Manassas

Old Town Manassas is the downtown district of Manassas, anchored by its popular dining corridor with local shops and dive bars along Center Street. Locals can sip drinks on the patio while the Amtrak trains pull into the station just a block away. The shops downtown are a brief walk from Harris Pavilion, hosting seasonal concerts and activities. Most residents can take a train or drive to northern Virginia points of interest or employers in the greater D.C. area in half an hour or less from home. Along Center Street are local pubs and dine-in spots. Public House Kitchen & Brewery serves draft beers, cocktails and a menu of American classics, like fried chicken, salmon sandwiches and shrimp and grits. For barbecue, there's The Bone, offering pulled pork and smoked chicken. A few doors down is Jirani Coffeehouse, serving up tea and espresso drinks from a brick building with sidewalk seats across from the train tracks. A mile east of the neighborhood is The Shops at Signal Hill, which has a Fresh World and an Aldi for groceries. Another nearby shopping center is Manassas Junction, where locals can stop by Home Depot or beloved Asian supermarket H-Mart, then grab a hot slice from local favorite Tony's New York Pizza. South of the train tracks, the hillside green space of Baldwin Park features a playground and tot lot, as well as benches and a small garden path. Baldwin Park also hosts the Manassas Museum, which is dedicated to the history of Manassas and features numerous city artifacts. Closer to the dining variety downtown is Harris Pavilion, a popular bandstand for summer concerts and dance classes, and in the winter, it becomes a public ice-skating rink. To the west is Dean Park, featuring a skate park, playground and walking paths around a small pond. Hikers can easily access Winters Branch Trail from Dean Park as well, a paved path that snakes between residential blocks. "Lots of locals go to the battlefield to hike and explore and relax. It's also a tourist destination," says Guillermo Salmon, a Realtor with Samson Properties. Manassas National Battlefield Park is a national park that details the landmarks of the first major battle of the Civil War. Nowadays, visitors come by to learn the history, pitch a tent, explore the hiking trails or have lunch in the picnic area. Manassas locals can browse artisan goods and organic foods at the Historic Manassas Farmers Market, open from the spring to the fall, hosted at Harris Pavilion on Thursday mornings and the Prince William Street parking lot on Saturday mornings. Less than a mile south of Old Town Manassas are the grounds for the Prince William County Fair, a spring festival complete with carnival rides, games, face painting for kids and food vendors. The town also supports local businesses with First Friday festivals, where local businesses set up street stands to sell goods or connect with residents. Neighbors often come together for friendly competition in chili cook-offs, sometimes hosted by regional political parties, churches, or the creative chef next door. Home values in Old Town Manassas range from $250,000 to $825,000, varying by square footage and lot size. Much of the housing developments east of Grant Avenue are classic suburban Cape Cods, raised ranches and ramblers, with occasional brick apartment complexes scattered throughout. West of Grant Avenue are many colonial-style townhouse rows, usually coming with two to three bedrooms. Buyers can also seek out Craftsman-style custom homes built within the last twenty years. People mainly renovate homes here, but occasionally, Contemporary-style custom homes take the place of teardowns. "This older, vintage character is [present] all throughout Manassas," says Salmon. "There's a historic district where all the homes have to be maintained by certain specifications set by the city." Many of the restaurants on Center Street and homes as far south as Azure Court fall under this zoning map, which preserves homes dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century. Manassas City Public Schools serve the neighborhood's children. Students are zoned for Jennie Dean Elementary or Baldwin Elementary, both with C-minus overall ratings on Niche. Young learners can progress to Metz Middle School, which is also rated a C-minus, and finish their studies at Osbourn High, which has a C-rating. Osbourn High participates in the Governor's School at Innovation Park, a collaborative program in which Manassas City, Manassas Park City and Prince William County Public Schools send students to STEM courses hosted by George Mason University, allowing them to gain collegiate-level skills before graduating. The main road running through Old Town Manassas is Church Road, which leads to neighboring towns like Chantilly and Centreville and Dulles International Airport in less than 17 miles, or about a thirty-minute drive. Meanwhile, a commute to D.C. takes about 31 miles, or just under an hour. The Manassas train station sits in the center of the neighborhood, and locals can take an Amtrak train to major cities up and down the East Coast or a Virginia Railway Express train as far north as Union Station in D.C.

Though close to the nation’s capital and home to over 10,000 people, Woodbine is far from congested. “In a lot of the community, you can get one-acre living, so you get more house and more bang for your buck,” Jennifer Kloppman of Weichert Realtors explains. <br><br>Less than 40 miles from Washington, the neighborhood benefits from the tranquility of a country home and the accessibility of suburban living. Trees shade homes in the daylight, and only window light illuminates the streets at night. Along the winding roads, recently constructed homes feature colonial-style architecture, while homes built in the 1980s might include a bi-level design. Just as architecture varies throughout the neighborhood, property size does as well. “Fox Mill, you’re on an acre. Meadowbrook is a quarter of an acre and more of a community feel,” Kloppman says. <br><br>Because Woodbine features different lot sizes, home styles and construction years, the price in the neighborhood varies depending on your community. Three-bedroom houses with less than 2,000 square feet cost between $319,000 and $500,000, while those with additional square footage and multi-acre properties cost up to $600,000. Four-bedroom homes in subdivisions like Oak Hill and Oak Ridge cost under $500,000, while homes in subdivisions like Windsor Estates, Classic Lakes and Jacobs Grove can feature 5,000-square-foot homes on lots over 5 acres, driving the price anywhere from $975,000 to $1,550,000. <br><br>How you spend your free time in the neighborhood depends on where you live. If you choose to live in an HOA, you can find an option with the amenities you prefer to have close to home. As Kloppman describes, “There’s certainly neighborhoods that people really seek out. Meadowbrook Woods has like 1,000 homes in that community, and that has its own little clubhouse and swim club, and it goes to the pyramid of schools.” Outside the HOAs, the occasional mailbox indicates a home lies beyond the wall of tree cover, blocking any view from the street. Despite the isolated feel of these areas, entertainment is well within reach. “There are all kinds of historic battlefields and wineries. You’ve got one in Clifton and in Nokesville, within 20 to 25 minutes. There are lots of parks: Prince William Park, public parks, walking trails,” Kloppman says. Hop on the Bull Run Occoquan trail to walk as much of the nearly 20-mile path as you wish while exploring native wildlife and Civil War history. <br><br>No matter which subdivision you live in, Woodbine’s zoned schools remain a draw for the neighborhood, each community part of Prince William County Schools. Most students begin at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School before transitioning to Louise A. Benton Middle School. Benton includes an optional Enriched Science program that extends learning to subjects like entomology, microbiology and forensics. From here, students attend Charles J. Colgan Senior High School, which ranks as the second-best high school for the arts in Virginia and earns an overall A rating from Niche. Though known for its Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, Colgan also includes Advanced Placement courses and an engineering program. <br><br>While Woodbridge and Gainesville keep a wide selection of shops and restaurants less than 15 miles away, Woodbine Shopping Center takes care of the essentials within a mile or two of home. Buy fresh vegetables at Food Lion, tools at Woodbine Hardware and farmhouse décor at Burlap and Daisies. The plaza also includes a dry cleaner, salon and veterinary clinic, making it a one-stop shop for all your day-to-day needs. When you get hungry, slide into a booth at Tony’s Italian Pizzeria across the street and order their steak and cheese sub, a locally loved dish.<br><br>For your morning commute, Dumfries Road connects you to the area’s two major highways. To get into the capital, “it’s 35 to 45 minutes without traffic. You can pay and get on the EZ Express Lane,” Kloppman says. “The area itself is mid-county, so it’s a perfect location for getting commuters to go to 95 within 15 to 20 minutes or 66; you have your choice. Plus, the VRE stop in Old Town Manassas.” For a taste of rural living and a sprinkle of suburban convenience, find a place to kick up your feet in Woodbine.