How Is Annandale For Apt Renter On A Modest Budget? (Alexandria: for sale, real estate)

[Grsz11]

What about Annandale along Little River Turnpike near the Beltway?

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by Grsz11

What about Annandale along Little River Turnpike near the Beltway?

If you're choosing from the garden apartments that border the Alexandria city limits, you will be in a similar situation as Beacon Mall/Route 1. The rare condo rental or high-rise like Ravensworth Towers might house more white-collar professionals. If you're looking forward to relying on mass transit, there are a slew of buses in the area but connecting to a Metrorail station will take a little while...then again, trudging up Route 1 to Huntington during rush hour is no picnic either.

[Grsz11]

Originally Posted by Tone509

If you're choosing from the garden apartments that border the Alexandria city limits, you will be in a similar situation as Beacon Mall/Route 1. The rare condo rental or high-rise like Ravensworth Towers might house more white-collar professionals. If you're looking forward to relying on mass transit, there are a slew of buses in the area but connecting to a Metrorail station will take a little while...then again, trudging up Route 1 to Huntington during rush hour is no picnic either.

The area I'm looking at is actually just north of Rabensworth. It isn't ideal, but budget necessitates something practical, and proximity to the Beltway is a plus. Any areas like this where prices are more reasonable that are reasonably accessable and safe is really what i'm looking for.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by Grsz11

What about Annandale along Little River Turnpike near the Beltway?

mix of older 'country' houses often on large lots, mcmansions, older townhouses, a few newer townhouses, low end walk up apts, and some hi rise apts = area has a wide mix of incomes and ethnicities. no part is really unsafe, but the least desirable section is SOUTH of LRT, near heritage.

Easy access to beltway - where do you commute to? The beltway up to tysons is backed up most mornings, but should get better when HOT lanes are finished.

To get to DC, there are express buses that go to the Pentagon metro. Takes about 30 minutes from the least convenient end of LRT (near Hummer) to the Pentagon.

[Grsz11]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

mix of older 'country' houses often on large lots, mcmansions, older townhouses, a few newer townhouses, low end walk up apts, and some hi rise apts = area has a wide mix of incomes and ethnicities. no part is really unsafe, but the least desirable section is SOUTH of LRT, near heritage.

Easy access to beltway - where do you commute to? The beltway up to tysons is backed up most mornings, but should get better when HOT lanes are finished.

To get to DC, there are express buses that go to the Pentagon metro. Takes about 30 minutes from the least convenient end of LRT (near Hummer) to the Pentagon.

My commute will be to NW DC in the late afternoon. The specific area I found was around the Target

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by Grsz11

My commute will be to NW DC in the late afternoon. The specific area I found was around the Target

what Target? there is no Target in annandale. Do you mean the KMart?

and NW DC is a big place - that could be anywhere from the Capitol building to American U

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

but the least desirable section is SOUTH of LRT

Absolutely. Living anywhere "SOUTH of LRT near Heritage" is just ghetto.

For example:



4915 Bradford Dr Annandale VA - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #FX7784315 - Realtor.com®



4915 Brook Hills Dr Annandale VA - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #FX7800488 - Realtor.com®

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by OrangeFish

Absolutely. Living anywhere "SOUTH of LRT near Heritage" is just ghetto.

For example:

oh kablooie. Brook Hills is lovely, and there are other nice houses in southwest Annandale. But fact is, the census tract with the lowest incomes in annandale, the highest crime rates (though its still not that bad AFAICT) and the most sketchy looking developments (though some of them don't look that sketchy, and I think maybe some are improving?) is southwest. It doesn't look that bad now - I should have taken pictures of the cheapest condo developments back in early 2009, when like every fifth unit or so was vacant, and in foreclosure disrepair.

in short, SW annandale is to annandale in general, as Annandale in general is to Fairfax county

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

oh kablooie. Brook Hills is lovely, and there are other nice houses in southwest Annandale. But fact is, the census tract with the lowest incomes in annandale, the highest crime rates (though its still not that bad AFAICT) and the most sketchy looking developments (though some of them don't look that sketchy, and I think maybe some are improving?) is southwest. It doesn't look that bad now - I should have taken pictures of the cheapest condo developments back in early 2009, when like every fifth unit or so was vacant, and in foreclosure disrepair.

in short, SW annandale is to annandale in general, as Annandale in general is to Fairfax county

My point is over-generalizations can be problematic.

Children in the Culmore neighborhood of Bailey's Crossroads are less than a mile away from multi-million $ beachfront property at Lake Barcroft. Similarly, "most sketchy looking developments" of southwest Annandale that you portray are also less than a mile away from some amazingly beautiful single-family homes.

I do not know this for certain, but I gather there is a similar broad brush "most sketchy looking developments" characterization of parts of neighborhoods along Route 1 south of Alexandria. In my opinion, it is problematic and (some may argue) divisive.

[car54]

Brook Hills IS lovely!

I remember when I was a kid, the homeowners would open their ponds to ice skating. On some winter Sundays, there would easily be several hundred skaters on just the big pond, and hockey games being played on the smaller ponds. My mom would wow the crowd with her jumps and spins...she was a heckuva figure skater.

Such a simpler time back then....nowadays the personal injury lawyers would have a booth set up...