Arlington Questions (Alexandria, Dale City, Woodbridge: rentals, condos, how much)

[armywifeforlife]

OK... I think we have decided to narrow looking for a rental in Arlington. My husband is in the Army and will be stationed at Fort McNair in September. We get Basic Allowance for Housing of 2337 and are looking to stay below this. Arlington looks appealing because it is close for the commute and seems family friendlier than the areas of DC that we can afford. What would the parts of Arlington be that are:

family friendly: I want to be able to spend time at the park with my soon to be toddler. Doesn't necessarily need to be walking distance.

Allows cats. I see that many of the condos don't allow pets.

We each have a car and he will be commuting to Fort McNair and has no interest in using public transportation. This may change as we are coming from Southern California and just aren't used to getting around in this manner.

I am looking on the Automated Housing Referral network that the military refers to. Is there anywhere else I could be looking for rentals?

If I have an address, how can I then look to see what community this is in? Are there maps of that available?

Any info is helpful and thanks!!

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by armywifeforlife

OK... I think we have decided to narrow looking for a rental in Arlington. My husband is in the Army and will be stationed at Fort McNair in September. We get Basic Allowance for Housing of 2337 and are looking to stay below this. Arlington looks appealing because it is close for the commute and seems family friendlier than the areas of DC that we can afford. What would the parts of Arlington be that are:

family friendly: I want to be able to spend time at the park with my soon to be toddler. Doesn't necessarily need to be walking distance.

Allows cats. I see that many of the condos don't allow pets.

We each have a car and he will be commuting to Fort McNair and has no interest in using public transportation. This may change as we are coming from Southern California and just aren't used to getting around in this manner.

I am looking on the Automated Housing Referral network that the military refers to. Is there anywhere else I could be looking for rentals?

If I have an address, how can I then look to see what community this is in? Are there maps of that available?

Any info is helpful and thanks!!

homesdatabase.com is a way to find some decent rentals in Arlington.

Also, if your husband is set on driving see about getting off peak hours. I can't tell you how much of a difference this makes.

I personally like the Ballston neighborhood. Shirlington would be good also.

[shamrock847]

I would check military by owner. There are a lot of rental properties on there, and if nothing else it will give you a good idea of what you can get in different locations and at different price points.

[armywifeforlife]

Is Franconia a family friendly community?

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by armywifeforlife

Is Franconia a family friendly community?

Sure, even military family friendly (there are a lot of Belvoir families in the area)...but that's not Arlington, by any stretch.

[armywifeforlife]

Yeah I am looking at a military website that posts rentals and one came up in Franconia within our budget, so I was wondering. Ideally, I would like to be in a family friendly and "safe" community in Arlington, but our budget is 2000/month and I am having a hard time finding something in that price range.

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by armywifeforlife

If I have an address, how can I then look to see what community this is in? Are there maps of that available?

You can use a search engine like Google to get a sense of what neighborhood the property is in. Then you can look at Arlington neighborhoods through something like this website:

Neighborhoods | arlingtonvirginia.com

The maps are then generated based on the neighborhood selected in the drop-down list.

[Carlingtonian]

Franconia is down near Springfield--quite a haul into DC. I think you can find something within that price range in S. Arlington or south of Old Town. (See my latest post in your other thread.)

Re. the search: I've had good luck on Craigslist, believe it or not. Here are a couple of contenders for you guys:

Fantastic property in south Arlington! (http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/2492355894.html - broken link)

ARLINGTON- Walk to Shirlington (http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/2489056543.html - broken link)

He could take 395 (very backed up) or S. Walter Reed, which turns into Fillmore before intersecting with route 50 (probably a faster route than 395).

These are both near Shirlington, which is sort of a pedestrian mall/shopping/restaurant district with an artsy movie theater, etc. Not as easy a commute as N. Arlington or SE Alexandria would be, but worth considering.

You might also look at Fairlington, a huge historic TH development that straddles the Arl/Alex border. Very safe, pretty, and not too bad a commute.

[slduvall]

Originally Posted by armywifeforlife

OK... I think we have decided to narrow looking for a rental in Arlington. My husband is in the Army and will be stationed at Fort McNair in September. We get Basic Allowance for Housing of 2337 and are looking to stay below this. Arlington looks appealing because it is close for the commute and seems family friendlier than the areas of DC that we can afford. What would the parts of Arlington be that are:

family friendly: I want to be able to spend time at the park with my soon to be toddler. Doesn't necessarily need to be walking distance.

Allows cats. I see that many of the condos don't allow pets.

We each have a car and he will be commuting to Fort McNair and has no interest in using public transportation. This may change as we are coming from Southern California and just aren't used to getting around in this manner.

I am looking on the Automated Housing Referral network that the military refers to. Is there anywhere else I could be looking for rentals?

If I have an address, how can I then look to see what community this is in? Are there maps of that available?

Any info is helpful and thanks!!

I don't know anyone that likes using AHRN. Militarybyowner.com is much easier to use and there are more postings. Use Fort Belvoir as your base. Check zips 22315 and 22310, that is the area around Belvoir, Fraconia is just a little bit north that that, like a block. There are some good areas in Franconia..and there are some older areas I wouldn't venture to live in. Not alot of parks that I would recommend. Kingstowne has lots of parks, that is where you would be going to go grocery shopping anyway, or Fort Belvoir. Are you looking for a TH or apt...didn't notice which in your post. Double check his parking situation on McNair. It isn't as bad as the pentagon, but he may not get parking, so metro would the best bet..and he would get mass transit subsidy.

[reddbrownmsc]

Greetings. I will be stationed at Fort McNair and am looking for information on the public transportation route(s) from Woodbridge (near Dale City/Montclair). Thanks.