Best Cities to live in between DC and Quantico (Lorton: summer)

[5stones]

I don't travel I-95 daily.
But I can tell you when ever I have traveled on it it has been a mess. morning afternoon or evenings, it always seems to have a ton of traffic. The traffic will start moving at about 45 mph then come to a stand still for a few miles and get going again...etc. Weekends can be a bear as well. Reverse commute will be better but I still think it will be tough.

[JulieinLorton]

[quote=bschvy;662036]I plan on renting. I have heard there is an odor in Lorton due to the treatment plant there. Is that true?

I had heard about the odor too- i expected something horrific but have found that it's a once in awhile thing. The odor is even mentioned in an excerpt on Wikipedia! It's never been bad enough that I haven't wanted to be outside and enjoy my patio.

[dt31]

So, does Lorton really have that bad odor from the treatment plant???

[adctvmonkey]

I would recommend suburban Alexandria in FFX County. I currently live there, specifically in a large planned development with its own town center called Kingstowne. It's been really great here, all shopping and chain-restaurants nearby (except ghetto Springfield Mall), convenient to Metro, I-95 and HOV Lanes, 495, 395, FFX County PKWY, and urban amenities. Lorton, only about 10 minutes from here, is also nice, it's been growing rapidly, and the 'bad elements' are being diminished due to the extreme growth of high-end homes. However, I wouldn't advise Woodbridge, unless it's the extreme western portion of it. I have friends that live there, and it's okay, but it's kind of run-down suburbs with some riff-raff.

[dpinto]

Montclair is nice if you want to buy a place. Woodbridge is nice too but expensive. Dumfries (along Rt 1) as you head north from Quantico is nice now -- used to be undeveloped but lots of nice shopping and nice apartment communities there now. Check out Wyndham Pointe and Virginia Commons. General rule of thumb: the farther north you go from Quantico, the more expensive it will be.

[nva79]

Originally Posted by adctvmonkey

(except ghetto Springfield Mall)

Springfield mall isn't really "ghetto". It is nice, and is undergoing renovations. The shops across the street are also very nice (i.e. bertuccis, starbucks, bestbuy, maggie moos, home depot, borders, omaha steaks, dunkin donuts, among others. Plus the mall itself is pretty nice.

[nova4now]

Originally Posted by bschvy

I plan on renting. I have heard there is an odor in Lorton due to the treatment plant there. Is that true?



Is the traffic bad in both directions on I-95? I plan on travelling south to Quantico in the morning and north in the afternoon.

The route 1 area through Lorton does at times have a distinct unpleasant odor.I have not noticed the smell as far over as the commuter train station but I don't spend alot of time there.
From D.C. to Quantico the length of Rt.1 is pretty much one long set of strip malls.Woodbridge is located right along Rt.1 and has some of the problems you might expect in such a setting but really isn't as bad as some people make it out to be.You might consider Lake Ridge,Dale City or Montclair(all close to Woodbridge but off the Rt.1 strip area).Less expensive than farthur north and with your reverse commute only a stones throw from Quantico.

[seandankers]

There are a lot of areas between Quantico and DC that are nice areas to live. There are many variables that would go into this equation such as do you want to rent or own, size of property you are looking for, preferred commuting methods, distance you want to travel, schools, etc. I cannot give you a city until I know what you are looking for...

[need-ya]

My husband is a Marine so we need somewhere that will be faster and easier to get to the base in the morning and in the evenings. We are looking to rent an apartment in a neighborhood that is children friendly and safe of course.

[lortonlorton]

no odor on west side of 95 in Lorton. in Summer, the east side does smell a bit. The east side also has more crime.