Thoughts on Neighborhoods

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by Fallout Zone

We aren't that far out in the boonies here

Wasn't saying you were--but WFC is timewise a longer commute to the Mark Center and (unless they can take I-66 via HOV) to McPherson.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by Fallout Zone

We aren't that far out in the boonies here

The West Falls Church statio has a much bigger parking lot than the East Falls Church station and is only a three-minute difference to McPherson Square by Metro. The homes near the WFC station will also have bigger lots than most properties in Arlington.

[ACWhite]

OP, I think the main problem for you re: Arlington is low supply of homes in that range relative to demand. A lot of people are looking for what you are looking for and not many people are selling. This has been true for several years. You may have better luck in the spring selling season, which is nearly here.

I also disagree that older homes make better use of space than newer homes. I think it's generally just the opposite. That's one reason why people pay to reconfigure the floor plans of, or add onto, old houses.

Happy new year to all!

[AnalyzeThis]

For those in Falls Church and Arlington, do you deal with alot of parking issues? A few of our friends in that area who own/rent homes complain about the street parking situation because of the lack of garages, to include consumers from outside the area and inconsiderate neighbors. I am having horrible flashback of my parents driving around for 45 minutes looking for a parking spot in Brooklyn.

[AnalyzeThis]

Originally Posted by ACWhite

OP, I think the main problem for you re: Arlington is low supply of homes in that range relative to demand. A lot of people are looking for what you are looking for and not many people are selling. This has been true for several years. You may have better luck in the spring selling season, which is nearly here.

I also disagree that older homes make better use of space than newer homes. I think it's generally just the opposite. That's one reason why people pay to reconfigure the floor plans of, or add onto, old houses.

Happy new year to all!

Agreed AC, that is why we are leaning towards selling in the Spring (if we do) and renting for a year or so to get a feel of another neighborhood.

I find older homes tend to lack storage space but the actual square footage is utilized well. Many of the newer homes, including my own, have massive foyers or upstairs landings, etc. areas included in the square footage but not really living space. However, there are always exceptions on both sides.

Happy New Year to you!

[Fallout Zone]

Originally Posted by AnalyzeThis

For those in Falls Church and Arlington, do you deal with alot of parking issues? A few of our friends in that area who own/rent homes complain about the street parking situation because of the lack of garages, to include consumers from outside the area and inconsiderate neighbors. I am having horrible flashback of my parents driving around for 45 minutes looking for a parking spot in Brooklyn.

Not a problem here. As far as I can tell, that is only really a concern near townhouse and condo communities in Falls Church and most of Arlington. You'd have to be really close to the metro stops or main streets to be worried about commuters parking.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by AnalyzeThis

For those in Falls Church and Arlington, do you deal with alot of parking issues? A few of our friends in that area who own/rent homes complain about the street parking situation because of the lack of garages, to include consumers from outside the area and inconsiderate neighbors. I am having horrible flashback of my parents driving around for 45 minutes looking for a parking spot in Brooklyn.

It's only a real problem if you're very near the Metro or businesses with lots of customers--or have a rental nearby. We did have one commuter who would often park in front of our old house, which was a few blocks from the Ballston Metro, but he was the only one.

The one occasional problem we have where we are now is contractors who are servicing neighbors' houses but for some reason want to park across the street from the very house they're servicing--in front of ours. It's always baffled me as to why they would prefer this. (It's no longer a problem, because now all our cars take up the space in front of our house.) This could happen anywhere, though.

We have one rental house down the street, and there appeared to be a lot of parking competition there, because there were I think four guys in that house, and each one had a car or truck, and the driveway would fit only a couple of those.

Here's something kind of funny:

One neighbor--let's call her Ms. X--had a shared driveway with the next-door neighbor (whom I will call Mr. Z). Mr. Z's property covers about 3/4 of the width of the driveway and was just being nice by sharing access. Well, Ms. X runs a business out of her house, and she stupidly kept letting her clients park in the driveway and block Mr. Z (who owns most of it) from using his own driveway. After a few polite requests that never got anywhere, Mr. Z got fed up and put up a low fence between the properties, which separates his portion of the driveway from hers. He still has more than enough driveway for him to use--but Ms. X now has no driveway at all, save for a ridiculous strip of asphalt about 2 feet wide. Doh!

[ACWhite]

Most streets in neighborhoods in Arlington that are near metro stops require resident stickers for parking during typical business hours. I can't speak for others, but in our neighborhood, this helps ensure that parking is not a problem relative to commuters.

Relative to neighbors, if you are looking at single family homes in most parts of Arlington, there should be enough space in front of each house for at least 2 cars (and some neighbors will have garages or driveways that they will use or only one car in the household). Arlington typically does not have many homes occupied by renters or "families" with excessive numbers of cars, and there are also limits on the sizes/types of vehicles parked on the street. Obviously, if your neighbors are having parties on Saturday nights when stickers aren't required, and their friends park on the street, you might have to walk a little farther from your car to your home.

I think Addison Heights is one of the neighborhoods that might have lots of tenant-drivers, but most houses there are fairly small and probably not what you are seeking.

So it's something you can ask about with regard to a specific house, but my guess would be that won't be a problem in most places.

[AnalyzeThis]

That is very helpful, thanks for the perspective. We are very torn, honestly there isn't much that I would consider ideal in our options for a number of reasons....or atleast enough to make us move right now.

@Carlingtonian, that is a funny story about your neighbor. There is one on every block.....