Moving to Rippon Landing, Woodbridge (Alexandria, Burke: short sale, real estate, apartment)

[MeaganG]

My husband and I are considering moving to Woodbridge. He will be stationed at the Pentagon but there is a commuter bus 10 minutes from the house that goes directly to the Pentagon in 25- 35 minutes. We have a housing allowance of $3000 but the condo looks nice and is only $1700. It is directly across from the VRE station in Woodbridge on Watermill Terrace in Rippon Landing. What does anyone think of the area. My husband is afraid to live in Woodbridge but I think if the area is good we should go ahead and save $1300 a month. Can any shed some light one our debate. How is that area?

FYI- No children in school

[Oldhag1]

We were told all kinds of horror stories about Woodbridge but our real estate agent convinced us to give it a look. So glad he did because we ended up buying here and love it! We in the Lake Ridge area, which isn't as convenient for commuting, because Old Bridge Road can be a bear, but it is less congested than the area you are talking about moving to. It is also considered a better area to live. You need to actually physically look at places here, because pictures on the internet can be deceiving. Someone recommended to me that we go to a place we were considering after 6 pm to check it out and it was eye opening. We ended up deciding not to buy a place we thought would be great as a result. I would caution you - you are given the high amount of BHA you are for a reason. Friends who have tried to cheap out here for the most part have said they have regretted it. Location really matters here, more than any other place we have been stationed. You'll get lower priced places by moving to Woodbridge than the same thing in Alexandria, Springfield, Burke, etc. because of commute time but that sounds too low.

[Bigfoot424]

Rippon Landing is not a ghetto or high crime area. It's got some quality of life issues more than anything else. Cars broken into and the like. Where you are talking about is a quiet area and well patrolled by PWCPD. That's a good convenient area to VRE and I believe you will enjoy living there. Also, the traffic is no worse there than anywhere else in the Woodbridge area. During rush hour it can be a PITA anywhere in PWC.

[ChristineVA]

Hi, I live in Woodbridge. Don't be afraid--no reason to be.

My father-in-law owns a townhouse in the VERY old section of Rippon Landing. In that area, I would not live. Not because I would fear for my life but it's just a very different level of economic diversity there as, say, someone who gets a $3,000 housing allowance. Not sure I'm saying that right but let me know if I'm not being clear. My FIL rents the townhouse out now and, let me tell you, he gets some interesting folks in there. My husband does a lot of work on the townhouse and has had much contact with the neighbors. That front end of Rippon Landing--we would not live there. The back end, by the VRE, the newer part is actually very nice and much different. I would rent a condo there if my goal was to have access to the VRE/public transportation.

I just wanted to point out the "entire" Rippon area so you would have an idea of it before you made a commitment.

[Novamom06]

Check out Belmont Bay on Rt 1 in Woodbridge right near the train station. Or live in Lake Ridge.

[Fundman]

I suggest Lake Ridge. There are many PRTC commuter bus and slug lots in that area. Also look at the Potomac Center development which is close to Rippon but newer.

[Oldhag1]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Rippon Landing is not a ghetto or high crime area. It's got some quality of life issues more than anything else. Cars broken into and the like. Where you are talking about is a quiet area and well patrolled by PWCPD. That's a good convenient area to VRE and I believe you will enjoy living there. Also, the traffic is no worse there than anywhere else in the Woodbridge area. During rush hour it can be a PITA anywhere in PWC.

In the area I live in, which is in Lake Ridge, cars aren't broken into (at least not enough to consider it just part of the daily routine) and PWCPD does not patrol it on a regular basis, and I suspect that is because they don't need to and it wouldn't be the best use of their resources. The quality of life issues that Bigfoot is talking about are probably not ones the OP is used to because, based on the BHA, I can guess the OP's husband's rank. Woodbridge has some great, reasonably priced housing for the area. The are also a fair number of active and retired military here and two installations, Belvoir and Quantico, are in reasonable commuting distance, along with Dumfrees Army Health Clinic. I absolutely love Woodbridge and am so glad we chose this community, but there are also places in the community I would not live if I could afford better and the OP can. I have several friends that live in Belmont Bay and like it, if being near the VRE is the goal. In this area occasionally people can stumble on a short sale or foreclosure to purchase and get a bargin but with rentals, especially in apartment, townhouse, or condo complexes, you get what you pay for.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by Oldhag1

In the area I live in, which is in Lake Ridge, cars aren't broken into (at least not enough to consider it just part of the daily routine) and PWCPD does not patrol it on a regular basis, and I suspect that is because they don't need to and it wouldn't be the best use of their resources. The quality of life issues that Bigfoot is talking about are probably not ones the OP is used to because, based on the BHA, I can guess the OP's husband's rank. Woodbridge has some great, reasonably priced housing for the area. The are also a fair number of active and retired military here and two installations, Belvoir and Quantico, are in reasonable commuting distance, along with Dumfrees Army Health Clinic. I absolutely love Woodbridge and am so glad we chose this community, but there are also places in the community I would not live if I could afford better and the OP can. I have several friends that live in Belmont Bay and like it, if being near the VRE is the goal. In this area occasionally people can stumble on a short sale or foreclosure to purchase and get a bargin but with rentals, especially in apartment, townhouse, or condo complexes, you get what you pay for.

Um. Hate to break this to you but we ran more calls for service in much of Lake Ridge then we ever did in this part of Rippon. Yes, the old section of Rippon is an area I would not want to live. But there are locations in Lake Ridge I would not live in either. Quality of life crimes happen in ALL neighborhoods. Most people are just truly clueless on what really happens while they are at work or sleeping. I would train our K9's in residential communities and we would run tracks right smack through the middle of peoples front yards late at night. In all the years I did this no one ever woke up and came out to challenge what we were doing there. I realize what reputation Woodbridge has. I've bad mouthed parts of Woodbridge myself over the years. But where the OP is talking about it is a very quiet area. Can crime occur there? Sure, just like in Lake Ridge.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Um. Hate to break this to you but we ran more calls for service in much of Lake Ridge then we ever did in this part of Rippon. Yes, the old section of Rippon is an area I would not want to live. But there are locations in Lake Ridge I would not live in either. Quality of life crimes happen in ALL neighborhoods. Most people are just truly clueless on what really happens while they are at work or sleeping. I would train our K9's in residential communities and we would run tracks right smack through the middle of peoples front yards late at night. In all the years I did this no one ever woke up and came out to challenge what we were doing there. I realize what reputation Woodbridge has. I've bad mouthed parts of Woodbridge myself over the years. But where the OP is talking about it is a very quiet area. Can crime occur there? Sure, just like in Lake Ridge.

And let's not forget what happened just two weeks ago VERY close to my house at about 9:30 at night. A man killed right in the street walking his dog but some good-for-nothing who had nothing better to do with his life than lurk around looking to steal things. This happened in an extremely quiet neighborhood that, in 18 years of living there, really never sees much action. You can just never be sure. My mother lives in Springwoods and several years ago and man who was taking a walk at some odd time was also killed.

[RoxieV]

We live at Riverside Station out on Rippon and it is super safe. People and families walking along the paths all the time. Plus we're super close to Wegmans.