Moving to NOVA to commute into downtown D.C. - where to rent an apartment? (Arlington: rentals)

[blueheronNC]

I've lived in two places for my adult life so far - Raleigh/Durham, NC in a 2br/2ba apartment ($950/mo) on a nature preserve (with the sound of crickets and bullfrogs in a pond), and a Silicon Valley, CA apartment (surrounded by woods, nicely landscaped and quiet, $1600/month).

I'm looking for somewhere in NOVA where I can rent a high-quality 2br/2ba apartment for <$2000/mo that is in a fairly quiet location (e.g. at least buffered by some trees from traffic noise), with very low crime, that has somewhat of a verdant setting. Does ANYTHING within a reasonable commute time of downtown D.C. (I'll leave it up to your discretion to define "reasonable), either driving all the way or doing a drive/metro combo., fit the bill?

e.g. this apartment? Harbor Park in Reston, VA

[saganista]

There are a lot of such places, and for up to $2K, you can get into most of them. As for a rough guide to commute times to downtown, if you were inside the Beltway, you'd likely be under an hour, door-to-door, and as you move outside the Beltway, you need to add onto that a little.

[dullnboring]

While the DC area is expensive, $2000/month is quite the nice chunk of change to have for rent, and will pretty much open up all the gates to you. If commuting isn't your thing, in spite of it's bustling reputation, there are actually very serene and residential portions of Arlington, largely towards the northern section closest to McLean, that is very quiet, low crime and even woodsy in parts, and you're only a short drive from DC and would be able to commute via car or Metro, likely in under 30 minutes (depending on specific locations of course). Your linked choice in Reston would fit the bill as well, but the commute would be far greater. I guess really it's just a matter of determining your commuting tolerance, and of determining what sort of environment you're looking for nearby (i.e. a secluded apartment building but close to retail and nightlife?). You've got a wide range of options.