NP. Richmond native. I lived in Fredericksburg for 5 years before relocating to the far western DC suburbs. I have no "political" opinions of the Fredericksburg locals (I'm a moderate, middle-of-the-road conservative myself, if such a thing exists anymore). I'm also a bit of a home-body. No "exciting urban lifestyle" here, even before I married/had kids. Here's my opinion...

Pros:
- City of Fredericksburg = charming downtown area
- Historic regions/sites nearby
- close proximity to DC (not accounting for traffic)...driving to DC for museums/theater/concerts/dinner/sporting events is doable. Not necessarily pleasant, but doable.

Cons:
- Local traffic. Not just getting to/from DC along the 95 corridor, but just all over the region in general. When I lived there (10 years ago), there was a massive growth in development that was not similarly paced by a growth in infrastructure. I lived 5 miles from Central Park (major shopping area). That drive could take me 10 minutes, or it could take 45. The road situation down there is better these days, but Rt. 3 is still stoplight city.
- Schools. I did not have children at the time, but it was very obvious that the school systems were not of the same caliber as those in the DC area. Nor were they comparable to what I was accustomed to in parts of the Richmond area.
- Culture shock, depending on where in CA you currently live.
- General vibe to the area. I can't really put my finger on it, but I never felt "welcome" there.

OP, are you set on living in the immediate Fredericksburg area? You could easily live in Charlottesville or in the Richmond area and be within an hour or less of family in Fredericksburg. I would move back to Richmond in a heartbeat (something I would not have said 15 years ago). I would not consider a move back to Fredericksburg.

Anonymous wrote:Why would you possibly move to Fredericksburg? From California? And DC is not an easy day trip, it is a nightmare, like crawling on the road. Small city, not much to do. Also, why would you move closer to family?Are you divorced/single and need help? I can't see any possible upside to moving there, especially from California.

op here. married with two young children. would move to be close to our extended family. especially for the children, but also because the nuclear family structure is hard on me. no ambitions of going to dc or having some exciting urban lifestyle. california can be beautiful and progressive but it's not shangri-la. e.g. we live minutes from the beach but rarely go due to traffic, parking, crowds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People seem to be talking about 2 very different things:

Fredericksburg City and the greater Fredericksburg area (GFA)

The City is small (1 high school) has an historic downtown area and is home to University of Mary Washington.

The GFA is the City and Spotsylvania and Stafford Counties, which are suburban and home to the majority of the traffic and big box stores.

The City votes blue, Spotsylvania and Stafford vote red

how are the public schools in the city proper?

Similar to what you find in most of the cities in VA: high achievers with strong home support will be OK, ratings very low at HS level

Fredericksburg is an hour+ outside DC. If you want any of the benefits of DC, don't move to f'burg. If you can't move to DC, move to Charlottesville. F'burg is basically a strip mall-laden exurb of DC. My parents live there. The only good thing is the VRE, but that doesn't make up for how depressing it is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just drove past twice today. Day trip to Richmond. There's a big huge Confederate flag next to the highway (I-95)just a little north of Fredericksburg. That alone would keep me away.

Bigotry and prejudice works both ways, I see.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-confederate-flag-divides-a-virginia-community/2014/08/01/118792ae-18e6-11e4-9349-84d4a85be981_story.html

It's not bigotry to avoid places that support racism. That flag represents people's willingness to go to war and risk their lives so that my best friend can be legally be denied human rights and be someone's property. No thanks.

Anonymous wrote:People seem to be talking about 2 very different things:

Fredericksburg City and the greater Fredericksburg area (GFA)

The City is small (1 high school) has an historic downtown area and is home to University of Mary Washington.

The GFA is the City and Spotsylvania and Stafford Counties, which are suburban and home to the majority of the traffic and big box stores.

The City votes blue, Spotsylvania and Stafford vote red

how are the public schools in the city proper?

People seem to be talking about 2 very different things:

Fredericksburg City and the greater Fredericksburg area (GFA)

The City is small (1 high school) has an historic downtown area and is home to University of Mary Washington.

The GFA is the City and Spotsylvania and Stafford Counties, which are suburban and home to the majority of the traffic and big box stores.

The City votes blue, Spotsylvania and Stafford vote red

Pick C'ville. You can visit your family regularly, but don't have to live in what is essentially one big interstate stop. I've lived in Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Alexandria, and lots of other little spots in VA. Would not move back to F'Burg. Ever.

Why would you possibly move to Fredericksburg? From California? And DC is not an easy day trip, it is a nightmare, like crawling on the road. Small city, not much to do. Also, why would you move closer to family?Are you divorced/single and need help? I can't see any possible upside to moving there, especially from California.

Have posted this before on dcum so you've probably seen it already but when we lived in Fburg back in the day we found a wonderful community in the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. If I were choosing between Cville and Fburg though, I would definitely pick Cville.

Anonymous wrote:We left San Francisco eighteen years ago to move to northern Virginia so our then 3 and 2 year olds would grow up knowing and regularly interacting with their aunts, uncles and cousins. We absolutely loved living in SF and sometimes wonder what if we had stayed. But we have not once regretted our decision.

where in nova? not fredericksburg?
what do you miss most about ca?

We left San Francisco eighteen years ago to move to northern Virginia so our then 3 and 2 year olds would grow up knowing and regularly interacting with their aunts, uncles and cousins. We absolutely loved living in SF and sometimes wonder what if we had stayed. But we have not once regretted our decision.

I live in Fredericksburg and it is not liberal by any means. The schools are mediocre because they are filled with average people. The price of housing far surpasses the average income and there is no possibility of equity in your home rising anytime soon. Fredburg is extremely stable because it is a bedroom community to DC. It's not that it's bad, but it is mediocre in the extreme. If your family had the chance to go to California, I bet they would jump on it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Fredericksburg is the answer, then reconsider the question.

Why? What are the downsides to Fredericksburg?

I'm from Richmond originally. We called the people that lived in F'burg "Frednecks." There are some boring cookie cutter suburbs there now but it's very dull.

I do know some nice people there but if I was given a choice between Charlottesville and Fburg I would choose Charlottesville. Becaude it has: bigger University, is more liberal, nicer scenery, better wineries, nicer horse riding stables.

Anonymous wrote:If Fredericksburg is the answer, then reconsider the question.

Why? What are the downsides to Fredericksburg?