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Old 10-09-2009, 08:35 PM
 
20 posts, read 94,126 times
Reputation: 17

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What a rocky 4 months this has been: I went from working on buying a home to almost leaving the area completely to go home to FL for personal reasons. Then stuff changed, the job market got worse in South FL, and I ended up taking a better job than the one I had before in DC.

This new job is on the Virginia side in Alexandria. I currently commute from Baltimore (near BWI) and it takes about 90 minutes, either driving or via MARC/Metro/Dash. After years of making the Baltimore-Bolling commute, and seeing what traffic nightmares were really like when I tried to visit the house I was going to purchase in Falmouth on a Friday afternoon, I would really, really, like to move to cut that commute time once my lease is up in November.

On top of that, I still have to worry about my mother and grandmother who live with me. My mom doesn't drive very much and the roads and traffic circles in VA/MD frighten her to death, while my grandmother has health issues and usually has to go to the hospital about once a month for one thing or another. The closest hospital we are to here (St. Agnes) is awful and she really doesn't want to stay here.

My mom wants to be near big-box stores (Walmart,Target, etc), Grocery Stores, etc, where they are close enough and safe to walk to if possible, but not a nightmare to drive if she had to. And of course, there has to be a hospital nearby in case grandma has another episode. I have been struggling to find an area that would match these requirements.

Originally, that's why I looked at the area down in Stafford/Fredericksburg near Central Park, since that had basically everything, and Mary Washington Hospital was nearby. But just a month of going down to visit the house site wore me out and I specifically went during rush hour periods. How anyone does this on a daily basis I don't know.

So the other areas I was looking at were Reston/Herndon, Woodbridge, Springfiled, Rockville (only because it was near the Red Line), and although it's probably out my price-range for what I am looking for, Alexandra and Arlington.

Ideally, I'm looking to rent either a 2 or 3br/2ba TH, or SFH without paying over $2000/m in rent. I was going to make an exception to Arlington when I checked out the Avalon Rental Townhomes near Glebe & 395, but this board as given some mixed reviews about that particuliar area.

So I guess my question is what would be a good place to relocate to that meets their concerns and my price requirements? Thanks for your help in advance.
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Old 10-09-2009, 09:35 PM
 
5,391 posts, read 7,213,546 times
Reputation: 2857
Kingstowne or Manchester Lakes would be much easier getting to Alexandria. Walmart, Target, Safeway, and Shoppers Food are nearby (but not necessarily walking distance). Springfield is nearby, with more shopping and a Metrorail stop. All the stores are pretty much along one road, so that makes it easy, not confusing. I just checked homesdatabase.com and found several townhouses under $2000. Check zipcodes 22315 and 22310, and there may be other zip codes for that area as well.

I believe Manchester Lakes is mostly apartment complexes, whereas Kingstowne and subdivisions off of Beulah Rd have townhouses.

Right in the area is INOVA Healthplex, an emergency care facility.
Inova HealthPlex Emergency Care Center | Inova Health System

The nearest hospital for overnight stays is INOVA Mt Vernon, which is about 7 to 10 miles away.

Kingstowne is located here: Google Maps
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Old 10-10-2009, 09:36 AM
 
2,688 posts, read 6,669,676 times
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I'll second everything robbobobbo said: Kingstowne/Manchester Lakes/Island Creek. Very safe. Driving to the stores would be very easy in the daytime; more busy on weekends and during rush hour but still better than many other places. The Inova Healthplex isn't a complete hospital but it has a full-scale emergency room and a multitude of doctors offices. If your grandma needed to be admitted, I think they would give you a choice of Alexandria, Mount Vernon, or Fairfax Hospitals (for example you might want Alexandria so you could check on her after work), and would transport her by ambulance. There are three-bedroom townhouses available in your price range, and also a few nice three-bedroom apartment/condos for rent if you feel like you might need one-story living arrangements for your grandmother.

Kingstowne Residential Owners Corporation

Island Creek Community

Manchester Lakes

Good luck to you. It's very thoughtful of you to be taking care of both your mother and grandmother.
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