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For Arlington:
Crystal/Pentagon City: $$$
Columbia Pike: $
Arlandria: $$
Ballston: $$$
North Arlington: $$$$
In addition:
Clarendon: $$$$ (largely due to the tight concentration of upscale stores/restaurants in Clarendon Commons)
Rosslyn: $$$$ (largely due to the walkability to Georgetown)
Court House: $$$$ (largely due to the proximity to Clarendon)
Ballston: $$$ - $$$$ (somewhat cheaper than the neighborhoods above, albeit not by much, due to longer distance to DC and comparative lack of nightlife)
East Falls Church: $$ - $$$+ (newer projects here are just as expensive as many in The District, and future projects will also be luxury-oriented, pushing prices up)
Westover: $$ - $$$ (quiet neighborhood midway between the East Falls Church and Ballston Metrorail stations that still offers a good deal of bargains)
Williamsburg: $$ - $$$ (more of a "suburban" feel)
Yorktown: $$ - $$$+ (suburbia, again, within the county, but excellent schools tend to keep prices solid).
Columbia Pike Corridor: $ - $$+ (gentrification has been and will continue to push that towards $$$ as the "bargains" become scarcer)
Shirlington: $$$ - $$$$ (in my opinion a bit overvalued given the relatively small size of Shirlington and its distance from Metro)
Cherrydale: $$ - $$$ (a convenient gem of a neighborhood near Ballston/Virginia Square yet also at a slightly lower price point)
Waverly Hills: $$ - $$$ (same as Cherrydale)
Buckingham: $ - $$+ (a traditionally working-class area just south of Ballston that will likely face increasing gentrification pressures over the 2010-2020 decade).
Pentagon City: $$$ - $$$$ (proximity to the Pentagon and Pentagon City shops/restaurants, along with Reagan National Airport and Rosslyn, keeps pricing relatively high here)
Crystal City: -$$$ (with BRAC luring away most Federal tenants from Crystal City, with the potential for private-sector contractors to follow, Crystal City could be in real danger in the short-term of depreciating in value).
Also, North Arlington includes Ballston and every other neighborhood north of U.S. Route 50, which is the dividing line between the "North" and "South" street names. I've been doing a ton of research because I'm a lower-middle-class professional who wants to live in Arlington but is finding himself with seemingly fewer and fewer affordable (yet not subsidized) options.
I don't know that I'd agree NW is suburbia.... I'm in cleveland park, sandwiched between wisconsin and Connecticut at the moment -- I've got plenty in either direction, uptown movie theater, starbucks, giant, cvs, several restaurants, some bars, etc. Compare that to some random address in Mclean.... now thats suburbia.
Reston, how long do you think it'll take for gentrification to really make Columbia Pike's prices skyrocket? I'd like at least a few affordable and safe places left for me when I graduate...
Reston, how long do you think it'll take for gentrification to really make Columbia Pike's prices skyrocket? I'd like at least a few affordable and safe places left for me when I graduate...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avtomat Kalashnikova
The only way Columbia Pike development would skyrocket is if they build the streetcar line on it.
Well, Arlington County officially just took possession of most of Columbia Pike from VDOT, which means they can now progress on the streetcar line at a much quicker pace than if they had to go through all of the Commonwealth red tape. The corridor is already noted for excellent bus service, and supplementing that with the streetcar should really make the area ripe for redevelopment.
This site offers a wide breadth and depth of insight into anything and everything related to the corridor's upcoming gentrification:
To be quite frank I'm not a proponent of turning the Columbia Pike area into another Crystal City/Pentagon City or Ballston/Rosslyn Corridor because then there will be increasingly fewer and fewer areas left that are affordable for those who are too affluent to qualify for subsidized housing yet are also not wealthy enough to afford "market-rate." At a $50,000 salary myself right now it's been tough trying to find anything for a 1-BR in my budget within Arlington County. Yes, the Columbia Pike Corridor is still affordable (for now), but I can foresee that changing within about 5 years as the streetcar arrives, more of those "upcoming projects" detailed on that web site I provided are completed, and then other complexes all scurry to renovate/upgrade. The reason why Columbia Pike is such a bargain right now is because the majority of the complexes are older and are "outdated" by the standards of most. Once every unit up and down that drag has hardwood flooring, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, "amenities", etc. to compete with the newer projects, then you'll see average rents balloon.
It's a shame, too, because many of the service-sector workers and recent immigrants who work to sustain Arlington's white-collars and upper-middle-class types will end up relegated to unattractive and car-centric places in Fairfax County like Seven Corners or Bailey's Crossroads.
I don't know that I'd agree NW is suburbia.... I'm in cleveland park, sandwiched between wisconsin and Connecticut at the moment -- I've got plenty in either direction, uptown movie theater, starbucks, giant, cvs, several restaurants, some bars, etc. Compare that to some random address in Mclean.... now thats suburbia.
Is Cleveland Park the exception in the NW to the otherwise norm?
Is Cleveland Park the exception in the NW to the otherwise norm?
It's got a sort of small town feel to it IMO. The Chevy Chase neighborhood (not Chevy Chase, MD) also has its own little 'business district' on Connecticut Avenue.
You'll need to buy a car for sure in Ward 3 or Glover, unless you live in walking distance of a Metro station, and have money for cabs to buy groceries, or late night trips from the bar after metro closes.
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