Living in Ballston versus Old Town

[ACWhite]

I think you would like Shirlington. Depending on exactly where you were, it will have all of what you want (and lots of people in your age group to 10 or so years older) except metrorail, but there are buses to metro. And you could easily get to both Ballston and Old Town.

[SteelCityRising]

I'm going to submit another vote for the Lee Highway corridor of far North Arlington. I lived in Reston for a couple of years and briefly considered moving to The Horizons Apartments, which is at the corner of Lee Highway & North Thomas Street on the edge of the Cherrydale neighborhood. This apartment community was "dated" to an extent, but it offered relatively affordable rents and large square footage in the units. You could walk about exactly one mile down North Stafford Street to the Ballston Metrorail station to easily access the Orange Line into The District. You're a mile away from "the action" of the Orange Line Corridor; however, most people in their 30s I'm sure wouldn't mind a 20-minute walk to a place like Ballston and the Metro station if it meant they could return to peace and quiet in the evenings. There are also various small businesses lining Lee Highway that you'd be able to walk to (or quickly drive to), such as a Safeway grocery store.

Shirlington is nice as well and would be my second choice since it is roughly equidistant to either Ballston or Old Town.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

You could walk about exactly one mile down North Stafford Street to the Ballston Metrorail station to easily access the Orange Line into The District. You're a mile away from "the action" of the Orange Line Corridor; however, most people in their 30s I'm sure wouldn't mind a 20-minute walk to a place like Ballston and the Metro station if it meant they could return to peace and quiet in the evenings.

And I forgot to mention that the ART (Arlington Rapid Transit) bus goes from Court House to Ballston via Nelly Custis to Lee Highway to North Utah Street.

[ACWhite]

We forgot to ask about budget. Please be aware that the locations you are interested in are pricey.

[YellowKing]

Originally Posted by justwandering78

Thank you for your response. I was leaning toward Alexandria, just worried about the commute. It will be 3 days a week so, as long as it is tolerable, it will be worth being in an area I will like living in.

Super easy commute. You'll learn how to get to route 1 via side roads, and all of the lights are synchronized. Then you'll hop on slaters lane and cut over to the GW Parkway north of Old town (past all the lights). Once there, you'll just take it to 50W, which will be a reverse commute at that point. I used to do that same thing to get to 395 going into DC in the morning, and I could get all the way to the "NoMa" area of DC in 20-25 minutes pretty regularly.

[Hesky]

I like Old Town Alexandria a lot and I think it may be a better fit for you based on your post. However, I personally believe it's always best to live close to work, because ultimately going to work is the one thing we must do and we do it more often than anything else. A shorter commute = a better quality of life. Ballston is a very nice area too, and you won't have any issues getting to Alexandria one or two times a week for entertainment.

[Middlin]

Is the area you're considering in Alexandria near Hybla valley? I used to live in Alexandria, albeit many years ago, but don't think that area has gotten much nicer.

[robbobobbo]

Originally Posted by Middlin

Is the area you're considering in Alexandria near Hybla valley? I used to live in Alexandria, albeit many years ago, but don't think that area has gotten much nicer.

Both the thread subject and first post state Old Town Alexandria, which Hybla Valley (Fairfax County) has nothing to do with. But then I noticed the OP's statement about "around the Holland Rd area, near King St Metro" and it made me wonder just where OP was talking about. I see now that Holland Lane connects Duke St to Eisenhower Ave (going by Whole Foods). Funny that I drive that road frequently, plus occasionally shop at Whole Foods, yet didn't know the road's name.

I can conclude OP didn't mean Holland Road in the Sherwood Hall/Collingwood area.

[Middlin]

yea, I was wondering about the OP's perspective on distance, i.e. near King street metro

[justwandering78]

Oops, I meant Holland Lane. I was looking at apartments in Post Carlyle. Anyways, just coming on here to update and thank everyone for their input. After a lot of consideration, I decided being close to work was most important. So, as of friday, I am a resident of Ballston in Arlington!! I'm really liking it so far and less than 2 miles from work! Thanks again.