Advice Please: Move to Alexandria

[highpoint1]

Originally Posted by seiketsu

Going with a corporate rental building is a colossal waste of money in this area. Stick with private owners. $2400 should get you a 2br condo or townhouse within walking distance of Braddock Road or King St. Check out the duplexes in Rosemont or lower Del Ray. You'll save money if only one of you has to pay for a Metro commute.

I completely agree.

[Carlingtonian]

You know what I think you should do? Do a short-term rental at River Place in Rosslyn--a set of 1950s condos/apartments right on the river, whose land lease expires in 20-25 years and thus are inordinately cheap. We stayed there between houses for a couple of months. Easy commute for both of you--you could actually walk to DuPont via the Key Bridge--and it will buy you some time. It's the only affordable rent in Rosslyn that I know of. You'd be on the Orange, Blue, and Yellow lines, and about 100 bus lines.

And the pool is fantastic.

[longm3]

Thanks everyone for replying. Was traveling for the past month. Just started apartments/condo/townhouse hunting last week.

As for apartment, we did find some 2bedroom units at The Reserve(Eisenhower)/Cameron Court/Carlyle Mill reasonably priced around $2000. However we didn't find the floor plans fit our needs. The 2 bedrooms in the unit are basically the same size and are quite small. I guess these are designed for apartment sharing between roommates.
The luxury apartments neat king st. metro and Eisenhower metro do have the perfect floor plans we have in mind but the rent can be easily more than $2600, without considering all the FEEs we need to pay. So, definitely beyond our limit of $2400.

For $2400, we were able to track down a few condos right next to King st. These are perfect from commuting point of view. She can walk to her office and I can take the blue line at the metro.

I was expecting that the townhomes could run easily ~$3000. Surprisingly there are quite a few options in the range of $2200-$2400 west of old town, along Duke st, King st, or south of Van Dorn Metro/495. Living at these areas means both of us need to spend 10-20mins more commute time comparing to the condos near King st. metro. But it also means your own backyard, garage and more room space of course. I haven't visited any of the townhouses. These units built in 80s and 90s seem to be in good shape as per the pictures online.

Is there anything to look out renting one of these townhomes? Beside commuting time, what are the pros and cons comparing to those newer high-rise/mid-rise condos?

Thanks!

[Spaten_Drinker]

Originally Posted by longm3

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are considering move from MD to Alexandria or surrounding areas. We'd like to ask for some suggestions on apartment searching.

I work near Dupont Circle, Metro to work. My wife works in Alexandria near King st. metro.

We are both young professionals, will be renting apartments for the next 2 years at least. We have 1 car.

We prefer somewhere she can walk/bike/short drive to work and I have easy access to Metro. Our monthly rent budget is ~$2100-2400 for a 1 bedroom with Den/Loft or 2 bedroom apartment.

King st. - Eisenhower Metro
Meridian and other luxury apartments around this area spears to be quite expensive if you look at the per sq ft price. They have a lot of FEEs as well.
Carlyle Mill seems to be quite decent in terms of price, but I guess it is an fairly old complex?

Braddock Metro
Pros: Walking/biking distance for wife's commute. Apartments are newly built (1111 Belle Pre, Asher etc.)
Cons: We walked around the neighborhood, seems kind of sketchy?

Van Dorn Metro
The Reserve at Eisenhower: The price seems to be quite reasonable but I see the surrounding area is kind of an industrial area.

Huntington Metro
The Courts at Huntington Station is the only apartment within walking distance to metro?

Above are what I found so far. I don't have a clue about the bus systems in VA. If she can drive me to Metro station in the morning, then in the afternoon I can take a short bus ride to home from Metro, it's OK as well.

Potomac Yard seems to have quite a few new apartment complexes (I personally prefer newly built apartments). However it seems that there is no easy bus access to Metro?

Thanks a lot!

My wife used to live in Bellhaven near the Huntington Metro on Route 1. There is a walking path to the station. I took it a few times.