New job was in the McLean area, now in Springfield and trying to figure out where to live. (Arlington: real estate, apartment)

[elpiochnb4]

I just found out that the actual location of the job is going to be more in Springfield. I guess it is time to start the search over.

[tysonsengineer]

Uck

Raised and lived in Springfield/Burke for 2 decades... no thanks

I would suggest Falls Church (not a bad commute to Springfield) or Merrifield, but the Springfield area is not suitable to a person who still wants to be out and about. Blue Line on weekends is a crap shoot to get into the city, and the station is not the safest either at night. The mall area in general is a dead zone of crime until they redevelop. The "restaurants" are chain only with the exception of those who have hung on by a thread like Shira and Maleks.

I am not trying to hate on Springfield, as a former resident I want for it to be better because its location should dictate a better living standard, but I would definitely not recommend living there. What part of Springfield (Backlick Commerce or Old Keene Mill/Roll Road region?)

[elpiochnb4]

I was informed by a co-worker that the Alexandria area would be a good choice. She said living near King St. with close access to a metro would be a good fit. Her second choice was the Arlington area. Any thoughts?

I am not sure about the region.

[OrangeFish]

Metro may not be your friend from Alexandria (King St.) to Springfield. Depending on where your work location is in Springfield, you may be car dependent for your commute.

If you can provide more specifics on your work location (as tysonsengineer suggested) then some other housing locations can be offered. For example, a Rolling Rd/Old Keene Mill Rd work location opens up housing locations in Fairfax City.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by elpiochnb4

I was informed by a co-worker that the Alexandria area would be a good choice. She said living near King St. with close access to a metro would be a good fit. Her second choice was the Arlington area. Any thoughts?

I am not sure about the region.

Alexandria would be a great choice if you live in the Kingstowne area, Van Dorn or Duke Street area. I should have thought of that.

So you wont be using metro on your commute, not because of Alexandria, but because Springfield Franconia has a joke of a metro/transit system and things are so spread out. Its about a 15 minute drive in that direction if you are coming back up the FFX county parkway from kingstown to most parts of springfield (whether you have to connect over through rolling/backlick). From Alexandria proper you would likely take 495 around to 95 or 644 which you'll likely be reverse commuting.

Should be a sub 20 minutes most days. Then on weekends you got easy access to a lot of great spots in Alexandria proper and if you want, jump on the yellow or blue line and head into the city fairly quickly as well.

I think its pretty good fit and I think that area has a lot of stuff for older 20s like us (I'd love to have one of those townhomes in Old Town).

+1 from me

Arlington is great, but you are paying a premium to be in the young cool area, and a lot of the clarendon/courthouse high rise areas are a bit college like. There are other parts of Arlington also clearly but none are as walkable, and again you pay a premium. I would definitely suggest Alexandria if you like going out to bars but its not your entire life.

[FindingZen]

I'd look into Kingstowne area in the Fairfax County section of Alexandria. It's clean, newish suburbia and all of your usual midscale retail and restaurants will be there. Most importantly, it's next to Springfield. It's not very far from Old Town Alexandria for a more laid-back and mature social scene than one might find in "Orange Line" Arlington. You'll also be right in between two Metro stations - Franconia/Springfield and Van Dorn Street - should you decide to use that option to get to Arlington or DC.

[GustavoFring]

I recently made this decision and chose Old Town despite currently working in Tysons. I've also worked in Springfield/Ft Belvoir, and the commute from Old Town was slightly shorter than my commute from Tysons to Ft Belvoir, both are mostly against traffic. I'm 29 so I felt Arlington might be a little too young for me at this stage in my life.. I think Old Town is a good compromise.

[tysonsengineer]

Us 29 year olds need to set up a happy hour, there seems to be a lot of us that are over the "standard whitlows/spider kellys atmosphere"

[mcleanexec]

Because Mclean and Springfield sound alike and are in the same area.

[elpiochnb4]

Thanks for all the help so far, def more of a response than I expected. So far it looks like Alexandria is looking like a winner.

What is the difference between living in the Old Town area vs the Kingstowne Area?