Springfield

While very close to Washington DC, there is little variety in shopping or eating out aside from the standard suburban malls. The Cardinal Forest neighborhood has been a terrible lesson for my family. The HOA has ridiculous dues and they do almost nothing. Not even recycling! The HOA bylaws protect slumlords and transient tenants while screwing over residential owners. I have called contractors to repair damage caused by the slum above my condo but the HOA prevents my insurance from collecting the cost of damages from the slum. Even if the neighborhood is visually nice, it is shockingly NOT owner friendly. Incredibly noisy, increasingly ghetto, with the main positive, the schools, also going downhill, I recommend accepting a longer commute unless the DC proximity is worth an otherwise unpleasant place to live with no sensse of community and a borderline criminal association.