place to live in Alexandria or Fairfax county (Franconia, Springfield: apartments, rentals)

[nchernyak]

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[SIZE=3]I am moving to Northern Virginia with my 1.5 year old for a job at Ft.Belvoir. I would like to be in the safe neighborhood and need 3 bedrooms. Myrent limit is 3000$. I have friends in DC and don’t want to live to far from DCor have a long commute to work (30 min or under to work). Ideally I wanted torent an apartment in the building, but it looks like the ones I like areoutrageously expensive. My friends have recommended Old Town and Del Ray, butnot many rentals are available in that area. Cameron Station was the otherneighborhood recommended. I wanted to see what are other options. When I go todo advanced search it lists neighborhoods that I am absolutely not familiarwith. Any suggestions? Does anyone also have suggestions for the daycare? Everyoneis raving about Blue Horizons but with the wait list of months to years it isnot an option. [/SIZE]
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[slduvall]

You should look at Kingstowne, you can get an TH for $3000, in a safe neighborhood, with lots of activities and easy access to metro to DC, and as good a commute to Belvoir as you could ever want. There are also apts in the area. zip 22315.

[mormegil27]

I have a place called Frog Pond for daycare/preschool, and really like them. However, we started there at age 2, so this might be the min. But something to check out down the road, they keep the kids outside as much as possible, serve healthy food, even have farm animals. They are not that far from Belvoir nor Kingstown.

Don't live on rt 1. I assume you would metro to dc, Belvoir is not exactly "close" to dc. So you might consider things nearish to metro stations. At $3k I would think this would put you on the metro easily. When you say close to activities, what kinds? Outdoor, or trendy cafes, etc? Where are you coming from, what kind of neighborhood are you used to?

[mormegil27]

Actually, looking around, the 3 metros closest to Belvoir (Huntington, Van Dorn, and Springfield) are all in areas that may not be the most desireable, mainly in commercial ares. I should say that there have been some new condo blocks put in recently in proximity to those stations, might be worth checking out.

You might try the area just south of Old Town and east of Ft Hunt Rd (might be called Belle Haven?). That way you are fairly close to Huntington, which is closer to DC than the blue line stations. You are also close to Old Town, which has stuff to do (at least cafes and food and shopping, though it can be pricey). Finally, you can go down George Washington Parkway against traffic (ie away from dc in morning, toward at night) to get to Belvoir, which is a beautiful drive.

You might only find town homes at that price in that area. There are some older apartments, but I don't know how good the rep of those apts are in terms of crime.

[slduvall]

Originally Posted by mormegil27

Actually, looking around, the 3 metros closest to Belvoir (Huntington, Van Dorn, and Springfield) are all in areas that may not be the most desireable, mainly in commercial ares. I should say that there have been some new condo blocks put in recently in proximity to those stations, might be worth checking out.

You might try the area just south of Old Town and east of Ft Hunt Rd (might be called Belle Haven?). That way you are fairly close to Huntington, which is closer to DC than the blue line stations. You are also close to Old Town, which has stuff to do (at least cafes and food and shopping, though it can be pricey). Finally, you can go down George Washington Parkway against traffic (ie away from dc in morning, toward at night) to get to Belvoir, which is a beautiful drive.

You might only find town homes at that price in that area. There are some older apartments, but I don't know how good the rep of those apts are in terms of crime.

I wouldn't consider the area around the Springfield/Franconia metro undesireable, Kingstowne is just a 5 minute drive and provides easy access to all major highways, it would put you in the middle of things, with close access to decent day care, from your office, always a good thing. I would not want to traverse Rt 1 to and from anything, on any given day. And did you mean Bright Horizons day care?

[gomason]

You should really focus on Kingstowne. Your commute would literally be 10 minutes every day, maybe 15 if armageddon hit.

And it easily fits within your budget.

[nchernyak]

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[SIZE=3]I am relocating to The area with my husband and a 1 y/o daughter. I will work at Ft. Belvoir, but don’t want tobe too far from DC where I have friends. I also prefer to be in the more urban neighborhood with walking distanceto restaurant and shops. I understandthat this might be an issue due to the high rent (my limit is 3,000$ for a 3bedroom) and safety is also very important. What are the suggestions for neighborhoods? It looks like South of 495 is reasonablypriced but I just saw a post today that Huntington Metro area and around it isnot very safe. I also looked intoLandmark area and can’t figure out how safe it is to be there. Someone has recommended Cameron Station, whichseems to be nice. Thank you J[/SIZE]
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[spencgr]

You have multiple responses to the similar thread you started two days ago. Please keep your posts consolidated in one thread.

[FindingZen]

Two similar threads have been merged into one.

[nchernyak]

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[SIZE=3]Thank you all for your responses. I am looking for a more urban feel. we arefrom NYC but have lived in GA for the past 3 years, so we missed metropolitanarea. I would not consider myself outdoorsy person, but I would love to be nearcoffee shops and restaurants. I understand that might not be an option, so saferesidential neighborhood will work. Whatabout the area North of 395, closer to Crystal City or Landmark? Thank you for the suggestion fordaycare. Do they provide good amount ofeducational activities at Frog Pond?[/SIZE]
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