Working in Arlington, where to move??? (Alexandria, Centreville: rent, houses, neighborhood)

[irunman]

I will be working in Arlington, looking for a nicer neighborhood, which is not that far a commute from the National Guard Bureau on 50. No more than 2k if possible on rent, for a place with pets and kids. Any suggestions???
I saw some reasonable places in Centreville, is that a long commute?

Thanks

[CaseyMac]

Please exhaust Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church first. You don't want to do the drive from Centreville to the bureau. I mean you are talking an hour each way on good days. When it rains or there is snow/ice, add more time. If you are willing to look for maybe some 3BR/2 BA places versus 4BR/2.5BA you may get lucky closer-in. Can't stress enough how bad that commute must be. Good luck to you.

[irunman]

Thanks, I will try, Is annandale a bad commute. I found a couple of town houses that might do there?

~A

[DCguy03]

I work in Arlington and live in Arlington, and it has been excellent so far.

Even though you are paying more $ in rent to live in Arlington, you will save a lot of money on commuting costs. You can take the metrorail or metrobus to most areas, so your family can easily get by with one car. The traffic around here is terrible during rush hour, and my day is so much less-stressful when I only have a 10-minute commute that costs $2.60 round-trip.

I would recommend comparing all of the #'s - your total "cost of living" in one community vs. others. It used to be that rent was the biggest factor b/c gas and driving costs were dirt cheap.

As KaseyMac suggested, Arlington, Alexandria, and Falls Church are great places to look at. I've lived in Falls Church, and now live in Arlington, so I'd be happy to answer any questions about looking for an apt. in these towns.

Any thoughts so far? If you can share some specifics such as how many kids, spouse, # of cars you have, does your spouse need to commute, etc. I'm sure we can help you out even more.

By the way, Welcome to NoVA!