Please give me names of areas within 45 minutes of Arlington (Alexandria: apartments, rentals)

[HPEmom]

Husband is definitely relocating to Arlington for work by April 15th. He will be working at 1919 N. Lynn Street. We have got to find a room for rent (as apartments aren't within our price range), under $900 a month as soon as possible. He will have a vehicle. He is open to taking bus or metro as we understand the job is in close proximity to Rosslyn metro. He would like his commute to be 1 hour or less door to door. We have no idea of the names of towns, cities, neighborhoods metro stations or anything that would make the commute do able. So can anyone give me a list to areas?

We are looking on craigs list for room situations but knowing the names of the locations would help us so we don't end up looking at a place that is too far out (that has happened once already).

Any other suggestions other than craigs list for room rentals?

[Carlingtonian]

Under 900 isn't going to get you anything remotely close to Rosslyn; your only choices are going to be super-far away--perhaps somewhere in Falls Church or along Route 1 in Alexandria/Fairfax County. Perhaps something within a healthy walk of the Huntington Metro.

Google "WMATA rail map" for the Metro stations.

Cities/towns you could google as well. Or ask here if you have any that stump you.

[sonnymarkjiz]

Yeah you may want to up your ante a bit. Under 900 won't get you much for a 1 bedroom. That's like Woodbridge VA prices for a 1 bedroom (which is pretty far down from Arlington and 25 miles away).

Unless you can find a roommate on CL, it will be pretty impossible to live that well anywhere North of Springfield for a place. Sorry

[FindingZen]

To add to what Carlingtonian suggested, any Metrorail station in Virginia is essentially 45 minutes or less from Huntington. The "trick" will be finding a dwelling and/or bus route that would keep that whole commute under an hour. Generally speaking, most any location within the Beltway (I-495) should allow your husband to find a transit route that gets to Rosslyn within an hour. That would include all of Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, and parts of Fairfax County including Annandale and "unincorporated" Alexandria (most affordable), McLean (least affordable) and Falls Church (in the middle).

It's good in a sense that you acknowledge that $900 is too low for an apartment...however, inquiries about a room rental by more than one person is rare on this forum. Perhaps look into roommate sharing situations where the owner/leaseholder is okay with two people sharing one space.

[terrence81]

Maybe you could try renting a basement versus a regular bedroom. That's what I do 25 foot wide room. versus the average 11x12 bedroom. I pay less than $900.

I live in Springfield and while I'm not sure about Rosslyn. I know that it'd be an hour commute to downtown DC door to door from my subdivision via public transit (a bus to the Springfield metro then train into the city). Burke is good too. I live in West Springfield which is newer and more suburban than Springfield proper and North Springfield.

You might want to look at Fairfax, Vienna, and Oakton as well. But yeah get a basement versus a bedroom that'll give you a little more space for the money.

[HPEmom]

Thanks for the replies. As we are completely unfamiliar with the area, we didn't know what metro stations or cities to look for or to avoid. We have never used mass transit where we live now. As I indicated, only he will be moving up there and then he will be commuting to client sites each day in the local area. We are looking at rooms for rent in homes in that price range as we don't want to spend more since home, house, family, etc are in another state.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by terrence81

Maybe you could try renting a basement versus a regular bedroom. That's what I do 25 foot wide room. versus the average 11x12 bedroom. I pay less than $900.

I live in Springfield and while I'm not sure about Rosslyn. I know that it'd be an hour commute to downtown DC door to door from my subdivision via public transit (a bus to the Springfield metro then train into the city). Burke is good too. I live in West Springfield which is newer and more suburban than Springfield proper and North Springfield.

You might want to look at Fairfax, Vienna, and Oakton as well. But yeah get a basement versus a bedroom that'll give you a little more space for the money.

springfield might be better than huntington anyway, since its on the blue line, so no transfer needed. In that price range I'd look at area around the springfield/franconia metro. its only about 30 minutes to Rosslyn, so anything within a 15 to 20 minute bus ride (or bike ride) of the metro should work.


Edit- if he has clients around the region, it may be challenging to not have a care around here.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

springfield might be better than huntington anyway, since its on the blue line, so no transfer needed. In that price range I'd look at area around the springfield/franconia metro. its only about 30 minutes to Rosslyn, so anything within a 15 to 20 minute bus ride (or bike ride) of the metro should work.


Edit- if he has clients around the region, it may be challenging to not have a care around here.

BBD hates cars so much, he can't even type the word correctly!

OK, but really, if Springfield Metro is only 30 mintues to Rosslyn, that's pretty good.

OP, you're not the first person to move to the region and have to face the fact that you'll have to cave on either commute, budget, or safety. Housing prices are crazy in this part of the country.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

BBD hates cars so much, he can't even type the word correctly!

I love cars. But like children, I can love them while still wanting a world where there aren't too many of them.

[cdmurphy]

OP said her husband will have a vehicle.