Movng to the Arlington/Alexandria area (Franconia, Mount Vernon: real estate, apartments, rentals)

[macbunny]

HI,

Please help me. I have been offered a position south of Crystal City near the Arlington/Alexandria border. Where are safe places to live. Could I live near Mount Vernon and have a reasonable commute. What is wrong with the Route 1 corridor, I see posts that it is unsafe? Why? What type of crime is there? What neighborhoods are good in Alexandria? What neighborhoods are good in Arlington? I will have up to $2000 to spend for rent. I would like to rent a house rather then an apartment. Any ideas? Are townhouses generally nice. I thought they might be a good way to rent also. Not used to riding metros so would rather drive then learn metro. What places are way to far to commute from? Looking to only drive an hour (including time in rush hour). Any more time in the car, I would go stir crazy.
Please send comments!!!! Thanks ever so much

[saganista]

So, work is somewhere south of Four Mile Run, but before Route 1 hops over the railroad tracks and heads south into Alexandria proper. While it's improved some lately, that area is still a ways from being Rodeo Drive or anything. You'll have some options for commuting, but the nearest Metro station is Braddock Road and that's a ways away. There is no doubt bus service, but that you'd have to figure out once you got here, so figuring on driving for at least a while is probably good, assuming that there is parking available where you're going.

As for housing, wherever you go, the drive to work will not be good, but you could at least have access to some bad routes instead of only horrible ones. Unlikely that there will be any actual houses near where you work, though. The idea of Mt. Vernon would be doable, but you'd almost have to take the GW Parkway north, and after a somewhat hectic time getting there, you'd have to do the bumper-to-bumper thing all the way through Alexandria. Yuck! But there are a lot of people who do it, otherwise it wouldn't be so crowded. Still, it might work out better to look west or southwest rather than south. Lake Barcroft if you can swing it is rather nice, and the Franconia/Springflied area will have options. Most of Bailey's Crossroads and the strip along I-395 are packed with high-density housing, so those might bring some culture shock after living on two acres. You could conceivably even look down to Newington. Mostly, that name brings to people's minds the I-95-nightmare, but you wouldn't necessarily have to use 95. Telegraph Road and lesser streets, while not at all good during rush hour, would at least give you choices, except for that part about getting across Cameron Run. You'd only have three choices there, and they are the same ones everybody else has. Still, about a fifth of the houses in Newington are rentals so you might find something there where you could plant a few petunias. Probably best to think about talking to a realtor about house and townhouse rentals though. They tend to have better info on those than what you can find in the media...

[macbunny]

Thank you for your comments. Not sure if I could cut it there. The position was with the EPA. They have a new building on Route 1. I am very torn. On one hand the position would be nice, on the other I am a country gal and would feel crushed by cars and people in the city. I think I have to stay in my green pastures. The traffic and cost of living are the main issues I have with moving there.

[javajive711]

Before you dismiss using Metro, you'll want to do a "dry-run" of your commute. Why? Well, if I wanted to park anywhere near my office (in DC), it would cost $19 per day. Also, my fiance turned down a job that was located 7 miles from our apt. after realizing that it would take 90 minutes to get there regardless of which way he took (from Western Alexandria to Tysons Corner.) I don't think I'll ever get used to the traffic here.

We moved here from Pittsburgh last summer, and found out apt. by looking on Washington Post's apartment listings, then looking at apartmentratings.com to see what former residents had to say. Then, we drove here one day to look at places before signing a lease.

Word to the wise: the drainage system in some neighborhoods here is inadequate, so unless you enjoy floods and bugs (not to mention break-ins) avoid living on the ground level if you get an apt. or condo.

Most of the serious crime here seems to be gang-related (MS-13 is allegedly huge, but I don't know any more details.) We haven't had any problems anywhere--as far as I can tell, it's about the same as any large metropolitan area. Alexandria City's website has a crime log, which you can search crime happenings by street address in case you're interested.

I don't know about the route 1 corridor, although I heard the same thing when I was looking to move here. I do know that Del Ray, which is a very popular neighborhood that seems fine to me, is on the route 1 corridor.

Good luck!

[macbunny]

Geesh 7 miles away and yet a 90 minute commute?? Oh I could never stand that. I did hear parking was expensive. That also worried me. The bike trails look very nice though. Are the bike trails safe? I thought maybe if I found a place near the trails, I could just bike to work.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by macbunny

Thank you for your comments. Not sure if I could cut it there. The position was with the EPA. They have a new building on Route 1. I am very torn. On one hand the position would be nice, on the other I am a country gal and would feel crushed by cars and people in the city. I think I have to stay in my green pastures. The traffic and cost of living are the main issues I have with moving there.

Are you sure about the location you specified earlier? The EPA has two new facilities in that general area, and each is actually located on South Crystal Drive. These are known as Potomac Yard #1 and #2, and they are each a block from the Crystal City Metro station, and it would be a very safe block indeed. That area is modern, upscale, clean, and professional. Quite the contrast to the stretch of Route-1 south of Four Mile Run. It would certainly pay to double-check on the exact location.

If in fact your job would be at PY-1 or PY-2, you would be blessed by being able to forget about driving to work entirely. For one thing, there is no place to park when you get there. At least the final leg of your commute would absolutely be on Metrorail. This is a good thing because it puts virtually the entire region within your house-hunting range, and while the city and inner suburbs are all built up, as are many of the outer suburbs in Virginia, the ability to get on a train means you could live almost anywhere, and there are workable rural-like areas in Maryland in particular. A former staffer of mine -- very bright and energetic young lady now in her late 30's -- is currently the admin manager for large real estate development company in the Chevy Chase area of DC. She has a busy day, and when she gets home, she has her 'chores' to do. This would be on account of the horses. Also the 'herds' or 'flocks' or whatever they are of turkeys and ostriches that she and her SO keep. Her commute is less than an hour. Her expansive place is in Maryland north of the city, and it would be more than an hour from there to PY-1 or PY-2, but there are similar areas in Maryland southeast of the city that would be as convenient to those EPA sites. If you could do without all those animals, there are even some non-dense areas in Virginia where you could find rental houses and still get to work on time. All because of the train.

Of course, none of this does anything about the cost of living. DC is an expensive area. But if you have $2000 a month available for rent, you are already ahead of most folks, so I wouldn't be too overly concerned on that score. Anyway, do double-check that work address. You may well end up deciding to take a pass on the EPA offer, but it would be best to know what you're actually turning down, and your range of realistic DC options looks very different if that position were really at PY-1 or PY-2...

[macbunny]

Yes the position is at One Potomac Yard 2777 S. Crystal Drive Arlington VA. I was looking at google maps and it seemed to be right across from the airport. Are the metro's safe? I just have no idea where to live, this is the biggest burden on selecting to move to the area. I read about apartments and find most are cockroach infested or noisy. I am not a young college student I am an older professional person. I don't want the party life. I want a nice quiet house to relax in after my working day. I need to grow tomatoes and flowers, it helps me to relax to see things grow and to work the soil.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by javajive711

Before you dismiss using Metro, you'll want to do a "dry-run" of your commute. Why? Well, if I wanted to park anywhere near my office (in DC), it would cost $19 per day.

Yup. Parking in the city is all but impossibly expensive unless your employer underwrites it somehow. My work is just north of the White House and we have a couple of lots that still offer that lovely 'Early Bird' rate of $14 or $15 per day, but I think I'll be sticking with my SmarTrip card, actually.

Originally Posted by javajive711

Also, my fiance turned down a job that was located 7 miles from our apt. after realizing that it would take 90 minutes to get there regardless of which way he took (from Western Alexandria to Tysons Corner.) I don't think I'll ever get used to the traffic here.

Traffic is bad everywhere and the Tyson's Corner area is one of the worst of all, but unless a tractor-trailer overturned somewhere, it shouldn't have taken 90 minutes to make that trip.

Originally Posted by javajive711

Then, we drove here one day to look at places before signing a lease. Word to the wise: the drainage system in some neighborhoods here is inadequate, so unless you enjoy floods and bugs (not to mention break-ins) avoid living on the ground level if you get an apt. or condo.

An excellent plan. Actually walking around in and eyeballing a place is so much more informative than what you can see on a monitor or read about in the papers. The drainage deal is a common one, as you say. Much of the substrata in the area is called 'clay' but it might as well be concrete. If you get a significant amount of rainfall, there just isn't anywhere for the water to go. My house is at the top of a ridge, but I was a regular basement-pumper until we put some drainage fields in. Much better now. My wife and I and (much later) my daughter had the same experience as you with ground-floor apartments.

Originally Posted by javajive711

Most of the serious crime here seems to be gang-related (MS-13 is allegedly huge, but I don't know any more details.) We haven't had any problems anywhere--as far as I can tell, it's about the same as any large metropolitan area.

Exactly. There is some level of crime everywhere, and every region has neighborhoods that it would be better to stay out of. The DC area isn't any different on that score. Which means that no one here walks around in fear. You just go about your business, just as you would anywhere else.

Originally Posted by javajive711

I don't know about the route 1 corridor, although I heard the same thing when I was looking to move here. I do know that Del Ray, which is a very popular neighborhood that seems fine to me, is on the route 1 corridor.

Del Ray is certainly a very nice area (low-end house there goes for $550-600K) and Route-1 does form its eastern boundary, but it is not at all in the so-called Route-1 Corridor. That extends south from the Beltway down toward Hybla Valley, getting worse as you go south, and it's just plain seedy and sleazy, and particularly after dark, you wouldn't want to be there unless you were an on-duty police officer. Then you might find yourself there quite regularly at such hours.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by macbunny

Yes the position is at One Potomac Yard 2777 S. Crystal Drive Arlington VA. I was looking at google maps and it seemed to be right across from the airport. Are the metro's safe?

PY #1. That's excellent, it is just across from National Airport, and the Metro is extremely safe. Sometimes also extremely crowded, but even late at night, extremely safe. Any Metro crime at all makes the news around here precisely because it is so rare.

Originally Posted by macbunny

I just have no idea where to live, this is the biggest burden on selecting to move to the area.

As it should be, but with your commuting questions all suddenly resolved, you can live almost anywhere within 20 minutes of almost any Metro stop and be at work in less than an hour. And for $2000 a month, there will be some very nice environs that are within your reach.

Originally Posted by macbunny

I read about apartments and find most are cockroach infested or noisy.

There are plenty of those, and since no one wants to live in them, they are the ones who do the most on-line advertising. If you actually want an apartment, there are plenty of very nice places to choose from, but it seems that a house or townhouse would really be more to your liking, and you'll have many options among those as well.

Originally Posted by macbunny

I am not a young college student I am an older professional person. I don't want the party life. I want a nice quiet house to relax in after my working day. I need to grow tomatoes and flowers, it helps me to relax to see things grow and to work the soil.

I know what you mean (I think). I'm getting frighteningly close to 60 now, and starting to think that I have too much soil that I'm responsible for. We bought this place in our early 30's and wanted that same thing -- the chance to get our fingernails into some actual soil. Well, we got that, and it's been grand, but boy, the place sure looks big these days when I gaze out the window and start running through the To-Do List in my mind. No thoughts of moving, though. If it comes to it, we'll just start hiring people. But if you're on that same sort of path, an apartment probably isn't right up your alley. There are literally tons of very nice townhouse communities around, but in part because various agencies of the government ship a lot of their people around to all corners of the world for a few years at a time, there is also a substantial stock of both townhouses and single-family homes that are on the rental market.

[mdcrim]

You could actually live in Crystal City, walking distance to work, the Crystal City underground and the mall. There are some great apartments between Crystal City and Pentagon City Mall, although I don't know what they cost (check Eads Street and Fern). My experience is that those apartments are generally used by professionals and by military personnel assigned to the Pentagon or Crystal City. Many of the buildings have security/ concierge and require buzzing in so they are very safe. Good luck in your search.