Alexandria apartments - can they really all be so bad? (Arlington: cul-de-sac, apartment complex)

[melissana]

I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but my head is about to explode from all the research and info I've been gathering. My husband got an offer to relocate from MN to the DC area for a year (gov job). We have a newborn baby and him getting a position with a salary much higher than his current salary in MN seemed like the only option for me to stay home with a baby for a year without needing to return to work after 12 wks. After hours of living area research I decided to narrow it down to Alexandria. I am from Europe and miss living in a city where I can walk places or just grab a stroller and walk to the nearest grocery store, pharmacy, coffee shop etc..So, Alexandria seemed like a natural choice. Our main apartment search criteria was 2B/2B, for no more than $1.9K with a washer/dryer in the unit (important when you have an infant). The W/D factor eliminated some 70% of the properties right away. That still left me with a significant number to choose from (to name a few: EOS 21, Foxchase, Aventine, Cascade @ Landmark, Riverside Apts, Archstone Newport, Park Place, Orleans Village and a few others). And then I went on apartmentratings.com only to find in horror that every one of these properties is described as a dump, worst place to leave, roaches-infested, having gang members and drug dealers living on site etc. I understand that most people put negative posts out there b/c they want to vent or are frustrated, but if you wake up in the morning to a roach walking on your foot, this is a fact...I haven't really found anything positive or uplifting there. Most people from these communities can't wait for their lease to be up and leave b/c their experience is a nightmare. So if every single community (and I reviewed at least 30) is so bad as they describe, where do they all go? Anyway, my husband has a couple of weeks left to accept or deny the job offer and I don't know how I can convince him or myself that moving to a rodent-infested place with A/C breaking constantly and hot water shortages is in a good interest of our family. You guys on this forum have been extremely helpful many times, so any opinion or recommendation will be really welcome.

[Teebyrd86]

Why not look for a condo? I found one through a realtor and they seem to give you more bang for your buck! And you dont pay the realtor a dime, they get commission from the landlord/listing company. As for the apartment reviews, from what I understand most of the people who leave those are the dissapointed renters even if a complex has 90% satisfied renters then leave it up the 10% that arnt satisfied to leave comments.. many others just simply dont take the time to leave a good comment. Just my 2 cents!

[movingtodcfromseattle]

While I can't answer your immediate question (which apartment complex in Alexandria), I will share our story. We recently moved here from Seattle as part of a government relocation with two kiddos (4yo, 10mo)and two dogs. We have been staying at the Van Metre apartment/townhouse in Fairfax. I have nothing but positive things to say about this company! There were a couple of maintenance problems (yes - bugs were a problem for about 1 week) which they corrected immediately. If their Arlington location is anything like their Fairfax one, then that would be a great place for your young family. I have met a number of friendly people here, including those with young children. The pool is fantastic, which is where we spent the better part of the summer. The grounds are always maintained, the leasing office is helpful and friendly and each month they have a community activity (good if you have kiddos). I would warn that in general many of the apartments in the NoVA area are older and that is something to consider. It looks like the apartments in the Arlington location were remodeled in 2007. The location in Fairfax doesn't quite describe what you are looking for in regards to walking to coffee, grocery, which is why I recommend Arlington. Good luck! Van Metre Apartments - signature rental communities in the Washington DC, Fairfax county, Arlington va, dc beltway and northern Virginia area for rent or lease.. Oh and when you arrive I'd recommend joining a moms group. You can find some GREAT ones on Do something, Learn something, Share something, Change something - Meetup.com.

[robbobobbo]

First, you're looking at places that are not in the urban core of Alexandria, so you may not realize your desire of convenience walking to shops - unless you choose a place near one of the strip malls in outer Alexandria.

I just searched 22314 (Old Town) on homesdatabase.com, and found a few 2 BRs under $1900 per month. Some will have 1 bath, some won't have in-unit laundry. If the laundry room is near, it's manageable (I managed with an infant).

It's not that all apartments in Alexandria are bad, it's just that your budget requirement is filtering out the nice places.

Look up MLS #AX7103811 (w/d) and AX7129573 (communal laundry room).

[zotmeister]

Melissana...I'll put in my two cents as I moved to Alexandria about three weeks ago. So far, its not that bad. Like robbobobbo said, some parts of Alexandria are not as city as you think and walking to your local pharmacy, grocery store, etc. may still not be that comfortable, especially with a baby and the winter coming.

I'll give you my opinions of some of the places, at least from appearance and the neighborhood. Aventine is a high-rise complex at the end of a cul-de-sac right by I395. It could be noisy at times but its close to King St. which is the main street with grocery store and shops nearby. There is also nearby Metrobus stop within walking distance. Aventine seems like a decent, clean, safe area. This is not walkable to metro though. Foxchase is a bit further south in Alexandria and on a street that is pretty shaded by large trees. I can see why they have rodent problems due to that. Its a large place with many buildings (20+) that are 1-3 stories tall. Its also older looking than Aventine. It is away from major traffic noise and also not walkable to metro. The Foxchase apts. look more like army barricks to me from the outside. I wouldn't suggest this place. Riverside is kind of out on its own as there are no apts across the street, could be a bit isolated. I think Park Place is a condo complex??

You really need to see the places and neighborhood yourself and I understand your fustration with your search (believe me I was there!!).

I would try a condo as others suggested since agent will do work for you and find things that you want and its the rentee not the rentor that flips the agent fees with condo rentals.

[jenniferprestia]

I do wonder why you feel you need 2 baths. I think you might have more success if you removed that from your equation. For example, my daughter lives In Mason Hall (which doesn't get absolutely unblemished reviews) but she has found it more than satisfactory (no insects or mice, anyway). A 2 bed 1 bath (but no in apartment laundry) runs $1420. There are a fair number of people who have young children who live there, and although it's not as close to shops as some things, it at least has the virtue of being flat.

Incidentally, make sure you looks at walkscore.com to check just how walkable a place is.

[pcity]

I am from Europe and miss living in a city where I can walk places or just grab a stroller and walk to the nearest grocery store, pharmacy, coffee shop etc..So, Alexandria seemed like a natural choice. Our main apartment search criteria was 2B/2B, for no more than $1.9K with a washer/dryer in the unit (important when you have an infant). The W/D factor eliminated some 70% of the properties right away. That still left me with a significant number to choose from (to name a few: EOS 21, Foxchase, Aventine, Cascade @ Landmark, Riverside Apts, Archstone Newport, Park Place, Orleans Village and a few others). And then I went on apartmentratings.com only to find in horror that every one of these properties is described as a dump, worst place to leave, roaches-infested, having gang members and drug dealers living on site etc.

There's a few things to consider here:

1) As robbobobbo mentions, the complexes you're looking at are not in "Old Town" Alexandria. They are all, with the exception of Riverside in Huntington, on the West End of Alexandria. The West End is much more suburban then Old Town, and so you may not be able to have a walkable lifestyle. "Alexandria" is a pretty big area and much of it is more suburban than urban.

2) If you're looking for a place in Old Town, websites like apartments.com and apartmentratings.com are not going to help you much. There's only one apartment complex I can think of that's actually in Old Town- Monticello-Lee. There are a few more on the outskirts of Old Town in the Carlyle area, but they're going to be close to the edge of your price range if not over. If you want to live in Old Town, you're going to get better results by opening up your search to condos.

3) You have to take the apartmentratings.com ratings with a grain of salt. People who are content with their apartments don't usually write ratings. People who are upset are much more likely to. I live in the West End and I can guarantee you that not every complex is an unsafe, roach-infested pit. There are a lot of people that are happy in their apartments here.

4) If you do end up renting in West End Alexandria, note that there are areas that are more walkable than others. For instance, there are supermarkets at the intersections of Van Dorn/Duke, Van Dorn/Edsall, and Duke/Jordan. If you're within a mile of these intersections, the area is going to be much more walkable than, say, the area up by Aventine, which is 100% residential and office with no retail.

Being familiar with the area I can give you a little background info on the complexes you mentioned:

Aventine - as I said, not a walkable area. You'll be driving or busing everywhere.

EOS - Right across the street from a strip mall with supermarket, pharmacy, and a few restaurants, so I'd consider it walkable. I've heard bad things about the managment of this place from friends. Having walked around this area at night, I consider it pretty safe. The bus ride to the Metro is pretty quick.

Cascade - Similar area to EOS, just on the other side of Van Dorn by a few blocks. I toured this apartment complex when I was searching for apartments and was impressed. The only reason I did not rent here is that they had already rented the particular apartment I wanted to rent.

Archstone Newport - not that familiar with it, but I know someone on this board used to live there. Area is similar to Aventine in that it's not very walkable.

Park Place - condos, not apartments. You're experience would be highly dependent on the owner of the particular condo. Less than a mile to the local supermarket/pharmacy strip mall so this would be somewhat walkable.

Orleans Village - I don't like this area- seems a bit shady. To me, Landmark is nicer east of 395 than west of 395. Walkable to the nearest supermarket though.

Foxchase - Had friends who lived here and thought it was OK. Did not strike me as shady or unsafe. Walkable to a really nice supermarket.

[DownEastB]

A few years ago I had a boyfriend who lived in Riverside. I stayed there many times and thought it was a fantastic complex. The floors and walls are very thick, so we never had a problem with tenant noise. He kept his place clean and I don't recall ever seeing a bug. His building overlooked I-95 but traffic noise wasn't an issue, either. They have a nice gym, decent sized convenience store and the free shuttle to Huntington station came in handy all the time.

This was 2003/2004 but I can't imagine that it's gotten any worse. In fact, they were upgrading the balconies and some public amenities when I was there. Oh yeah, parking was not a problem either.

[Mrs. 14th & You]

I wish you well as you consider your relocation.

$1900 for 2 beds/2 baths in this metro area is fairly affordable. I don't imagine that you will run into the extreme nightmares described on some message boards. Keep in mind also that a landlord is legally required to address pest infestations and the lack of hot water. If, worst case scenario, you ran into those issues there are several steps you could take to remediate the situation, including holding rent in escrow until the problem is solved.

Even this "down" market, you are unlikely to be able to get a mortgage on a 2 bed/2 bath condo for that price. As well, there are always condo fees and taxes, which raise your effective monthly costs.

[melissana]

Thank you guys for all the hints. They've been very helpful.