Apartments or townhouses near Metro for family with young kids?

[Yankeesfan]

Just to clarify, if your husband could take Gallery Place OR Metro Center, as your original post mentioned, you could also look along the blue and orange lines, which stop at Metro Center.

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by wsamon

I suggest checking out Old Town Alexandria, and Del Rey. Crystal City could work too, but it's less cute and interesting IMO. ... Of those, I think Old Town, Del Rey, Crystal City, and Pentagon City are probably your best bets. IMO Old Town and Del Rey are the better of the two. They have more of the unique eateries and smaller shops. Crystal City and Pentagon City have more malls and big chains (but still some smaller places too). With your budget you should be able to get a 3-bed condo or townhome in any of these areas I believe. FWIW, I think that Old Town and Del Rey are also nicer areas to buy if you have the money. In any case, it's worth checking out!

I agree that the OP might like all the areas you suggest, that CC/PC are less "cute" than OT and Del Ray, and that there is a big mall at PC (though there's also Potomac Yard in Alexandria), but I would otherwise disagree about the conclusions you're drawing (not sure what they are based on), especially with respect to a longer term decision of buying. For either decision, CC/PC is a few metro stops closer to Gallery Place. In this area, every saved minute of commuting time counts. And, there are plenty of small businesses in the CC/PC area, as just one example, all along 23rd St. west of Rte 1, in addition to some east of there - not as many as Old Town, but my guess would be a pretty comparable # to Del Ray, where most are located on a fairly short stretch of Mt. Vernon Av. There probably aren't as many townhouses in CC/PC as in OT (but more apartments, condos and SFHs), but Del Ray doesn't have a lot of those either. I'm not sure if OP is looking to buy a townhome eventually, or to move to a SFH. Parking is less of a problem for homeowners (and maybe for apartment renters) in CC/PC than in OT because (given the lower cute factor) there aren't as many tourists to compete with, and Arl. requires permits during the week.

If you are focusing only on the high rises, you're leaving out the nearby SFH neighborhoods in CC/PC, which compare favorably to Del Ray and to Old Town, albeit in different ways (and that's why the price ranges are pretty similar). There are parks and rec. facilities, library with programs for kids, etc. As an example of how CC/PC SFH neighborhoods might come out on top, it will be hard to find a SFH with a yard in Old Town (though the OP may not care about that, even longer term), and there are residential parts of OT and Del Ray that are still transitioning or have some crime issues.

There are many other elements to consider. One key consideration, for a SAHM's prospective home buying decision, is public schools, unless she is budgeting for private schooling. Many people (who post about here, anyway) see Alex. schools as relatively weak (though they are probably better than in most parts of the country), and there are others in the area that are better regarded than those in CC/PC. Another is how well the county govt. plans, and operates. We'd have to know much more about the OP's preferences to know how to compare and contrast, and make tradeoffs, in ways that would make the most sense for her.

[wsamon]

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

Just to clarify, if your husband could take Gallery Place OR Metro Center, as your original post mentioned, you could also look along the blue and orange lines, which stop at Metro Center.

My bad. I missed that part. If that's true, then yes, you can look along the orange and blue lines as well, so some of the places that other people mentioned are good areas to look at. Ballston, Clarendon, Falls Church, and Fairfax are places that come to mind along the blue and orange lines. Although I don't remember if you can walk from Fairfax to a metro easily. Most of Rosslyn tends to go dead shortly after the work day so I don't know if that's what you're looking for. It would be a really short commute, but I'm not certain about the walkable choices at night or weekends.

Use Metro - Home page to get an idea of commute times. You can use their homepage and put in an address or a metro station in the From field, then either Metro Center or Gallery Place in the To field and choose like 8:00 AM on a weekday to get an idea of what the commute will be like if you don't have to drive. Everything mentioned so far should be very workable.

Originally Posted by ACWhite

(though there's also Potomac Yard in Alexandria)

If you're walkable to a metro in Alexandria, you're not really walkable to Potomac Yard, so I didn't count that. Crystal City has that underground/above ground mall

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

(not sure what they are based on)...And, there are plenty of small businesses in the CC/PC area... not as many as Old Town, but my guess would be a pretty comparable # to Del Ray

Honestly, I'm not basing it on a whole lot. The poster should probably defer to your knowledge over mine. I've spent a little bit of time in that area, but never lived there or gone there frequently. Most of my experiences were with events at the Crystal City Sports Pub and seeing a friend's band play at a couple places there. I also went there a couple times when I lived near the intersection of the Glebes for a couple months.

When I think of CC I think primarily of the high-rises & rt 1 area. There are a few "local" places on 23rd like you mentioned but they seem to be lower in both number and regard than the places in OT and Del Rey (at least as far as regard). The 5-10 min shorter commute is definitely something to take into consideration. It also has a little more of a city-like feel if that's her thing (def not mine). For whatever reason, it felt a little bit dirtier to me, though that might just be me. She should definitely check out all of these places to determine what's right for her family.

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

Parking is less of a problem for homeowners (and maybe for apartment renters) in CC/PC than in OT because (given the lower cute factor) there aren't as many tourists to compete with, and Arl. requires permits during the week.

Parking isn't a big issue for most of OT. I can't speak for Del Rey. OT has the same permit restrictions you mention and lots of places have underground parking garages. It's more of an issue as a visitor driving in.

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

If you are focusing only on the high rises, you're leaving out the nearby SFH neighborhoods in CC/PC, which compare favorably to Del Ray and to Old Town... it will be hard to find a SFH with a yard in Old Town

Yes, yards are extremely hard to come by in Alexandria. How many of the SFHs with yards in CC are actually an easy walk to the metro on a daily basis? I'm not familiar enough with the area to know that, but I got the impression there weren't all that many.

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

and there are residential parts of OT and Del Ray that are still transitioning or have some crime issues.

I honestly haven't noticed these. There are parts with lower income housing, true. But they are small, rather self contained, and I haven't noticed any of that leaking into the areas the OP would look at buying and living. Nor have I noticed any real crime in those areas (or anywhere else). Of course, I don't spend much time in them because there's no reason to be there.

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

One key consideration, for a SAHM's prospective home buying decision, is public schools... Many people see Alex. schools as relatively weak (though they are probably better than in most parts of the country)

True, and I admittedly don't know much about this since I don't have kids. However, I do know that most schools in the entire NoVA area are better than most schools in most areas of the country. Test scores show that. Lists of available activities and programs show that. Even just driving by and looking at some of these schools can tell you that they're probably pretty good. They're modern, well-kept, have nice facilities, etc.. I honestly think that a lot of people around here are splitting hairs. Every school in the area should be good enough for an intelligent, motivated kid to get the knowledge required to move on to a good higher-education program. IMO, there's no reason that parents should feel that their kid should be in the top 5% of a magnet school for an area of interest that the parent probably chose in order for the kid to be successful. This is high school, not college. And even with that, many people that go to colleges other than Harvard, Princeton, and MIT do just fine.

[Yankeesfan]

Just to clarify again -- except for the first one, the above quotes were not from me (somehow the board does that sometimes, misappropriates the quotes) -- I don't know a lot of details about Alexandria City so don't want to take credit for points made by someone else!

[saganista]

The walkability requirement does not rule out either East Falls Church or Vienna. There are very nice upscale condos and townhouses one block from each of them. Those in East Falls Church are a block in the other direction from Tuckahoe Park. Those in Vienna have more greenery and back up to the very substantial and much utilized Nottaway Park. The EFC complexes would be perhaps a 20-minute walk from the heart of downtown Falls Church. Those in Vienna are about a 20-minute walk from the Pan Am Center -- not the same thing, but it does provide access to Safeway, CVS, Starbucks, the very nice Pan Am Family Restaurant, and a bunch of other stuff. A door-to-door commute from EFC to someplace near Gallery Place would likely be 45-50 minutes. Add roughly 10 minutes if from Vienna.

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by wsamon

Yes, yards are extremely hard to come by in Alexandria. How many of the SFHs with yards in CC are actually an easy walk to the metro on a daily basis? I'm not familiar enough with the area to know that, but I got the impression there weren't all that many.

That's why I spoke up - because a lot of people have this mistaken impression. Focusing only on the high rises (which is what many people think of when they think of CC/PC), particularly those east of Rte. 1, really is misleading--sort of like considering Ford's Landing or Carlyle and Eisenhower Avenue as being typical of Old Town.

All of Addison Heights and VA. Highlands would be within 1/3 to about 3/4 mile, or closer, to at least one metro (either CC or PC), and much of Arlington Ridge and Aurora Hills would be as well. Even Oakcrest would be within what many people consider walking distance, as would many of the houses west of Arl. Ridge and north of 23rd. If you check out the SFH listings on the various MLS sites, you'll see most of them tout proximity to metro and looking at a WMATA map of mapquest makes it clear too. (For those farther away, there are bus routes that make it easy to hop a bus for quick trip to a metro station). Metro access is a major reason why prices in those neighborhoods are high even for little places that need renovation.

If you look at a map showing neighborhoods and metro stations, I think you'll agree that most of the SFHs in Del Ray and comparable THs in Old Town are no closer to either the Braddock or the King Street metro.

Potomac Yard is within walking distance of many homes in Del Ray, though most people are going to drive there or take other transportation, for their packages. And, as a separate point, when homebuyers talk about wanting to have shopping nearby, they aren't necessarily just talking about charming little stores to visit for fun - they are also talking about the grocery they want to use regularly, pharmacies, dry cleaners, a Target, etc. I am NOT saying that cute tourist traps is all that DR and OT have, but there are lots of shops in CC/PC that people use that are NOT at the PC mall. Many of these have come in since 2000. And, I don't know anyone who shops at the underground mall east of Rte. 1, except maybe commuters who work in the office buildings there.

Re: crime

Originally Posted by wsamon

I honestly haven't noticed these. There are parts with lower income housing, true. But they are small, rather self contained, and I haven't noticed any of that leaking into the areas the OP would look at buying and living. Nor have I noticed any real crime in those areas (or anywhere else). Of course, I don't spend much time in them because there's no reason to be there.

If you look at spotcrime etc. you'll see that there are occasionally problems outside of the focused areas you're describing. And, in Del Ray in particular, there still are lots of run down houses mixed in with the nicely kept, reno'd or new builds. These things affect neighborhood values. There is more consistency in the PC/CC SFH neighborhoods, though those closest to the metro have more rental properties and more variability in condition (ditto for properties closest to Rte 1, just as for Del Ray, and like Prince St., for example, in Old Town).

I do spend time in Del Ray, and a bit less around Old Town. I like both of these areas, esp. Old Town, but there are tradeoffs there as in every area.

Originally Posted by wsamon

I honestly think that a lot of people around here are splitting hairs. Every school in the area should be good enough for an intelligent, motivated kid to get the knowledge required to move on to a good higher-education program. IMO, there's no reason that parents should feel that their kid should be in the top 5% of a magnet school for an area of interest that the parent probably chose in order for the kid to be successful. This is high school, not college. And even with that, many people that go to colleges other than Harvard, Princeton, and MIT do just fine.

Well, I will defer to parents on whether it's hair splitting. The reason I raise schools as a factor, is that OP is a parent, and it does affect the desirability and cost of housing for people (even if you aren't a parent), just as do the "cuteness" factor, restaurants, or proximity to metro, etc. In any case, when discussing the relative desirability of neighborhoods (which you brought up), I believe it's best to be fairly comprehensive as to why we feel that way, especially with regard to factors that may be relevant for the OP.

[Lemming95]

Are you interested in a high rise building. Lots of them have shuttle service to the nearest metro . That would let you expand your range a bit.

[Alicia Bradley]

Yeah, I agree with wsamon - nothing but high-rises and generic office buildings (and a big mall) in Crystal City and Pentagon City. Nothing to see here, move along, people...

[Jlyles]

You most certainly could find a nice townhouse w/back yard close to Vienna Metro and shopping at either Covington or Braxton (for example). Those subdivisions are just north of Rt. 29 in FFX, nice size, walkable to Starbuck's, Safeway, etc. No high-rise necessary.

Originally Posted by Erelgi

Hi - My husband and I are moving to DC in June with our 20-month old son. We're initially looking to rent while we check out different neighborhoods and decide where to buy. I'm planning to come down to the area in two weeks to look at rentals, but I'm having a really hard time determining where to live. For reference, we've moving from NYC (Park Slope) so we understand living in small spaces for high rent (though we hope to get slightly more for our money around DC). I've posted some more general queries about the area before, and have received wonderful advice, but now I need some more specific help.

Here are our needs:

- $3000 max rent (could possibly stretch that a little bit)
- 2 bedrooms minimum, preferably 3 or 2 bed plus den
- Parking
- Walking distance to metro (husband will be working near Gallery Place/Metro Center)
- Near playgrounds, parks, libraries, activities etc for young kids
- Walking distance to shops, grocery, coffee
- Would love a townhouse with outdoor green space, but I get the sense that doesn't exist near the Metro?

I'm going to be staying at home (after working full-time for years and years) and probably having a second baby in the next year, so I really want to be in an area with other SAHMs and activities for younger kids. I have two major fears: (1) we'll end up renting in a building full of younger people who are loud and keep us/our kids up, or (2) we'll rent in a quieter area where everyone goes to work and I'm stuck at home alone in a place where I have to drive everywhere and I don't know anyone.

Can anyone recommend apartment or townhouse developments that fit our needs? I'm having a really hard time sorting through all the available buildings. I tried contacting a few rental realtors but none seem interested in helping us (which I get, but we ARE going to be buying in the next 6 - 12 months, so there's potential for real business later...). If you have advice or know of a realtor who could help in this search, that would be amazing.

Thanks!