New job in Woodbridge; can you help me find a city? (Manassas: for sale, apartment)

[thebigsh]

Getting hired by PWC, but the housing sitch looks ridiculous down there. I am willing to drive up to about 45 min to work; looking to find a single family home/fixer-upper (all of the condos around there seem dated). I am assuming the farther west or south I go (further from DC) the better...is this correct? And doing a search within 20 miles of Woodbridge yielded nothing of interest to me. Are there any cities within that driving distance (45 minutes) that would suffice? Single, so locals schools not a biggie at this point. Any suggestions would really be helpful...

[ChristineVA]

What are your work times? Coming from the south, into Woodbridge at normal commute times is going to be pretty uncomfortable for you. You don't want to it. Heading to the west puts you in Bristow, Gainesville, Manassas. That will be a better commute.

[Forehead]

If you think Woodbridge is expensive, I wouldn't look one county further north.

I'm confused, you're concerned about the condos in the area being dated, but you're looking for a single-family fixer upper? If you need a single family home, why are you looking at condos at all? If you want a fixer upper but don't need a single family home, why not buy a cheaper condo closer to your job and update it. Wouldn't that kind of be the same thing?

[Oldhag1]

Around here 45 minutes of commute time will not get you as far as it does other places. The commute from points south to Woodbridge on I-95 can be the worst part of a person's commute from there to DC because of the loss of lanes, both regular and HOV. There is a VRE train that could take you from Fredericksburg to Woodbridge. The prices are much better there. Knowing the price range you are looking for would help. Believe it or not, housing in Woodbridge is considered very reasonable for the Northern Virginia (NOVA) area. Around here, average housing in Stafford and Dumfries is considered downright cheap, even though it runs over twice as much as the top of the line from where I moved. The sticker shock most people experience when looking for houses the first time around here is legendary. Also, finding housing around here, even single family homes, without HOA fees is hard.

[HokieFan]

Many of us sacrifice either the commute or housing.

Are you looking to buy or rent? What's your budget?

Originally Posted by thebigsh

And doing a search within 20 miles of Woodbridge yielded nothing of interest to me. Are there any cities within that driving distance (45 minutes) that would suffice?

20 miles will max out your 45 minute commute tolerance during rush hour times. I'm afraid if you haven't found something within a 20 mile radius, then you won't find anything within 45 minutes.

[thebigsh]

"Many of us sacrifice either the commute or housing. "

Actually, it sounds like everyone so far is saying both, no?

I can find a place to rent, so I don't need help with that, but that's not really what I want to do, and I am kinda against living in an 80's condo complex (what I see for sale online) next to everyone's retired Aunt, and paying HOA fees on top of it. Both of those options seems like flushing your money.

So, if the commute is rough, AND the housing is bad, looks like there's nothing to live for there...

[stateofnature]

Maybe in other parts of the country, only "everyone's retired Aunt" would live in an 80s condo complex, but here, because the housing prices are so high, all kinds of people live there. People that could afford huge McMansions in other parts of the country live in modest townhouses here.

You have to adjust your expectations relative to where you're moving. You wouldn't move to Manhattan and scoff at the fact that you can only find an apartment, not a single family home.

[HokieFan]

Originally Posted by thebigsh

"Many of us sacrifice either the commute or housing. "

Actually, it sounds like everyone so far is saying both, no?

Not necessarily.

Our choices were:

Buy a fixer/upper SFH (at the top of our budget, so no $$ to fix it up) or a condo with a 15 minute commute to our jobs.

Or

Buy a nicely updated and spacious townhouse with an hour commute (on a good day).

We chose the nicer house with the longer commute, and don't regret it.

Originally Posted by thebigsh

So, if the commute is rough, AND the housing is bad, looks like there's nothing to live for there...

Not everyone thrives in this area. It's not the ideal place for many.

[justtitans]

Would love to help but without knowing your budget, I don't know what to suggest. If you think PWC is expensive, you may not enjoy this area very much just to be honest.

[thebigsh]

Originally Posted by HokieFan

Not necessarily.

Our choices were:

Buy a fixer/upper SFH (at the top of our budget, so no $$ to fix it up) or a condo with a 15 minute commute to our jobs.

Or

Buy a nicely updated and spacious townhouse with an hour commute (on a good day).

We chose the nicer house with the longer commute, and don't regret it.



Not everyone thrives in this area. It's not the ideal place for many.

Wow...so with the HOA fees, and the gas for the 2 hour and 15 minute commute/day, you must be dropping a grand a month on just those two things (and that just for 1 car)! Before taxes, that about $16000 off of your salary every year, before you begin paying for anything.

Back to the topic, I guess that I thought moving an hour away from DC would yield significantly more housing choices that living in the City. I'm guessing not.

And as for the Manhattan example, go see what you can find an hour away from Manhattan. Every affordable price range available.