Where to Live???? Pentagon and McLean jobs (Another one of these annoying posts Im sure) (Arlington: fit in, apartment complexes)

[newguyto5sidebldg]

Hello all. My girlfriend and I will be re-locating to NOVA in the next two months. I will be working at the pentagon and she will be working in McLean. We are trying to find a place (townhouse/SFH) with at least 2 bedrooms and some kind of patio/yard for a grill and friends (garage would be ideal). We would like to keep rent right around 2K and commutes for her less than a half hr and for me less then hr preferably a short jaunt to a metro. We do not feel we would fit in with the high rise posh apartments complexes so they are out. We are both in our late twenties so some sort of access to a life would be great and we obviously do nto want to worry about walking from our car at night. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[claremarie]

This one is pretty easy -- look in Arlington, especially along the Clarendon/Courthouse/Ballston corridor along Metro's Orange Line. There will be more high-rises than townhouses, but there are some townhouses and SFH options as well, though the SFHs would likely be beyond your price range. You could also look in Shirlington, but it's further from the Metro. Lots of twenty somethings in Arlington, and it's very safe. You could also look in Falls Church. Easy commutes for both of you, and quick access to DC for nightlife and museums on weekends.

[newguyto5sidebldg]

I have heard the clarendon area is more of a college early twenties crowd and that the majority of the area is comprised of high rises. Falls Chuch has looked great but then we see posts about horrible areas to stay away from. Does anyone know of good or more importantly bad areas of Falls Church to stay out of. Also is Annanndale a nice area? Thanks for the reply. This has been a bit of a nightmare looking at. We are both in Charlottesville whihc is much much easier to navigate.

[claremarie]

Clarendon is too expensive for most college students and many recent grads, but there are certainly lots of high-rises there (and townhouses too). There aren't really any "horrible" parts of Falls Church, but some areas are nicer and more upscale than others. Basically, anything within the actual City of Falls Church will be great; some places with the Falls Church mailing address are actually in Fairfax County, and some of them are neighborhoods with a larger number of low-income/immigrant residents than others. The most reliable indicator will be price -- it's cheaper to live in faux Falls Church. The City of Falls Church has its own terrific school system, which drives up the price of homes within the City -- because schools are not an issue for you, you might find something suitable just across the Fairfax County line.
If you can live without the convenient Metro access, I would seriously consider Shirlington. There are tons of relatively affordable townhouses there; your commute would be very short to the Pentagon; it's very easy to drive into DC for evenings and weekends; and the commute to McLean/Tyson's would be relatively painless.
Annandale is a diverse community, including both upper-middle class communities with homes in the $600K plus range and townhouses populated by immigrants. There is a thriving Korean community in Annandale, but I wouldn't say that it's a hot spot for people in their 20s. It's also not near the Metro. The commute between Annandale and Tyson's on the Beltway would not be fun with all of the construction projects.

[newguyto5sidebldg]

thanks for the heads up. never thought looking for place to live would be so difficult but there is just so many things to choose from up there.

[claremarie]

There are lots of temporary and short-term rental options available, so no need to rush into a decision. And it's nice to have choices.

[athousandlogins]

Even a townhouse might be out of their price range, for the most part, in Clarendon or Ballston - though deals do pop up, particularly on craigslist, every now and then. There are some duplexes in the area that are older and tend to be less expensive, but they go really fast (like if you're not literally the first person to see it, you won't get it.) There are some older apartment complexes, too, that fall in the price range - but there won't be access to yard/grilling space like in a townhouse.

I agree entirely about Shirlington, though. It's a popular area for late 20-somethings, and well in their price range for a townhouse. And even though there isn't a Metrorail stop in the neighborhood, Metrobus pretty much saturates the area so public transportation access is not a problem.

[utennvolsfan]

The Shirlington Transit Center (which is Metrobus' fancy name for the main bust stop) is open and running. There are a number of buses that go to the Pentagon Metro from their.

If you're looking for single family homes, the Columbia Forest neighborhood is close to Shirlington and only a few miles from the Pentagon. My husband was assigned there and I worked in downtown DC, so commuting was fairly easy. IF you're lucky enough to get hold of a Pentagon parking permit, your drive is short if you're in the neighborhood I mentioned. I go in with my husband (unless I was on the night shift), jump on the metro and be at the Reagan Building in a snap. Okay, it was longer than that if you get the idea.

[terrence81]

I work in Shirlington and it's pretty expensive but you can walk to everything though. You can walk to the grocery store, movie theater, a dozen restaurants a theatre (plays) and Caribou coffee. There's a bus that goes straight to the Pentagon in like 15 minutes using the freeway so if you can find a nice place you can afford go for it.

Here's the bad part though. Your girlfriend's commute will suck no way is she gonna be able to make it there in less than 30 minutes. Without traffic it's like what a 20-25 minute drive with traffic who knows?

So I would recommend somewhere on the northside of Arlington like Ballston or Clarendon. Clarendon has lots of nightlife. Your commute would be a breeze. Hers would still suck but it would be within the half hour limit. Oh wait you'd like to be near a metro. Okay there in lies the problem very expensive to live near a metro in Arlington. The further out you go on the orange line the cheaper it gets though. Get a place in Vienna (end of the orange line) and you'll have something really nice still be within an hour and your girlfriend will still be close to work.

[Flamingo13]

Falls Church is a good commute to both McLean (back roads) and the Pentagon (Metro) - you can probably also find something in your price range.