Recent Grad with position at Fort Belvoir (Alexandria, Franconia: apartment, renting)

[honestabe9]

Hi all,

I am brand new to these boards and there seems to be a lot of information, yet I was from New Jersey, just finished school in Pittsburgh and many of the things talked about in the Nova area are very unfamiliar to me. Hopefully someone can help me out.

I have an offer at Fort Belvoir yet I would like to live somewhere more north or closer to Maryland while keeping the commute to work ~1hr. The reason for this is I want to be able to live closer to Baltimore area and my potential roommate will have a job in Alexandria, he needs public transport access. I will be going to the Baltimore area once a week, that's why I am not interested in housing very close to Fort Belvoir. Any suggestions? I am a young male, interested in sports and being close to Alexandria and MD, my salary is 65k and I have no other restrictions than my roommate wanting to be able to commute easily to Alexandria.

Thanks!

Abe

[VEIK]

you both work in Virginia, why would you want to live closer to Baltimore.

I dont get it...

[Mike From NIU]

Abe,

If you work at Belvoir, and your roommate in Alexandria, you need to live in Virginia either in Alexandria or between Alexandria and Ft. Belvoir.

I know you said you will be traveling to Baltimore ~1/week, which is why you would like to be closer to MD. But you will be working 4-5 days/week (don't know if you can do a flex schedule/telework). Commuting from MD into VA is pretty horrid. Spending an extra hour to get to and from Baltimore once a week is worth it to save at least 1-2 hours each working day.

[EMTnest]

I agree. If you work at Belvoir, you need to live in Virginia. The commute on 95 is pretty bad coming over the bridge from Maryland during rush hours and then the return trip in the afternoon is just as bad.

[dalexan242]

There is no easy commute between Alexandria and Baltimore, you'd be miserable if you lived anywhere near Baltimore and tried to commute to Alexandria.

[Yankeesfan]

Definitely stay in Virginia, especially if your trip to Baltimore will be on the weekends! There's no point in making BOTH of you miserable with a commute twice a day five days a week just to save yourself time one day a week. Where in Alexandria will your friend be working? I'd suggest renting a place in Kingstowne (22315).

[honestabe9]

Hi thanks for the responses, I figured living in VA would be best. We want want to go to a church near baltimore on the weekends. My friend hopes to work at the Patent Office, I don't know exactly where it is. I will look up Kingstowne, thanks

[irisheyes13]

Kingstowne would put you very close to Belvoir as well as close to the Franconia Springfield metro station which may be a good option for your roommate although I am not sure where the Patent Office is. There are other options in the Alexandria area that may work for you as well.. Are you loooking for an apartment, a townhome and what is your price range?

It would be much easier for you to head to Baltimore on the weekends to attend church then have a horrible commute every day.. You may also find a church closer to where you live after a while..

[Yankeesfan]

Kingstowne Residential Owners Corporation

Also, if you'd like to tell us what kind of church you're looking at, someone might have some suggestions for churches here to look at. But in any case you'll have a much easier time getting to and from Baltimore on a weekend than weekdays.

[honestabe9]

Hi, this is an update, I was hoping I could get some advice. My buddy will not be working in VA, so I am looking for a 1br apartment for myself. Everything I've been looking up (Alexandria, Springfield, etc) are at least $1000 a month. I'd say the top end of my budget is $1500. I am working at Fort Belvoir.

I agree with staying in VA and relatively close to Belvoir, but I'd also want to be around young people/closer to DC than south of belvoir. What towns would match well for me, as a recent college grad? I also am not familiar with which areas are safe (I've read things about the route 1 corridor, but that things east and west of it are safe) and would provide a good commute to Fort Belvoir. Again, I appreciate the advice.

-Abe