Alexandria (Windsor: apartment, home, utilities)

[wrightflyer]

Originally Posted by roboticfrydispenser

Yes, it's fine. I live very close to there. It's a short crawl across the street to the metro. Be sure to walk down King Street (away from the metro, towards the water) while you're there. You'll find some great restaurants (Majestic, Vermillion, Eamon's Dublin Chipper, etc.) and shops. Walk to the waterfront, explore the artists galleries in the torpedo factory and wander the blocks and blocks of late 1700 and early 1800 homes. Old Town is one of the neatest areas around DC. Enjoy.

Thanks for the info. I'll be there with my parents for a few days before we head off to one of our family reunions somewhere in Maryland. They used to live in Alexandria and Rosslyn (loved both) in the '80s. What are the prices for those restaurants and are they casual, semi-casual? We aren't there for long and don't want to bring a bunch of fancy clothes, but we don't want to look like tourists either.

[roboticfrydispenser]

Originally Posted by wrightflyer

Thanks for the info. I'll be there with my parents for a few days before we head off to one of our family reunions somewhere in Maryland. They used to live in Alexandria and Rosslyn (loved both) in the '80s. What are the prices for those restaurants and are they casual, semi-casual? We aren't there for long and don't want to bring a bunch of fancy clothes, but we don't want to look like tourists either.

Vermillion and Majestic are in the upper teens for an entree. I wouldn't wear a t-shirt to either, but you can get away with jeans. Eamon's is a casual place, more take out. It's small but cool. It's a Irish style fish and chips place with fried fish and great french fries. For links to these places and others in Alexandria, I look at Virginia Alexandria DiningNotes (broken link) sometimes for links to restaurants and details. It's kind of an amateur restaurant review site but is a useful reference for local stuff. Btw, the Vermillion review is old, they have a new chef that's great.

[JennOSU2008]

Originally Posted by roboticfrydispenser

Old Town, near the King Street metro is a nice place to be, and safe. I love it. West Alexandria is stripmallsville and not as nice. Consider the following areas near the metro in Arlington: Courthouse, Clarendon, Virginia Square, and Ballston. There are a number of places directly on top of the metro stops so you would have a short walk in well traffic'd areas. But, why not look in the area around GW?

Ideally, I would move to Foggy Bottom, but it's ridiculously expensive. NW DC real estate costs are ridiculous in general.

[seldomseen]

Originally Posted by wrightflyer

When you mean South Alexandria and Route 1, I assume you aren't talking about the area around Old Town and are talking about the area around Huntington Metro and south? I only stress that because there seems to be a difference between "South Alexandria" as in Old Town which is in the southeastern part of city proper and "South Alexandria" in areas like Huntington/East of Springfield Mall with an Alexandria postal address. The latter being a part of Fairfax County with its schools and more suburban atmoshpere.

I am referring to the different sections of Alexandria City, and If my memory serves me correct, South Alexandria is considered everything south of beltway. There are just a few pockets of "bad" sections on the east and west side of route 1. And in my personal opinions, these "bad" sections aren't even unsafe, to the degree that you have to be concerned about your personal safety.

[jb124]

Originally Posted by seldomseen

I am referring to the different sections of Alexandria City, and If my memory serves me correct, South Alexandria is considered everything south of beltway. There are just a few pockets of "bad" sections on the east and west side of route 1. And in my personal opinions, these "bad" sections aren't even unsafe, to the degree that you have to be concerned about your personal safety.

Although it's commonly referred to as Alexandria, that area is in fact Fairfax County and yes, has had some rough areas along the Route 1 corridor. Alexandria's city limits stop at the Beltway.

[seldomseen]

Originally Posted by jb124

Although it's commonly referred to as Alexandria, that area is in fact Fairfax County and yes, has had some rough areas along the Route 1 corridor. Alexandria's city limits stop at the Beltway.

Yes that's correct Alexandria City's limits end at the north border of the beltway...

[JennOSU2008]

Yeah, not a fan of the thread hijacking.

Anyway, how does Alexandria compare to Foggy Bottom, in general? I already know FB is more expensive than Alexandria, then again, as someone else pointed out, I'll be at GW and need a convenient location. I'd appreciate anything you have to offer.

[mlv311]

I'd say that most of Alexandria is more residential than Foggy Bottom. There are many office buildings around Foggy Bottom so once the rush hour quiets down, you find less people around, particularly at night and if you live several blocks away from the metro. I still think it's a safe area.

[seldomseen]

It depends where about do you intend on living in Alexandria? Areas north of Duke, and King Street are pretty nice, and offer easy acces to the District and other entertainment areas in Alexandria. Rent will be cheaper in Alexandria too, for the most part. Don't forget to consider Arlington, Rossyln, Clarendon or Ballston all of which are nice places to live too.

[JennOSU2008]

I'm looking at an apartment complex on Duke St...that's near the Landmark/I-95 highway (according to the leasing rep I've been in touch with). Two of my friends live there and I'm honestly leaning toward moving there, but, I'd like to keep my options open, if that makes sense at all.