Woodbridge, VA - Powell's Landing Questions.... (Dale City, Lake Ridge: real estate, homes, neighborhoods)

[statecollege]

I see you made it over from the BWI board. I'm the guy that suggested you give this a try, and I'm happy to see you got great feedback. I'm curious what your budget will be for a SFH. I ask because the W. Springfield/Burke area might be something for you to look into. Most homes are 20-40 years old in a "reasonable" price range and all your requirements are met The schools are good, low crime, and a much better commute than from Woodbridge, Loudoun, or Bristow. Frankly, I wouldn't live as far out as Loudon with a job in DC if you still want to be part of DC and close-in VA unless finances forced that. You might as well live in another state. And talk about traffic, Loudoun is rapidly reaching saturation. My wife and I moved to W. Springfield from Arlington when we started raising a family over 20 years ago. I loved Arlington as a single or young married, but a townhouse wasn't ideal with kids. We have a rambler on a cul-de-sac street in ZIP 22152 with 4 BR, 3 baths, finished walk-out basement, and a huge back yard backing to woods. I think it would go in the $425-$450k range now (We paid $153k!). Bigger homes would be $500k more or less, depending on condition and other factors. Some foreclosures exist, which could be deals. Good luck, and keep us informed periodically. Many folks here like to track forum friends.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

Can you elaborate more on what you mean by "better"? Better in what way? Newer, types of people, income level, topography (more rural)? Living in Eastern PWC and having been to the western side, I'm just not sure what you mean. The eastern part (Woodbridge) is definitely more diverse and many parts are older and run-down looking. I'm just not sure, quality-of-life wise this equates to "better." I'd just like to see that quantified. I'm sure it is more crime free out there because there are no pockets of economically depressed areas that tend to draw that out, but it will get there given time.

As for Hylton and Forest Park--they used to have some of the most stellar reps in the county but both of them have gone downhill in the rankings (at least when I looked last year) and Osbourn Park had a nudge over them. I was surprised at how much Forest Park had dropped as I was considering sending my son there. I've had a few parents of student there tell me that some drug problem has "exploded" there. Not sure what that all means but it was there perception.

I think that is NoVA talk for more white and more expensive the way it gets expressed here.

[bam182]

Originally Posted by statecollege

I see you made it over from the BWI board. I'm the guy that suggested you give this a try, and I'm happy to see you got great feedback. I'm curious what your budget will be for a SFH. I ask because the W. Springfield/Burke area might be something for you to look into. Most homes are 20-40 years old in a "reasonable" price range and all your requirements are met The schools are good, low crime, and a much better commute than from Woodbridge, Loudoun, or Bristow. Frankly, I wouldn't live as far out as Loudon with a job in DC if you still want to be part of DC and close-in VA unless finances forced that. You might as well live in another state. And talk about traffic, Loudoun is rapidly reaching saturation. My wife and I moved to W. Springfield from Arlington when we started raising a family over 20 years ago. I loved Arlington as a single or young married, but a townhouse wasn't ideal with kids. We have a rambler on a cul-de-sac street in ZIP 22152 with 4 BR, 3 baths, finished walk-out basement, and a huge back yard backing to woods. I think it would go in the $425-$450k range now (We paid $153k!). Bigger homes would be $500k more or less, depending on condition and other factors. Some foreclosures exist, which could be deals. Good luck, and keep us informed periodically. Many folks here like to track forum friends.

Yeah, the folks here have been really helpful. Thanks again. My uncle lived in Springfield (Ravensworth Farms) for 20+ years and I stayed with him when I first moved to the area. It was convenient (the Metro Bus stop was a short walk from his house), and I like the area, but we're sort of interested in new construction, and with Loudon county benefitting from the Metro in the near future, as well as all the good things I've heard about the area in terms of schools, development, etc., I think that's where we're going to look. We have friends who live in Centreville and who commute every day, and really, the commute is probably the least of my concerns. We're taking a trip to Loudon on Sunday to meet with a developer - I'll be sure to keep you posted!

[bam182]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

For what it's worth, my SO's boss (whose salary is more than my SO's and mine combined) lives in some subdivision in the outskirts of Woodbridge and seems to like it fine, according to my SO. Keep in mind, though, that my SO's boss and his wife are the type who are fine with weekend dining at Chili's and like to take Carnival Cruises in coordinated head-to-toe Redskins gear and stuff like that, though.

LOL. Yeah, I like Chili's just fine in a pinch as well, but I get where you're going with that....

[elias9193]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

I think that is NoVA talk for more white and more expensive the way it gets expressed here.

I never said the word white what I meant was more affluent, there are plenty of African Americans in those areas that I spoke about that make up that areas demographics.

[elias9193]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

Can you elaborate more on what you mean by "better"? Better in what way? Newer, types of people, income level, topography (more rural)? Living in Eastern PWC and having been to the western side, I'm just not sure what you mean. The eastern part (Woodbridge) is definitely more diverse and many parts are older and run-down looking. I'm just not sure, quality-of-life wise this equates to "better." I'd just like to see that quantified. I'm sure it is more crime free out there because there are no pockets of economically depressed areas that tend to draw that out, but it will get there given time.

As for Hylton and Forest Park--they used to have some of the most stellar reps in the county but both of them have gone downhill in the rankings (at least when I looked last year) and Osbourn Park had a nudge over them. I was surprised at how much Forest Park had dropped as I was considering sending my son there. I've had a few parents of student there tell me that some drug problem has "exploded" there. Not sure what that all means but it was there perception.

What I meant by better was the income level in those areas is higher on the average but also newer Schools and Housing developments compared to those in the older parts of Woodbridge. My comments were not made to have any racial overtones whatsoever, if you live in Eastern Prince William county you know that eastern Prince William County is pretty diverse as a whole.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by elias9193

What I meant by better was the income level in those areas is higher on the average but also newer Schools and Housing developments compared to those in the older parts of Woodbridge. My comments were not made to have any racial overtones whatsoever, if you live in Eastern Prince William county you know that eastern Prince William County is pretty diverse as a whole.

Yes, it is very diverse. I don't want to sound like I have some ax to grind over western PWC but I've gotten the comment here and there that it's "better" for some reason. It's hard not to take the meaning as "we don't have any riff-raff out here." These are from personal conversations I've had. I don't necessarily equate higher income levels with better because you don't know what makes it better for someone. Based on where I work and the need for various commuting options, it just would be better out there for me. Also, if I was a non-white, I'm not sure it would be diverse enough for me. So, I guess what I'm saying is that better is a relative term and I wasn't sure where you were going with it.

[ibecowtippin]

I moved to Woodbridge in 2005, bought a townhome in 2007 and am happy with living here (we live near the county center)

We have a 13 year old that attended elementry school (Rockledge) and is now in middle school at Woodbridge middle. I asked him last night, specifically with this post in mind, if he knows anything about gangs in schools, and if he has ever been offered drugs, etc. He answered no to both. He said the 6th graders coming in writing crap on the bathroom wall, but he said they are just posers and wanna-bes. He is very happy with the schools and feels very safe there. We love the fact that WMS offers same gender classes for many of the core classes he attends, so they cater their teaching style to gender (the boys are more hands on learning, moving around, the girls are more organized). He is going to be entering high school this year and they have unbelieveable programs. He registered for the international bachelorette program that they are offering and is excited about it.

While there is crime in every city, I feel a lot safer in Woodbridge than where I came from (Nashville, TN).

[qwertman]

I'm not convinced the western PWC schools are better then the eastern on any significant scale, even the test scores (over time) don't show major variance between any of the county's high schools.

Regarding the commute, woodbridge to DC is not that bad with bus, carpooling, slugging and VRE options. Just stay away from a woodbridge to dulles corridor (tysons, reston, herndon, etc) commute.

Ashburn or whatever to DC would certainly suck, now, and for the next few years. After the metro is built out to dulles who knows. But it still wouldn't be a short commute.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by ibecowtippin

I moved to Woodbridge in 2005, bought a townhome in 2007 and am happy with living here (we live near the county center)

We have a 13 year old that attended elementry school (Rockledge) and is now in middle school at Woodbridge middle. I asked him last night, specifically with this post in mind, if he knows anything about gangs in schools, and if he has ever been offered drugs, etc. He answered no to both. He said the 6th graders coming in writing crap on the bathroom wall, but he said they are just posers and wanna-bes. He is very happy with the schools and feels very safe there. We love the fact that WMS offers same gender classes for many of the core classes he attends, so they cater their teaching style to gender (the boys are more hands on learning, moving around, the girls are more organized). He is going to be entering high school this year and they have unbelieveable programs. He registered for the international bachelorette program that they are offering and is excited about it.

While there is crime in every city, I feel a lot safer in Woodbridge than where I came from (Nashville, TN).

Although you technically live in Woodbridge I don't getr where you are in Woodbridge. You are well away from the RT 1 corridor which most people think of when they think of Woodbridge. You are in a better area but far from where the OP is talking about.