Why is Stafford such a dirty word?? (Arlington, Alexandria: house, school)

[ajzjmsmom]

Originally Posted by dc032873

Stafford has some really beautiful homes on wooded acre lots. The stores are very clean and abundant. I lived there for about 3 years and can say that I think I prefer it over Prince William County.

P.S. - I have never seen an illegal immigrant problem in Stafford. At least not in comparison to Woodbridge or Manassas

I agree with this statement.

[sportsterjohn]

I am also thinking of Stafford. Doesn't the VRE go all the way into the city and it seems that there alot of van pools. my current commute from Herndon via the Dulles express bus is almost an hour. It shouldn't be any worse from doen there.

[ajzjmsmom]

I think the VRE goes into Union Station, my husband works downtown DC and he takes the commuter bus in, he leaves Stafford at 5:15 in the morning and gets into DC alittle after 6. In the evening, it is usually about 1 hour and 20 minutes. He does however go in pretty early so not to sure if the commute might be alittle longer the later it is. The only drawback is that the buses here do not run as often as the buses that serve Woodbridge.

Slugging is really huge here, I have been picking him up at the commuter lot in the evenings and there are tons of people dropping of their riders.

The only thing I have heard about the VRE is that it is not always reliable, but this is just what I have heard so no personal knowledge of it.

We really like living in Stafford, but then again we have always lived in smaller towns.

[MIAMID9]

I am a student in Stafford and have lived here for the past three years. The reason we moved here was cause my parents work up in DC. Yes, traffic sucks here (but it does everywhere in NoVA) but there are many options getting to the city, from the VRE, slug lines, busses, or the HOV lanes, you at least have options. There are plenty of stores and restaurants to hang out at, and your only 15 miles away from Woodbridge of F'burg. One thing that has me confused is the southern accent, since living here, I have really never heard it in or around the county or at my school. Most of the people here work in DC and came from places like NY,NJ,CA, and also from around the world. Yes there are trees here, but also a lot of subdivisions and stores. We are defiantly not as big as Arlington/Alexandria, but we are also not some trashy area either. There are a lot of nice homes as well, the next time you go to stafford, get off 95 and actually see what this place really looks like, you might be shocked!

[Nancy in Nokomis]

I live in Fairfax and would love in Stafford if my husband could stand the commute - it looked nice to me - huge homes on huge lots, good schools, friendlier people - nothing trashy about it

[ajzjmsmom]

Originally Posted by MIAMID9

I am a student in Stafford and have lived here for the past three years. The reason we moved here was cause my parents work up in DC. Yes, traffic sucks here (but it does everywhere in NoVA) but there are many options getting to the city, from the VRE, slug lines, busses, or the HOV lanes, you at least have options. There are plenty of stores and restaurants to hang out at, and your only 15 miles away from Woodbridge of F'burg. One thing that has me confused is the southern accent, since living here, I have really never heard it in or around the county or at my school. Most of the people here work in DC and came from places like NY,NJ,CA, and also from around the world. Yes there are trees here, but also a lot of subdivisions and stores. We are defiantly not as big as Arlington/Alexandria, but we are also not some trashy area either. There are a lot of nice homes as well, the next time you go to stafford, get off 95 and actually see what this place really looks like, you might be shocked!

Some of the replies on here in the past have given the impression that Stafford and Fredericksburg are hick towns full of rednecks but it just isn't true, and you are correct in that you very rarely if ever hear a southern accent in the area. I have never understood the misconceptions that can be found about living in Stafford as opposed to living closer into DC, the only drawback is the commute.

[Caladium]

Looking through the photos, it looks pretty nice to me.


Stafford

[ajzjmsmom]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Looking through the photos, it looks pretty nice to me.


Stafford

Most of us who live here think so.

That's not to say there isn't days when I wish we lived closer in so my hubs could sleep alittle later in the mornings, and if he gets his promotion in the next year or so we would probably entertain moving closer in since he would probably work longer hours.

[Forehead]

My wife's sister's husband is from Stafford, and his family still lives there. It's a nice place, and I would never live there. I live in Lake Ridge now, and my morning/evening commute (D.C.) already suck away my will to live, I don't think adding more time to it is the way I want to go.

I'm moving back north. Folks up there may have a snotty attitude towards the south, but I can ignore it, or put up with it while I cut my commute in half.

[robbobobbo]

Speaking as an Alexandrian (and ex-Arlingtonian and ex-District resident), I've never perceived Stafford as being trashy or a dirty word. I and others living close in might refer to it as the "boonies" or "sticks", but that's just joking because of the distance from the metro area. I certainly don't mean boonies to mean couches and appliances on the front porch and cars on cinder blocks in the yard!

If I enjoyed suburban life and worked in Fredericksburg or points south of Lorton, I wouldn't rule Stafford out. One of my friends bought a home in Aquia Harbor, I think that's a really nice place. BUT - his job was often in Maryland! I think that is the reason for an incredulous response from an ITB'er when someone says they live in (or are moving to) Stafford - the sheer distance from home to work plus the amount of traffic to deal with (if driving).

If someone said they were moving to live and work in Stafford, I can't see why anyone would react negatively. But most people looking out there - and the reason for its development - are people who work closer to the Beltway or DC. Those of us who live close in have a hard time imagining living with the commute - but people who live farther out probably are incredulous that I live with tiny closets, tiny yard, and no entertainment room!