NOVA housing near dulles? (Alexandria, Reston: transplants, apartment complexes, rental)
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I'll be moving to Dulles/NOVA area at end of February. Are there any neighborhoods or apartment communities that are a good find in that area? I've been looking online and it seems about the cheapest to get out for a 1br is 1100. What do the locals say?
About myself
Single male
28 years old
Annual income 60k
Work will be located in Chantilly,VA
Also as far as trendiness and area is there anything that's reasonable that has a builtup commercial area that's able to walk to shops/bars/parks? Coming from Denver the layout of the city here is pretty good and has many neighborhoods that meet these characteristics. Any Colorado transplants or people familiar with the area can suggest some neighborhoods to begin the rental search? Thanks!
Last edited by ecupirate82; 01-15-2011 at 02:38 PM..
Reason: more details...
Hi! Welcome to Northern VA. I lived in Denver many years ago, although I'm not sure if it helps. It's hard to say if any area here is exactly "Denverish" but Reston is an interesting community with lots of walking trails, stores and restaurants with walking distance, a town center, etc. It probably has the most apartments, too.
Chantilly might have something, too. I'm not that familiar with Chantilly, so I can't give much advice. The impression I get is there isn't much besides homes there but I could be wrong.
The apartments surrounding Dulles Town Center are another possibility. It's an easy commute to Dulles, has lots of shopping and restaurants, and a minor league baseball stadium is being built across from it on the other side of 28. There's a large lot next to the mall that hosts carnivals, The Big Apple Circus, July 4th Fireworks, etc. I could see that as a fun place to live (although Reston might be more appealing.)
Here's a photo tour of Reston to give you an idea. I don't have photos of the Dulles area, but I'm sure you can find some online.
My husband and I just came back from Denver last week (we are thinking about moving there). You're definitely going to have more space between residential and commercial/businesses/shopping/etc. However, I think these following areas would fit your needs:
Reston Town Center (walkable to shopping, bars, restaurants) - housing may be a bit expensive, but it's pretty expensive in the NoVA area, compared to Denver. I believe from our research, a reasonable apartment for 1 bedroom 1 bathroom in Denver is about $700 - expect to be paying closer to $900-1,000/month. *highly recommend this area
Chantilly Sully Station (not as nice as Reston, but still walkable to shopping, restaurants)
Centreville Farms (not as walkable, but within a 2 minute drive, you can go to Fair Lakes Shopping Center, which has tons of shopping/restaurants)
South Riding (in Chantilly, VA; it's a planned community - walkable to shopping and restaurants - it's a MUCH smaller highlands ranch type community - we don't have many planned communities here)
Dulles Town Center - walkable to shopping, Dulles Mall, restaurants, bars
Fairfax Town Center & Fair Oaks Mall Shopping Center area - depending on where your apartment will be, could be walkable to bars, restaurants, shopping
Old Town Fairfax - may be a bit pricey, but a small area that has a great bar (old shaubeen)
Depending on how far you are willing to drive and how much your budget is, I would also recommend Old Town Vienna - it's also pricey, but good old town feel and close to Tysons Shopping/Galleria. It may be a bit further, but you should be driving against traffic if you work in Chantilly.
Westfields is another great place (it's in Centreville, right next to Chantilly) - not too much shopping, but within 10 minutes of driving, you can get to a lot of the places listed above.
Basically, if you are moving here, expect that this area is much more suburban and things are much more spread out than what you're probably used to in the Denver area.
Thanks for the quick feedback! Seems like RTC is the place to be. Just browsing online and seems there are some apartments there but like 1200-1400 for a 1br. Is it better just to hit the streets and find some gems that have a little bit lower rents? Scour craigslist? Also I've seen some high rises in RTC go for like 2000-2500 1br. Kind of ridiculous imho from a sq. footage standpoint.
The photo tour is very nice and I really like RTC.
Shenobi: Nice suggestions as well I've looked at some Dullest Town center on the google/housing maps and it also seems nice. I guess my 'budget' would be something less than $1500 for a 1br. The more sqft./nicer amenities (hardwoods/stone counter tops) would be a plus and a management company that doesn't insist on raising rents every 6/12months :-/
Thanks for the quick feedback! Seems like RTC is the place to be. Just browsing online and seems there are some apartments there but like 1200-1400 for a 1br. Is it better just to hit the streets and find some gems that have a little bit lower rents? Scour craigslist? Also I've seen some high rises in RTC go for like 2000-2500 1br. Kind of ridiculous imho from a sq. footage standpoint.
The photo tour is very nice and I really like RTC.
Shenobi: Nice suggestions as well I've looked at some Dullest Town center on the google/housing maps and it also seems nice. I guess my 'budget' would be something less than $1500 for a 1br. The more sqft./nicer amenities (hardwoods/stone counter tops) would be a plus and a management company that doesn't insist on raising rents every 6/12months :-/
You can be near RTC and get lower rents. Try looking in Herndon (which also has some restaurants and bars you can walk to) and some other apartments in North Reston. Archstone in Reston is one that's across the street from RTC and has relatively low rent but be warned--they are famous for raising the rent after a year. So it's a good deal if you don't mind moving again. You might enjoy this link because it has a lot of photos of an apartment's interior which I sure you'd find interesting.
My son lived in the Sycamore apartments for several years. He liked it because it allowed dogs, was walking distance to the bike path, the Town Center, grocery stores, and other shopping. The apartments were fairly spacious with eat in kitchens and separate dining room. They also had dishwasher and washer and dryer in each apartment, lots of closet space, including two closets in the bedroom with one being a walk-in. Reston Area Apartments for Rent - The Sycamores
Thanks again for the links! Yea I'm not going to automatically go for the cheapest. Also I'm a little jaded on reviews online it seems only pissed off people want to review. As far as the reston area it looks like being directly in the town center won't be feasible for my budget. I hear there are a good number of walking paths since it is a planned community. Does anyone have a map here as I'd like to get an apartment near the path to walk down to farmers markets/bars/restaurants etc. Can't find one online for the walking paths.
Also seems like Fairway Apartments look nice and are decently close.... Wish they'd come with hardwoods but don't think I'm going to find that in sub-1500 range.
If you are willing to have a roommate or rent from a guy who's got a TH or condo, you might do better than renting a 1BR on your own.
Reston or the town of Herndon sound like they offer most of what you want, although individual apartment complexes in/around Fairfax/Fair Lakes/Chantilly may surprise you.
Nice that's another thing that I'm going to check out. My friend lives in Alexandria was gracious enough to let me stay with him and his wife until I get a place settled on. I'm going to arrive early before my start date to find a place to live and will check surrounding areas.
@Stpickrell what do you define as surprising? 700-900$?
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