We're planning to relocate there and know it is an hour by rail. We're okay with the commute. What are schools like in this area?
Is it very rural?
2006-09-14 07:38:00 · 5 answers · asked by hamtaro 2 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Washington, D.C.
Fredericsburg schools are good. No, not very rural. Pleasant.
2006-09-15 13:23:12 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Schools are great, it is more suburban than rural, but don't rely on the rail service, especially in the summer. When it gets above about 90* out, they drop all the train speeds to something like 35mph because of some problem the track metal has when it gets hot. Your commute by VRE could become a nightmare. Have you looked into the Leesburg area instead? There is a little-known ferry that goes between MD and VA and is an awesome shortcut for Leesburg residents to get into the city; it's called White's Ferry and if you're driving, it will turn your 90+minute commute into an hour or less.
2006-09-17 15:12:50 · answer #2 · answered by dcgirl 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I live in Northern Virginia, but a bunch of my relatives live in Fredericksburg and work in DC. Basically, they all carpool. You have to leave very early in the morning, but since they carpool, they only have to drive some of the time, so the other times they can sleep on the ride up. It takes about 2 hours during normal rush hour, and about an hour or a little less during off times. A lot of people choose to do this because housing is much cheaper in Fredericksburg and you can get a much better house compared to Fairfax or somewhere where housing costs are astronomical. A lot of people also live out in areas like Warrenton and Haymarket to the west of DC for the same reasons. None of these areas are rural at all. They are the distant suburbs now, and have everything that any normal city would.
2006-09-14 07:47:05 · answer #3 · answered by Chad M 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Fredericksburg has some affordable housing when compared to the close in 'burbs. You are still going to be paying around $400,000 for decent houses. The train is probably the best bet for commuting. It is called the VRE (Virginia Rail Express) and has convenient stops. It is not a rural area at all but is part of the Washington-Richmond area. Decent schools but not as good as Maryland schools. Unfortunately, you will have to deal with having either Jim Webb or George Allen as a Senator. Both are worthless.
2006-09-18 06:40:07 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You've read the story about the 2 hour commute. What that didn't tell you is that to get from Virginia to D.C. you have to cross the Potomac River. The bridges across the Potomac are always jammed up. In fact I heard that the average time wasted yearly by commuters from Va to DC is 60 hours, which is the second highest in the country, beat only by the commute to NYC.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/29/AR2006082901651.html
Here are some links to info about commuting from VA.
http://fredericksburg.com/News/travel
I personally live in Maryland because you have a choice of many ways to get into the city and lots of different places to live.
2006-09-16 03:33:02 · answer #5 · answered by Bobbie 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋