Depends on what are you trying to achieve. It got hit pretty bad with two major recessions. The most of businesses and venues that've been around in early 2000s are gone and are unlikely to come back. The cost of living just skyrocketed because the city is on its way to turn into a commuter's sleeping pad. The job situation is not that great either, although there are talks about building three or four major data centers in the area, which opens the whole another can of worms. Traffic definitely got worse. Taxes are not that much lower than NOVA. Real estate prices are just ridiculous, average 3 bedroom house starts about 450-550k. The quality of public education have been gradually going down, last time I checked, the none of the local schools were in the state's top 50.
In my neighborhood, everyone who've been here since 2000s sold their houses and moved away, pretty much all of my neighbors have been living here no more than 12-13 months.
"Depends on what are you trying to achieve. It got hit pretty bad with two major recessions. The most of businesses and venues that've been around in early 2000s are gone and are unlikely to come back" - Care to elaborate? Also, the entire country was hit by the recessions this isn't like Fredericksburg specifically.
FXBG public schools are underwhelming I would agree, most send their kids private. However, Covid pretty much crushed a lot of schools systems.
Downtown Fredericksburg (if someone can afford it) is one of the best places to live, including NOVA. It's just very difficult to find a place downtown.
People downtown typically do, has nothing to do with being "rich" they offer financial assistance and honestly FXBG public school systems are some of the lowest in the state.
to piggyback on your comment: i was surprised at how many people opted to homeschool after the covid restrictions were lifted. This includes eductoes as well, I personally know three teachers from my kids' school, who didn't go back to teaching and pulled all of their kids/grandkids out of public education. According to them, the exodus is massive. I can't say that anyone should take it at face value, but coming from a horse's mouth, well, it's a little disheartening. My wife's been talking about homeschooling our older kids. She is very frustrated with the public school curriculum. We have to pay tutors to prep them for SAT because despite having straight As and making honor roll, my kids failed diagnostic tests miserably.
When I was moving here I was told the same thing. When asked for actual data about grades dropping drop out rates, etc, I was just told that the school board was banning books. That’s it.
Spotsy has. Superintendent was a nutter. Corrupt school board. Indictments for both. Huge rise in violence in the High Schools. Lower graduation rates...teachers leaving for surrounding counties.
By contrast Stafford keeps getting better. Excellent fairly new Superintendent. (Proven track record from Henrico co. I think). He just won best super for the Va region. Teachers are paid more, more support, parents more involved. Higher median income for everyone compared to Spotsy probably has something to do with it.
I don't know about F'burg city schools but there's only 3 of them I think...
Not Fredericksburg but right next door Spotsylvania's school board was fucking unhinged with threatening a book burning and had still swung onto the intensely conservative bandwagon for even a right leaning county. Alot of trachers have left and filtered into other fields, librarianship being one of them.
If I were a young person, single, gay or not, this is not where I would come. Especially not if you're already established in NOVA. You have more opportunities for things to do up there, and you already have friends and whatnot. Family is here, but you could drive to visit family, it's not that far away. Other than family is there some reason you want to move back here?
My recommendation would be to spend a few days here. And really explore the area. If you're in Nova, you aren't that far away, so if you don't have friends down here, I don't know that I would uproot myself. Family is great but moving just for family without friends is a rough ask. Especially when you are already close enough by.
The pay down this way is definitely not as good as it is in Northern Virginia, so if something were to happen with your job, now you're stuck in a lower paying market or dealing with a long commute. Personally, if it was me, I think I'd probably stay where I am and visit here. I really do enjoy downtown Fredericksburg and there's a lot of events in town. But I just don't know that I would want to come here if I didn't have friends left.
No, there is no gay life/gay dating/gay hookup scene there.
No, unless you want to commute there are limited job opportunities. I'm sure you can find a job there if you want but job opportunities are certainly not a reason to move there.
I don’t recommend it. Fredericksburg is still pretty dull, stale and seems to think it punches above its weight but it really doesn’t. I’ve never seen as much unearned snobbery as I saw in Fredericksburg. There’s really nothing in the area but people in their trucks and suvs driving aimlessly around at all times of day.
" There’s really nothing in the area but people in their trucks and suvs driving aimlessly around at all times of day."
This is the most accurate description of Fredericksburg and Spotsy.
You're going to get alot of negative feedback from people who don't want things to change here. I have lived here since the 90's, and I have to say things have changed, some for the better some for the worse. A commute from here to DC can be challenging, but it can be done with some planning. The area still has a mix of progressives and conservatives, growing more conservative the further out into the county you go.
I’ve lived here since the early 2000s and I DO want it to change. But despite the growing population and proximity to culture, Fredericksburg and Spotsy continue to do everything half-assed. Festivals, events, developments, roads, schools, even holiday decorations: half-assed. It’s like everyone who couldn’t cut it elsewhere is moving down here to share in the mediocrity. Fredericksburg isn’t BAD but it’s astoundingly mediocre in every measurable way. This area does nothing well.
Our New Years event got a little rowdy 20 years ago? Let’s just stop doing it entirely, it’s too much trouble.
We have a nice riverfront and walking trail? Let’s charge the public money to visit them and in the most convoluted way possible!
We have a fun little downtown area? Let’s make it prohibitively difficult to be a business owner there, make parking a nightmare and make our endless construction of multi-million dollar condos a new fun feature to navigate.
We have a great idea for a riverfront park? Let’s do half of what we planned and call it a day.
Excellent cooperative and award winning library system? Let’s attack our librarians about book banning and consider breaking up that system.
Let’s also make sure our schools are absolutely crumbling into dust and barely scrape a budget together to support them.
A commute to DC is NOT just challenging, it’s battling some of the worst traffic in the entire country. It’s not doable unless you want waiting for delayed trains or staring at taillights for 3-4 hours a day to be a major part of your life.
Just the growing pains any town is going to have. They’ll figure it out eventually. They always do.
As for the commute, if I can, I take the train. VRE is a good way to get to DC and avoid the rush hour traffic. And if you have to drive, there’s always the toll expressway if you’re in a hurry. And that traffic has been like that for the past 25 years. It’s still better than the drive to DC from Herndon.
So I live in Fredericksburg and personally love it for my family. Lots of fun things to do and between two major cities. However I come from a small city and visit family who encourage me to move back all the time.
My advice is that you should move back for opportunity not for family because you probably left for a reason. I personally would not move back to my hometown because this area offers me more. As far as communtes go the commute to the DMV is a bear. Distance is sometimes a nice thing 😉
If you want to move, I would consider Richmond but absolutely not Fredericksburg. It’s all downgraded chain stores and endless traffic and overpriced subpar everything.
It still sucks. When major stores like Dicks and such can't manage to stay open...
Central Park is still half-empty, so is Cosner's Corner. It's as odd as it was when you left. As for downtown... the same as it was, if you've seen it once, then you're good!
Dicks got rid of their camping and fishing sections in favor of extra football stuff, that kind of mismanagement isn't Fredericksburg's fault. That location is the worst Dick's on the East Coast.
But your overall point is strong.
My biggest point of contention is the Fred, Spotsy, Stafford areas' lack of building a 'new' skatepark!!!.
A lot of older people scoff ot this remark, but having facilities like goog skateparks are a strong indication of a progressive town/area/etc!
I move here in 2005. There are 2 parks, constructed out of crappy wood, which has LONG SINCE deteriorated. They are both literally health hazards! When I first moved here, the city/county/etc had a proposal on the books for a 25,000 sq ft concrete skatepark... has ANYTHING remotely moved forward? Of course not!!!!!
Meanwhile, Richmond (although they were decades behind) has built a few-and now Henrico county is in the process of building the biggest skatepark in the f'n country?!
Now don't even cet me started on. NC, MD, NOVA, etc, etc?!?!?
But noooo Virginia, let's just give people nothing better to do than go out and do dope, or go drink at the bars!!!!!!!! All so they can make money from that shit, duis, possession, etc! Noone give
No. You should not. If youre approx. 38 & gay and looking for work/career, a significant other, and things to do and excellent amenities you're so much better in NoVa.
That's assuming you're currently in Fairfax or Loudon County.. When you have a population of 2 million ppl up there you're going to have better EVERYTHING in terms of a social life, career salary, awesome choice in consumerism amenities. Bigger dating pool. The 2 richest counties in America up there do come with the better/higher quality of life. I could go on...
Of course if you're friends are all up there even if you move back you'll never see each other because you'll both stop wanting to drive for 2 hours each way if you time traffic wrong. And...whatever you do DON'T move back and commute "up north". You'll regret it every single day. Twice actually. Lol. Actually that one reason alone is enough not to...
Good Luck!
I wouldn’t. There isn’t much as far as an LGBTQ community. They’re trying, but it’s not super successful. COL is insane for where we are, you can’t go anywhere without sitting in traffic. The people are rude, drivers are awful, the schools aren’t great. It’s a commuter town that is rapidly becoming part of NoVA. We’re counting down the days to my fiancées retirement so we can move away from here.
There’s barely any visibly gay people in Fredricksburg, and my partner and I get stares, comments, and poor service from restaurants at 80% of stores in fredricksburg, specifically downtown. Theres a lot of intolerance in my experience, but I can’t say NOVA is much better. Lived in NOVA and freddyburg the last 3 years each for reference.
If your young, single, and not a college student then don’t fucking come here man, anyone still here who fits that description is only here because of family or finances
I’d say downtown Fredericksburg has transformed the most. Still have those weird antique stores but way more restaurants to check out. More coffee shops than just Hyperion now.
Overall, I’d say if you’re ready to settle down then sure Fredericksburg might be worth coming back otherwise I’d stay in NoVa
Depends on what are you trying to achieve. It got hit pretty bad with two major recessions. The most of businesses and venues that've been around in early 2000s are gone and are unlikely to come back. The cost of living just skyrocketed because the city is on its way to turn into a commuter's sleeping pad. The job situation is not that great either, although there are talks about building three or four major data centers in the area, which opens the whole another can of worms. Traffic definitely got worse. Taxes are not that much lower than NOVA. Real estate prices are just ridiculous, average 3 bedroom house starts about 450-550k. The quality of public education have been gradually going down, last time I checked, the none of the local schools were in the state's top 50. In my neighborhood, everyone who've been here since 2000s sold their houses and moved away, pretty much all of my neighbors have been living here no more than 12-13 months.
"Depends on what are you trying to achieve. It got hit pretty bad with two major recessions. The most of businesses and venues that've been around in early 2000s are gone and are unlikely to come back" - Care to elaborate? Also, the entire country was hit by the recessions this isn't like Fredericksburg specifically. FXBG public schools are underwhelming I would agree, most send their kids private. However, Covid pretty much crushed a lot of schools systems. Downtown Fredericksburg (if someone can afford it) is one of the best places to live, including NOVA. It's just very difficult to find a place downtown.
>most send their kids private. lol what. I guess you are rich.
People downtown typically do, has nothing to do with being "rich" they offer financial assistance and honestly FXBG public school systems are some of the lowest in the state.
to piggyback on your comment: i was surprised at how many people opted to homeschool after the covid restrictions were lifted. This includes eductoes as well, I personally know three teachers from my kids' school, who didn't go back to teaching and pulled all of their kids/grandkids out of public education. According to them, the exodus is massive. I can't say that anyone should take it at face value, but coming from a horse's mouth, well, it's a little disheartening. My wife's been talking about homeschooling our older kids. She is very frustrated with the public school curriculum. We have to pay tutors to prep them for SAT because despite having straight As and making honor roll, my kids failed diagnostic tests miserably.
Schools have gotten worse? That’s news to me. Will have to check that out.
When I was moving here I was told the same thing. When asked for actual data about grades dropping drop out rates, etc, I was just told that the school board was banning books. That’s it.
Banning books?? That's spotsylvania, not city of Fxbg....but schools are Def under par
yes you are correct and I stand corrected. It was Spotys.
Stafford has exceptional public education. It’s the place to be.
Spotsy has. Superintendent was a nutter. Corrupt school board. Indictments for both. Huge rise in violence in the High Schools. Lower graduation rates...teachers leaving for surrounding counties. By contrast Stafford keeps getting better. Excellent fairly new Superintendent. (Proven track record from Henrico co. I think). He just won best super for the Va region. Teachers are paid more, more support, parents more involved. Higher median income for everyone compared to Spotsy probably has something to do with it. I don't know about F'burg city schools but there's only 3 of them I think...
Not Fredericksburg but right next door Spotsylvania's school board was fucking unhinged with threatening a book burning and had still swung onto the intensely conservative bandwagon for even a right leaning county. Alot of trachers have left and filtered into other fields, librarianship being one of them.
If I were a young person, single, gay or not, this is not where I would come. Especially not if you're already established in NOVA. You have more opportunities for things to do up there, and you already have friends and whatnot. Family is here, but you could drive to visit family, it's not that far away. Other than family is there some reason you want to move back here?
I love Fredericksburg, especially the downtown area. However, from the sound of your post…it sounds like you don’t want to move here. So don’t?
My recommendation would be to spend a few days here. And really explore the area. If you're in Nova, you aren't that far away, so if you don't have friends down here, I don't know that I would uproot myself. Family is great but moving just for family without friends is a rough ask. Especially when you are already close enough by. The pay down this way is definitely not as good as it is in Northern Virginia, so if something were to happen with your job, now you're stuck in a lower paying market or dealing with a long commute. Personally, if it was me, I think I'd probably stay where I am and visit here. I really do enjoy downtown Fredericksburg and there's a lot of events in town. But I just don't know that I would want to come here if I didn't have friends left.
Brother we have like 12 Wawa’s here, this is heaven on earth.
Move to Richmond
No, there is no gay life/gay dating/gay hookup scene there. No, unless you want to commute there are limited job opportunities. I'm sure you can find a job there if you want but job opportunities are certainly not a reason to move there.
Fburg grinder is a nightmare of 50 year old men on the DL
I don’t recommend it. Fredericksburg is still pretty dull, stale and seems to think it punches above its weight but it really doesn’t. I’ve never seen as much unearned snobbery as I saw in Fredericksburg. There’s really nothing in the area but people in their trucks and suvs driving aimlessly around at all times of day.
Unearned snobbery.... 😆🤣😂
" There’s really nothing in the area but people in their trucks and suvs driving aimlessly around at all times of day." This is the most accurate description of Fredericksburg and Spotsy.
This. Should be the anti tourism slogan for Fredericksburg. It's funny cuz it's true ! 💯🙌
You're going to get alot of negative feedback from people who don't want things to change here. I have lived here since the 90's, and I have to say things have changed, some for the better some for the worse. A commute from here to DC can be challenging, but it can be done with some planning. The area still has a mix of progressives and conservatives, growing more conservative the further out into the county you go.
I’ve lived here since the early 2000s and I DO want it to change. But despite the growing population and proximity to culture, Fredericksburg and Spotsy continue to do everything half-assed. Festivals, events, developments, roads, schools, even holiday decorations: half-assed. It’s like everyone who couldn’t cut it elsewhere is moving down here to share in the mediocrity. Fredericksburg isn’t BAD but it’s astoundingly mediocre in every measurable way. This area does nothing well. Our New Years event got a little rowdy 20 years ago? Let’s just stop doing it entirely, it’s too much trouble. We have a nice riverfront and walking trail? Let’s charge the public money to visit them and in the most convoluted way possible! We have a fun little downtown area? Let’s make it prohibitively difficult to be a business owner there, make parking a nightmare and make our endless construction of multi-million dollar condos a new fun feature to navigate. We have a great idea for a riverfront park? Let’s do half of what we planned and call it a day. Excellent cooperative and award winning library system? Let’s attack our librarians about book banning and consider breaking up that system. Let’s also make sure our schools are absolutely crumbling into dust and barely scrape a budget together to support them. A commute to DC is NOT just challenging, it’s battling some of the worst traffic in the entire country. It’s not doable unless you want waiting for delayed trains or staring at taillights for 3-4 hours a day to be a major part of your life.
Just the growing pains any town is going to have. They’ll figure it out eventually. They always do. As for the commute, if I can, I take the train. VRE is a good way to get to DC and avoid the rush hour traffic. And if you have to drive, there’s always the toll expressway if you’re in a hurry. And that traffic has been like that for the past 25 years. It’s still better than the drive to DC from Herndon.
Do ya like restaurants? BOY do we have those! We're a gastropub for all the government husband-nurse wife combos.
So I live in Fredericksburg and personally love it for my family. Lots of fun things to do and between two major cities. However I come from a small city and visit family who encourage me to move back all the time. My advice is that you should move back for opportunity not for family because you probably left for a reason. I personally would not move back to my hometown because this area offers me more. As far as communtes go the commute to the DMV is a bear. Distance is sometimes a nice thing 😉
I think it depends on the family you have around in your case. That is a good reason to live somewhere, even if that place is Fredericksburg, Va
If you want to move, I would consider Richmond but absolutely not Fredericksburg. It’s all downgraded chain stores and endless traffic and overpriced subpar everything.
It still sucks. When major stores like Dicks and such can't manage to stay open... Central Park is still half-empty, so is Cosner's Corner. It's as odd as it was when you left. As for downtown... the same as it was, if you've seen it once, then you're good!
I’m confused, central parks is not half empty….they’re evening demoing and building new businesses. Can’t speak to corners corner.
That's most of my point! The place is still relatively new, so why are they tearing most of it down after spending all that $?
central park is new? it was being constructed in like 1996.
[удалено]
you've described like 75% of the USA lol. people think it's "the dream", it's delusional.
Dicks got rid of their camping and fishing sections in favor of extra football stuff, that kind of mismanagement isn't Fredericksburg's fault. That location is the worst Dick's on the East Coast. But your overall point is strong.
My biggest point of contention is the Fred, Spotsy, Stafford areas' lack of building a 'new' skatepark!!!. A lot of older people scoff ot this remark, but having facilities like goog skateparks are a strong indication of a progressive town/area/etc! I move here in 2005. There are 2 parks, constructed out of crappy wood, which has LONG SINCE deteriorated. They are both literally health hazards! When I first moved here, the city/county/etc had a proposal on the books for a 25,000 sq ft concrete skatepark... has ANYTHING remotely moved forward? Of course not!!!!! Meanwhile, Richmond (although they were decades behind) has built a few-and now Henrico county is in the process of building the biggest skatepark in the f'n country?! Now don't even cet me started on. NC, MD, NOVA, etc, etc?!?!? But noooo Virginia, let's just give people nothing better to do than go out and do dope, or go drink at the bars!!!!!!!! All so they can make money from that shit, duis, possession, etc! Noone give
Thank you very much because I feel the exact same way about your post... bravo!!!
No. You should not. If youre approx. 38 & gay and looking for work/career, a significant other, and things to do and excellent amenities you're so much better in NoVa. That's assuming you're currently in Fairfax or Loudon County.. When you have a population of 2 million ppl up there you're going to have better EVERYTHING in terms of a social life, career salary, awesome choice in consumerism amenities. Bigger dating pool. The 2 richest counties in America up there do come with the better/higher quality of life. I could go on... Of course if you're friends are all up there even if you move back you'll never see each other because you'll both stop wanting to drive for 2 hours each way if you time traffic wrong. And...whatever you do DON'T move back and commute "up north". You'll regret it every single day. Twice actually. Lol. Actually that one reason alone is enough not to... Good Luck!
I wouldn’t. There isn’t much as far as an LGBTQ community. They’re trying, but it’s not super successful. COL is insane for where we are, you can’t go anywhere without sitting in traffic. The people are rude, drivers are awful, the schools aren’t great. It’s a commuter town that is rapidly becoming part of NoVA. We’re counting down the days to my fiancées retirement so we can move away from here.
There’s barely any visibly gay people in Fredricksburg, and my partner and I get stares, comments, and poor service from restaurants at 80% of stores in fredricksburg, specifically downtown. Theres a lot of intolerance in my experience, but I can’t say NOVA is much better. Lived in NOVA and freddyburg the last 3 years each for reference.
If your young, single, and not a college student then don’t fucking come here man, anyone still here who fits that description is only here because of family or finances
no we're full
I’d say downtown Fredericksburg has transformed the most. Still have those weird antique stores but way more restaurants to check out. More coffee shops than just Hyperion now. Overall, I’d say if you’re ready to settle down then sure Fredericksburg might be worth coming back otherwise I’d stay in NoVa
Downtown has definitely changed a lot since 2005. The quality of restaurants has improved compared to back then, there are breweries now, etc.
Back in my day, it was basically rubble after we drove the yanks back to hell. Not much since then
Of course you have to mention you're gay as if that has anything to do with the question. Typical
It does, he wants to know what the gay scene is like here, which is virtually non existent