Pros and Cons of Living in Old Town Alexandria

[jbird82]

Originally Posted by slim04

FYI, the only parts of Old Town that get any substantial amount of tourists is King St. between City Hall & the River. That's only several blocks. Other than Mcconnell's and Landini Brothers, the restaurants on that particular strip are awful tourist traps. If you live in Old Town as a local you will rarely actually go down that strip unless a friend is visiting. The restaurants and shops further west on King or a few blocks off of King St. are much better.

Plus, there are hardly any tourists outside of Spring/Summer. Parking is difficult between Cameron and Duke Streets, but it isn't really that hard to find street parking elsewhere. You might have to park a couple of blocks away from your place, but rarely much more than that. After you live there for a while, you'll know where to find the parking spots.

I agree that the closer to the river you get the more touristy Old Town gets but I don't consider those particular restaurants a tourist trap or anymore of a tourist trap then the rest of Old Town. I visit them often as a local as do my friends. Food and drinks are pretty expensive up and down King Street, not just by the water.

[Bridget_Power!]

Old Town in a great place where to live. We leave in SW, no problem with parking, and no problem with tourists. Besides, having tourists around on nice days after work just make it feel like a vacation place which I find is a good feeling.
And flooding is only an issue if you live within 2 blocks from the water.

[geniegrl]

We live in Old Town and love it. But we're urbanites at heart. We make use of the extensive public transportation, walking to grocery stores, restaurants, local theater, waterfront trails, etc. We don't have a car, so parking is not a problem. But, even if you drive, you won't need to move your car much if you adopt the urban way!

Crowds aren't too bad. I live two blocks from King. And King can be super busy but walk two blocks and -- tranquity (punctuated, admittedly, by the occasional tour bus passing by). As I said, I like urban. But at the same time, a neighborhood like Georgetown or some others in DC would feel totally overwhelming to me. Old Town has a calmer feel.

Crime is better in Alexandria than virtually any part of DC, so there's a bit of perspective to it. I live near public housing that is North of King Street and West of Washington Street. (Tancil Court, Chatham Square redevelopment) I'm a couple blocks away but haven't had trouble. Parker Gray, the neighborhood right near Braddock Metro, has more problems with crime -- again, relatively speaking. I have heard from the police that this is less because of the public housing residents and more because it draws "visitors" into the neighborhood. At the same time, there are many middle class people moving in and also younger couples because it is a little less expensive and close to Metro.

As far as flooding goes, expect it if you live on Union Street or East. Check your flood maps when looking a few streets West of that -- flood risk depends on elevation, but some areas are of higher risk. Also, some homes are built higher to reduce flood risk. We're a few more blocks in-land at Royal. We got the flood insurance for piece of mind, but it was not very expensive because we are in a "low risk" zone. As far as disruption, there was flooding to Union Street this spring but I would not have noticed if I hadn't heard on the news.

Old Town isn't cheap, but a good value if comparing it to DC. To a fancier suburb -- you get less house for your money but more lifestyle/amenities. The historic homes are a big plus in my book but could be a con due to the sometimes non-standard stairs. We rejected many homes almost entirely because of their stairs. But this just means finding the right place. It's not a reason to reject Old Town. A few of the newer, larger townhouses have elevators.