Commuting into downtown DC - where to live?

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by Ffxdata

A neighbor moved from condo in Fairfax City to Woodbridge. She wanted a big new home and to have a backyard for her dog.

She hates it. It’s lonely. No one walks their dogs. Her neighbors aren’t friendly. Her commute went from 30 minutes on a bad day to an hour on a good day.

She is planning to sell at a loss and move back into the condo community she left if she can afford to do so.

Woodbridge is a very big area. It sounds as if she got into a neighborhood that is just not a good fit. I'm not sure we can apply her experience to the whole of Woodbridge.

I see plenty of people walking their dogs. Heck, I'm one of them. My parents live in a townhome community within Woodbridge and my mother can't get over how many people have dogs and how much they are outside with them.

That said, you really just never know what you're getting into when you move into a neighborhood. I moved into mine over 25 years ago. It was brand new but we were one of the last houses built. We are on 1/2 acre lots, no sidewalks, very quiet. This neighborhood *never* had a thing where there were kids playing outside. In fact, over the whole 25 years I've lived here, no matter who moves in or out, there's just never been a lot of kids. As an empty nester, I love it, but when my kids were young I was really bummed out about it. I would take my kids to their friends' neighborhoods and it was so much different. I just don't know how you figure these things out.

I will say that, overall, Woodbridge is a commuting community. Lots of people driving up to DC and working so people are always work-oriented and busy and it may not have the community feel that some people are looking for. It really depends on you, though. I have other friends who live in this area and they socialize a lot, have very social neighbors, and love it. It's really the luck of the draw, I think.

Lastly, I would always recommend that if you have a choice, financially, ALWAYS go for the quicker ride to work. ALWAYS. The big house might be a tempting draw when you've been crammed for space; however, the good feeling doesn't last long and you will end up regretting it.

[Bamaman1]

When we visit the area, we always stay at Springfield-Franconia area--just south of the I-495 junction.

We take the train to downtown, and it's the end of the line. It's the only way to go.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by Bamaman1

When we visit the area, we always stay at Springfield-Franconia area--just south of the I-495 junction.

We take the train to downtown, and it's the end of the line. It's the only way to go.

In light of the current crisis, many people may re-think the public transportation option.

[phobos512]

Originally Posted by Ffxdata

A neighbor moved from condo in Fairfax City to Woodbridge. She wanted a big new home and to have a backyard for her dog.

She hates it. It’s lonely. No one walks their dogs. Her neighbors aren’t friendly. Her commute went from 30 minutes on a bad day to an hour on a good day.

She is planning to sell at a loss and move back into the condo community she left if she can afford to do so.

My wife will not entertain anything but a single family detached home. She is willing to deal with commuting. Her commute now takes 40 minutes by metro and work provided shuttle. I [used to] drive past her work everyday in seven minutes from our apartment. But shortly we'll be working at the same place.


I have had a 135 mile round trip commute since September so anything will be an improvement upon that. In her ideal world I think we'd have an island with no other inhabitants and periodic delivery of supplies. She doesn't care about neighbors. It took a lot to get her to consider living in a neighborhood. We don't expect to be making friends with neighbors or whatever. It's not a want or need for us. Our future kid(s) may drive that but maybe not.


While tolls certainly fit within our budget, I think we're going to be looking more at the Springfield/Alexandria area. We'll see what we see.