Where in NoVa would you point two empty nesters who like urban/walkable/quaint (Arlington: condos, hotel)

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by ACWhite

Del Ray is walkable and quaint but small town as opposed to urban. And it's above the $300K maximum unless you're willing to live in a questionable area/house.

Del Ray is also an interesting choice, and would suit quite well if it were affordable. The houses there are certainly too high for the target. Are there even any condos there?

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

Del Ray is also an interesting choice, and would suit quite well if it were affordable. The houses there are certainly too high for the target. Are there even any condos there?

Using a search engine, I found the Mosby condominiums. It's not your typical high-rise though which may be good or not, depending on your preferences. I would predict, as others have, that a 2BR may be out of your price range.

Del Ray Apartments opened/will be opening on the northern end of Del Ray along main drag Mt. Vernon Avenue.

How about Falls Church? If I'm not mistaken, there are a number of condos on or near Broad Street. The downtown area, at least, is fairly walkable. If the West Falls Church Metro isn't walking distance, the city's own buses should connect you there easier. I would guesstimate your chances of finding a 2BR in the hypothetical range would be good here.

[buildinginva]

300K won't get you one of the newer condos in Falls Church, but there are a couple of older/modest condo complexes around Falls Church that may fit this budget.

[bmwguydc]

And, unfortunately, as of this writing, Falls Church is bus-less as the city pulled the plug on George a couple of weeks ago.

[michgc]

My first thought was Old Town Alexandria, but that's been recommended.

I'd suggest Bethesda but it's not in Virginia, and it's probably too expensive. But it meets all of your other requirements and wouldn't be addressed on either the Baltimore or DC boards. There is an older condo development there on East-West Highway called the Riviera (technically it has a Chevy Chase address but it's only two blocks from the Bethesda Metro) that is within walking distance of all Bethesda amenities.

I looked up the prices and there is a 2BR/2BA unit for $399K.

Chevy Chase Condos $300K - $500K

If you are totally against Maryland, then I guess I would suggest Falls Church City as an alternative. I can't think of any place else that really fits.

[claremarie]

If the only reason this hypothetical couple needs a 2 BR condo is for hosting visiting adult child, I'd suggest focusing on a 1 BR condo and having adult child either sleep on a pull-out sofa or stay in a hotel. Depending upon the number of expected visiting days per year, that could be a very expensive extra bedroom.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by bmwguydc

And, unfortunately, as of this writing, Falls Church is bus-less as the city pulled the plug on George a couple of weeks ago.

Dagnabbit!

[SteelCityRising]

Sadly what you seek does not exist in NoVA. You can't find "urban", "walkable", "quaint", and "under-$300k" in the same sentence. Also realize that people in NoVA tend to have very different standards as to what is walkable/quaint/urban as to most of the rest of the country (i.e. people who think Reston, decidedly a low-density sprawling suburb, is urban/walkable/quaint when it's clearly not by traditional definitions). Poor urban planning 30 years ago doomed this area today, and we don't have the billions upon billions of dollars it would take to make this area better (hence why I'm now voting with my feet and leaving, as are others I know).

Winchester may suit your bill, but it's a long haul from Baltimore and isn't at all convenient to DC. Ditto Fredericksburg. Anything closer in is generally either non-walkable, walkable and bland (i.e. Columbia Pike Corridor), or walkable and uber-$$$ (i.e. Old Town).

Please don't make the same mistake I made and move here without doing thorough research. A year-and-a-half of my life was wasted here, and I'll never get that back.

[normie]

LOL, OP is one of our forum regulars and has lived in Arlington and nearby areas since 1993--I think he knows the basics about Nova. My guess is he's hoping one of us knows of a specific place with a fabulous deal he hadn't uncovered before. It never hurts to ask, as they say.

[vermonter16]

It's a little further out but what about Occoquan? Just had a friend buy a very large condo right on the water for well under the 300K limit.