Where to live: DC, Arlington, Reston or Bethesda for single male 40, for interracial relationships? (Alexandria: apartments, rentals)

[Nosfaratubite]

About Me:

-Single 40 year old Indian male (divorced), 6.2” tall, athletic, handsome.
-VERY open and progressive minded, highly educated.
-Currently in San Francisco, but about to relocate to greater DC area.
-Salary 250K pa (i’m in sales).
-I’ll be working from home every day of the week, BUT driving all over the NOVA Tech Corridor, driving from one client to the next, about 60 miles per day.
-Only wish to rent a studio or a 1-bedroom at the most (easier to maintain).
-I like to have fun on weekends but am not a big weekday boozehead.
-I prefer sophisticated wine bars over sports lounges. I like live music, live bands.
-I prefer to date interracially (mostly European, White or Middle Eastern).

Problem: where to live?

Given I will be driving a lot each day to see my clients all over northern Virginia, and I do not have a fixed office to go to each day; Where should I live, if I wish to maximize my interracial dating social life with the opposite sex (European, White or Middle Eastern) between ages of 30 – 40?

-Dupont Circle / Foggy Bottom ? (problem of crossing bridge to NOVA each day?)
-Arlington (Courthouse, Clarendon, Ballston – which one)?
-Bethesda?
-Reston?
-Ashburn?

My solution:

So, I'm asking for advice! I want to meet a new group of male and female friends, find the perfect woman, and have a nice but small pad! What do you all say?

[pamnbam]

You'll find a big mix of people in the DC area, but housing wold probably be the most expensive. You won't have to fight with most traffic if you're leaving in the morning. I'm sure you could find some women to your liking in Arlington or Bethesda. They, as well as DC, strike me as "good singles areas."

I don't know much about Ashburn or Reston; they would put you a little farther out from the beltway if you chose one of them.

Have you tried internet dating? It's a good way to condense your search patterns instead of trying to do it all on your own, especially in a big city. But, if you're willing to "tackle the big city," the first three areas could definitely work well for you. Good luck!

[JfromReston]

Definately Reston (and not Ashburn). Ashburn has the married life vibe - you can move there once you find a women. The crowd in Balston is generally the under 30 set. Dupont and Bethesda have commuting problems - after driving all over NOVA you just don't need any more driving. Here are a few recommendations for places to live in Reston.

This would be my top recommendation for places to live in Reston.
11776 STRATFORD HOUSE PL #202, RESTON, VA 20190 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com

11800 SUNSET HILLS RD #1102, RESTON, VA 20190 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com
1830 FOUNTAIN DR ## 607, RESTON, VA 20190 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com
12000 MARKET ST #340, RESTON, VA 20190 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com
11990 MARKET ST #1204, RESTON, VA 20190 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com

FYI - you will have a hard time finding a studio apartment in NOVA - there just are not many.

[Carlingtonian]

Arlington for sure. I've lived here 9 years. Interracial mecca of the entire region. DuPont is mostly gay. At your salary, you could buy a very nice condo or TH in N. Arlington.

To be honest, if you're doing that well in your career and bear as strong a resemblance to Sharukh Khan as your description would indicate, you should have no problems meeting women here. Single women in DC are always complaining that all the good men are married or gay.

[JD984]

Any of these places should be good other than Ashburn, which is family-friendly suburbia.

Dupont was the Gay Mecca of DC in the 70s and 80s. It's 2011. If you like living in the city, it's got a lot to recommend it. In terms of urbanity, it blows Arlington out of the water. You would, however, have a worse commute than from Arlington or Reston.

[irvine]

If you can afford a studio in Dupont Circle/West End, I say go for it. You'll be doing a lot of driving no matter where you live, so why not live in the city. I-66 West from DC shouldn't be too bad in the morning, and the widening project might ease the usual slowdown westbound near the Glebe Road interchange. Alternatively you can commute west on K St to the Whitehurst Freeway --> Key Bridge across the river --> and then west on I-66 or George Washington Parkway.

When you're not driving around, you'll also have the convenience of Metro. With parking scarce in DC, Metrorail/Metrobus is often the more pleasant way to travel between neighborhoods in the city.

[FindingZen]

The DC metro in general - and Northern Virginia in particular - is the United Nations. I'd base my decision on preferred neighborhood amenities.

I would agree with the recommendations for DC in general, except that it sounds like you will be spending the bulk of your time working in Reston, Herndon and Ashburn. Having to cross the bridge to and from VA on a daily basis will be no fun. For that reason, I'd look into the Arlington neighborhoods you're considering. While Clarendon is (stereo?)typically known as the 20something mecca, you may well find some single ladies in their 30s as well, especially at places like the Liberty Tavern. Living in Arlington would also give you easy access to DC on the weekends where even more social options can be found.

[slclady]

I agree with Tone509 that there is plenty of diversity everywhere in this region. That wouldn't be a problem in any of the areas you mentioned.

I personally would never want to cross the bridge to NOVA everyday, so I would pass on the DC thing. And if your work is along the Tech Corridor, I would totally recommend Reston. It's a great location for your work, a beautiful community with lots of great amenities, upscale, and has tons of condos and apartments. Reston Town Center is very, very active every night of the week, particularly weekends, with lots of singles. Whenever my husband and I go there on weekend nights, we feel out of place as married people because it's hoppin' with singles.

Bonus: Reston Town Center has some especially beautiful apartments.

[yolli71]

1. Dupont
2. Arlington
3. Reston
4. Bethesda
5. Ashburn

[rw47]

I'd compromise and go with Arlington. Not as urban as DC of course but you don't want to be driving in and out of the city every day.

Edit - Look at Old Town in Alexandria too.