Where to live with 3yr old (Work in Foggy Bottom)?

[kommisarrex]

OP here. Thanks all for the replies. Looks like Alexandria, Del Ray, or South Arlington might be best. I like the looks of Falls Church but it seems quite a bit further out. Same thing with Reston. We don't mind a small place, but I think we would like to be able to easily access DC on weekends. Someone mentioned the 16y bus and it looks like it goes right near where I will be working.

No one mentioned Shirlington, but a friend said they liked it a lot there. Any thoughts?

[airjay75]

Originally Posted by kommisarrex

OP here. Thanks all for the replies. Looks like Alexandria, Del Ray, or South Arlington might be best. I like the looks of Falls Church but it seems quite a bit further out. Same thing with Reston.

I would just add that the metro time from the Falls Church stations to Foggy Bottom vs. the metro time from the Alexandria stations to Foggy Bottom is probably pretty comparable. Plus, once the Silver Line opens, Blue Line service is going to be cut back which could lengthen your average commute time from Alexandria to Foggy Bottom. I guess I just note it because, to me, Falls Church seems no less convenient for getting into DC than Alexandria. Reston, on the other hand, would be much further out and significantly lengthen your commute times into DC. I'm sure others can give you some good thoughts on Shirlington, as I have not visited enough times to have a view on the area.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by kommisarrex

OP here. Thanks all for the replies. Looks like Alexandria, Del Ray, or South Arlington might be best. I like the looks of Falls Church but it seems quite a bit further out. Same thing with Reston. We don't mind a small place, but I think we would like to be able to easily access DC on weekends. Someone mentioned the 16y bus and it looks like it goes right near where I will be working.

No one mentioned Shirlington, but a friend said they liked it a lot there. Any thoughts?

Shirlington's a nice area. I don't know anything about families living there but it's a walkable area with a lot of shops and restaurants. It's far from the Metro but a fleet of buses come through there connecting to the Pentagon City and Crystal City Metro stations. A quick search engine query produced this summary of life in Shirlington.

[HokieFan]

I have a friend who lives in "Fairlington" which is within walking distance of Shirlington. She lives in a small, two bedroom townhouse. She loves (raves!) about the community but I hear that public transportation to/from Shirlington is not as convenient as some of the other places we've suggested.

[Zack]

Public transportation from the Shirlington bus station is really easy at rush hour with buses almost every 5 minutes to the Pentagon or Pentagon City metro. Other areas away from Shirlington (say 1 mile radius) have constant bus lines every 15-30 minutes, but they may not go the most direct route; e.g. a bus may go to Ballston which takes 20 minutes, plus the ride from Ballston into the city.

Anyway Shirlington is a nice area to live and one of the few values in Arlington. There's plenty around the area and it's a sub 10 minute drive to DC during non-rush hour.

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by kommisarrex

OP here. Thanks all for the replies. Looks like Alexandria, Del Ray, or South Arlington might be best. I like the looks of Falls Church but it seems quite a bit further out. Same thing with Reston. We don't mind a small place, but I think we would like to be able to easily access DC on weekends. Someone mentioned the 16y bus and it looks like it goes right near where I will be working.

No one mentioned Shirlington, but a friend said they liked it a lot there. Any thoughts?

Since Shirlington is in S Arlington, I think people were including it in their recommendations to you.