Re: Prince William Co. Vs. Fairfax Co. Vs. Stafford Co.
Posted by:
lived in all 3
()
Date: September 03, 2015 10:06AM
In my personal opinion having lived in all 3 areas:
Prince William > Stafford > Fairfax.
Why?
PWC has plenty of "City" areas so you can always find something to do with some culture. the schools are getting better with the "illegals" being pushed out. Whatever you find in Fairfax you can find the same in PWC. They have a beautiful park system as well, and nice summer camps for the kids, etc. Housing prices are a bit more reasonable than fairfax, but not by much. Taxes are probably a bit lower and gas is lower for sure. You get more for your tax money in better roads and schools and recreational areas. PWC is the perfect balance of city and country.
Stafford is a little more rural but has enough to do- the commute just sucks if you have to come this way and further in (arlington, DC) for work. Worth the tradeoff to get a larger, more modern house with a bigger backyard at a better price point, however. Worth it if you have a large family and want room for those big BBQ's. You will find your usual chain stores, but for a proper mall it is best to go further south to Fredericksberg (Central Park) or come to Ffx for tysons/springfield.
Fairfax is great for finding a high-paying job and a home relatively closer to work- but the "Sanctuary city" status is being a huge drag on the school system and the housing situation with lots of boarders. In my townhome community (an upper-middle class area), there were a LOT of people renting out rooms, it was next to impossible to get a visitors parking spot after 6 because all the "roommates" took those up and it was hard to find parking on the street as well due to all the construction white vans, large F-350 type pick up trucks, very old (talking 80's and 90's) banged up cars with dead tags and dead inspections and flat tires, and people leaving their boats and RVs parked forever even though it wasnt permitted Fairfax PD RARELY came by to ticket or tow anyone so they got away with it. It made the neighborhood look trashy when one drove thru. Not to mention the unruly kids of said renters doing petty thefts and vandalisim (sp? too lazy to check). That's why I sold and moved right away. I'm not paying 400k for a townhouse to live among all that. Not to mention the loud music after MIDNIGHT (I was fair and gave them a little time) no matter how much you called the police on them or tried to talk to them first "no english" OMG....not to mention the drunk ones who knocked on my door with the wrong house.