Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 01-19-2010, 07:12 AM
 
8 posts, read 17,743 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

Hey all - I'm new to this forum - Moving to DC for a job very soon - I'm going to be working at Bolling AFB, but we are looking at old town alexandria and del ray (townhouses only) From looking at forums and talking to people, it seems that north old town can be affected by the projects along route 1 around braddock. How is south Old town (ie below duke) around the cemetery? Are there any other pointers that people can give about living in the area mentioned? Thanks!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-19-2010, 07:38 AM
 
8,968 posts, read 21,050,255 times
Reputation: 3781
Quote:
Originally Posted by bloodywellright View Post
Hey all - I'm new to this forum - Moving to DC for a job very soon - I'm going to be working at Bolling AFB, but we are looking at old town alexandria and del ray (townhouses only) From looking at forums and talking to people, it seems that north old town can be affected by the projects along route 1 around braddock. How is south Old town (ie below duke) around the cemetery? Are there any other pointers that people can give about living in the area mentioned? Thanks!
Location and convenience means everything in this traffic-choked region. Even if there were a slight discount to any home bordering the Parker-Gray subsidized housing, it would still be easy to sell later. As it is, I wouldn't be surprised if there are homes worth $1 million across the street from some of the subsidized homes.

I've actually found that residents of those places are actually friendly enough if you don't appear uncomfortable towards them. That said, I've never been out there at 2:00 in the morning. Compared to some areas of SE DC and Prince Georges County, it's a peaceful area.

All of Old Town is safe, if expensive. The main drag on King Street is popular with active 30+ professionals as well as tourists. If you find brick architecture attractive, you'll get more than your fill in Old Town.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2010, 07:45 AM
 
Location: DC
3,301 posts, read 11,674,081 times
Reputation: 1360
From what I've been told, the SE area of Old Town is the nicest and most expensive. The SW side (the side by the cemetery) wouldn't be that much worse and always looked really nice to me. North Old Town isn't that bad. There's maybe 1 or 2 blocks that look remotely "sketchy", but even that's a stretch to say. The only thing I can afford up there is maybe a vacant townhouse lot (yes, I've thought of how bad it would really be to buy it and pitch a tent until I can afford to build), so it's still a fairly pricey area.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2010, 08:55 AM
 
Location: Everywhere and Nowhere
14,129 posts, read 31,113,429 times
Reputation: 6920
All of Old Town is fine.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2010, 09:12 AM
 
Location: Northern Virginia
282 posts, read 869,899 times
Reputation: 111
There are actually two cemeteries -- St. Mary's between Washington St and S. Royal, and the big one to the west by S. Payne. Both areas are fine, though the SE quadrant is "nicer". There's a fair amount of traffic during rush hours on Rte. 1 and Washington St/GW Parkway, but one of the positives about the south end of Old Town is the proximity to the Beltway.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2010, 09:15 AM
 
Location: Springfield VA
4,036 posts, read 9,204,237 times
Reputation: 1522
Another idea I'd like to throw in the mix is Kingstowne. The townhouses are newer.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2010, 09:57 AM
 
3,378 posts, read 3,691,659 times
Reputation: 710
I have to say that the SE side of Old Town is great! There are also some additional benefits of the SE corner that you might not realize.
1. It is close to the water, which is nice in itself, but also means less traffic (no thru traffic coming from the east because its blocked by the Potomac)
2. Close proximity to the GW parkway: This is convienent for driving and/or biking,rollerblading, walking, jogging.
3. It's mostly residential which leads to a more peaceful neighborhood, but with the convienience of the city just a few blocks away.
It's true that that area is expensive, but there are options. I think you can find a nice TH to rent if you shop around. Buying a TH might be a little more difficult (i.e. pricey) because the homeowners are reluctant to sell anything below $400,000. Driving back from Bolling is a piece of cake too because you can take the very first exit in VA, and thurn on Washington St.
South Old Town (specifically SE) is wonderful!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2010, 11:46 AM
 
8 posts, read 17,743 times
Reputation: 10
Wow! This is very helpful information - thanks for everyone's responses. I think I have learned more in this thread in 1 morning than weeks of scouring the internet! To ask an additional question, we were also looking at apartment complexes near king street/eisenhower metro. Does anyone have any suggestions or 1st hand positive experiences at these places?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2010, 11:52 AM
 
Location: DC
3,301 posts, read 11,674,081 times
Reputation: 1360
I looked at the Meridien Carlyle there about 2 years ago and liked it. The Post was out of our price range, but we looked at another Post property in Pentagon City and really liked the building (I'm assuming the one in Carlyle would be similar). Otherwise, the area in general seems nice. It's really been filled in with dining options and such in the past year, and you can still walk to the rest of Old Town.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2010, 12:50 PM
 
1,384 posts, read 2,336,904 times
Reputation: 781
I can't help you much as far as Townhouse pricing, but I just wanted to say don't be scared off by what you hear about the Parker Grey area of Old Town (North Old Town). I live right in this area and haven't ever felt threatened walking around here. That's not to say you shouldn't be aware of your surroudings and that crime doesn't occur, but most of it is petty crime or domestic disputes.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top