Old Town to FT Belvoir? (Arlington, Fort Belvoir: apartments, to rent, condo)

[thefool75]

Single, late 30's, would prefer to keep my budget below $2500 a month. Apts only. I'm taking a position at Fort Belvoir right around May 1. Location is near the Telegraph Road Gate. (I've been to Belvoir a couple times, have lived in DC before and have been to Old Town a few times.) Would like to keep my commute time down (I don't think I'll be going in before 8:30-9 in the morning) but walkability is hugely important for where I live. Same for metro access (weekend and some weeknight use). Thoughts? Both on the viability of commuting from Old Town and on where to live? TIA!

[MedvedActual]

Shouldn't be an issue. While I have only driven that way to go to Wegman's, it is a fairly straight shot from OT. Cannot comment on the traffic volume in the am/pm though. Based on what I know, I wouldn't hesitate living in OT and commuting to Belvoir.


Look at various options online for apartments. When we looked to rent (and semi-considered an apt) there were quite a few options within your budget. Definitely a great place to live and IMO tons of things to do.

[OutOfPlaceInDC]

Originally Posted by thefool75

Single, late 30's, would prefer to keep my budget below $2500 a month. Apts only. I'm taking a position at Fort Belvoir right around May 1. Location is near the Telegraph Road Gate. (I've been to Belvoir a couple times, have lived in DC before and have been to Old Town a few times.) Would like to keep my commute time down (I don't think I'll be going in before 8:30-9 in the morning) but walkability is hugely important for where I live. Same for metro access (weekend and some weeknight use). Thoughts? Both on the viability of commuting from Old Town and on where to live? TIA!

Telegraph road is pretty easy from Old Town, just take Duke west and get on it. You'll be going opposite traffic. Telegraph road itself is congested, but you'll still be kinda doing a reverse commute and can get onto the base via a dedicated Telegraph road entrance. If you want to be near a metro and have even easier access to Telegraph, the Carlyle area has a direct link to it without having to get on to Duke and is wedged between the Eisenhower (Yellow) and King Street (Blue/Yellow) stations. You can walk to the Waterfront from there (easy walk a little under 2 miles), or take the free King Street Trolley from the metro. Uber is between 5-6 bucks to the waterfront from there as well.

Carlyle itself isn't particularly vibrant after business hours, but is definitely improving. Most of the commercial is tuned towards lunch places, but there are some decent restaurants (BBQ, Thai, Pho, Sushi and the Trademark Bar and Grill in the Westin). There's also more chain-like places within a quarter of a mile in the Esienhower shops on both sides. Area is about as safe as you can get and there's a multitude of highrises to either rent from management companies or condo owners.

[Carlingtonian]

Old Town will be an easy commute; I've done it myself. Especially now that they have Jeff Todd Way linking GWMP to Telegraph. I don't think you'll find many other areas that are walkable/transit-oriented and within an easy shot of Belvoir. You could also look at Crystal City or Pentagon City (both in Arlington), but that would put you a little farther away and not save you any money.

BTW, why are you hollering for your aunt in Spanish?

[thefool75]

Thanks all.

I've had friends in the Carlyle area before...it seemed kind of dead the one time I went out there but the easy access to Telegraph while still walkable to the heart of Old Town makes sense. I was looking at the Kingsley in Old Town North but that's probably an extra ten minute commute each way? Plus the apartments around Carlyle seem to be cheaper....(just because I could pay $2500+ doesn't mean I want to).

[gomason]

Yeah don't expect Carlyle to be hopping at night and on the weekends but it's very walkable to the heart of Old Town which has pretty good nightlife.


Kind of the best of both worlds.