Many BETTER Places To Live Than Fredericksburg VA
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10/8/2014
Disclaimer right off the top; yes I know there are good people everywhere and some are here as well but Fredericksburg is far from an ideal place to live and here is why:
#1 This is first and foremost a bedroom community, no infrastructure to speak of; majority of jobs are retail and restaurant, at low wages. Most people commute long hours every day to Northern Va, D.C. and even Maryland and West Va for high paying jobs. It is not uncommon to meet people who spend 5 hours a day in their car. Which brings me to...
#2 TRAFFIC. There are only 2 roads in and out of this region. I95 and route 1 Both are credited with some of the worst congestion in the country. You CAN spend 2 hours going 25 miles (no accident, just commuters)one reason being many new subdivisions being built along I95 corridor hence more commuters.
#3 This area (Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, South Stafford is INSULAR in EVERY way.
#4 RACISM is alive and well. The downtown area is very segregated with blacks not crossing the rail station line into downtown area. Literally a dividing line of a street. Conservatives are still fighting the "war of northern aggression" and have meetings about it. Liberals, on the other hand, are some of the most closed minded I've come across. If you don't believe exactly as they do they hate you, bullies all.NO MIDDLE GROUND FOR MODERATES. Which BTW is most of country now. A lot of political in-fighting here so nothing gets done.
#5 DISPARITY OF INCOME Again, no middle ground in socio-economic class. Most people struggling terribly; large # on food stamps, while my neighbor built 700,000 home because he is gov't contractor who makes 200,00 per year, but ironically cannot afford to live where he works, hence commute.
#6 Not A Lot To Do Here: Unless you really,really,really love civil war history. Most outdoors people travel as the river dries up many times a year. Mountains and ocean are both 2-3 hours away. This place is mostly a tourist destination.
#7 No CHOICES: not a lot of choices in anything except chain restaurants. Google Central park as that is the main shopping district. Plus a 3rd rate 30 year old mall. NO trader joe's, whole foods, but wegmans is great. Downtown area is very quaint, but very expensive, small, and caters to tourists.
#8 RUDE PEOPLE: Make no mistake, this is the 'High south' not the fabled friendly south. One reason being the generational rednecks with a chip on their shoulder vs. Pennsylvania transplants who moved her to build big homes while they work in D.C. And yes, they hate each other.
#9 PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Not that great. Again, you can look this up. Private schools: ( 2) and again not the greatest in the world, plus thousands of dollars a year.
#10 WEATHER: Lastly, it sucks. Almost 5-6 months of 'too cold to be outside' weather while summers are sweltering with enough humidity to rival the bayou. 100 plus degree days the norm. Maybe 2 weeks of a temperate Spring and maybe 2 weeks of a temperate Autumn.
I guess that's it. I have been her 13 years and am making plans to move my family as soon as I can. And yes, I too loved living here at first, but growth is done.
#7
K. | Fredericksburg, VA