Fun recreation for the children of Lake Ridge

Lake Ridge offers more than just homes; they offer friendly recreational areas for the young people of their community as well.  With all the facilities offered, they will never stray away from home or find themselves bored. Most especially featured are the recreational facilities and neighborhood playgrounds offered for our young people.

Lake Ridge Parks and Recreation Association:

Located at 12350 Oakwood Drive in Woodbridge VA 22192, Lake Ridge Parks and Recreation offers the children of all homeowners a variety of sport programs suitable for all ages such as flag football, T-ball, Coach Pitch and soccer. These programs and other educational programs are available all year round.

Lake Ridge Park Golf and Marina:

Located at 12350 Cotton Mill Drive in Woodbridge VA 22192, Lake Ridge Park Golf and Marina that is a part of the Prince William County Park System also provides a variety of programs such as golf, camps, canoe, mini golf, kayak classes and many others.
Soccer Balls Net 7-22-09 1
Soccer Balls
Lake Ridge offers 5 pools and a spray ground as well as an array of restaurants that are accessible when the young ones are tired and hungry. photo credit: stevendepolo

Living The Charmed Life in Annandale, Virginia

porch
porch at Pinecrest
If you are looking for a great place to live, then you have found the right community in Annandale. Located inside the Beltway near the West End of Alexandria, this town in Fairfax County, Virginia displays a love for nature as well as a thriving appreciation for the arts and sciences. Parks are scattered all over the region while main offices of ENSCO, INc, Computer Sciences Corporation and Exxon Mobil are located in Annandale. Hidden Oaks Nature Center has held a variety of activities, such as the Brownie Nature Scout Festival, the Mother’s Day Walk With A Naturalist, and the Good Night Walk: Sounds of the Night, that children and adults enjoyed participating. Hopefully, these nature walks and festivals will become an annual tradition among residents and tourists. The town also boasts two large markets, namely the Annandale Farmers Market and the Wakefield Farmers Market, that provide fresh produce, meat, herbs, spices and baked goods to Annandale residents and restaurants, which mostly serve Korean cuisine as well as popular American food. Aside from the market centers and restaurants, Annandale also prides itself with fine recreational places, such as the Pinecrest Golf Course, the Wakefield Skate Park, and the Audrey Moore RECenter. The golf course has 10 driving cages and indoor practice area aside from the clubhouse, snack bar and pro shop. For the kids, the Wakefield Skate Park holds skateboarding and BMX camps for children and teens. Lastly, the Audrey Moore RECenter, formerly known as Wakefield RECenter, houses indoor swimming pools and offers more than 40 fitness classes each week.

Homes for Sale in Annandale VA

Price of 1 Bedroom Condo in Old Town / Carlyle District remains steady.

Alexandria average price per square foot The Carlyle District and Old Town Alexandria are located in the 22314 zip code. As of the time of this posting the price per square foot in this area has remained statistically unchanged over the past year.

Condos for Sale in Alexandria VA

Williamsburg Condos

Washington, DC, SkylineWilliamsburg Condominiums are located in Arlington, Virginia. These beauiful living spaces sit across from the Potomac River with spectacular views of Washington D. C. Come enjoy Arlington living at Williamsburg with the following amenities:
  • Community Room
  • Pool
  • Gym
  • Library
  • Recreation Room
  • Gazebo
Williamsburg is quaint and luxurious all at the same time. photo credit: euthman

Biking in Arlington’s Trails

A large network of trails, bike lanes and bikeable streets allowing accessible cycling in and about the neighborhoods in Arlington can be found to be quick, safe and very convenient Biking Benefits:
  • Inexpensive – Anyone can afford and maintain this means of transportation.
  • Convenient – Less troublesome when it comes to getting to certain places.
  • Fitness  –  Firming, calorie burning all that can be achieved without membership fees
  • Environment Friendly – No noise or air pollution (no carbon dioxide emissions).
  • Traffic Congestion – Takes away the bumper to bumper situation of traffic on the road.
  • Business – Cost Saving for transportation re-imbursements.
  • Happy Community - Bikers are more relaxed and can enjoy the beauty of the community.
The bike friendly structures in Arlington complements the walkways and public transits system allowing everyone get about in Arlington and in other counties without needing a car. In January 1 2009, the Bicycle Commuter Act was added as one of the qualified transportation benefits covered in section 132(f) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. The Bicycle Commuter Act is simple as the cycling itself. Cyclists get the same qualified transportation benefits for taking transit, driving or parking their cars to and from work. A reimbursement of up to $20/month for expenses incurred by the employee who bikes to work. The trails in Arlington are actually multi use trails that are shared equally and enjoyed by bicyclists, pedestrians, runners, skaters, cross country skiers, dog walkers, baby strollers, people using wheelchairs and the like. Courtesy and assertiveness is required to avoid any collisions. For Trail sharing and Security on the Trails visit Arlington County Commuter Services website. Family Cycle Train There are about 400 bike racks available throughout the County as Arlington promotes cycling to be a preferable and easy mode of traveling. Arlington does require new residential, office and retail establishments to provide generous if not ample bike parking with shower and locker facilities. For the security of bikes, registering bicycles with the Arlington County Police Department is highly recommended. A license is issued with records of license number, serial number of the bicycle and the name of the owner. It is also recommended to use a U-lock instead of chains and cables. For more detailed information about biking, you can refer to ACCS or the Arlington County Commuter Services which is a bureau of the Arlington, Virginia Department of Environmental Services. ACCS programs work to encourage and promote the use of mass transit, carpooling, vanpooling, bicycling, walking, teleworking and other alternative aside from driving alone. photo credit: Amsterdamize

Potters Glen

Formerly a farm owned by the Potter family, Potters Glen properties comprises of 92 townhouses developed by 3 different developers. Potters Glen’s community also has a Gazebo Area where special occasions can be held and everything needed to host a party is available. Its location is conveniently close to Springfield Mall as well as an array of restaurants and Shop stops in Kingstowne. Major transportation via the Franconia-Springfield Metro/VRE Station as well as Metro, I-95, I-495 and I-395 is exceptionally accessible.    

Hidden Pond Nature Center Is An Educational Place for Everyone

With a small park for leisurely strolls around a pond and through the woods, Hidden Pond Nature Center can be found at the end of a residential street in the Kenwood Oaks Community of Springfield in the Fairfax County. 25 acres of Hidden Park is ruled over by larger neighboring parks such as Burke Lake Park with 880 acres and Pohick Stream Valley Park with 700 acres. The Hidden Park is acres of undisturbed woodland, tranquil trails, bubbling streams and an acre pond along with a new 2,000 foot trail and bridge that connects to Pohick Stream Valley Park. A lighted tennis court and a children’s play area can be enjoyed. Hidden Pond Nature Center is special because of its wide variety of educational activities and programs provided throughout the whole year for school children and community organizations or work. The programs and activities held are connected by Fairfax County Public Schools that meet the local science standard of learning helping teachers in their lessons. The Center also features live displays and exhibits that teach about the natural world of Fairfax County. Books and other items are also sold for nature lovers. Hidden Pond Nature Center is located at 8511 Greeley Blvd in Springfield VA 22152. Form ore information about their programs and activities you can contact 703-451-9588.

From Location to Commute, Will This Affect Real Estate?

For those searching for homes in Northern Virginia, the location is always the main and important factor. However, there are a lot of specifications that would decide on a location. Those would be the exact neighborhoods, views, noise, schools, accessibility to shopping centers/ entertainment/ convenient stores/ healthcare and more. But there is one factor that will remain to be the most important specification and that would be Commute. Washington DC does have the most gridlock highways in the country and as regional planners suggest improvements to handle the current situation, people and employment still rains hard. Although from the perspective of Real Estate it is a blessing but in terms of commute it is already a complicated and challenging situation that would grow into a more challenging one. According to local news radio WTOP, the Washington DC region is primed to grow by more than 2 million people over the next 25 years, however the same report did highlight that the region needs to build more accessible roads to handle the influx. While as observed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance, once we get beyond our current major roads projects to deal with the current concerns, there are “no improvements in the pipeline after this”. Based on the current situation we have, the concern of location in Real Estate may as well be commute. A worker’s commute being frustrating and lengthy can and will have a large impact on his or her lifestyle and even personality. Bearing this in mind, the consideration to trade other location features to commute features will definitely arise. Such commuting features may be:
  • Accessibility to current or possible job centers that may include military bases.
  • Convenient highway access
  • Accessibility to mass transportation like Metrorail
  • Proximity to airports – Dulles or Reagan National in Northern Virginia or BWI
  • Consideration of toll vs. non-toll highways
  • Carpool hours on certain highways that can affect commute
  • Accessibility to secondary roads and upcoming road improvements
  • Awareness of where “ bottlenecks” can be found
Would such considerations make a large change of location specifications to commute specifications in terms of Real Estate?