Woodbridge is hell on earth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the Bronx of NOVA.

No not the Bronx. Not even close. More like sprawling Moreno Valley Calif. The nearby military presence, political evolution, suburban sprawl, and demographic changes track the exact same.

The Bronx has character and is part of the best city in the country. Woodbridge is a depressing network of crappy strip malls, a crappy outlet mall, and poorly constructed townhomes and apartments that’s almost an hour drive from DC on most weekends because of the traffic on 395.

A lot of America is like this. I have no idea why we tolerate it. No wonder rates of obesity and depression are so high. I agree it’s hell on earth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just a few decades ago, there was a single murder in Woodbridge, and it was a big, big deal. This simply did not happen back then. Woodbridge was a very safe, bucolic, quiet haven of a community.

D.C. gentrification pushed out a lot of the poor folks in D.C. Also, a lot of people left because they didn't want to live in the murder capital of the world.

My next door neighbors were among those folks who left D.C. They were nice, and we got along great. However, a whole bunch of their relatives drifted into their little place, packing it full of people. A significant portion of them had done time in jail and had recently got out of jail. Those people were not nice, and they were horrible neighbors. They started dealing drugs. The troubles began. We moved.

That's what happened to Woodbridge. A lot of rough characters moved out there. I'm sure the law abiding former D.C. denizens felt as much dismay as we did that crime followed some of the new residents.

DC has some areas that need to improve, especially EOTR but Woodbridge is even worse than all of that right now. Go further down south to Stafford.

[Anonymous]

My ex BF lived between manassas, Woodbridge and occoquan. Downtown manassas is super cute and has lots of places to hang out. Occoquan is cute and has a couple decent places. Woodbridge is... not the greatest. You're either at harbour grill or electric palm. Yikes. So my pick would be close to downtown manassas. (I live in Arlington and I'll stick with that, but man, the house I could buy down there.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the Bronx of NOVA.

No not the Bronx. Not even close. More like sprawling Moreno Valley Calif. The nearby military presence, political evolution, suburban sprawl, and demographic changes track the exact same.

NP—Moreno Valley and San Bernardino, CA are good comparisons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was called Hoodbridge when I moved here 25 years ago. It really hasn't changed that much, although Potomac Mills has gone to hell.

Honestly, it isn't that bad. It may be bad relative to other parts of NOVA, but it is paradise compared to most of the world, of which I've seen plenty. I just got back from what I consider to be an anti-human, dystopian, living hell, a certain city in SE Asia I won't name. So consider yourself lucky. Most cities in the world are horrible.

Potomac mills has been going downhill for a while. it had its heyday in the 80s and 90s and then since about the mid-2000s it has been known as Potty Mills.

[Anonymous]

We drive through or sometimes play travel games there with DC. OMG I hate it. That whole area is Manassas and Woodbridge - it really is a pit if you live in Arl or Old Town. And just no - you can't compare living in Chad or a village in India to NoVA. We are in the US and NoVA is a pretty rich area in general. That we have Woodbridge in this condition is sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It honestly should be studied. What type of person lives there?

Well we are a two attorney family, and most people in my neighborhood have similar occupations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean ... I don't know about "hell on earth," but it's pretty bad lol.

We just moved here from Falls Church and it is culture shock. Want to head out for a quick dinner? Ugh -- Longhorn Steakhouse or IHOP. Today I noticed that the glass door at the Safeway is shattered, but has been left there. Probably for a while? A good 1/3 of the stuff at the CVS is under lock and key (the people who work there are super nice though and easy to find and will get stuff out of the locked case for you). And I keep seeing in the news that someone got shot or something ... and it'll be nearby.

On the upside, everything is so much cheaper out here. I remember the first time I went to get my nails done I saw that it was costing me significantly less than it did in FCC and Vienna, and then they brought me a warm neck wrap, and then they brought me iced tea with fruit in it, and then they brought me a snack platter, lol, and I was like "I could get used to this."

We are on a decent sized piece of property on the Occoquan between Woodbridge and Manassas (we have a Woodbridge address, but the shopping center right up the road is a Manassas one) and got a gorgeous house we could never have afforded in our old neighborhood. It has made sense for us. But I don't love it here.

Oh, and the commute truly is hell.

Not all of Woodbridge is like this. You need to move closer to Hoadly Rd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean ... I don't know about "hell on earth," but it's pretty bad lol.

We just moved here from Falls Church and it is culture shock. Want to head out for a quick dinner? Ugh -- Longhorn Steakhouse or IHOP. Today I noticed that the glass door at the Safeway is shattered, but has been left there. Probably for a while? A good 1/3 of the stuff at the CVS is under lock and key (the people who work there are super nice though and easy to find and will get stuff out of the locked case for you). And I keep seeing in the news that someone got shot or something ... and it'll be nearby.

On the upside, everything is so much cheaper out here. I remember the first time I went to get my nails done I saw that it was costing me significantly less than it did in FCC and Vienna, and then they brought me a warm neck wrap, and then they brought me iced tea with fruit in it, and then they brought me a snack platter, lol, and I was like "I could get used to this."

We are on a decent sized piece of property on the Occoquan between Woodbridge and Manassas (we have a Woodbridge address, but the shopping center right up the road is a Manassas one) and got a gorgeous house we could never have afforded in our old neighborhood. It has made sense for us. But I don't love it here.

Oh, and the commute truly is hell.

This is such total B.S. There are plenty of Thai, Indian, Japanese, Korean Barbecue, +++ restaurants in this area. Even the shopping center that you mention with the Ihop has non-chain restaurants in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, the northern more rural parts of Woodbridge such as areas closer to the Occaquan River, the state parks, manassas, etc are ok. The parts along Rt1, and the mall etc are what is “hell on earth”.

I don't think people realize there is more to Woodbridge than Rt.1/Potomac Mills - And no it's not all chain restaurants either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean ... I don't know about "hell on earth," but it's pretty bad lol.

We just moved here from Falls Church and it is culture shock. Want to head out for a quick dinner? Ugh -- Longhorn Steakhouse or IHOP. Today I noticed that the glass door at the Safeway is shattered, but has been left there. Probably for a while? A good 1/3 of the stuff at the CVS is under lock and key (the people who work there are super nice though and easy to find and will get stuff out of the locked case for you). And I keep seeing in the news that someone got shot or something ... and it'll be nearby.

On the upside, everything is so much cheaper out here. I remember the first time I went to get my nails done I saw that it was costing me significantly less than it did in FCC and Vienna, and then they brought me a warm neck wrap, and then they brought me iced tea with fruit in it, and then they brought me a snack platter, lol, and I was like "I could get used to this."

We are on a decent sized piece of property on the Occoquan between Woodbridge and Manassas (we have a Woodbridge address, but the shopping center right up the road is a Manassas one) and got a gorgeous house we could never have afforded in our old neighborhood. It has made sense for us. But I don't love it here.

Oh, and the commute truly is hell.

You made a decision to exchange upscale amenities and a good commute for chain restaurants and a bad commute for a gorgeous. Given your lack of thinking skills, it is evident that you cannot make enough money to avoid that decision.

My "lack of thinking skills"? Lol, ok. Enjoy your crumbling townhome. And odds are good that my HHI is higher than yours. Certainly my net worth.

Sorry your life is so awful that you feel the need to insult strangers on the internet while hiding behind a wall of anonymity. Makes you very easy to picture.

You are such a f***ing b*itch.

[Anonymous]

I've been on DCUM for close to 20 years and this thread has made me hate the people here more than any I've seen before.

You do realize that people who live in Woodbridge are on this site right? What's wrong with you a$$holes that feel so small that you have to completely sh*t on a place where many people such as me and my husband - two fed attorney's live?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[url]

Anonymous wrote:I like Prince William County. It's friendly and unassuming. Plenty of smart people there, without inflated egos or the need to put others down.

Really? Everyone I have met who actually lives out there tries to disguise it by saying they live in Occoquan or Dale City or Lake Ridge lol.

That's not disguising it. These are actually different parts of Woodbridge. Woodbridge as a whole is quite large.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is what you get when you look at too much IG and Tik Tok and want to prioritize the square footage and fixtures in your house over location and the makeup of your community. It’s why I will live in a TH or apartment in a place like Bethesda or McLean over a McMansion in Wheaton or Woodbridge every single time. Never skimp on location. It’s not worth it.

It's worth it if you work from home, want a large house with a yard, and despite what people seem to believe can find good, non-chain restaurants (although it's a short drive instead of a walk) And despite what everyone believes - Woodbridge extends well beyond rt.1/potomac mills area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been on DCUM for close to 20 years and this thread has made me hate the people here more than any I've seen before.

You do realize that people who live in Woodbridge are on this site right? What's wrong with you a$$holes that feel so small that you have to completely sh*t on a place where many people such as me and my husband - two fed attorney's live?

Try not to take it so personally. I live in a place that routinely has threads that are full of comments similar to what you're reading here. I won't name it now because I frankly don't want to gin up more negative comments about it, but just realize that most people on this site judge places based on very isolated experiences -- i.e., they drive to a mall or doctor's appointment in a particular city, see some stuff, and generalize based on that.