Moving from Chicago to work in Manassas - Where to live at 21? (college, graduate)

[NOVAmtneer82]

And OP just for clarity- We are saying 'Falls Church City' because there is also a Falls Church next door in Fairfax County which is not the same thing. It's not a bad place but more single family homes, not walkable to much of anything and not a place I would recommend for someone your age. Make sure if you are looking at apartments for them to clarify their location because the Falls Church portion of Fairfax County covers a large area.

[ToyVW55]

Originally Posted by manassasthrowaway

Sure, I think meeting people is most important for me. Did your children live in the high rise/resort style apartments? Those are most of what I can find in Arlington. I don't care that much what kind of apartment I'm in, but I don't want to accidentally end up in a retirement home.

They are mainly living in single family homes or rowhouses with 3-4 others. Both are actually in DC this year. My son is getting ready to move to Arlington in the fall because the commute out of DC into Virginia from his particular area is DC is not good. He's going to go into one of the apartment complexes with one other person. Not sure which one yet.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by spencgr

look, the specific "to" in Manassas and "from" in Arlington makes a huge difference; but I would think the average morning commute would be closer to 45 minutes and afternoon commute closer to an hour. That being said, I wouldn't exactly say Arlington is a "cool" area for anyone. It certainly has a lot of 20 year olds (frat boy parties), and has a lot of young families (farmers markets); but if you are looking for vintage "cool" (you mentioned vinyl shops), you may be dissapointed.



Mosaic would be "fine"; but it is a newer, "designed" community. But it is a reasonable distance between your work and DC, where you really want to live.

I’ve had to do the commute from Arlington (Ballston) to Manassas (GMU Prince William) and it was 45 minutes without traffic at 7am a few times. No way I’d do it everyday, especially with the construction now. Honestly, Arlington will be the closest thing to cool you’ll find here but you’ll pay dearly for it with the commute.

[manassasthrowaway]

Originally Posted by NOVAmtneer82

And OP just for clarity- We are saying 'Falls Church City' because there is also a Falls Church next door in Fairfax County which is not the same thing. It's not a bad place but more single family homes, not walkable to much of anything and not a place I would recommend for someone your age. Make sure if you are looking at apartments for them to clarify their location because the Falls Church portion of Fairfax County covers a large area.

Right. Falls Church City would be more like on Broad street? Kind of on the State Theatre strip?

Originally Posted by sonnymarkjiz

I second Falls Church city if you're working in Manassas. It's not bad, but if you need to get to the city to party/date then it's easy to get to from Falls Church. Plus, the area around Northside Social and Madfox are pretty cool. I used to live in Ballston and Rosslyn and while I miss it, it does have that frat/preppy vibe where everyone looks and dresses the same way.

But also, I'd recommend FCC based on you working in Manassas. Driving from Arlington to Manassas is torture cause you basically have to deal with 66, and 66 inside the beltway is crazy bad some times.

FCC is just outside Arlington though, right? But it makes a significant enough difference? I don't think I'd like to stay right in Arlington anyways. I like to play music and stuff and think I'd be better off outside of a resort-style apartment. I prefer some more privacy when I'm at home.


Do you think a 45 minute commute is doable from FCC? I'll try to google map it tomorrow around 8AM and 5PM if I can. Less than an hour commute is good for me. I may be able to skip rush hour either in the morning or night anyways since my company has a gym

[NOVAmtneer82]

Correct. The general area around Broad St. and Washington St.

Falls Church City largely prevents you from having to deal with the I-66 back-ups headed west towards Tysons in the mornings and the merge with 267 coming back in the evenings which adds commute time. You would be a straight shot down Broad St to plug onto 66 west to head out to Manassas. Id say 45 minutes will likely be doable in the morning depending on exact Manassas destination (and especially if you can leave by 7 or 715) but evenings will be a little longer- they always are for some reason.

[ACWhite]

OP, you may want to check this out:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T1RMuoQnKo

[sonnymarkjiz]

Originally Posted by ACWhite

OP, you may want to check this out:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T1RMuoQnKo

LMAO I haven't seen this in years. Sadly, not much has changed since then except Ballston is a heck of a lot nicer.

[leighland]

Manassas is the Joliet of Nova. Whats the reverse commute from South Arlington/ Alexandria Huntington to Manassas?

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by sonnymarkjiz

LMAO I haven't seen this in years. Sadly, not much has changed since then except Ballston is a heck of a lot nicer.

Yes, and his condo is now officially “dated.” :-)

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by sonnymarkjiz

LMAO I haven't seen this in years. Sadly, not much has changed since then except Ballston is a heck of a lot nicer.

And a lot of those restaurants have closed. God, I miss Carpool.