Relocating to Alexandria,va...... help (Richmond, Arlington: affordable apartment, leasing, insurance)

[cccddd]

Hello,
I live in Richmond,va. I will like to relocate to northern,va(Alexandri,Fairfax,Arlington are). I feel discouraged after looking at the prices of apts and homes in those areas. I am a teacher. Can you tell me what areas in Alexandria,Fairfax where I would be able to find an apt on a teacher's salary? Thanks!

[dullnboring]

A lot of it will depend on your specific salary (I'm not 100% certain of teachers' salaries, but I'd guess around 40K) and your general spending habits and other cost of living issues. Basically, you can expect for a one-bedroom apartment to be paying $1000/month at the least. There are a handful of apartments available for under that price in some random spots but by and large, you should prepare to spend $1000/month at least, not including utilities. Apartments are more expensive in Arlington than they are in Fairfax County. I'd say on average, a similar apartment would be around $200/month more in Arlington but that's just an estimate on my part. From this, you know your monthly expense on food, car payments, insurance and the like, so you should be able to determine whether or not an apartment in Northern Virginia is feasible for you. I'd imagine that it is. I believe that some of the school systems and apartment complexes in the area actually offer discounts on apartments for county teachers but that's something that you'd have to contact the county about (assuming that no one on here supplies the information).

Don't let the cost of living discourage you if you really want to come here. Just remember that there are thousands of teachers living here somehow making due so you can definitely make it work if you want it.

[saganista]

Finding an affordable apartment in the Fairfax County area can be a challenge on almost anyone's salary. It's a relatively expensive area to live in. But there are some ways that FCPS teachers can shave at least a little bit off those monthly housing costs. If you contact the Human Resources office at Fairfax County Public Schools, they can give you more info, but check their webpage here (http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/DHR/employees/housing.htm (broken link)) as well. It lists some of the apartments in the area with which FCPS has agreements to waive or reduce certain rental fees and deposits, knock a few percentage points off the rent, or otherwise let you keep a few extra hundreds of dollars in your pocket. It won't solve every problem, but hey, every little bit helps, so it's at least worth looking into...

[cccddd]

Thanks for the information!

[cccddd]

Thanks for your imput!

[megan77]

hey cccddd,
i live here in arlington.i live in the barcroft apt.s on the corner of george mason dr. and columbia pike.you can get 1 bedroom with all utilities incld. for around $915.00 per month.or a 2 br. for 1,025.00. thier # is (703)521-3100.this apt.s are safe,better in other areas,(there are about 1,000 apts.) off of other streets,they are about 60 yrs.old,but kept up in good condition,get a top floor apt. if you can.there are of course,some problems with roaches and mice,but the barcroft maintanance are good about spraying and keeping everything under control.
the best thing,and the most hard thing to find is that it is month to month leasing,if you get apt. anywhere else in this area,you will get sucked into a 1 yr.lease.just some suggestions.

[Alanboy395]

the west end of alexandria city has the most affordable housing inside the beltway in virginia. a one bedroom can be found for $900 it just takes some real looking. one complex to look at is foxchase which has a nice shopping center within walking distance from the apts. barcroft is an alright complex but ain't exactly the best area in NoVA, a lot of illegal immigrants stay in that general area. west end alexandria is a cleaner looking area.

[megan77]

allenboy,
i have lived in the barcroft apartments for about 4 years,yes there are illegals here just like any where else,and i have never had any problems with them,they stay to themselves,yes a lot of them are poor people trying to get by just like me and the rest of the folks that live here.if damn nova whould make the houses here more affordable,we whould not have to resort to living here,but alot of us are not rich like the d.c. snobs,we are just the regular average everyday joe trying to to live a happy,healty normal life.and the spanish people here are kind good hearted people.my neighbors are spanish,and are the sweetest and nicest.

[Alanboy395]

and i ain't tryin to keep up, megan77? i ain't exactly rich either, i jus do the best i can. there are broke people on westside alexandria too. i also have sweet nice spainsh neighbors too.

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by cccddd

Hello,
I live in Richmond,va. I will like to relocate to northern,va(Alexandri,Fairfax,Arlington are). I feel discouraged after looking at the prices of apts and homes in those areas. I am a teacher. Can you tell me what areas in Alexandria,Fairfax where I would be able to find an apt on a teacher's salary? Thanks!

I would stay in Richmond if I were you.