Planning a move to the D.C. area. Arlington/Rosslyn looks attractive. (Alexandria: apartment complexes, for rent)

[Citizen Sane]

Hello my soon to be neighbors,

My wife and I are going to be moving to the D.C. area shortly. After looking at several of the areas there, I am thinking Arlington. In particular, as area that recently caught my eye is Rosslyn. I thought it might be a good place to start to get our bearings or even stay if we like it.

A little about us:

After being originally from Northern DE, we have lived in Charleston, SC for 3 years and now St Petersburg, FL for the last 6 years. We are both in our mid 30s.

We both work in the restaurant business (Front of house: server/bartender/manager). The restaurant scene in D.C. is very attractive to us and I am actually working on a business plan for a concept that I would like to open in the area eventually. We work off hours compared with your 9 to 5ers, mostly in the evenings.

As far as a place to live, we want an area that is safe for my wife and has easy access to the areas we need to be in for the type of work we do. We also would like convenient access to a good grocery store (good natural/organic selections ideal) and a gym (prefer a 24hr one)

For the 1st time since I was 16, I am thinking of going car-less and living like an urbanite. When we visited there a few months ago, we stayed in Georgetown and took the Metro everywhere. Once we got the hang of it, it seemed to be a breeze.

We would like to be in a pet friendly place in the $1,500/month neighborhood for rent to begin with (less if there exists such a thing) until we are able to determine what kind of money we will making in this market. I imagine, based on my experience in markets up and down the east coast, that once established, we'll each be able to pull in at least $50K, more if we get in the right places.

Can anyone lend any insight into some places where I should be concentrating? Is Rosslyn as nice as my impression of it? Any tips or insight would be most appreciated.

[robbobobbo]

Tip #1: Don't let the tall buildings of Rosslyn fool you into thinking it's like a city or is more urban than other parts of the Wilson Blvd corridor in Arlington.

[Citizen Sane]

No, I wasn't thinking that so much as I thought it had kind-of a cool look to it. I also liked the idea of the proximity to DC. Seems like an area that might be easy to get around around in/to/from.

On another note, my wife and I are baseball fans as well. We had a chance to catch a game last year at the new ballpark. We liked it a lot and are planning on catching some games there when the Mets are in town as well as shooting up to Baltimore when the Rays come in. Man, will it be nice to have a real ballpark again. The Trop here in St Pete is awful.

[perries]

Don't limit yourself to Rosslyn. Take a look at Court House / Clarendon / Ballston.

[Citizen Sane]

Another thing. I would really like an area with some cool, indy coffee shop options. I DO NOT DO Starbucks...even under duress. Actually, I don't do chains period. I don't work for them and I do not patronize them. I might grab a fast food something at one in a pinch, but by and large, I support only independently owned and operated restaurants.

[brenpilot]

If you want local and independent, I would recommend old town Alexandria. You would get a little more for your money and still be just a short metro ride to dc, Ballston, Clarendon, etc. Also, those orange line neighborhoods tend to be a younger crowd, while old town is a more mature area (my impression, not necessarily correct).

Also, I'm sure you've already done your research, but $50,000 a year will be a tight budget in this area, especially for 2 people. In fact, it may be hard to get approved at some apartments that require 3 times the rent in income (usually it is the managed apartment complexes that require this, however I have seen landlords pull credit reports and require that income level as well). At $1500 per month rent, you'd need to be making closer to 60k per year just to meet that minimum.

Sorry, just saw you said EACH 50k. Disregard the above paragraph.

[michgc]

Originally Posted by brenpilot

Also, I'm sure you've already done your research, but $50,000 a year will be a tight budget in this area, especially for 2 people. In fact, it may be hard to get approved at some apartments that require 3 times the rent in income (usually it is the managed apartment complexes that require this, however I have seen landlords pull credit reports and require that income level as well). At $1500 per month rent, you'd need to be making closer to 60k per year just to meet that minimum.

He said they'd be making $50K each - so about $100K total.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by Citizen Sane

Another thing. I would really like an area with some cool, indy coffee shop options. I DO NOT DO Starbucks...even under duress. Actually, I don't do chains period. I don't work for them and I do not patronize them. I might grab a fast food something at one in a pinch, but by and large, I support only independently owned and operated restaurants.

Avoid Arlington then (Your comment made me immediately think of the end of this video)


YouTube - ‪Arlington: The Rap‬‏

[saganista]

Yup, $100K between them which is quite doable in the restaurant area in NoVa. I'd agree though that Old Town or even Del Ray would be a more eclectic, indie, 30's-ish sort of area as opposed to Rosslyn and the Ballston Corridor. Rosslyn itself washes out a little after dark, and the Ballston Corridor, while close to yuppie heaven, is relatively newly minted and manufactured yuppie heaven. Old Town is a much older area and has all those little quirks and nooks and crannies to prove it.

[jbird82]

I currently live in Old Town and work in Rosslyn myself. My impression of Rosslyn has always been more of a bustling area during the workday but not so much at night. Though with it being a major metro stop, it gives you easy access to many parts of DC, Arlington, and Alexandria and it is a quick walk over to Georgetown. So, on that hand I can understand the appeal to Rosslyn.

Like another poster above, I also recommend looking into Old Town if you haven't already. I am a bit biased as it is my favorite Northern Virginia community, but it has plenty of independent establishments and plenty of bar and restaurant activity of various styles from local dives to Irish pubs to sushi bars..a bit of everything. The crowd does trend a bit older in general than the Orange Line areas of Ballston, Courthouse, and Clarendon but as someone in his 20s, I wouldn't trade it for any of those areas personally.