Northern Virginia Roll Call

Getting ready to move to VA for work and wondering if any of you guys make the commute towards DC from the outlying suburbs and if so how bad is it and is Stafford area to far to live and commute? If it is where would you guys recommend to live for a family of 5 with school age kids ie good schools, safe neighborhood, and decent homes with yards? Also looking forward to enjoying all the area has to offer and to see, hope to meetup with you guys and explore and turn some wrenches.

 

Hey i live in Fredericksburg and commute to Alexandria for work. Its about 4o miles door to door and can take anywhere from 55 minutes to 3 hours. I have been using the VRE and it takes an average if hour and half but I'm not driving 45 minutes of that.

 

I make this commute daily from Leesburg Va 33 miles one way 35 minutes going but coming home 40 minutes to 3 hrs on a bad day... check out Loudoun County Ashburn/Leesburg and surrounding areas great schools neighborhoods parks and outdoor activities....

You are close to a lot of stuff in West Va Harper's Ferry is one of them and some other cool spots Appalachian Trail etc:

I hope your price point is in the $600,000 range because it wont be cheap for a yard....

 

Come live in Ashburn! There are more people and families. And the Metro is coming soon. @Durx lives so far away, we never see him!

Your commutes are so long! I have a 3 mile commute. Its 5 min, but if I hit the light, then its 6 minutes.

 

Throwing the lift and bumper on this weekend! Hopefully it doesn't sag the front end too much with stock springs. If it does, I will have to spring for some 5100s and 887s.

 

you can wait for my suspension too! My new stuff will be here soon. Also, I hear that 887s are the same spring rate as 885, but only a little taller. If you have a bumper, you should get 886s

 

Traffic is going to be bad no matter where you live in this area. Be prepared for an hour plus commute everyday. As far as schools are concerned, Fairfax and Loudoun are the best in the area, but be prepared to drop some coin to live in those counties because of that (and other factors).

Whatever you do, for God's sake, don't move into the people's republic of Maryland.

 

I also think Loudoun is one of the fastest growing Counties in the USA also one of the highest income per household in the country.....

 

You may be right. What is the spring rate on 886s? Another member here said he got around 2 1/2 inches of lift with 887s and a bumper. I definitely don't want to go much higher than that. I also don't want to commit to a new suspension yet because I want to see if the combination of the bumper and lift are going to tank gas mileage before I decide to leave the bumper on permanently.

 

Amen to that!!

 

Loudoun is the fastest growing county in the US for a few years running. It has the highest average income per household (around $100k), but that stat is a little deceiving. Sure there are a ton of rich people that live in Loudoun (as there are in every other county in NOVA), but there isn't as much poverty and homelessness as there is in other counties, which makes that average number much higher.

 

@fatfurious2 how much does your bumper weigh. I would buy this is it was closer, I am sure it will weigh less than the plate bumper I am about to put on.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/pelfreybilt-front-bumper.445333/

 

Here is the bumper on the previous owner's truck. I am going to cut out the hitch out and plate mount for a winch in (although a receiver hitch in the front would be cool for certain things)and put the hoop back on. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but anything is better for deflecting deer than this bullshit plastic "bumper cover" we have from the factory.

 

first you need to decide just how far your willing to commute both time wise and distance. obviously the further out you go the more house you can get for your money

 

why not just get the winch with a reciever mount and could be used both front and rear

 

but look where you live in a tight community with houses rt bext to you and all those people all crammed together, it's just living in the city no thanks but if that's what you like more power to you

 

Not sure on the spring rate. I think i got 2" with the bumper.

I think it weighs 110lbs or thats what it said on Pelfrey's page

I needed to be close to work. And i don't consider this a city. Its the suburbs, with families and kids. I chose this location because its close to work, and cheaper in my program. Also, I dont want to be driving so long for a commute. After i pay the house off, ill be moving to Colorado or Arizona. Not sure yet

 

@FlyFishVA http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/pts/5726644143.html

 

Yeh, @Casper66 I was gonna say...if you consider Ashburn a city...

That looks like a good deal although it is a little too similar to what I have now to justify the $800 I would have to spend on it

 

My .02 cents. Coming here from Ft Lewis/S Korea type region and maybe being stationed at the Pent, Belvoir, or elsewhere in the region is going to be a shock (maybe not so much with korea depending on where you're stationed there). But, if you end up at the Pentagon or Belvoir, I suggest Fairfax and Loudon as others suggest. If cost is a thing, Prince William County (woodbridge (south on I95)/manassas (west on I66)) could be considered, but you have lower education and more crime. I specifically suggest Centreville, springfield, Burke VA since they are all in Fairfax, but provide you with options financially (they are all within a 30 min drive to Pent/Belvoir is you commute before 7am). Schools are good in those areas and you can still get something with a little property (I'm saying a backyard that's 20x20). You can get ok schools and more property the further you go out of course, but I'm telling you that the commute just isn't worth it. Depending on what your hours are (mine are 0600-1500) coming from the west is a breeze. Coming North from I95 is a whole different monster no matter the time of day. Best I ever had here was being stationed in Quantico and living north in springfield....I was basically reverse of everyone else.