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Old 05-17-2009, 07:59 PM
 
1 posts, read 2,647 times
Reputation: 13

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I been reading all the comments about living in NoVa and they don't sound inviting like for us to move to VA actually some of the comments about the safety and schools in the area have me nervous. My husband is taking a new job in Fairfax zip 22037, and we need help finding the right town/neighborhood to buy/rent a home in. I have 3 teens so I need a safe community (low crime/gangs) with good public middle/high schools. I want to find a place with a manageable commute and rental prices I have been looking but I have no idea where to start. Any suggestions will be nice
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Old 05-18-2009, 07:09 AM
 
Location: Roanoke VA
2,032 posts, read 6,887,712 times
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My suggestion is to find housing close to a Metro rail stop. From my observation commuting is a nightmare in NoVa. I don't think you have to worry about unsafe schools, gangs in the Fairfax area. Vienna is a nice area.
I have friends who live way out in Winchester VA & Fredericksburg who commute to DC(over 50-75 miles away). Unfortunately, Virginia is way behind other states in transportation options so if you are moving to NoVa be aware of the transportation issue!! Good Luck!!
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Old 05-18-2009, 02:02 PM
 
1 posts, read 2,617 times
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Hi,I am a real estate agent in Northern Virginia and would be happy to help you find a home to rent. My e-mail is jennie@mris.com.Jennie Keller Williams
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Old 05-19-2009, 01:45 PM
 
76 posts, read 384,087 times
Reputation: 39
[SIZE=2]I'm not sure where you've been getting your information about Fairfax but those negative comments are pretty much wrong. If you think high cost of living and traffic is negative, then I would agree with you. But to say Fairfax is crime and the school system sucks is way overboard. Fairfax county is way safer than any parts of the country to include all of Houston. Its school system is top rated. You can send you kid to a lower performing school district in Fairfax and it will still outperform the best school districts in Houston and all of its surrounding districts. For a county of over 1 million resident, crime rate here is very low to non-exist especially when you're talking about homicide or even robberies. Fairfax has one of the highest concentration of college grads, has the highest medium income in the US (it is the richest county in the America), and the business climate here is very dynamic and is the envy of the world. Just don't take my word. Do some research and I guarantee you that those who posted negative comments about Fairfax have no idea what this place is about. The usual conclusion I've come up with is that they are jealous of Northern Virginia because their area cant match the quality of life that Fairfax has to offer. Just Google Fairfax, read Forbes/Money/Inc/Wall Street Journal, etc etc. The answers are there. Just don’t take my words. Ask them to provide some stats and ask them to compare it to the area they live in.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2][/SIZE]
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Old 06-20-2009, 01:09 PM
 
3 posts, read 7,052 times
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We are in a unique situation that my husband has a choice of working out of Fairfax, Alexandria, Rockville, or Capitol Heights. We don't know anything about any of these areas! Any advice? We have teenagers and, of course, want a good school district and family oriented community! It seems to be that cost of living and traffic are the two biggest factors for these areas. Is any one better or worse than the others? Thank you!
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Old 06-21-2009, 11:00 AM
 
4,709 posts, read 12,669,699 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 4boys4liz View Post
We are in a unique situation that my husband has a choice of working out of Fairfax, Alexandria, Rockville, or Capitol Heights. We don't know anything about any of these areas! Any advice? We have teenagers and, of course, want a good school district and family oriented community! It seems to be that cost of living and traffic are the two biggest factors for these areas. Is any one better or worse than the others? Thank you!

I would stay out of Maryland....higher taxes and crime...especially Capitol Heights. That's in Prince Georges County which is a flat out dangerous place to live or work. Rockville is OK but still has the higher taxes. And the commute from VA to MD (or vice versa) can be a nightmare....
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Old 06-22-2009, 08:25 AM
 
Location: Springfield VA
4,036 posts, read 9,240,040 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by car54 View Post
I would stay out of Maryland....higher taxes and crime...especially Capitol Heights. That's in Prince Georges County which is a flat out dangerous place to live or work. Rockville is OK but still has the higher taxes. And the commute from VA to MD (or vice versa) can be a nightmare....
Well let's not make blanket statements. While I would probably pick Fairfax out of the four, I can't agree with saying that Prince Georges is all bad. I mean there's Upper Marlboro which is very nice. There are nice neighborhoods in Largo (and not so nice ones). So just because the county is majority black doesn't mean every neighborhood is bad. If he's working in Capitol Heights it won't be that bad during the day. The main concern might be a car break-in but that can happen in Virginia (they tried to hot wire my car in very expensive Shirlington). I've worked in bad neighborhoods before and nothing happened during the day. But yeah might not want to move to Capitol Heights.

As far as the taxes, yes income and property taxes are lower but houses are cheaper, so I don't know seems like it would even out. Rockville might work, just because unlike Capitol Heights, the need to commute far for good quality homes won't be as great.

Yet at the same time gotta vote for my hood. So yeah work in Fairfax and live in Fairfax, Oakton or Vienna.
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Old 07-01-2009, 10:30 AM
 
2 posts, read 5,825 times
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I agree with one of the previous posts...the only bad thing about Fairfax is the high cost of living and the traffic. Aside from that, it would be my first choice out of the cities listed. The Fairfax County school district is one of the best in the nation. I would look at areas that feed into Centreville, Chantilly, Oakton or Westfields High Schools.
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Old 07-01-2009, 03:46 PM
 
4 posts, read 9,647 times
Reputation: 10
Recently I have excepted a job in Alexandria 22315 area. Researched for a good community with excellent schools within 10 miles. After long search I have settled for Springfield 22152 area. Below are useful links to all 3 schools in the area. Good luck!

Rolling Valley Elementary School Rating click here (http://www.ziprealty.com/buy_a_home/logged_in/search/school_detail.jsp?listing_num=FX7080430&mls=MLS_BA LTIMORE&source=MRIS&propertyType=SFR&onboardId=107 4377 - broken link) and here. School website click here
Washington Irving Middle School Rating click here (http://www.ziprealty.com/buy_a_home/logged_in/search/school_detail.jsp?listing_num=FX7080430&mls=MLS_BA LTIMORE&source=MRIS&propertyType=SFR&onboardId=107 4183 - broken link) and here. School website click here
West Springfield High School Rating click here and here. School website click here
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