Moving to the area from Baltimore (Arlington, Alexandria: apartment complexes, leases, how much)

[Terps10]

Hey everyone,
I recently was offered a new position with my current company down at Ft. Belvoir North. I currently work in Columbia MD and commute down from White Marsh north of Baltimore. Usually takes me about 45 minutes door to door on a good day. However, this is really worn on me the last few years so I am trying to reduce that if I can or make it a little easier in this next move.
About me, I'm 25, single male and salary will be just over $70K. I am not entirely unfamiliar with cost of living in the area (Went to UMD for school) and I know the South Arlington/Alexandria areas pretty well as I have family who lived in both areas. However, what I am really unsure of is with those salary requirements what I will be able to afford. I pay $900 a month right now for an 800 sf 1 Br (not new, not walkable to anything and no young people really so its not a really great deal fwiw). And I have no delusions about what things cost and don't expect to get anything close to that in size or price without sacrificing something substantial (safety, location etc.).
What I want to ask is how much are the other living expenses going to increase like gas, since I will be driving most likely to get to the base, food, utilities etc, and then considering that and my salary what I would likely be able to afford.
I want to be some where that is walkable to a metro stop to get to places on the weekend, but I know I don't want to live in North Arlington. I love going out on the weekends, but I don't want to be surrounded by the college bar scene the whole week. I would rather be able to get to that when I want it, and be able to leave it behind when I just want to lay low. I've looked into PC/CC, Olde Town, and even nearby Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn metros. But from what I have read the latter two probably aren't that great in terms of walking to things, places to go during the week and the metro down there isn't great? And with these ares and where I am commuting to, sounds like it would all be reverse commute and in the 15-20 minute range to get to and from work.

So any advice on what I can afford and where to focus my efforts?

I have also considered using craigslist to find a roommate to help reduce cost and possibly increase quality of location, and also wanted to know if anyone had any good/bad experiences with that. I have friends all over DC but unfortunately none can get out of leases right now to share. So I either have to pay for something on my own or find a random roommate.

[stpickrell]

Old Town Alexandria with a roommate is probably your best bet commute and scene-wise. Really no part of there is unsafe for a single guy.

CL might yield a "living in a basement" situation or "join 2-3 guys in a TH" situation.

Blue Line Arlington might be fun, ditto Shirlington (but that doesn't have Metro access).

Fairfax City might be worth looking into, it is not as ideal as Old Town Alexandria, but you'd be doing a reverse commute on the 286 (Fairfax Co Parkway). Might be possible to swing a 1BR sans roommate here. Fair Lakes it not horrible with regard to walkability either.

Good luck. Is staying at your job in Columbia but living in Frederick an option?

[Terps10]

No, this is great career opportunity I don't want to pass up, plus a large jump in pay and responsibility.
I will look into Fairfax City and Old Town. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Terps10]

Anyone else with tips or advice?

[airjay75]

The areas near the Franconia-Springfield Metro are definitely not the most walkable - the area, in general, is built much more around the car. That said, I think it is fairly affordable and would enable you to have a great commute to work - I think you could find your own apartment in the area and also be able to have a 10-15 minute commute! I put an exclamation point because that is almost impossible to achieve in the DC area.

My wife and I currently live in the Kingstowne community, and I would check out the apartment complexes in that area (zip code 22315). I have actualy walked to the metro on occasion from my apartment (about a 20 minute walk), and I have also walked to one of the strip malls in the area that has several bars and restaurants in it that are by no means sleepy and dull on the weekends. From what I have seen, there are plenty of young, single people in the area, and I have certainly met some of them too. You will probably find slightly greater numbers of young couples and families in the area, but by no means will there be no other young, single people. You will be a quick drive or metro ride to old town Alexandria for going out on the weekends if you are looking for some more significant nightlife. The time/money you save on your commute can probably give you more energy and flexibility for the weekends.

[Mr. Benz]

Look at Springfield-Lorton-Woodbridge area

[bmwguydc]

Franconia, Kingstowne, and Manchester Lakes would be an easy commute, and parts of the area are not far from the Metro. Old Town is as well, but Fairfax City and Fair Lakes are on the order of 15-20 miles from Fort Belvoir, so you would have a commute akin to your Baltimore commute in time, just a highway commute.

West Springfield would be a good commute, but it's further from the Metro, and not much in the area outside of strip malls. Vienna, while it would meet the requirements for the downtown, is in the wrong direction, and the town, itself, is a short bus ride from Metro, the same as Fairfax City.

There are apartments near the Eisenhower Avenue Metro outside Old Town that might be viable, especially as you would have a relatively easy commute to Fort Belvoir. There is a development with a movie theater, some chain restaurants, etc. nearb; and, you are just outside Old Town, so there are more establishments in the area. However, the apartments are newer, so can be a bit more expensive than some areas of Old Town.

[The Dissenter]

I'd look at Shirlington.

[Terps10]

So how is safety around the Van Dorn, Einsenhower and Franconia metro areas? I have found a few nice places that seem to be walkling distance to restaurants and respective metros (seem to be within 2 miles) and just want to see if they are places where it would be an issue walking around late at night on my own.

[airjay75]

I would feel perfectly comfortable walking from the Franconia Springfield Metro to my apartment in Kingstowne or to some of the apartment complexes that are even closer to the Metro. While you will not see a lot of people walking around many of the streets (you will see some), the streets are pretty busy and well lit. The Springfield Mall, which is very close to the Metro, is in the process of being torn down and re-built, so it can feel a little barren at times, but I have never personally felt unsafe in the area. That said, if I were taking the metro into DC or old town on the weekend, I would probably just drive to the Metro and park (parking is free on the weekend). If driving were an issue on the trip home (say, because of alcohol consumption) and I didn't feel comfortable walking, I would probably just take a cab from the metro and go back to get my car the next day. I am less familiar with the immediate areas around the Van Dorn and Eisenhower Metro stations, but I know they both have parking lots so, depending on how I felt about the length and/or safety of the walk from my apartment to the Metro, I likely would also drive and park at the Metro.