Where in NoVa would you point two empty nesters who like urban/walkable/quaint

[BayAreaHillbilly]

This is a fascinating thread. We will eventually fit somewhat into this scenario. But here's the twist. We want to be in a single story / single ground level detached SFR. But the other criteria - walkability, near a Metro station, near charming colonial areas, etc, apply. We envisage a small area of post WW2 SFR, perhaps in a small 50 - 60 year old infill development within a denser, older area. Thinking Fairfax, Arlington, etc.

Thoughts?

[michgc]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

This is a fascinating thread. We will eventually fit somewhat into this scenario. But here's the twist. We want to be in a single story / single ground level detached SFR. But the other criteria - walkability, near a Metro station, near charming colonial areas, etc, apply. We envisage a small area of post WW2 SFR, perhaps in a small 50 - 60 year old infill development within a denser, older area. Thinking Fairfax, Arlington, etc.

Thoughts?

A lot would depend on your budget. You could do any of these: from most expensive to least expensive, in general would be Arlington, Falls Church, Town of Vienna, and Fairfax City. Just don't expect charming New England towns as they are few and far between here, but you can get dense and walkable in several places. Alexandria would probably work, too.

Town of Vienna has a plethora of single story ranch homes from post WWII.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by michgc

A lot would depend on your budget. You could do any of these: from most expensive to least expensive, in general would be Arlington, Falls Church, Town of Vienna, and Fairfax City. Just don't expect charming New England towns as they are few and far between here, but you can get dense and walkable in several places. Alexandria would probably work, too.

Town of Vienna has a plethora of single story ranch homes from post WWII.

This seems doable. We're thinking about something between 1300 and 1500 SF, ranging from a 2/1.5 to a 3/2, with a decent amount of storage, in nearly turnkey condition (but not necessarily "updated" - a good state of repair is far more important to us than granite, advanced bells and whistles, etc). No need for charming New Englandesque. As you can probably gather we're more "Uptown Bohemian" than "Big Screen TV" -

[boza81]

the mt vernon area, between the George Washington Parkway, and Rt. one is a nice place to live. You have mt. vernon estate, close proximaty to the bike trail along the parkway, the mt. vernon and woodlawn estates. It's close to the Potomac River. However, rt. 1 is a mess - and that is where all nearby retail shopping is located. It's like two different worlds.

[Truck Buddy]

Definitely the Old Town, Alexandria area. I'm nowhere near an "empty nester" yet (kids are all under 4 years old), but the OP's preferences are similar to ours. We'd still live in Old Town if things didn't work out a little differently.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by boza81

the mt vernon area, between the George Washington Parkway, and Rt. one is a nice place to live. You have mt. vernon estate, close proximaty to the bike trail along the parkway, the mt. vernon and woodlawn estates. It's close to the Potomac River. However, rt. 1 is a mess - and that is where all nearby retail shopping is located. It's like two different worlds.

I avoid Route 1 as much as possible and generally drive or bike to Old Town to shop or eat. What's nice is if you just stay on the parkway you can pretty much forget that Route 1 exists. Of course that could be one reason it doesn't get any better.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

I avoid Route 1 as much as possible and generally drive or bike to Old Town to shop or eat. What's nice is if you just stay on the parkway you can pretty much forget that Route 1 exists. Of course that could be one reason it doesn't get any better.

How do you get onto the trail by bike (or on foot)? We went to the part of the trail near the boat landing, and were originally going to park in the neighborhood, cause that was the direction we came from = but found ourselves basically forced to go and park in the lot near the boat landing, cause crossing GW parkway on foot was too difficult. I guess you could go all the way to up the crossing (I think there's a light) up near the Wilson bridge, but I don't recall seeing any crossings further south (at least in the section that we walked - perhaps there is a foot bridge Im forgetting?). MVT is a great facility in general - but for it to help the neighborhood more than a quarter mile or so from old town to begin to qualify for the standards of the OP, I would think better pedestrian access to the MVT from the neighborhood would be required.

Of course not everyone is looking for what we are (sounds like bayarea hillbilly is more interested in more space) It might be less confusing if folks started their own threads

[robbobobbo]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

How do you get onto the trail by bike (or on foot)? We went to the part of the trail near the boat landing, and were originally going to park in the neighborhood, cause that was the direction we came from = but found ourselves basically forced to go and park in the lot near the boat landing, cause crossing GW parkway on foot was too difficult. I guess you could go all the way to up the crossing (I think there's a light) up near the Wilson bridge, but I don't recall seeing any crossings further south (at least in the section that we walked - perhaps there is a foot bridge Im forgetting?). MVT is a great facility in general - but for it to help the neighborhood more than a quarter mile or so from old town to begin to qualify for the standards of the OP, I would think better pedestrian access to the MVT from the neighborhood would be required.

Of course not everyone is looking for what we are (sounds like bayarea hillbilly is more interested in more space) It might be less confusing if folks started their own threads

The Mt Vernon Trail is on the west side of the Parkway (not river side) starting at Alexandria Ave (the stone arched bridge) and stays on that side all the way to Fort Hunt park. That puts it too far south for easy walkable access to Old Town, but the drive or bike ride really is no hassle and you can be in Old Town in no time.

I do see cyclists cross the parkway frequently at Belle View, both at Belle Haven Rd and Belle View Blvd. In fact, if you look at Google Street View at Belle View Blvd, you can see a cyclist doing just that. But Belle View/Belle Haven is just as suburban as points further south along the Parkway.

[fdinuzzo]

Similar to Brooklynborndad, my wife and I are moving to NoVo for a new job, we also are looking for a place like Alexandria to live. Looking in the area, it looks like our budget will work, but I would like some honest information about commute as I will be working in the western suburbs near Centreville. Google tells me it should take one hour, but I've heard horror stories that the commute at 7:00 am could be as much as two hours. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks! FD

[smarterguy]

Yup, I66, even going sorta opposite of most traffic can be just as bad. I have off every other Monday and head out west a lot on those long weekends. When I head back Monday evenings during rush hour, I-66 is usually stop and go all the way to the beltway. And then the beltway can be stop and go till Braddock Road. Perhaps look into Fairfax or Manassas? (I have a very low tolerance for traffic on my commutes and live as close as possible to work)