What Are the Not Good areas in Arlington and Alexandria? (Franconia: houses, neighborhood)

[need_more_light]

Originally Posted by dkf747

This is one of my pet peeves about this area (not with you personally). The are you are referring to is NOT Alexandria. The post office calls it that, but that does not make it so. The area is Fairfax county, which is not the same thing as Alexandria.

I've lived in zip code 22310 for 10+ years. The address is Alexandria but in Fairfax County. When people ask me where I live, I've always told them Alexandria because that's what it is. When I fill out forms, I put Alexandria in the City section. What do you suggest my answer should be, if not Alexandria?

Are you saying that the post office is wrong about calling 22310,22303,22307,22309,etc. Alexandria? In what aspect are they wrong about calling those zip codes Alexandria? Just because they're not in City of Alexandria? I'm just curious as to how one concludes that the zip code one lives in shouldn't be called what the post office calls it and if they are obviously wrong, why don't they make it right?

[pcity]

Originally Posted by dkf747

This is one of my pet peeves about this area (not with you personally). The are you are referring to is NOT Alexandria. The post office calls it that, but that does not make it so. The area is Fairfax county, which is not the same thing as Alexandria.

It absolutely is Alexandria. USPS is official as it gets.

If someone mentions "City of Alexandria" or "Old Town Alexandria", then obviously the Fairfax County areas are excluded, but if someone just says "Alexandria", it's anyplace with those postal codes.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by need_more_light

Are you saying that the post office is wrong about calling 22310,22303,22307,22309,etc. Alexandria? In what aspect are they wrong about calling those zip codes Alexandria? Just because they're not in City of Alexandria? I'm just curious as to how one concludes that the zip code one lives in shouldn't be called what the post office calls it and if they are obviously wrong, why don't they make it right?

Don't forget 22308.

I think what the poster was getting at is that it can be confusing to some that there are Alexandria addresses that aren't in the City of Alexandria. Unfortunately that's just the way it is. However, when someone on here asks about Alexandria it's probably a good idea to differentiate since the schools, taxes, government, etc. are different.

[Leezer]

I totally agree with PCity and Need More Light.

Alexandria in Fairfax County is Alexandria just as much as Alexandria City is Alexandria.

If you'll note the OP, he/she did not specify the city of Alexandria.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by pcity

It absolutely is Alexandria. USPS is official as it gets.

Who granted the Post Office the right to declare that an area be named such and such? It's way too confusing. Look at the argument in this thread. The argument fizzled when it became clear that they were not talking about the same thing. Same thing when people on here ask about Alexandria and no one can figure out where they're talking about. Has the OP ever come back and clarified which place they are asking about? Ever stop to ask why the Post Office calls part of Fairfax County the name of a nearby city? It is for the Post Office's convenience, not for you or me.

When I moved to Fairfax County (22306) from elsewhere, it got so confusing! It took a long time to realize that that area was not Alexandria. Alexandria is a town with clearly defined borders. It's been a while since I lived there, but I seem to recall confusion on some taxes (maybe the Car Tax - I forgot) or some other laws which are different between the actual town and the part of Fairfax County called Alexandria by the Post Office, but which of course is not Alexandria.

The area in Fairfax County is an unincorporated section of that county. You get the same confusion around Falls Church, and other towns in NoVA, and in MD as well (Silver spring, Bethesda, Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Laurel, etc...). Clear definitions of where one place ends and another begins are badly needed here. You can call the area Alexandria all that you want, heck the post office does, but it is not really Alexandria. I often say, "the Alexandria section of Fairfax County" or "the part of Fairfax County that the post office calls Alexandria". Imagine that on a road sign - (Welcome to the part of Fairfax County which the post office calls Alexandria, but really isn't).

[Alicia Bradley]

Eh, if you don't live in the actual City of Alexandria, you don't get to use ANY of Alexandria's city tax-supported services (like libraries - though they do have reciprocity with the FC libraries; you just can't apply for a card there). I moved to Huntington in '08 thinking I was moving to Alexandria. WRONG!! It actually took me about six months to realize I didn't live in Alexandria. I was going to use a doctor at an Alexandria clinic (that's apparently partially supported with city taxes), since she accepted my insurance (BCBS FEP Standard PPO [I'd love High, but it's not available to Federal workers]), and it turned out I was not allowed to do so. (Interestingly, if I'd lived in Huntington and hadn't had insurance, I could've seen someone at this clinic, they said.) You also have to put up with FC's crappy-looking, weed-filled roadsides and medians. Alexandria City actually puts forth some minimal amount of effort to keep theirs looking halfway decent. Also -

Originally Posted by pcity

If someone mentions "City of Alexandria" or "Old Town Alexandria", then obviously the Fairfax County areas are excluded, but if someone just says "Alexandria", it's anyplace with those postal codes.

Old Town Alexandria is just a small part of the City of Alexandria. When I told a bunch of people back in '07 that I'd be moving to Alexandria, they (envisioning Old Town, they later admitted) said I'd love it so much(!!!!). I actually turned out to be two steps removed from Old Town, in the Huntington part of Fairfax County, which happens to have an Alexandria mailing address. I actually lived pretty close to Old Town, as the crow flies (so the speak), but getting there on my bike or on foot involved crossing Rt. 1, so I ended up not doing it nearly as much as I'd originally intended.

[pcity]

Most people call the place they live by the USPS name rather than the local government's name. It's like that everywhere. After all, that's where the USPS names came from. They're not for USPS convenience- they originated in the common terms people used for areas.

When I lived in PA, the unincorporated areas were divided a lot finer than here. They have "townships" that are divisions within the counties. Yet, if you go on the PA boards, not that many people refer to the "township" names. They refer to the Post Office names.

For instance, if you search on the Philly boards, you'll see a lot of people talking about "King of Prussia". This is a census-designated place and also an USPS-accepted address, just like the Alexandria parts of Fairfax County. Yet there is no "King of Prussia" government- the township "King of Prussia" residents belong to is called "Upper Merion". Yet, you see tons of people talking about living or working in "King of Prussia".

[pcity]

Originally Posted by dkf747

It's been a while since I lived there, but I seem to recall confusion on some taxes (maybe the Car Tax - I forgot) or some other laws which are different between the actual town and the part of Fairfax County called Alexandria by the Post Office, but which of course is not Alexandria.

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

It actually took me about six months to realize I didn't live in Alexandria.

Is the rest of the country so different from here?

I ask because, again, I'm from PA and things are similar. I'd never heard of anyone from PA having trouble with this and we had some situations like the Alexandria/Fairfax County ones. You'd be in one township but your address would be the same as the borough next to you.

I know of someone from another state that did something similar to dkf747, paying car taxes to the wrong jurisdiction, which really surprised me, cause he's a pretty smart guy. I was thinking "how could he not know what jurisdiction he was in?"

But maybe that's just my PA-trained brain that doesn't automatically assume jurisdiction is equal to postal address? Do places in the South and West not have this issue?

[Stephen 81]

Originally Posted by pcity

Do places in the South and West not have this issue?

They do. NC has a Durham County and a City of Durham. The City of Durham is entirely within Durham County, and the parts of Durham County outside of the City of Durham still have Durham mailing addresses. Meanwhile, in the Los Angeles area, you have two million people in the San Fernando Valley, with mailing addresses that do not say Los Angeles, who live in the City of Los Angeles.

Virginia is unusual because of its system of independent cities, of which Alexandria is one (but Arlington is not, as the smallest self-governing county by area in the country). Still, we're hardly alone in having situations like the one in the Fairfax County section of Alexandria.

[need_more_light]

Originally Posted by dkf747

This is one of my pet peeves about this area (not with you personally). The are you are referring to is NOT Alexandria. The post office calls it that, but that does not make it so. The area is Fairfax county, which is not the same thing as Alexandria.

Originally Posted by dkf747

Who granted the Post Office the right to declare that an area be named such and such? It's way too confusing. Look at the argument in this thread. The argument fizzled when it became clear that they were not talking about the same thing. Same thing when people on here ask about Alexandria and no one can figure out where they're talking about. Has the OP ever come back and clarified which place they are asking about? Ever stop to ask why the Post Office calls part of Fairfax County the name of a nearby city? It is for the Post Office's convenience, not for you or me.

When I moved to Fairfax County (22306) from elsewhere, it got so confusing! It took a long time to realize that that area was not Alexandria. Alexandria is a town with clearly defined borders. It's been a while since I lived there, but I seem to recall confusion on some taxes (maybe the Car Tax - I forgot) or some other laws which are different between the actual town and the part of Fairfax County called Alexandria by the Post Office, but which of course is not Alexandria.

The area in Fairfax County is an unincorporated section of that county. You get the same confusion around Falls Church, and other towns in NoVA, and in MD as well (Silver spring, Bethesda, Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Laurel, etc...). Clear definitions of where one place ends and another begins are badly needed here. You can call the area Alexandria all that you want, heck the post office does, but it is not really Alexandria. I often say, "the Alexandria section of Fairfax County" or "the part of Fairfax County that the post office calls Alexandria". Imagine that on a road sign - (Welcome to the part of Fairfax County which the post office calls Alexandria, but really isn't).

Well, let me ask the same question but directed at you instead. Who granted you the right to declare that the Alexandria in Fairfax County is NOT Alexandria?

And if someone granted you the right, why don't you change the name of Alexandria in Fairfax County to something else since it's one of your pet peeves about this area anyway?