Area Advice for an Incoming Renter (Franconia, Springfield: homes, live in, bus)

[TheLexGeneral]

I've started looking at metro and bus schedules. The metro seems quite reasonable (I used to think the metro closed way too early on weeknights, but that was before I had to wake up early every weekday. Now midnight on a weeknight seems super late!) but some of the buses come only once an hour! That's a long potential wait if you can't time it right. So I'll probably focus on areas that have metro service (or at least very consistent bus service into the late evening). What is the timetable for the silver line? If I move in late Sept/early Oct, how long would I be stuck with buses for before the Metro arrives? Reston seems beautiful but once-an-hour buses terrify me.

Rethinking, I think my priorities are:
- Yard of some sort
- Within a mile or two of a metro station (being able to bike to the metro would be a huge plus)
- With a park or trail nearby
- With reasonable access to a hockey rink

I'm young and single but I figure my going out will primarily revolve around DC so that's less of a priority than having a nice, low-stress neighborhood to come home to.


By the way, this forum is amazing. I cannot thank you all enough for all your advice. I feel like I know so much more than I did just two days ago!

[Lucky★]

Originally Posted by TheLexGeneral

I've started looking at metro and bus schedules. The metro seems quite reasonable (I used to think the metro closed way too early on weeknights, but that was before I had to wake up early every weekday. Now midnight on a weeknight seems super late!) but some of the buses come only once an hour! That's a long potential wait if you can't time it right. So I'll probably focus on areas that have metro service (or at least very consistent bus service into the late evening). What is the timetable for the silver line? If I move in late Sept/early Oct, how long would I be stuck with buses for before the Metro arrives? Reston seems beautiful but once-an-hour buses terrify me.

Rethinking, I think my priorities are:
- Yard of some sort
- Within a mile or two of a metro station (being able to bike to the metro would be a huge plus)
- With a park or trail nearby
- With reasonable access to a hockey rink

I'm young and single but I figure my going out will primarily revolve around DC so that's less of a priority than having a nice, low-stress neighborhood to come home to.


By the way, this forum is amazing. I cannot thank you all enough for all your advice. I feel like I know so much more than I did just two days ago!

In that case, I’d look at the apartments/condos in 22201, 22203 or 22209 (mostly high-rises). There are plenty of trails to walk your dog and at least one dog park.

I would definitely stick to the orange or silver lines, though. The commute to Rosslyn/Foggy Bottom from Pentagon City/Alexandria area has recently gotten worse because they‘ve had to reduce the number of blue line trains during rush hour to accommodate more orange line trains.

[Middlin]

Final Silver Line Timetable Has Rail on Track - Reston, VA Patch

[seiketsu]

Originally Posted by TheLexGeneral

Rethinking, I think my priorities are:
- Yard of some sort
- Within a mile or two of a metro station (being able to bike to the metro would be a huge plus)
- With a park or trail nearby
- With reasonable access to a hockey rink

There is an ice rink next to the Ballston Common mall, I think. That is on the orange line. Fanning out about a mile from the orange line in that part of Arlington or Falls Church, you should be able to find a townhouse or even detached home to rent for $2500 - $3000. You'd be just five or six stops from Foggy Bottom, no transfers necessary.

For even easier access to DC, check out the neighborhoods around Pentagon City or Crystal City. You'll find mid-century duplexes with yards. Just a couple of stops on the blue line to Foggy Bottom, and just a couple of stops on the yellow line to the nightlife of U St and environs. As an added bonus, you'd be a short bike commute to Foggy Bottom -- it's just a few minutes on the bike path from the Pentagon to cross Memorial Bridge. You'd be right on the Mount Vernon Trail, a bike path that hugs the Potomac for like 15 miles.

I do love Old Town Alexandria and the nearby neighborhood of Del Ray, so I'll throw that out there too. But honestly, if you have $3k to spend, there is absolutely NO reason to go beyond Arlington if your goal is proximity to DC.

[mcknigs]

Originally Posted by TheLexGeneral

Thank you. I know next to nothing about Alexandria. What is the general atmosphere like down there?

Well, there are several places that get referred to as Alexandria. Here is a somewhat simplified guide:

In the City of Alexandria there's:

-Old Town, with old, expensive places, not much parking. A nice place to drink and dine but probably not where you want to live.

-The West End - originally part of Fairfax County but annexed mid-20th century. Not a bad place to live but much of it is far from Metro unless it's close to Eisenhower Ave. It extends from western Old Town to I-95, which goes straight into DC, but with a jillion other people during rush hour.

- Del Ray - Less expensive than Old Town and more funky, some nice bars and restaurants that cater to young professionals. It's been in the process of gentrifying for 30 years so the prices are going up. Pretty decent access to Braddock Rd. Metro at the southern end of Del Ray, but I don't think they have much parking there(?).

In Fairfax County there is a section called Alexandria that extends south from the City to about Fort Belvoir. Some parts are very nice. Areas close to Rt. 1 are relatively lower socio-economic status, and probably less desirable to you. It's more suburban, which means more room for the money and better parking but less access to cool bars, exotic cuisine, etc. I live in Fairfax Co. just south of the city, in the neighborhood of the house I linked to earlier (Bucknell Manor). Being that far north I have easy access to Old Town and Huntington Metro, which is the end of the Yellow line in VA. Huntington has a large parking lot. As I said, there are areas with duplexes and small single family homes which will be relatively less expensive for Fairfax and probably suitable to a single guy with a dog. There are many other areas where the houses will be larger and out of your price range.

edit: This is in my neighborhood, but wherever you end up, you should be aware of it: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/rec/mv/mv-ice.htm

And here's the place in Ballston that Seiketsu was talking about: http://kettlercapitals.pointstreaksi...ettlercapitals

-Scott

[brava4]

Originally Posted by TheLexGeneral

Wow, a lot of bad things can happen to dogs. Maybe it's better not to own them. Also on my way home today, I could get hit by a car. Maybe I should just stay here. Safer.

Sorry, don't mean to get snarky. I just want what's best for my companion and me. And having a (fenced) backyard would be that, thus my goal of finding one. Anyhow, I don't know why anyone would want to steal my dog. She lived at the pound for a good month and no one wanted to her when she was free and legal for the having.

Anyhow, I do appreciate all the great advice so far. Those websites have a lot of potential, I'll definitely monitor them closely.

I think it is easy to say this but have you not heard of this happening? I had a neighbor who let her cat out regularly and neverhad a problem until someone moved in and hated cats. Had the cat picked up and by the time the neighbor who owned it got to the shelter it had been put down. She was an elderly lady. Also, not that long ago in Fairfax someone had thrown poisoned food over a fenced yard and 2 dogs in the yard died from eating the food.

Yes, it happens. There are tons of ass****s and bad people around who do not like our pets. I don't mean to cram this stuff down your throat but if you care for your pet, which it sounds like you do, you need to think about all possibilites.

[TheLexGeneral]

Originally Posted by mcknigs

Well, there are several places that get referred to as Alexandria. Here is a somewhat simplified guide:

In the City of Alexandria there's:

-Old Town, with old, expensive places, not much parking. A nice place to drink and dine but probably not where you want to live.

-The West End - originally part of Fairfax County but annexed mid-20th century. Not a bad place to live but much of it is far from Metro unless it's close to Eisenhower Ave. It extends from western Old Town to I-95, which goes straight into DC, but with a jillion other people during rush hour.

- Del Ray - Less expensive than Old Town and more funky, some nice bars and restaurants that cater to young professionals. It's been in the process of gentrifying for 30 years so the prices are going up. Pretty decent access to Braddock Rd. Metro at the southern end of Del Ray, but I don't think they have much parking there(?).

In Fairfax County there is a section called Alexandria that extends south from the City to about Fort Belvoir. Some parts are very nice. Areas close to Rt. 1 are relatively lower socio-economic status, and probably less desirable to you. It's more suburban, which means more room for the money and better parking but less access to cool bars, exotic cuisine, etc. I live in Fairfax Co. just south of the city, in the neighborhood of the house I linked to earlier (Bucknell Manor). Being that far north I have easy access to Old Town and Huntington Metro, which is the end of the Yellow line in VA. Huntington has a large parking lot. As I said, there are areas with duplexes and small single family homes which will be relatively less expensive for Fairfax and probably suitable to a single guy with a dog. There are many other areas where the houses will be larger and out of your price range.
-Scott

So I can figure out boundaries when looking at a map - how far from Rt. 1 should I am to be if I end up in Alexandria? Is the area around the Huntington Metro alright? What are the boundary-lines of these neighborhoods?

I think based on what I have so far that I should focus my search on the areas around certain metro stations. Right now I'm thinking Ballston, Falls Church and Vienna on the orange line and Huntington and Eisenhower on the yellow line. Do those sound right? Any others I should add?

[Middlin]

If you're considering Alexandria I would look at the Rosemont, Del Ray neighborhoods near Braddock Rd or King Street Station since their Blue & Yellow line. Also really anything along the orange line.

I used to live near Huntington many, many years ago (before Eisenhower area got built up) and the area just around the Huntington metro left a lot to be desired. You can search the forum and see many comments about this area. I lived in a TH off Telegraph/Franconia and I think it's not really safe to ride a bike (not too much shoulder, sidewalks, etc)

[mcknigs]

The area right near Huntington might not be the greatest. I knew people who lived in the Duplexes right off Huntington Ave and they were OK... but that was years ago. I don't know what the deal is now. Of course with duplexes so much depends on your immediate neighbors. There are single family homes in walking distance from the North King's Highway entrance that might be OK. Biking through Huntington to get to and from another neighborhood would probably be fine, crime-wise. Traffic safety-wise I think you would need to check out specific routes and decide. Also consider driving from 5-10 minutes away and parking for $4-something/day.

I'm not sure I could give you a rule of thumb for how far from Rt. 1 you would want to be. I think if you went to a neighborhood and checked it out, you'd know whether you wanted to be there or not.

I'm originally from Arlington and spent a lot of time there over the years (still do). I think you'll probably get more for your money in some areas in Alexandria, but Arlington is nice too. North Arlington will be more expensive than South, generally. Some areas in South Arlington are walkable/bikable to Metro blue line. There's a lot of night life around Clarendon for 20-30-somethings. If you can find something you like that you can afford there, I wouldn't discourage you from going with Arlington. I'm pretty happy with my neighborhood here in 22307 Alexandria.

[dkf747]

The area around Huntington wasn't very nice when I lived there either.