Fort Belvoir - where to live?

[Anonymous]

I think the posters who suggest living in the city is probably not from a military background. The military community is very family-oriented and most would rather have a quieter, safer and environment for their families. A yard to play in, kids in the neighborhood, close to base, neighbors that they can count on, good schools, close to shopping. They want to know that their family will be safe while they are deployed and away. From my experience, you will find that in Lorton, West Springfield & Kingstowne areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the posters who suggest living in the city is probably not from a military background. The military community is very family-oriented and most would rather have a quieter, safer and environment for their families. A yard to play in, kids in the neighborhood, close to base, neighbors that they can count on, good schools, close to shopping. They want to know that their family will be safe while they are deployed and away. From my experience, you will find that in Lorton, West Springfield & Kingstowne areas.

Plenty of 1/4 acre+ yards in 22308, 22309 between Rt. 1 and GW Parkway. Old growth trees, established communities, family oriented. Sherwood Hall Library and Inova Mt. Vernon Hospital are a stone's throw away and the Rt. 1 corridor offers basically all the shopping you need. Giant, Costco, two Walmarts (one more north at the North Kings Highway and Rt. 1 intersection and one further down at Sherwood Hall and Rt. 1), Shopper's, two Safeways (Mt. Vernon and Belle Haven), and tons of restaurants and smaller stores. Smattering of good, family owned restaurants throughout the area. Just have to know where to look!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the posters who suggest living in the city is probably not from a military background. The military community is very family-oriented and most would rather have a quieter, safer and environment for their families. A yard to play in, kids in the neighborhood, close to base, neighbors that they can count on, good schools, close to shopping. They want to know that their family will be safe while they are deployed and away. From my experience, you will find that in Lorton, West Springfield & Kingstowne areas.

In your opinion, my military family prefers city living.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone. I appreciate hearing a variety of perspectives - a lot of good info here. We plan to make a few trips to DC ahead of time so we'll be able to check out neighborhoods/commute etc. My husband is also talking with colleagues about their experiences but I did want to get a non-military perspective as well.

[Anonymous]

OP -- I live in walking distance to the Telegraph Rd. Gate to Ft. Belvoir. I have lived in the Kingstown/Island Creek area for the last 15 years. There are TONS of military families in the Island Creek/Kingstowne neighborhoods. Very quick to the commissary. Library for kids programs. New Wegman's and various retail/restaurants coming this summer. Community pools, walking trails, good schools (you may be here longer than you expected!!), good preschools, easy access to shopping (Kohls, Target, USPost Office, new Springfield Mall, Home Depot, etc., etc. -- all the basics of life are easy to access). It's way less hectic than Rt. 1 traffic. The simple answer is that you want to be in this area.

Landsdowne, Island Creek, Hawthorne and Kingstowne are the HOAs you will want. There are single family homes and townhouses. At your price point, you will probably be able to get a single family. But, don't discount the TH -- there are some large ones and they are very nice. I know the SFH next to me will be up for rent soon as the current tennants are leaving in few months. They pay something similar to your price point.

So easy and quick to Ft. Belvoir.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lorton is nice, as is West Springfield. Lots of DOD civilians and active duty in both. Cameron Run, a townhouse development near my house, also seems to have some military families. The first two locales will be a pretty easy commute, the second a bit longer but closer to the city. As a military family, I kind of doubt you'd like DC, not to mention that the commute would suck for your DH, even though it's a reverse commute. You might like Old Town, too, but the drive south on Rt. 1 can take a while. The GW Pkwy is faster but doesn't put you near much on post.

FWIW, Fort Belvoir on base housing seems much newer and nicer than many other places I've seen. My son is in a day care in a home there, and it seems very nice. Many of the homes are single family. A lot of school aged children because of the Fairfax Cty schools, which are on average better than City of Alexandria. There are also several pools on post that are nice.

Note that there are parts of Fairfax County with an Alexandria address.

I live in Lorton with a toddler and we love it, though we bought an older home on an older street (pre prison closure) and it's not as walkable as some of the newer neighborhoods, which also have lots of tot lots and playgrounds. We're on the West side of 95, just off 123. Lots of great biking trails, just a few miles bike ride to Occoquan Regional Park south of us, Laurel Hill Park right near us, and Burke Lake Park up the road. We love it. There is a lot of stigma about the name Lorton because a federal penitentiary used to be located here, but it closed more than 15 years ago and the former grounds are now an amazing park, golf course, arts center, two new schools, and some decent new developments (with further development of the old maximum security area into upscale condos and street level retail, which will be interesting. It's a quick commute to Ft Belvior and you don't have to take 95.

Fort Hunt is also lovely, and your DH could commute along the GW parkway, which is a nice drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People have a "Lorton is bad" attitude probably haven't been there recently or don't know how large Lorton is. Lorton used house to the Washington DC correctional facility- but it's been closed for more than 15 years. That significantly impacted the way people viewed Lorton, and sure, there are some areas that are crummy- but you'd recognize them in a heart beat. There is a lot of nice Lorton too- and while we've been house hunting there are some gorgeous homes that are labeled Lorton (probably by zip code) that many people might not think of as being Lorton.

Springfield and Kingstowne are also great neighborhoods that are very convenient to Fort Belvoir. Alexandria/Ft Hunt areas are very nice- but Rt. 1 through there can be a mess of traffic and stop lights that feels like it was built and planned in the 60's and 70's (because it was). That said, many homes in that area live on streets that can connect to the GW Parkway- which is a gorgeous drive and a good way to get from some parts of Alexandria to Fort Belvoir.

There is still a lot of changes going on in the area. I worked on Fort Belvoir 10 years ago, and the worker population I believe has doubled since then, but some of the infrastructure has not. So the county is still playing catch up- right now Rt. 1 around Fort Belvoir and south is in the midst of a huge construction/expansion/modernization project that could make the drive from points south (Woodbridge) a little better... but that drive is still not one I would ever want to do (great homes down there that are more affordable, but Woodbridge is a mess of clogged roads).

Yep, we're in one of those areas of Lorton, just off 123, up the road from the Workhouse. Most of my colleagues are like, "Oh, that's Fairfax Station, not Lorton." Nope, it's Lorton, but I'm paying $100,000 less for my SFH on a half acre than my neighbors just a couple of miles up the road in a different zip code. Lots more house and yard and no reality to the stigma of the name. Win-win!

[Anonymous]

My DH is military and works at Belvoir. We also have a toddler. We live in Springfield (22151 just outside the beltway) and love it. Really nice single family home community, about 25 minute commute for DH. Some military in our neighborhood, a nice mix, and everyone has been very welcoming.

One thing you might want to keep in mind - will DH exclusively be at Belvoir? My DH has meetings all the time at the Pentagon. That would be a lot harder to get to if you're down in Lorton/Woodbridge, but really easy from where we are (Express bus stop is down the street!) or from Alexandria.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I don't have any advice, but why are so many military families choosing not to live in Belvoir housing? It looks pretty nice in the pics I saw on the Lincoln Housing site.

[Anonymous]

Ditto everyone on Lorton and if you're ever looking to buy you can still get a good deal there - like a REALLY good deal. TH's are at least 50k cheaper than in nearby Kingstowne 22315 and nice SFH's are everywhere. Only thing is you have to be mindful of the school situation as Island Creek, Silverbrook, and Laurel Hill elementaries have better reputations than Lorton Station and Halley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any advice, but why are so many military families choosing not to live in Belvoir housing? It looks pretty nice in the pics I saw on the Lincoln Housing site.

New poster here

My husband recently retired after a 25 year military career (we were married 15 of those years). We never once lived on base. My husband really didn't not want to come home and still have to deal with the politics of work. In general, base housing is segregated by rank, but if you at the lower end of your rank category (for example, if you are a major--and the other field officers are LT. Colonels and Colonels) you will still have senior people living in your housing area. He really didn't want to have to deal with calling a next door neighbor "sir" or having to salute if he happened to still be in uniform, etc. If our kid gets in a fight with the kid next door, its' a lot harder to deal with if the neighbor is a higher (or lower) rank, etc. Much easier to have (mostly) civilian neighbors who don't care what rank you are.

[Anonymous]

If your H will have to go to the Pentagon on a regular basis, there is an express bus to the Pentagon from Burke (maybe W Springfield and Lorton have this too?) Burke is harder to Belvoir on day to day, but there are a lot of military and government families there as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any advice, but why are so many military families choosing not to live in Belvoir housing? It looks pretty nice in the pics I saw on the Lincoln Housing site.

New poster here

My husband recently retired after a 25 year military career (we were married 15 of those years). We never once lived on base. My husband really didn't not want to come home and still have to deal with the politics of work. In general, base housing is segregated by rank, but if you at the lower end of your rank category (for example, if you are a major--and the other field officers are LT. Colonels and Colonels) you will still have senior people living in your housing area. He really didn't want to have to deal with calling a next door neighbor "sir" or having to salute if he happened to still be in uniform, etc. If our kid gets in a fight with the kid next door, its' a lot harder to deal with if the neighbor is a higher (or lower) rank, etc. Much easier to have (mostly) civilian neighbors who don't care what rank you are.

Thanks PP, totally understand. We have been military for ten years and never once lived in housing, but I never really considered all of these reasons. Looks like we have so far made the correct choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any advice, but why are so many military families choosing not to live in Belvoir housing? It looks pretty nice in the pics I saw on the Lincoln Housing site.

New poster here

My husband recently retired after a 25 year military career (we were married 15 of those years). We never once lived on base. My husband really didn't not want to come home and still have to deal with the politics of work. In general, base housing is segregated by rank, but if you at the lower end of your rank category (for example, if you are a major--and the other field officers are LT. Colonels and Colonels) you will still have senior people living in your housing area. He really didn't want to have to deal with calling a next door neighbor "sir" or having to salute if he happened to still be in uniform, etc. If our kid gets in a fight with the kid next door, its' a lot harder to deal with if the neighbor is a higher (or lower) rank, etc. Much easier to have (mostly) civilian neighbors who don't care what rank you are.

Thanks PP, totally understand. We have been military for ten years and never once lived in housing, but I never really considered all of these reasons. Looks like we have so far made the correct choice.

This is OP. Our reasons for not wanting to live on base are similar to PPs. I think DH likes to separate work from home life. He is a physician so living on base could mean that our next door neighbors are his patients. That said, I just looked at the base housing online and agree that it looks quite nice.

[Anonymous]

Kingstowne