Moving to Alexandria, need help with picking the right neighborhood

[MagnumForce44]

Yeah, wife was planning on maybe buying escooter if we get an apartment close to the bridge but I would have to check range those things have vs miles she has to travel.

So far we are slowly giving up on Kingsley apartments. We checked together neighborhood and every little street around and it wasn't as I thought it would be. It doesn't look bat but for some reason it did look little bit "industrial " with not so many trees around, narrow sidewalks and not much to look at. We liked south side towards Old Town better around Jefferson street towards the river and King St. Getting balcony or pool is almost impossible, washer and dryer are hard to come by as well. Same apartments don't even have an AC unit.

We did find interesting apartments in other areas, one was in Belle View with nice balcony and it has a view on Dyke Marsh. It seem like little bit isolated community but I do like it. It has a pool, washer and dryer, tennic court, gym and free parking.

The other one has probably better location, it's on 6 E Nelson Ave, Del Ray area. Around 0.5 miles from few restaurants and coffee sho0s. Looks like nice, mostly residential area with private homes. Everything is really green and streets are narrow and cute. Drawback is same as with Monticello Lee place, very old building, no pool, balcony or washer and dryer. Limited street parking.

It's getting more complicated and we have around 4 weeks to move. On top of everything I completely forgot about myself because I was too focused trying to make everything perfect for my wife in terms of location. But I will have to look for a job and at this point I have no idea where I might end which complicates things even further.

[ersatz]

MagnumForce - Given the info you have provided so far, I recommend you check out Huntington Gateway Apartments. It is about in the price range you said (I'm not sure about parking cost). It is across the street from the hike/bike path that leads to the pedestrian/bike pathway on the Wilson Bridge. Huntington Gateway has a combination indoor/outdoor pool that means you and your wife can swim in it all year long. I almost rented there myself a few years ago but wound up renting a townhome instead. The only caveat I would have is that the neighborhood is a bit sketchy. "A bit sketchy" by Fairfax County standards is pretty ok by city standards, better than many areas in DC and nearby Maryland outside the National Harbor. You should be fine there if you stay alert and exercise common sense.

Biking across the WW Bridge will not be pleasant in bad weather and will be impractical in bad winter weather. Fortunately, the NH2 bus goes between National Harbor and Huntington Metro Station.

However, if you don't have a job and your wife does not have a high paying job (i.e she can easily support you if you are not working), you really should think twice (better three or four times) before moving to a very expensive area like Northern Virginia.

[MagnumForce44]

Tnx, I will check out those apartments.

Wife doesn't have high paying job for Northern Virginia standars, she is getting around 75k but it is only because we wanted to move East Cost somewhere anyway, so she getting a offer was a bonus, maybe even a sign lol . We would have moved anyway because we sold out house here 2 weeks before she got offer and we were ready to go to Raleigh or Charlotte. Good thing is we have some savings in case we need it, almost 80k and we have 40k in available credit, most of it with no interest for a 12-15 months.

Reason why we would prefer Northern Virginia is because that's where both of us are planning to get jobs year down the road. We both have MBA degree and shehas quite a bit of management experience, I don't but am not picky eithe as long as paycheck is coming my way

So we should be good, at least for a year or so until we settle in and get better jobs. Of course, the goal is not to dig into savings since they should be used as down payment when we decide to buy something.

[MagnumForce44]

Hi again,

After some searching we applied for apartment we liked and our application was approved. It is private listing and we talked to their agent. For last 3 days we were unable to get lease contract because a few different excuses on their end and today they asked us for deposit and first month rent. According to their agent, it's a customary to do that before you sign lease because of competitive market. Is that true?

In my mind it shouldn't matter how competitive market is if I can't go through my lease contract. They can put whatever they want in there after they take deposit and first month rent, so who protects us as renters?

I really don't feel comfortable sending them money without going over lease contract and I don't see why they would have issue with that.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by MagnumForce44

Hi again,

After some searching we applied for apartment we liked and our application was approved. It is private listing and we talked to their agent. For last 3 days we were unable to get lease contract because a few different excuses on their end and today they asked us for deposit and first month rent. According to their agent, it's a customary to do that before you sign lease because of competitive market. Is that true?

In my mind it shouldn't matter how competitive market is if I can't go through my lease contract. They can put whatever they want in there after they take deposit and first month rent, so who protects us as renters?

I really don't feel comfortable sending them money without going over lease contract and I don't see why they would have issue with that.

I absolutely agree with you. Move on.

[Finallystoppedlurking]

Originally Posted by MagnumForce44

We are currently looking at these apartments, anyone knows more about the area?

1. The Kingsley Apartments, located between Old Town North and Old Town West, at least according to map looks like car shouldn't be needed for downtown activities.

2. Multiple other apartments at Southwest Quadrant, just next to 495.

Which area is considered "better" ( safer, cleaner, etc) ?

Better comes down to management....

My first stops in the nova where Washington sq of rt1 (shivers) and edlandria off of edsall near van dorn. For as old as edlandria was the place was imaculate, utilities included immaculate views. Both locations were walkable to the bus stops and metro via bus.

Washington sq started ok but after mgmt change went to hell. I found to get the real deal about places you have to literally go there at 5/6/7 pm and ask/interview the tenants to get their take on the place. For example at edlandria we talked to people that had been there 10-20yrs... which said a lot. The waitlist spoke as well.

On 5he other hand I had friends who moved into brand new apts near Huntington and near Eisenhower and had roaches and nightmare experiences.

Go out and visit....and talk before signing

[MagnumForce44]

We pushed back on contract and they let us read and sign it before making any payments. I will let you know about my first impression once we move in.

Funny thing is that we ended up in Arlington County technically I believe. It's place/neighborhood called Fairlington Village and our apartment is in one of those ood brick 2 and 3 stories. It's 10 min walk from Shirlington Village. We are still not sure about the area but based on what we could find out, it doesn't look bad.

We decided on that area because of little bit easier commute to Arlington or DC and because that village looked charming, at least on photos/videos. Also, apartment is decent size with balcony, washer and dryer which was important as well.

We had 2 good options in Old Town but apartments were leased before we even finished our application lol

[Finallystoppedlurking]

Originally Posted by MagnumForce44

We pushed back on contract and they let us read and sign it before making any payments. I will let you know about my first impression once we move in.

Funny thing is that we ended up in Arlington County technically I believe. It's place/neighborhood called Fairlington Village and our apartment is in one of those ood brick 2 and 3 stories. It's 10 min walk from Shirlington Village. We are still not sure about the area but based on what we could find out, it doesn't look bad.

We decided on that area because of little bit easier commute to Arlington or DC and because that village looked charming, at least on photos/videos. Also, apartment is decent size with balcony, washer and dryer which was important as well.

We had 2 good options in Old Town but apartments were leased before we even finished our application lol

area is walkable imo. Had friends over there and we attended the xport fitness there for a long time... good choice... don't get too comfy tho.. lol You can get trapped by convienence.. if you love the area that much start to look for TH/Condos that fit your payments before your lease is up.

Side note.. if your a foodie... shirlington is a dangerous place Even the guapos over there is top notch....