Living in Fredericksburg (Washington: home search, university, versus)

[Traveler2320]

I am thinking about moving to Fredericksburg. I am a middle-aged woman with a dog, so I need a fenced yard, but I don't need to worry about commuting. I'm thinking about living in the city versus a suburb.

What areas of the city should I focus on and avoid from a safety standpoint?

[EricD]

Mayfield and the Fall Hill area are prettymuch the ghetto's. If you're looking to stay in the city, then you should stay within the triangle created by Rt 3 (the main east-west road), Rt. 1 (the main north-south road), and the Rapahannock river (I'm sure I spelled that wrong, but whatever). The area closer to where Rt. 3 and Rt. 1 intersect is mostly college town (University of Mary Washington). The area to the north within the tri-angle is slightly ghetto, but some people are renovating homes there, so I personally think it's only a matter of time before that area turns around... but for now it's not that great of an area. The south-east point of the tri-angle is train country... it's a fairly nice area, but with the train station right there, it wouldn't be my top pick (but it's a better area than what I have listed)

Ok, now that I've definately narrowed things down, I'll give you some more roads to judge by. If you stick between Washington Ave. on the west, Pitt St. on the north, Princess Ann to the east, and Amelia to the south... you'll generally be in the nicest area of downtown Fredericksburg. Now, homes within that area are extremely beautifull, old homes... and you'll be paying for it. But it's definately worth looking at if you can afford over $500-600k.

If you're budget is under 1/2 a million, I would stick to the sub-urbs. Anything in the 400's or 300's is probably a renovated home in a scetchy area.

Check out Fredericksburg.com for your home searching, it's a pretty good website, and it's also the local paper's website.

[Traveler2320]

Eric - thank you so much for your quick and informative response. I have a map of the city, and your very precise information will be a great help.