Historical, affordable D.C. suburb less than an hour commute?

[MedvedActual]

Originally Posted by khuneycu12

Thanks Christine! What about taking the VRE from Fred to Quantico? Google says the train ride is 20-25 minutes depending on which time you get on. Is this accurate? And is the station near Quantico actually within walking distance of Quantico once hubby gets off the train? Thanks!

Having taken VRE in the past from downtown Fredericksburg (there is also a station now further south in Spotsylvania, if you end up living that way) and while the train would be under 30 minutes, parking as well as getting in and especially out of the lot at the end of the workday has taken me just 30 minutes alone.


The Quantico VRE station is 'on base' although technically in Quantico town. There are shuttles going to various locations; just depends on what building/area he will be working.

[MedvedActual]

Originally Posted by khuneycu12

Thank you so much for the advice! A reverse commute sounds awesome... do you recommend any areas just north of Quantico for a young family with two small kids? I love Alexandria (my sister used to live there and I fell in love with it!) but I simply cannot justify spending that much money on a home. We COULD afford the lower priced homes there, but definitely do not WANT to. I would love to stay within a 400k budget and that's just not going to happen in Alexandria unless we live in an itty bitty condo it seems, and that's not feasible for our family of 4! (My sister was single with no kids at the time and rented a one bedroom, TINY condo for over 2k a month.... eeek!)

I would say look at Dumfries or Woodbridge as those will be better commuting and more affordable but there are a quite a few on here that know those areas much better than I, so I will leave it for them to chime in.

[kww]

Originally Posted by khuneycu12

Thanks for the input! What is your overall impression of Fredericksburg? It looks great on paper but I know actually being there can be a whole different story. What catches my interest most is the town's history- but I am definitely interested in hearing ALL the pros and cons. Would the commute from Fredericksburg to Quantico or Belvoir be feasible? What amount of time are we talking? Thanks again!

I like Fredericksburg, but as others have said, it mainly has a suburban feel, with just a small area of the historic nature. F'burg to quantico is manageable, but Belvoir is another animal , as it's a good bit still up the highway.

As also mentioned by others, Montclair is a viable option (minus the historic requirement), as it's very close (reverse commute) to quantico, and close to the highway (and a commuter lot) in the event that going North is required.

[kww]

Originally Posted by khuneycu12

Thank you so much for the advice! A reverse commute sounds awesome... do you recommend any areas just north of Quantico for a young family with two small kids? I love Alexandria (my sister used to live there and I fell in love with it!) but I simply cannot justify spending that much money on a home. We COULD afford the lower priced homes there, but definitely do not WANT to. I would love to stay within a 400k budget and that's just not going to happen in Alexandria unless we live in an itty bitty condo it seems, and that's not feasible for our family of 4! (My sister was single with no kids at the time and rented a one bedroom, TINY condo for over 2k a month.... eeek!)

Absolutely Montclair. You'd be looking at townhomes for the most part (although currently there a couple detached in the mid-upper 300's), but there are walking paths that follow the golf course, a lake with beach, pool etc.