What do you think about this area in Alexandria, VA?

[ersatz]

Emmy22

If you are interested in an apartment within two (Park Place, Ridgeleigh) or three (Rose Hill) miles or so of Manchester Blvd check out

Park Place Van Dorn
Ridgeleigh at Van Dorn
Rose Hill Apartments

All fit within reasonably priced apartments for the area immediately near Manchester Blvd and are not located in seedy areas. However, no apartment or privately rented home will be remotely within your preferred $500 range. For that, you may (just) be able to rent an unheated 5' x 10' storage unit at Extra Space Storage just off of Manchester Blvd.

There is also an apartment complex (Archstone) just across from Springfield Mall which is nice enough but the crime rate there is higher than the Kingstowne/Rose Hill area.

My recommendation is to stay in the Kingstowne Area and avoid anything that crosses north of the I-495/railroad where it cuts across Van Dorn street. I lived in that area for three years and felt safe enough walking around by myself at night. I still visit there regularly and have never felt unsafe. Just use common sense.

[Flamingo13]

I don't know as I'm not a renter but the Foxchase apartments seem to be very well kept up and no crime (other than I read about a vehicle stolen occasionally) in that area.

[emmy22]

Originally Posted by ersatz

Emmy22

If you are interested in an apartment within two (Park Place, Ridgeleigh) or three (Rose Hill) miles or so of Manchester Blvd check out

Park Place Van Dorn
Ridgeleigh at Van Dorn
Rose Hill Apartments

All fit within reasonably priced apartments for the area immediately near Manchester Blvd and are not located in seedy areas. However, no apartment or privately rented home will be remotely within your preferred $500 range. For that, you may (just) be able to rent an unheated 5' x 10' storage unit at Extra Space Storage just off of Manchester Blvd.

There is also an apartment complex (Archstone) just across from Springfield Mall which is nice enough but the crime rate there is higher than the Kingstowne/Rose Hill area.

My recommendation is to stay in the Kingstowne Area and avoid anything that crosses north of the I-495/railroad where it cuts across Van Dorn street. I lived in that area for three years and felt safe enough walking around by myself at night. I still visit there regularly and have never felt unsafe. Just use common sense.

Thank you for your reply. However, I never said that $500 was my preferred price range in Alexandria. I just said that price is what I'm used to in Tennessee. I was just wanting to know how low I could go in price and still get a good quality apartment. I was just mentioning what I am used to so that I could make it clear that I was confused about how much to spend. But, I am aware that Alexandria is much more expensive.
I have researched all the apartments that you suggested, but they all don't have as good of ratings as I would like them to on apartmentratings.com. But, I don't know if everyone is just being picky. I did find one apartment that I am interested in. It is not as close as I'd like it to be, but it is within a 10 mile radius, which is what I am looking for. It might be worth it if it's better than the ones that are closer. Do you or anyone else know anything about "The Alexander." I looks nice especially for the price of some of the 2 bedrooms. Also, it had really good reviews.

[VEIK]

Alexander eh, wasn't that place built as condos originally...

For access to 395, I would go with Alexander.
Plus its closer to Shirlington, which in my opinion is a whole lot nicer than Kingstown, unless you are into walmart n stuff.

[Big J_05]

Originally Posted by emmy22

Thank you for your reply. However, I never said that $500 was my preferred price range in Alexandria. I just said that price is what I'm used to in Tennessee. I was just wanting to know how low I could go in price and still get a good quality apartment. I was just mentioning what I am used to so that I could make it clear that I was confused about how much to spend. But, I am aware that Alexandria is much more expensive.
I have researched all the apartments that you suggested, but they all don't have as good of ratings as I would like them to on apartmentratings.com. But, I don't know if everyone is just being picky. I did find one apartment that I am interested in. It is not as close as I'd like it to be, but it is within a 10 mile radius, which is what I am looking for. It might be worth it if it's better than the ones that are closer. Do you or anyone else know anything about "The Alexander." I looks nice especially for the price of some of the 2 bedrooms. Also, it had really good reviews.

From my experience For a 2 bedroom in that area I would say about to $1000 to $1100 a month would be the absolute lowest you could go and still live in a decent low-crime area. Even that may be a bit of a stretch but you might find something in that range if you shop around.

Anything under $800 may well be subsidized housing were there is a limit to what your salary can be in order for you to be allowed to live there. If you find anything between $800 and $1000, I would do some serious research on the area as far as crime, car thefts/ break-ins etc. before making a move.

Realistically you would be looking in the $1200 to $1500 range. It may be worth it though if you are trying to limit the length of your commutes. You may have to be at least another 10 miles outside of DC to see any appreciable reduction in rental rates.

The Alexander is a fairly new complex which I have heard good things about. It's about $1400 or $1500 or so just for a single bedroom though. That gives you an idea of how much you have to spend in the area to get a really nice apartment.

[Artsywoman]

I lived in Arlandria (Presidential Greens) and paid 1100 for a one bedroom. The apartment was nice and renovated, but the area and complex is filled with illegal immigrants, crime and noise. The apartments are a bit cheaper for Northern Virginia standards, but the atmosphere is awful. Alot of loud music, drunks in the street, fighting, men gawking at you all the time. I formerly lived near Seminary road and it was much better.