moms.

2) You could live in hipper, trendier, boutique areas with long commutes, but not on your budget. You're going to have to cut back somewhere and increase your rent range substantially to get a place in a neighborhood like you have described in other posts.

3) If you go down to Fredricksburg (which I don't know at all, so don't take this as a criticism of the city), forget telling yourself that you live just outside of DC and will have access to and will use all of the amenities of DC. It's too far away. You and your family will not be taking weekly or even monthly 50-mile one-way trips to various festivals on the Mall.

Now, for the good news. I have found, down in the Lake Ridge/Woodbridge, Dale City, Montlair/Dumfries area no shortage of friendly people who have all kinds of diverse interests. You and your husband would be able to find friends who will drink beer and wine, go golfing with your husband and go shopping with you. However, this won't be in an urban setting. If you can drop that requirement and be at least open to some positives of surburban living, you have a excellent shot at making friends and being happy wherever you end up. If, however, you long for a walkable town center and won't be happy without one, you're going to have to work long and hard to find a suitable arrangement. People are friendly here, but they won't want to stay friends with someone who constantly complains about what is lacking.

(Please note, I am not saying you are that type of person. However, we have seen people on these message boards who have particular ideas of where they want to live, bemoan how they can't afford to live there, and then do nothing but whine about how much they hate where they are living because it lacks all sorts of features. These people can really take over a message board.)

Good luck to you, and I hope that you find something suitable for your family.

VAVeg · 06-22-2011, 01:28 PM

Haha Thanks, Mike.

We are whole heartedly realistic about our requests but it doesn't hurt to put it out there, right? :-)

I understand your view on Fredericksburg as we are about an hour from DC now but unfortunately don't get down there as often as we'd like. Ultimately, the prospect of living down there is to basically have my husband cut his commute in half. And maybe save some money in hopes to move closer next year.

I'm glad you have some more positive things to say about areas in PWC. It's a little disheartening considering we have been verbally fed more negative opinions.

I do also want to point out that I am not completely averse to suburban living, as long as I have friends to enjoy. I do love company and hosting as well, would even prefer to going out most times.

Mike From NIU · 06-22-2011, 02:17 PM

VAVeg,

You are right- it certainly doesn't hurt to put out your dream list. At least that way, when you list desires A B C and D, you find out which communities have ABD, BC, AC, etc. and can adequately judge tradeoffs.

Since you are in MD now, it can definitely be hard to go all the way down to Fredricksburg. Perhaps over the 4th of July weekend you can take a 1-night overnight trip to explore that area in more detail. Some of the past posts in this forum might inform you where you would want to go. While it is fortunate that your husband only has to go into work a few times per week, cutting the commute time in half would be a big benefit.

As far as living in Prince William County, it is viewed as the ugly duckling of NoVA counties. As with many reputations, this is due to a mix of inferiority complexes (from certain wealthy areas that need to be the best in everything to justify astronomical prices), ignorance, outdated knowledge (PWC was a much different place 10 and 20 years ago), and yes, some truth.

There are blue collar areas in PWC and even some low-income neighborhoods. But there are also some beautiful middle-class neighborhoods and a number of million-dollar mansions. There are average schools, some slightly below-average schools, and many great schools down here (though in general, even the worst PWC schools rank well above the national average). There are chain stores galore, but there are also some nice boutiques, not to mention the whole town of Occoquan. We have health food stores and Wegmans, ethnic grocery stores and Walmart. In essence, you have a truly diverse mix of races, religions, economics, and interests.

I like PWC (I currently live in Lake Ridge), and it matters not to me one whit what others may think of it. I have a good home, nice neighbors, wonderful friends who go above and beyond, and everything I need within a 15 minute drive. My life is good. I hope wherever you end up, whether it's short-term or for a long while, you will be able to say the same about where you live.

Good luck.

hilsmom · 06-22-2011, 03:02 PM

Would you consider a condo or TH in Reston? I have a feeling you would find the types of folks you're looking for here. It is rather liberal in comparison to many other burbs. It is also walkable and family friendly.

stpickrell · 06-22-2011, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hilsmom

Would you consider a condo or TH in Reston? I have a feeling you would find the types of folks you're looking for here. It is rather liberal in comparison to many other burbs. It is also walkable and family friendly.

But is $1,500 a month for a 1BR and 3 people/a dog possible in Reston?

I'd certainly take a look at Fredericksburg. I didn't see where your hubby works, but Winchester City and Leesburg (around the downtown) may be worth a look if they make sense commute-wise.

hilsmom · 06-22-2011, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stpickrell

But is $1,500 a month for a 1BR and 3 people/a dog possible in Reston?

I'd certainly take a look at Fredericksburg. I didn't see where your hubby works, but Winchester City and Leesburg (around the downtown) may be worth a look if they make sense commute-wise.

It absolutely is possible in Reston. 2 BR TH's in my neighborhood with LOTS of dogs are renting for around $1600 (this would include all the Reston Association amenities like pools, parks and trails). I've seen plenty of 2 BR condos in the $1500 and under range. And we are in North Point, which is a fairly upscale part of town.

I think where your husband is working would be helpful to know.

stpickrell · 06-23-2011, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hilsmom

It absolutely is possible in Reston. 2 BR TH's in my neighborhood with LOTS of dogs are renting for around $1600 (this would include all the Reston Association amenities like pools, parks and trails). I've seen plenty of 2 BR condos in the $1500 and under range. And we are in North Point, which is a fairly upscale part of town.

I think where your husband is working would be helpful to know.

Good point, if hubby works downtown, then the extra $100 to live in Reston will absosmurfly be worth it. Plus there will be Metro access in a few years (tho that might raise the rents).