What the heck does he mean by that title?
In Northern Virginia, A is not always A.
To make sense of this, you must understand that in addition to counties, Virginia also has independent cities, with separate city governments and services that are not part of any county. Thus, the mailing address of that home you saw may say Alexandria, but it is actually within Fairfax County. The same holds true for Falls Church versus Falls Church City and Fairfax County and Fairfax City.
All of this can be quite confusing for visitors and people looking for homes in Northern Virginia.
Why does this matter?
One reason is that independent cities have their own school systems. Do you want your children going to the new T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria? If you live in Kingstowne or down by Mount Vernon, both areas that have Alexandria mailing addresses, your children will not attend T.C. Williams, but will go to other schools within the excellent Fairfax County school system.
A second distinction is property taxes which vary from one Northern Virginia jurisdiction to the next. Each county and independent city has their own authority to set tax rates.
Northern Virginia also has areas with the distinction of being towns, such as the Town of Vienna, Town of Leesburg, and Town of Clifton. Unlike independent cities, towns are part of a larger county and thus are serviced by the county's government and public services. Some of the towns do have their own town governments that provide some limited services, even though the majority of issues are addressed by the county.
When searching for a home in Northern Virginia, it is important to recognize where the home you will be purchasing is located.
Here are some helpful links to the county and city governments in Northern Virginia:
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It isn't easy for buyers trying to search on their own to know the difference. Even on Active Rain we have agents who have created cities such as Kingstowne that aren't cities but neighborhoods. I'm sure that doesn't help a consumer looking on Localism!
This is interesting since we are seeing a number of people move from this area to the Research Triangle Park and the Cary Area! Thanks!
Funny Brian - I was just trying to explain this to a client Sunday when we were looking at properties in Alexandria... (not Alexandria).
Brian,
What continues to amaze me is how diverse the differences are among the various states...in regard to taxing, school districts, county vs local government, cities, boroughs, towns, zip codes, etc....they all mean different things in different states and regions. Thanks, Fran
What a timely post. I have two military clients relocating to DC and they both wanted to know about Alexandria. And of course, I said, "the city or the one in Fairfax County"? It is very confusing. We have the same thing in Prince William county with Manassas, Manassas City and Manasass Park. I don't know how people manage without us! :)
Brian,
I thought only NJ has those interesting town name rules! I had a closing one time in South Jersey, and the seller kept on stressing the point that the mailing address has to read a certain name, whereas the property address has to read a certain name, even though the house is in one location!
Brian,
This is like Silver Spring (an unincorprated, vast sprawling area that consists of a lot of census designated places CDPs)
Someone should do a blog about Bethesda, North Bestheda (actually Rockville), Real Bethesda, Real Potomac, North Potomac (actually Gaithersburg) FAKE Potomac and FAKE Bethesda. LOL
Okay....I got all confused.... our island is ONE county and it's Honolulu County.
CINDY: There are quite a few areas like this and I know that people certainly get confused. I'm often explaining this to clients. Newcomers to the area are often very bewildered.
ELEANOR: We certainly do have many people moving down your way. Thanks for the comment.
JAMES: Thanks for your comment. It was good to see you today at the RE/MAX event in Falls Church (Fairfax County).
FRAN: That's the beauty of our federalist system. Each state operates differently.
CHELLE: There you go, Manassas is another one that people need to be wary about. Thanks for the reminder.
MICHELLE: Thanks for your comment. Every state seems to have their own quirks.
DEBBIE: Don't even get me started on Maryland. I'm in a state of confusion as soon as I cross over the Potomac River into your state. That's why I've only got my licenses in Virginia and the District.
SALLY: Things seem much simpler over there in paradise.