Curious About NoVa =) (Arlington, Newport News, Hampton: condo, townhouse, find a job)

[cindylou774]

Hi everyone! Me, my husband and two kids (13 and 16) will most likely be moving in 2 years, once my 16 year old son is out of high school. My daughter will be 15 and in the middle of high school at that point. We wanted to check out North Virginia, but don't know where to start. We currently live in Fairfield County, CT and it has just gotten too expensive. Also, our neighborhood is getting worse and worse every day. We've looked in many states, but haven't really been able to find what we're looking for. So we decided to check out North Virginia!

This is what we are looking for:
* House no more than $350,000 and taxes no more than $4,500 (we are looking for a house about 2200 sq.ft. and a lot about .35 acres or so if that helps)
* We are hoping for a house built no later than 1970, if possible. Our house is old and so we are hoping to be able to enjoy a newer, updated house.
* We don't want to be IN the city, but not out in the middle of nowhere, or as we say the "boondocks" lol. We want to be relatively close (10 to 15 minutes away would be great) to shopping, dining, movie theaters, etc. and being near schools would be great!
* We want to be in a SAFE area, with that small town feel
* We want to live in an area where they are accepting to newcomers. Neither myself nor my children have ever moved before (I've lived here all my life!) and since the experience would be new to us, we want to live in an area where we feel welcomed
* Good public schools are extremely important. My daughter is in all honors classes, and we really want her to carry on with that.
* Don't want to be in a place where it is extremely difficult to find a job or where we have to commute long distances (probably no more than 20 minutes)

I know this is very specific - but I want myself and my family to be comfortable if we moved since it would be a new experience for us. We don't know anything about NoVa, so any information and help would be greatly appreciated!

And if anybody knows anything about the town of Charlottesville, please let us know. That would be great

[saganista]

Charlottesville is a nice place...upscale liberal college town with a lot of activities around. But it's about 120 miles and 2.5 hours out from DC, so it doesn't really qualify as part of 'Northern Virginia'. It's kind of off by itself in some ways and the total population is maybe 5% of what's in Fairfield County, but it would meet most if not all of what's on your wish list. Actual NoVa would as well, except for that $350K part. Everything like what you descirbe in NoVa proper would likely run $550K and up, though there are some excellent bargains around just now...

[Yankeesfan]

To be honest, you are not going to find anything close to what you are describing in that price range in Northern Va. In my neighborhood that will buy you a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo. This is a great place to live but if you're leaving your area because everything is too expensive, this is not the alternative. Have you considered staying where you are until both your children have graduated? Moving long-distance is difficult enough for a teenager when there is a compelling reason; it can feel like a betrayal when done voluntarily. It may especially upset her that you waited for her brother to graduate but wouldn't do the same for her. Sorry to rain on your parade, I don't intend to be mean, just frank.

[cindylou774]

Thank you both for your information It's very helpful. Now I sort of have an insight on the home prices.

Yankeesfan - Thank you for your concern about my daughter We have talked to her about it, and she actually has been very enthusiastic about helping us try to find a possible moving location. It's not a definite thing for us - so we are going to see how she feels as time goes on. We wouldn't move if we knew that she wasn't comfortable with it.

[claremarie]

The house built after 1970 for $350K within 20 minutes of work doesn't exist in most of northern Virginia.
There are a lot of good jobs here, the schools are great, the shopping amenities are top-notch, and there are plenty of other newcomers, but these things come at the cost of high housing prices and long commutes.
Probably much like where you live now....

[nanlev]

My husband and I considered a move to Charlottesville. I've heard it's getting expensive (the city of Charlottesville proper) as some are moving down there and commuting to DC (can't even imagine), but I think you would be fine to find something under $350,000 right outside of C-ville. As for the NoVa area, $350,000 forget it. Condo, condo, condo. My husband and I are selling are two bedroom/1 bath condo in Arlington for $389,000, of course it's 7 mins outside of DC, but even in the outlying areas, Falls Church, Fairfax, Vienna, it's all expensive if you're looking for a single family or townhouse.

Check out Charlottesville's web site. They will send you a info packet on the area.

Originally Posted by cindylou774

Hi everyone! Me, my husband and two kids (13 and 16) will most likely be moving in 2 years, once my 16 year old son is out of high school. My daughter will be 15 and in the middle of high school at that point. We wanted to check out North Virginia, but don't know where to start. We currently live in Fairfield County, CT and it has just gotten too expensive. Also, our neighborhood is getting worse and worse every day. We've looked in many states, but haven't really been able to find what we're looking for. So we decided to check out North Virginia!

This is what we are looking for:
* House no more than $350,000 and taxes no more than $4,500 (we are looking for a house about 2200 sq.ft. and a lot about .35 acres or so if that helps)
* We are hoping for a house built no later than 1970, if possible. Our house is old and so we are hoping to be able to enjoy a newer, updated house.
* We don't want to be IN the city, but not out in the middle of nowhere, or as we say the "boondocks" lol. We want to be relatively close (10 to 15 minutes away would be great) to shopping, dining, movie theaters, etc. and being near schools would be great!
* We want to be in a SAFE area, with that small town feel
* We want to live in an area where they are accepting to newcomers. Neither myself nor my children have ever moved before (I've lived here all my life!) and since the experience would be new to us, we want to live in an area where we feel welcomed
* Good public schools are extremely important. My daughter is in all honors classes, and we really want her to carry on with that.
* Don't want to be in a place where it is extremely difficult to find a job or where we have to commute long distances (probably no more than 20 minutes)

I know this is very specific - but I want myself and my family to be comfortable if we moved since it would be a new experience for us. We don't know anything about NoVa, so any information and help would be greatly appreciated!

And if anybody knows anything about the town of Charlottesville, please let us know. That would be great

[sweet-t-virginia]

Hi Cindylou774! I just read your post for the third time and you've described my city of Winchester! The city has grown a lot over the past few years and has many of the things you would find in the Northern Virginia area. The schools are excellent. You could find something in your price range here whereas you could not find anything close to that in Northern Virginia. We have an outstanding hospital here which was one of the top 100 in the country - again.

You didn't ask about churches but we have quite a few of those two, many of which have great youth programs.

My only real complaint about this area is that it's gotten a tad cold for me but if you live in CT, you are probably used to that.

We have a local community college nearby which is excellent and we have Shenandoah University here as well.

This town really has everything I could want or need as well as a smaller town feel.

Good luck with your search! If you decide to come here, welcome to Virginia!

[irisheyes13]

If you are open to looking around VA, have you considered areas in southern VA? I am not sure what your job situation is but Yorktown, Williamsburg and areas around here might fit your bill. My husband and I are both from the north east coast and really love where we currently live in Yorktown. We live very close to Langley AFB so your daughter would be amongst other teenagers who are moving in high school. Might be worth checking out..

[peripie]

I have to agree with Irisheyes13-I lived in the Newport News/Hampton area when I was a teen (moved in my senior year of High School) and loved it! I made tons of friends, went to college there, and still try to visit at least 1 or 2 times a year. I have been in N. Va for about 18 years now, but I would move back in a heartbeat if I could!

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by saganista

Charlottesville is a nice place...upscale liberal college town with a lot of activities around. But it's about 120 miles and 2.5 hours out from DC, so it doesn't really qualify as part of 'Northern Virginia'. It's kind of off by itself in some ways and the total population is maybe 5% of what's in Fairfield County, but it would meet most if not all of what's on your wish list. Actual NoVa would as well, except for that $350K part. Everything like what you descirbe in NoVa proper would likely run $550K and up, though there are some excellent bargains around just now...

Charlottesville is not all THAT liberal. Compared to places like Asheville, NC or New England, its relatively conservative.