Help Us Decide moving to NOVA! (Arlington, Alexandria: sale, real estate, rent)

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by Mcawber4555

Hi, this is the original poster's husband. We're open on budget. Not too worried about it right now. We'll rent for the first year and get the lay of the land. Can anyone recommend a good spot to rent, with other young families, close to the action, for under $4k? We're most concerned with making friends and the quality of our social lives and our children's social lives.

I think you would like many neighborhoods in No Arlington. I'm not sure if many SFHs are available for rent.

[Mcawber4555]

Originally Posted by ACWhite

I think you would like many neighborhoods in No Arlington. I'm not sure if many SFHs are available for rent.

My understanding of Arlington is that it's mostly highrise condos. Am I wrong? Can you point me to a neighborhood where a nice townhome may be an option?

[Mcawber4555]

Nobody has mentioned the District. Is this primarily a NoVa crowd or do you all just think that wont work?

[springfieldcollegealum]

People are steering you to NOVA and MD as the public school systems are much better than DC's.

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by Mcawber4555

My understanding of Arlington is that it's mostly highrise condos. Am I wrong? Can you point me to a neighborhood where a nice townhome may be an option?

There are many SFH neighborhoods in N Arl. Check out the neighborhood association links on the Arl Co website. Some examples are Lyon Village, Lyon Park, Ashton Heights, Country Club, Cherrydale, Lee Heights, Dover, etc, etc.

There aren't many town home developments because of the land costs. Ballston has some, and there are some in zip 22205.

[claremarie]

There are also several townhouse communities near the East Falls Church Metro station. The newer ones are across the street from the station, and there is an older complex on Sycamore Street near the Lee Highway intersection.

[stpickrell]

The parts of DC proper where you want to attend the public schools are pretty pricey. You might be able to get a TH or very small SFH in an area like Shepherd Park (it's under a mile from downtown Silver Spring) for under $3-4k -- I'd ask on the DC board for more ideas, though.

BUT -- if your wife works from home and you can work anywhere, why not a smaller city like Frederick, Fredericksburg, Leesburg, or Annapolis?

[michgc]

Originally Posted by melijane

Thanks for replying! Honestly the people are very standoffish. Too religious, weird and awkward conversationalists, etc etc. no good culture, huge dichotomy between upper class and middle class I could go on

I'm in the Oakton library now! I don't think you'll find the people less standoffish in NoVA. That's a big complaint about the area, although you can find your groove, some places are snobbier than others. It is definitely less religious in NoVA than in the Triangle. And there is so much more to do in NoVa than in the Triangle. You can be busy every minute of everyday if you wish. I agree about the huge dichotomy between the classes in NC, which I think is a product of being in the south. In Chapel Hill there is a trailer park that looks like it could be found in a 3rd world country less than a mile from $1 mil. homes. People tend to live near others in the same income range in DC area.

I think you would like the Vienna area a lot. It is very friendly, down-to-earth, small-town feel, but fairly close to the city. Prices start at about $600K for starter homes (older) and probably about $2500+ to rent. Great schools, great family atmosphere. North Arlington is very nice, but is pretty pricey. Generally, the closer in you go to the city the more expensive. Reston is nice, too as are a lot of other places. It really depends on what you want.

Most homes are older than in the Triangle, until you go farther out toward Loudoun County. Traffic is much worse, and the area is just so much more dense! We are up here for the week and after having lived in the Triangle for only 1 1/2 years, I am surprised again how crowded the stores are, the parking lots, the parks, etc. It might take some getting used to.

If you can deal with the traffic and the high housing costs, most of the rest of the area is very nice. The farther out you go, the more it reminds me of the Triangle with lots of big box stores, newer homes on small lots, more sterile looking. The closer in burbs tend to have more "character" with some exceptions.

Hope that helps a bit.

[Movingwesttoeast]

Vienna is a great choice. We have been here 4 years, and we love it. Best choice we made. Your kids are the perfect age to meet lots of parents when kindergarten starts. There are tons of town events and festivals for families, it is on the metro. It is one of the friendliest places I have lived (I also lived in Oregon, Michigan and Ontario). Good luck!

[dtraintonowhere]

Vienna is really nice but if you have to do any traveling on 66 you're going to want to eat a bullet within a month of dealing with that traffic. Burke is a really nice area too and you can use the VRE to get in to DC pretty easily if needed. I'm not sure you'll find the people here to be that interesting (most people here are pretty bland and standoffish) but Burke and Vienna are both islands of pleasure in a sea of pain.