What Areas Do You Recommend For 30something Singles? (Arlington, Alexandria: apartments, for rent)

[DennyCrane]

Arlington and Alexandria seem to be the names I hear the most. Is this where most of the 30something singles are? Also, I know when a lot of people think of singles, they assume they like clubs and bars. I'm past that stage and don't need to be in an area that offers that stuff. I'd rather go to a show, a cool restaurant that isn't part of a chain, or do some outdoor activity.

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by DennyCrane

Arlington and Alexandria seem to be the names I hear the most. Is this where most of the 30something singles are? Also, I know when a lot of people think of singles, they assume they like clubs and bars. I'm past that stage and don't need to be in an area that offers that stuff. I'd rather go to a show, a cool restaurant that isn't part of a chain, or do some outdoor activity.

Alexandria would be a good choice. Old Town and Del Ray each offer a laid-back vibe although the former is more upscale while the latter you may find young families among mild bohemia. You'll find a more local than chain restaurants in each neighborhood. Some restaurants offer regular musical acts on the weekends; gypsy music and bluegrass come to mind immediately. Over in Del Ray, the Birchmere is a popular intimate venue with acts passing through that you should surely recognize.

In Arlington, Shirlington might be a good choice for you. Not so much the Clarendon/Ballston corridor which is a 20something haven with the requisite plethora of bars and clubs.

[JEB77]

Originally Posted by Tone509

Alexandria would be a good choice. Old Town and Del Ray each offer a laid-back vibe although the former is more upscale while the latter you may find young families among mild bohemia. You'll find a more local than chain restaurants in each neighborhood. Some restaurants offer regular musical acts on the weekends; gypsy music and bluegrass come to mind immediately. Over in Del Ray, the Birchmere is a popular intimate venue with acts passing through that you should surely recognize.

In Arlington, Shirlington might be a good choice for you. Not so much the Clarendon/Ballston corridor which is a 20something haven with the requisite plethora of bars and clubs.

I've actually only spent a little bit of time in Del Ray. It seems like a cool neighborhood - neat old houses and props for local stores that aren't "generic" retailers, etc. I definitely could see people who don't like other parts of NoVa finding their niche there.

But just how safe is it? There seem to be some fairly run-down areas close by. Do residents moving into the area stay put, or does it tend to be a "starter neighborhood" where yuppies buy a house, parade down Mount Vernon Avenue with their dog (on a leash) or first-born (in a stroller) and then decamp when the kids reach school age?

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by JEB77

I've actually only spent a little bit of time in Del Ray. It seems like a cool neighborhood - neat old houses and props for local stores that aren't "generic" retailers, etc. I definitely could see people who don't like other parts of NoVa finding their niche there.

But just how safe is it? There seem to be some fairly run-down areas close by. Do residents moving into the area stay put, or does it tend to be a "starter neighborhood" where yuppies buy a house, parade down Mount Vernon Avenue with their dog (on a leash) or first-born (in a stroller) and then decamp when the kids reach school age?

Actually there's an elementary school right off Mt. Vernon Avenue. I forget the name of it but the Duncan library branch is directly across from it. Going by the population of kids and the parents I've seen pick them up, I'd say that things are pretty positive there. I suppose if people aren't happy with the lone TC Williams High School, they might decamp for the 'burbs or switch to private school.

Although I haven't been, there is an area north of Del Ray called Arlandia that isn't so prosperous. This may have been the area you passed through.

[Azmordean]

I admit to not reading the replies in full. That said, here are my thoughts.

When you say IT - do you mean IT support, or are you, for example, a computer programmer or someone else involved in development? In the former case, jobs are all over, including the suburbs. In the latter case, I'd say there are actually MORE jobs in the suburbs. Most are with various high tech defense contractors, and a great many are located in what I have taken to calling the "Tech Triangle." Look at a map, and draw a Triangle from the Sterling/Dulles area, down to Centreville, and east to Fairfax. All the areas contained within it, including especially Fairfax, Centreville, Herndon, and Reston, are full of these high tech businesses.

As for singles. The suburbs in NOVA, particularly those west of town (including said Tech Triangle) are in my experience quite mixed. There are families, but plenty of single young professionals as well. The presence of a high tech job market in these suburbs insures that there are a large number of young, unattached people. In fact, most of my good friends live out that way. However, I have found the I-95 corridor, south of town, does tend to be more "generic" suburbia.

Rents, for a decent place, will vary a lot depending on where. Move near your job. A nice apartment in most of the "tech triangle" suburbs will probably be around $1200 for a one bedroom, prob closer to $1800 for two. Cheaper places can be found, as can considerably more expensive places!

[terrence81]

Originally Posted by DennyCrane

Arlington and Alexandria seem to be the names I hear the most. Is this where most of the 30something singles are? Also, I know when a lot of people think of singles, they assume they like clubs and bars. I'm past that stage and don't need to be in an area that offers that stuff. I'd rather go to a show, a cool restaurant that isn't part of a chain, or do some outdoor activity.

Well yeah Arlington and Alexandria do have the neighborhoods with the most bars and clubs but also with more restaurants. So yeah if a neighborhood with stuff going on is your goal you'll want to be near the bars and stuff even if you're not patronizing them because they'll have other stuff that would interest you.

At the very same time if going out on the town is not your primary goal then at the end of the day any nice apartment complex will do. A condo or apartment complex is going to have more singles than a subdivision or even a group of townhouses.

[juniperbleu]

Old Town Alexandria is what came to my mind first, but that could be a difficult commute if you work out by Dulles. You might want to check out parts of MD, too. My friend is in computer science and ended up working for Lockheed in Gaithersburg (despite the main office being in Herndon).

For ease of commute, I'd look somewhere in the Dulles/Herndon/Reston area and then drive into Arlington or Alexandria for entertainment.

[DennyCrane]

Azmordean,

My area of expertise is development. One reason I'm looking at the DC area is precisely because of how many jobs there are for my field. Not only that, the jobs aren't all concentrated in downtown, but are scattered throughout the suburbs. The problem with other cities is that the jobs are all in the city so unless you can afford to live in or near downtown, you're out of luck. I don't want to be in that situation. I already deal with that where I live now. Based on your comments and what others have told me, I'll probably end up working in the Tech Triangle which is fine with me. Obviously, given the traffic in DC, I'll want to live close to where I work. After looking at the map and seeing just where the Tech Triangle is, Arlington and Alexandria might be too far away. Being near other singles is good, but having a decent commute to work is more important. If the suburbs in the Tech Triangle are mixed in terms of singles, that's fine. Whatever area I live in doesn't have to be dominated by singles. I just don't want to be someplace where I'm the only single 30something. But if the tech market of the suburbs insures that there are a good number of singles out there, then I think I should target that area. And I know that rent will be high. But if my research on IT salaries is correct, paying $1800 a month shouldn't be a huge stretch.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by DennyCrane

Azmordean,

My area of expertise is development. One reason I'm looking at the DC area is precisely because of how many jobs there are for my field. Not only that, the jobs aren't all concentrated in downtown, but are scattered throughout the suburbs. The problem with other cities is that the jobs are all in the city so unless you can afford to live in or near downtown, you're out of luck. I don't want to be in that situation. I already deal with that where I live now. Based on your comments and what others have told me, I'll probably end up working in the Tech Triangle which is fine with me. Obviously, given the traffic in DC, I'll want to live close to where I work. After looking at the map and seeing just where the Tech Triangle is, Arlington and Alexandria might be too far away. Being near other singles is good, but having a decent commute to work is more important. If the suburbs in the Tech Triangle are mixed in terms of singles, that's fine. Whatever area I live in doesn't have to be dominated by singles. I just don't want to be someplace where I'm the only single 30something. But if the tech market of the suburbs insures that there are a good number of singles out there, then I think I should target that area. And I know that rent will be high. But if my research on IT salaries is correct, paying $1800 a month shouldn't be a huge stretch.

I'm still going to recommend the areas near Reston Town Center to you regardless of what the naysayers may tell you (ducks shoes flying at head like President Bush!) I live in a community where my backyard is LITERALLY a heavily-wooded country club area and where from my front door I can walk to a Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, Harris Teeter, Macaroni Grill, and Reston Town Center in under ten minutes. I only pay $1,135/month for a 1-bedroom, and I believe my next-door neighbor told me he pays $1,275/month for a 2-bedroom. There are probably more thirty-somethings here than twenty-somethings (who try like all hell to live in places like Ballston, but for someone like me who does NOT want roomies that wasn't an option), so this may be a better environment for you than it would ultimately be for me.

The cons? While your commute to work will be an instant breeze, your commute into the city will SUCK! You either have the Route 7 eastbound cha-cha line that takes forever, especially through Tyson's Corners, or you have the Route 267 toll road, which will ADD UP over time, especially for those of us who aren't making loads of money and can't just say "Not a big deal." Ideally 267 SHOULD be toll-free, as this would help to alleviate congestion on 7, but I digress. Also, the Silver Line of the Metrorail SHOULD have been built years ago, if it wasn't once again for those dreaded NIMBYs saying "NO!!!" Apparently they were too short-sighted to notice that NoVA is projected to continue to be one of the nation's FASTEST-GROWING AREAS for the foreseeable future (i.e. if you think 7 is bad now wait until 2015!) If that Silver Line was done now, as it SHOULD have been, then many of the commuting complaints we Restonians have would be mitigated.

I can't think of many other "cons" right now for my neighborhood other than the fact that there SHOULD be more sidewalks (once again cue me ducking my head from the shoe-throwing suburban soccer mom NIMBYs who hate sidewalks), as I had to run in the street quite a bit the other day (and when cars are whizzing by you it can be an unpleasant experience). Crime is low here, people are above-average with friendliness, and even though they generally SUCK as drivers (i.e. if you rudely cut me off without your turn signal I WILL blare my horn and then tailgate you) they'll still normally let you merge into their lane if you flip on your blinker.

[DennyCrane]

ScranBarre, I will definitely take a look at Reston Town Center. Of the areas in the Tech Triangle, can you or anyone else give a quick comparison, particularly Fairfax, Centreville, Herndon, Reston, and anything else in that area I left out?