Best place to live? (Arlington, Alexandria: condominiums, trip , rent)

[AKNana]

Planning a move to NOVA in the next few months, I've been lurking for quite a while, gathering all kinds of good info from you helpful folks. I know that Clarendon/Ballston is a great place for nightlife and popular with the 20-30ish crowd, Fairfax County great for families, Crystal City/Pentagon City great for DC commuters who like high rises. Looking for suggestions for 50ish empty nesters who want to commute to DC via metro, maybe combination metro/bus. Want to be able to walk to some restaurants, local shops. We live in large SFH on over an acre now, not sure we could adjust to a high rise, maybe a townhouse would be better. Looking for rent <3000 or buy <600,000. Suggestions appreciated!

[CaseyMac]

Del Ray in Northwest Alexandria could work well for you. It is a tree-lined street with eclectic shops and restaurants. It is an easy 5-10 minute drive from Old Town Alexandria and Pentagon/Crystal City and 15 minutes from DC. Metrorail does not come through Del Ray, but Metrobus service does.

I would also look very closely at North Arlington. The Westover section (Washington Blvd, zip 22205) has a great section of shops and restaurants like Del Ray (only smaller) and is almost walking distance from the East Falls Church Metro. There is a public library that will be going through a renovation soon. Metrobus service runs up and down Washington Blvd.

Overall I think you are better off in inner VA versus DC. DC is likely to be more expensive and you probably be able to satisfy your needs just fine in VA. If you do decide to go to DC, then you will most likely be looking at Glover Park, Cleveland Park and upper Wisconsin/Connecticut Avenues.

Best of luck to you!

[kevbros]

Old Town. You can probably find a townhouse, albeit small, in your price range. Lots of public transportation options. You can walk or bus to metro, or take an express bus right into downtown DC. A lot of empty nesters in the area. Extensive restaurant selection too. Everything in the area is walkable and if you need to drive into DC - it's pretty easy up the GW Parkway. Schools and price can be an issue, but in your situation I'd look there first.

[nva79]

considering you will be working in dc, i would recomend living in dc. you can get rent for less than 3000. very short commute, lots of shops, restaurants, metro, within walking distance. very fun area.

[Tone509]

As I live and have worked in Old Town, I second the emotion that you will find plenty of peers and things to do there. I agree that your price point might be a bit tight for a TH but you would do great with a 2-3BR condo.

I do disagree about the necessity of living in DC. If you're taking Metrorail/bus, the commute will be short enough, perhaps even shorter than from some DC neighborhoods, depending on where you're working. I also like being able to vote for my own Governor, Senator and State Representatives.

[not2creative]

If what you are looking for is an easy commute to the city and a country setting to live in I would consider moving near the VRE. In the price range you mentioned you could easily purchase a home in the Haymarket area and drive to the VRE in Manassas. I lived in Fairfax County for over 25 years and couldn't take the congestion any more. I now live in Leesburg, not perfect for a commute to DC but fine for commuting to Fairfax. Leesburg does have a commuter bus that goes to the city leaving at various times of the morning but it will be a while before we see metro come to Dulles (12 miles away).

There is never a lack of activities here, we have plenty of bike trails and wineries!

[AKNana]

Thanks for your responses. I'll look at all those areas, especially Old Town. I see many listings within our price range in the Cameron area, near the Van Dorn metro. Seems like it would be a good commute, but what about the area, are there interesting places to walk to? Is it safe?

[Flamingo13]

I personally recommend Alexandria City (I'm in the West End) - VERY easy commute by bus/Metro - Cameron Station is very nice, my area and those around me are single-family homes, but not very large and reasonably priced. I commute to Pentagon City and Metro Center every week (1 day each) - you'd have the same bus (Dash or Metro) from Cameron Station as I do. It's really quick (just don't be a zombie as I was one day and didn't pay attention to the train I got on at Metro Station - LMAO).

I like the area for the fact that there is such easy access to DC, Old Town itself, nice drive to the mountains, PA, MD, etc.

[bmwguydc]

Cameron is newer than Old Town, and it's not a bad trip into DC. Old Town really is charming, but a TH will be on the smaller end, and parking on the street can be an issue sometimes. Old Town's Metro stop is towards the western boundary of the city on King Street, and there's another on Braddock Road. In the immediate vicinity are high-rise condominiums, but closer to the river, the scale drops dramatically as the higher buildings are not part of the historic district. There is a local bus service that goes from Alexandria (DASH) that you can use to get to the Metro, and there are some areas in North Old Town that are older buildings and smaller-scale condominiums, though they do get airport noise during the flight hours at Reagan-National Airport.

Parts of Arlington are also nice, but close-in Arlington in your price range will likely be a high-rise, especially those in walking distance to the Metro. That said, there are some buildings in and around Ballston that are smaller, but the area does have more of a city feel to it, and Crystal City is mostly larger condominium buildings.

Further out on the Orange Line Metro, you have Falls Church, Vienna, and Fairfax. There are some condominiums in Falls Church that are not huge buildings, and you could find a townhouse as well, though they might not be in direct walking distance to the Metro itself. Vienna offers a great town, smaller scale development of condominium and townhouse offerings, some of which are very close to the Metro itself, though they are removed from the town center. The Vienna-Fairfax Metro station lies inbetween the two areas, in the median of I-66, and surrounding areas of Fairfax and Vienna have bus links to the Metro station. In this area, you could definitely find townhouses and condominiums in your price range there. It is even possible to find a single family house in these areas at that price point in town, on a smaller sized lot, and though there might not be a huge selection, they do exist.

[AKNana]

Wow, thanks for all that great info. A metro station in the 66 median? That is interesting. Is there a pedestrian underpass/overpass to get to it?