At last! Moving to VA!

[Mrs Baggins]

Okay, so I've been whining about living in Aiken SC because it's so far from any real hiking (a 3 - 4 drive is just too much). There are a lot of reasons I don't like it but that's a biggie. Well hubby just got a great job in northern VA (West Springfield) and we are moving up there in the next few months. I have to hang around to get the house ready to sell and get it packed up. I don't know exactly where we'll live (just renting for a year or so until we scope out the area for buying) and any suggestions are appreciated. I'm just over the moon that I'll be able to drive to SNP so easily or bop up to Maryland or WVA.

[Red Hat]

I am soooooo jealous! I'm not a 3-4 hr drive, but more like a 3 day drive away! We have checked out places near Damascus on the Tennessee side. Taxes are just too high in VA. We are retired and this is about the only place we can live comfortably on our income. Our home is paid for and moving anywhere near the trail would involve a mortgage.

If I were you, I'd check out the Winchester area. It is near the trail and probably one of the most reasonable areas. Not sure how close it is to West Springfield... Best wishes to you and your hubby!

[Summit]

That's awesome all the way around! Hope the move, hubby's new job, and everything works out great. I think renting until you can fully check out the area is a very wise idea. Even though I live in NC, it's still 3-4-5 hours to decent hiking from Durham, so I too am jealous.

[Darwin again]

I lived and worked in Springfield for four years before I left in '04.

Housing is tricky. The best way to find a rental is to go through a real estate agent. The property owners pay the agents to rent their places and it's much easier to call an agent in the area, describe your location/size/price desires and have them generate a list of places to go look at.

I don't know how the bubble has gone there, but when I was there, housing was tough, as in expensive to buy or rent. It's a highly competitive market. Springfield itself has, like most of those suburban satellites of Washington Metro area, a distinct urban flavor, which I didn't favor. I was paying a thousand a month for a small apartment in Kingstown, over near the Springfield/Franconia Metro stop, then I moved to Chantilly, far west of that ugly mess. $40 or $45K per year is pretty much minimum wage for one person to live in that part of Virginia.

Springfield puts you quite a distance, in terms of traffic obstacles, from Shenandoah. Interstate 66 is the way west to Front Royal, which you'll find your way to either on the Capitol Beltway or on the Springfield-Franconia Parkway. The Parkway is, or at least was, a better escape route. On a Friday afternoon the trip from Springfield might be two to three hours. I sat in traffic on 66 many a day, crawling at 10 to 20 mph. The traffic lets up once you get past the Manassas exits, them lets up again once you pass Gainesville. Plan to travel during non-rush hour hours. There is a limit on reasonable commuting distance for most people. Some do drive in from as far west as Harrisonburg to jobs in D.C., but that's quite unsane, IMO. The four-buck gas has got to be a killer...

That said, if you're close to a metro, you have access to all of Washington's cultural stuff, museums, restaurants, etc. Since I left, the housing market might have softened a bit, but I wouldn't bet on it. There are ranges of housing in the Springfield area, some places are cheap but are in the kind of sleazy neighboorhoods I wouldn't want to even leave a pet there in an apartment by itself all day long. Other apartments are income restricted. Of course, lots of overpriced condos, too, if you're looking to buy. Houses, ditto. Shirlington is a relatively nice area, just north on 395 toward D.C. Old housing for Pentagon workers built during the war, very quaint and close to Springfield.

After four years of living there, I bailed out. It's not for everyone, especially if you love the woods and like quiet at night and not the sound of cars on freeways (omnipresent) and you also like to look up and see the stars -- it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Best of luck to you and feel free to drop me a note if you have specific questions. I'd be happy to help if I can.

[WILLIAM HAYES]

Aiken is pretty cool Ms. Baggins I live here been hiking the trail for several year send me an e-mail maybe we can share some stories Hillbilly

[teachergal]

Welcome to the 'hood!
May I suggest Prince William County as a good place to call home? It's a little less urban and housing prices are cheaper.
I have lived here for 6+ years and know back ways to just about everything - including about 6 different ways to get to SNP. PM me and I'll be happy to share!

[Mrs Baggins]

Aiken is pretty cool Ms. Baggins I live here been hiking the trail for several year send me an e-mail maybe we can share some stories Hillbilly

We lived there for 4 years in ('89-'93) and it was very different place. We came back still thinking it would be that place and we were very wrong. Now there are far too many retirees (I can pretty much hear the music from that awful "The Villages" commercial as I drive around town or go to a grocery store) and it's grown far too narrow minded. I cannot abide blue laws any longer. Since we left in '93 we lived in Phoenix, Denver, Baltimore, near DC, and Montreal Canada. We became very urbanized and cannot take the small town stuff anymore. There's no doubt that it's nice in it's own way- but it is no longer our way. When our son came down to find a job as a mechanic (fully trained) no one would even talk to him because he wasn't "from here." That did it. He had to move back to Maryland and got a job within days.

[Mrs Baggins]

I lived and worked in Springfield for four years before I left in '04.

Housing is tricky. The best way to find a rental is to go through a real estate agent. The property owners pay the agents to rent their places and it's much easier to call an agent in the area, describe your location/size/price desires and have them generate a list of places to go look at.

I don't know how the bubble has gone there, but when I was there, housing was tough, as in expensive to buy or rent. It's a highly competitive market. Springfield itself has, like most of those suburban satellites of Washington Metro area, a distinct urban flavor, which I didn't favor. I was paying a thousand a month for a small apartment in Kingstown, over near the Springfield/Franconia Metro stop, then I moved to Chantilly, far west of that ugly mess. $40 or $45K per year is pretty much minimum wage for one person to live in that part of Virginia.

Springfield puts you quite a distance, in terms of traffic obstacles, from Shenandoah. Interstate 66 is the way west to Front Royal, which you'll find your way to either on the Capitol Beltway or on the Springfield-Franconia Parkway. The Parkway is, or at least was, a better escape route. On a Friday afternoon the trip from Springfield might be two to three hours. I sat in traffic on 66 many a day, crawling at 10 to 20 mph. The traffic lets up once you get past the Manassas exits, them lets up again once you pass Gainesville. Plan to travel during non-rush hour hours. There is a limit on reasonable commuting distance for most people. Some do drive in from as far west as Harrisonburg to jobs in D.C., but that's quite unsane, IMO. The four-buck gas has got to be a killer...

That said, if you're close to a metro, you have access to all of Washington's cultural stuff, museums, restaurants, etc. Since I left, the housing market might have softened a bit, but I wouldn't bet on it. There are ranges of housing in the Springfield area, some places are cheap but are in the kind of sleazy neighboorhoods I wouldn't want to even leave a pet there in an apartment by itself all day long. Other apartments are income restricted. Of course, lots of overpriced condos, too, if you're looking to buy. Houses, ditto. Shirlington is a relatively nice area, just north on 395 toward D.C. Old housing for Pentagon workers built during the war, very quaint and close to Springfield.

After four years of living there, I bailed out. It's not for everyone, especially if you love the woods and like quiet at night and not the sound of cars on freeways (omnipresent) and you also like to look up and see the stars -- it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Best of luck to you and feel free to drop me a note if you have specific questions. I'd be happy to help if I can.

We've decided on the Franconia-Kingstowne area. It's a 4 mile commute (away from DC) for my husband and we just loved the area. Everything I could want in the way of shopping is close enough. There's even a metro stop to go to DC if we don't want to drive. Even a 2 hour drive to the trail is far better than the 3 - 4 hour, or longer, drive I have right now.

[NICKTHEGREEK]

We've decided on the Franconia-Kingstowne area. It's a 4 mile commute (away from DC) for my husband and we just loved the area. Everything I could want in the way of shopping is close enough. There's even a metro stop to go to DC if we don't want to drive. Even a 2 hour drive to the trail is far better than the 3 - 4 hour, or longer, drive I have right now.

How far to the Bailey's Crossroads REI store? I've mentioned it before but a cool thing is Metro in the afternoon Friday to Union Station, then MARC train to Harper's Ferry, catch the train back Monday AM. Your driveway is your trailhead. Welcome to NOVA

[Darwin again]

We've decided on the Franconia-Kingstowne area. It's a 4 mile commute (away from DC) for my husband and we just loved the area. Everything I could want in the way of shopping is close enough. There's even a metro stop to go to DC if we don't want to drive. Even a 2 hour drive to the trail is far better than the 3 - 4 hour, or longer, drive I have right now.

That sounds like a winner for you, especially after reading your post about Aiken and your background cultural preferences. Kingstowne is a nice area and considering your proclivities for more urban fair, it sounds like you're on the right track. The area between Fort Belvoir and the Beltway is clean and generally safe. You can beat traffic by traveling at off times, like early in the a.m.

You don't need to know a hundred ways to get somewhere, just when to go there.

Literally the only roads that run south and west from the Washington suburbs from the Springfield area are I-95 and Route 1 to the south, a few tiny roads across the Occoquan River toward Manassas, and Route 28 and I-66. The place is a civil defense evacuation nightmare. To access the entry points of SNP, you need to get to Front Royal on I-66, or go on down to Route 211 or Route 33 or I-64 at Charlottesville. Springfield to Front Royal is about 61 miles. I used to drive from Springfield to Chantilly, a distance of 16 miles, and it could take me 20 minutes or two hours, depending on if roads were wet. Or the sun was shining. I kid you not. Traffic in NoVa is awesome and I mean that in the literal dictionary and the biblical sense. But Kingstowne is nice. It's even fairly walkable.

~~ Darwin

[Darwin again]

Plus, the end of the Blue Line is right there, so that'll be great!

[thestin]

Welcome to Northern Virginia! I live very close to the Bailey's Crossroads REI store.

We moved here two years ago and love it here. Great area to bike in. I work at the Capitol and ride to work every day.

Only downside is the high cost of housing.

[tomsawyer222]

Wow i just moved from Fredericksburg VA to sumerville SC and i agree there is no where to hike at least not on any hills it is all flat.

[SunnyWalker]

Move to West Texas! It's great here. You can always drive to the AT or PCT from here.

[Nicksaari]

once in college, i knew of a Maggie Simpson from Springfield, Va. no BS.
she was a gorgeous red head, and thorough.
so where im going with this is NORTHERN VIRGINIA IS DISGUSTING AND OVERPOPULATED.
at least youll be close to SNP, theres also sky meadows state park, prince william forest park, parks on the northern neck, the Monongahela Natl wilderness, GWNF, JNF, SW Virginia, the ocean in three or four locations, proximity to the outter banks of NC, which aside from the the Appalachians & Alleghenies, is one of my favorite places on the east coast to be.
albeit, and getting back to the point of why NoVa sucks royally, the proximity to DC makes the whole area very susceptible to an imminent, timely, and inevitably needed terrorist attack to the capitol.



ill be in the mtns when the whole s**thouse goes up in flames. probably in the mutton top cabin, or the Pocosin cabin.

[Mrs Baggins]

Yeah.........we are the weird hikers.......we LOVE being out in the woods on the trail whenever we can get there (which is next to never down here in swampland). But we ALSO love to go to concerts and plays and grand pubs and great shopping. I don't believe for a minute that if you're an avid backpacker than you have to live in some remote backwoods town or you're a hypocrite. We enjoy all the amenities a city has to offer and we can throw on our packs and go into the woods and be just as comfortable. How narrow minded and intolerate to believe otherwise. I can backpack for two weeks and not bathe and be in heaven, then return home, put on the glitzy evening wear and go to a cocktail party in the city and still be very happy. I am an enigma to many of our friends because of that. Screw them. I have no boundaries, no limitations, no "if I do this then I must do this" crap. In high school I could be in a ballet production one night and riding horses on the coast the next.

[Cookerhiker]

You're very wise to pick a place to live near your husband's job. The strees of commuting in the DC area can be truly mind-boggling. I'm retired and left DC 1 1/2 years ago for the cool climes of Western MD and wouldn't return for anything. I have to make occasional trips back to wrap up some business and always breathe a sigh of relief heading home when I turn west on I-70 at Frederick.

So now you can join the PATC! A great bunch of people!

[Blissful]

Cool - welcome to Ol' Virginny. We've got a little bit of everything here, for sure. And you have four REI stores to choose from in the area and Hudson Trail Outfitters.

[rhjanes]

Okay, so I've been whining about living in Aiken SC because it's so far from any real hiking (a 3 - 4 drive is just too much). There are a lot of reasons I don't like it but that's a biggie. Well hubby just got a great job in northern VA (West Springfield) and we are moving up there in the next few months. I have to hang around to get the house ready to sell and get it packed up. I don't know exactly where we'll live (just renting for a year or so until we scope out the area for buying) and any suggestions are appreciated. I'm just over the moon that I'll be able to drive to SNP so easily or bop up to Maryland or WVA.

I went to High school at West Springfield. our house was 6313 Bridgeton Ct. I still miss it and it's been.....whoa....33 years since we moved away.....

[Trillium]

Yeah.........we are the weird hikers.......we LOVE being out in the woods on the trail whenever we can get there (which is next to never down here in swampland). But we ALSO love to go to concerts and plays and grand pubs and great shopping. I don't believe for a minute that if you're an avid backpacker than you have to live in some remote backwoods town or you're a hypocrite. We enjoy all the amenities a city has to offer and we can throw on our packs and go into the woods and be just as comfortable. How narrow minded and intolerate to believe otherwise. I can backpack for two weeks and not bathe and be in heaven, then return home, put on the glitzy evening wear and go to a cocktail party in the city and still be very happy. I am an enigma to many of our friends because of that. Screw them. I have no boundaries, no limitations, no "if I do this then I must do this" crap. In high school I could be in a ballet production one night and riding horses on the coast the next.

I'm with you. I love hiking, camping, and just chilling in the out-of-doors; however, I'm a big city girl as well. In addition to culture, we have sports!!! NHL, NBA, and for those who care (I don't), the NFL and MLB. Also, close to alma mater (1 hr 20 min-30 min) meaning College Basketball!!! Final Four bound or bust this year!

Congrats on being able to have your cake and eat it too!