Did my two years of pennance and we lived in Woodbridge. Bought a 2400 sq ft house there, mortgage was about what the housing allowance was - part of the entering argument with the real estate lady. Sold it for about an $80k profit.
Commute was about 30 minutes on the HOV if you slugged or carpooled. I parked in south parking for part of the first year, slugged for about a year and car pooled the rest of the time. Car pooling and slugging were good in that you had a reason for leaving the office at a reasonable time, don't want to miss your ride home. It seemed like it took at least 30 minutes to get anywhere as traffic seemed to always be heavy.
Schools were good in Virginia, we had no problems.