Gainesville, VA INFO??? (Manassas, Fairfax, Haymarket: homes, live, restaurants)

[sivra1]

Anyone have any information on the Gainesville, VA area...

[dullnboring]

Gainesville is sort of like suburbia with a rural edge. It's on the fringes of the DC area but development is quickly swallowing it up. Homes and land are cheaper there so developers and families from elsewhere in the DC region are swooping in to take advantage of it. It has all of your basic amenities and such like grocery stores, Starbucks, Blockbuster, and such, but for more specialized shopping and activities, you'll have to drive 10 miles or so to Manassas. It's somewhat inconvenient just in terms of it's distance from much of the core of the DC region (it's some 40 odd miles from DC) but it's somewhat better connected to the area than other far-flung suburbs due to the fact that I-66 runs right through it. There is also a VRE station (I believe the Broad Run station is the closest) some 7-8 miles away which will enable you to bypass the rough morning commute if going into DC. The area is generally large newly built single-family homes, the infamous McMansions, with large yards in addition to much older more modest homes that showcase the area's one-time rural nature.

[sivra1]

Thank you for the reply and detailed info...

[tarp]

One important note: rush hour traffic on I-66 into and out of Gainesville is absolutely horrendous. The exit to Route 29 is backed up every afternoon from 3:30 PM until 7:30 PM and I pity anyone who lives in Gainesville and has to commute east on I-66 to work in Fairfax County or in D.C. (which is basically everyone in Gainesville as Prince William County does not have that many jobs). The housing costs in Gainesville are lower than in Fairfax County, and the area does have a good amount of shopping and restaurants, but I would highly recommend finding a place closer in and sparing yourself the hassle of commuting. I-66 is currently being widened to four lanes from Manassas to Haymarket, so this should help alleviate traffic for a short time, but I guarantee you that it will still be a mess.

[panda]

I'd NEVER live there - it's UGLY and IMPOSSIBLE to get to going on I66 - you would not want to deal with any type of commute involving Manassas or Gainesville.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by tarp

One important note: rush hour traffic on I-66 into and out of Gainesville is absolutely horrendous.....I pity anyone who lives in Gainesville and has to commute east on I-66 to work in Fairfax County....which is basically everyone in Gainesville - as Prince William County does not have that many jobs.....

True. Lived in the region 31 years. The reason the jobs are in Fairfax County and the housing you need isn't, is that Fairfax County deliberately issues more building permits for offices than for homes. Read the whole story at:
https://www.city-data.com/forum/virgi...-virginia.html

s/Mike from back east - and I ain't going back

[sivra1]

Thank you to all who took time to answer my post. Your comments have definitely helped with our decision making.