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Residency
Posted by: BigC ()
Date: February 25, 2007 02:38PM

Where would be a decent place to live around FC or the surrounding counties. As I've said before I plan on working for the FCPD and am coming from Jacksonville, NC from being an active-duty Marine in the summer. I've been recommended to PWC, and found some decent places in Manassas; but I'm just curious to see if anyone had any suggestions on places to live that aren't too far away from FC or even in FC. Thanks for the help.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: pgens ()
Date: February 25, 2007 02:45PM

If you like trucks and such, then Manassas should be okay. If you are a little more upper-crust then Kingstown in PWC is more your game.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: $$$ ()
Date: February 25, 2007 02:55PM

Depends on if you want to live here by yourself or you have a family. Working as a new cop you wont be able to afford much if anything in Fairfax. Not being a prick just speaking the truth. However if you have a wife with a decent income you could prob find a decent townhome. How much you looking to spend?

Also if you got on with FCPD you better find out which area you will be working in. You could live in Loudoun County and get stuck in Mt Vernon. Plan on a one and half hour commute if that happens. Two hours at rush hour.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: TheMeeper ()
Date: February 25, 2007 03:18PM

BigC,

As mentioned earlier, price and commute time will be key factors in where you decide to live.

If you could give more detail on what you're looking for, you might get some better info from here. I.E. If you're Ok with a one-bedroom apt., you shouldn't have much of a problem finding a place close to where you work, but if you insist on a single family home, and only have one income in your household, you might not have much luck unless you're willing to have an arduous commute, etc.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: BigC ()
Date: February 25, 2007 04:50PM

Thanks for the help, and I apologize for not being clear. I understand the cost of living is very high, but from other departments I've looked at back home (Roanoke) and what I make now, it's a huge jump up. Not saying I can afford super great things, but since I've heard I'll start at 46-50k a year, and my wife is supposed to be getting a 15/hr job (with pay increasing quickly after background investigations and what not complete). I think I'll be able to afford something up to 1200/mo, from my calculations so far, and what I'm looking for isn't anything huge, just a decent 2bd/1ba or better in a decent neighborhood. Commute won't be a huge deal to me if I can keep it under an hour. But so far, Manassass has seemed to provide good prices in their rental property, especially versus anything in Fairfax.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: PG County ()
Date: February 25, 2007 04:54PM

PG county is by far the best place to live in the metro area. Affordable to begin with, it's got a great location with lots of stuff to do.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: TheMeeper ()
Date: February 25, 2007 05:36PM

PG county is by far the best place to live in the metro area.

PG county has a bad rep in terms of crime, but not all of it is bad. I lived there for 2 years when I first moved to the DC area. Parts of it are nice. I guess it's more affordable, but it's also quite a hike from there to FFX county, so I'd rule it out completely.

Manassass is an OK place. It's alot of middle class suburban sprawl (like most of the rest of NoVA). Alot of people who grew up around here consider it to be 'redneck', but it's not, relative to other parts of the country. If you're moving here from some small town in NC, Manassass will definitely seem more urban.

If you're considering moving there, you might want to check out Centreville, which is in the same area as Manassass, but located in Fairfax county.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: BigC ()
Date: February 25, 2007 05:38PM

Thanks for the help. Is Centreville relatively affordable for FC?

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Re: Residency
Posted by: Bubba ()
Date: February 25, 2007 06:14PM

The person who recommended PG County apparently made a funny joke for those of us that are familiar.

If you want to practice Spanish during your off-duty time, I would recommend Herndon or Manassas.

Seriously, though... Regarding Centerville, it probably is one of the cheaper parts of Fairfax County -- primarily because it's far from DC. Centreville is decent, although there are clearly some undesirable areas.

If you'll be attending the academy for a while, I would definitely look for a place in South Riding (Loudoun County.) South Riding is probably going to be a little cheaper than anything in Faifax, and I can't think of a section of South Riding where I would not be comfortable living. (It's primarily yuppies, and the oldest houses are only 10-15 years old.) Without traffic, your commute time to the academy would be 10-15 minutes.

Regardless of where you want to live, I would strongly recommend that you check out apartments/townhouses for rent in the local papers, as well as the Washington Post. (Some of the local papers are much better for this.) There are a lot of investors who are desperately trying to rent out their properties, so there is potential for some great deals out there. Many of the big apartment complexes have income restrictions (that would eliminate you,) or they're just little too ghetto.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: Shaky ()
Date: February 25, 2007 07:19PM

Monticello Gardens is off Route 50,
There are many townhouses in annadale off Ravens Worth Road,
If your gonna be a cop uhh don't bust me :P I'm already dealing with probation,
Kingsly Comons is a slightly bad neighborhood but cops are always around there, alot of drug dealers there fake ones at that, but its right off route 50 its near the fire department

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Re: Residency
Posted by: TheMeeper ()
Date: February 25, 2007 08:27PM

Shaky.jpg

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Re: Residency
Posted by: BigC ()
Date: February 25, 2007 10:08PM

Thank you all for your help, and I always appreciate Meeper's humor on things. I plan on coming up there end of March, so I'll definately pick up the local papers and do some researching on my own. Again, thanks again for the help. It's all appreciated.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: tricki ()
Date: February 26, 2007 12:17PM

There is also a Kingstowne in Alexandria (Fairfax County). I think it is still affordable. Good location too.

Trickie

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Re: Residency
Posted by: KeepOnTruckin ()
Date: February 26, 2007 05:24PM

Houses are old there. Im in Centreville, and it really depends where you look and how big ya want of a place. HOuses in my neighborhood have gone for 500k to over 1 million. You have to avoid the apartments west of Rt 28 near Centre Ridge, however.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: pgens ()
Date: February 26, 2007 05:40PM

The only time I was in Kingstowne was visiting a neighborhood that didn't look old at all, as in 90's construction. Old is Alexandria and Arlington, with plenty of areas where 1800's construction is common.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: irishguy ()
Date: February 26, 2007 09:56PM

Hey BigC

I can give you a list of the best places to try as I am very familiar with your situation as I did the same 8 years ago. Do you have orientation on Friday?

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Re: Residency
Posted by: BigC ()
Date: February 27, 2007 08:42PM

Thanks for the help Irishguy, I'm taking the written test around the weekend of the 24th or so.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: myspaceaddict ()
Date: February 27, 2007 11:08PM

Written test... you're gonna be looking at the September academy at best. The process takes anywhere from 6months to a year, on the norm.

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Re: Residency
Posted by: Enough already ()
Date: September 09, 2020 05:34PM

.

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