Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My wife got a good offer to work for a company in National Harbor and she accepted it. However we would prefer to live in Virginia and currently looking for most logical place to rent an apartment . We are not familiar with the area since we are moving from Nevada.
Just based on the map, it looks like Alexandria is our best bet. I was looking at few neighborhoods near 495 ( if I remember correctly ) and so far few of them seem to be conveniently located near 495 and those would be Southwest Quadrant, Eisenhower East and Huntington which I am not sure is part of Alexandria or small town.
What can you tell me more about these neighborhoods, are they safe and clean enough? Are there large differences between these neighborhoods? Any neighborhood to avoid at all cost?
My other question would be how bad would commute time increase if we move more towards north, maybe north west parts of Alexandria or even Arlington, is that just too far? Also is there any nice small town near that wouldn't have commute time longer than 40 min during rush our to National Harbor?
English is my second language so I do apologize in advance. Thanks for your help!
There are no "small towns" within a 40 minute rush-hour commute to National Harbor. Everything within 40 minutes of there, is very urban and congested. An exception would be the town of Accokeek, Maryland - or Brandywine, Bryans Road, Upper Marlboro, or Indian Head, Maryland. The parts of Fort Washington, Maryland that are near the Potomac River have good nice, single-family houses which cost less than on the Virginia side, and good scenery, but poor school systems. If you belong to Facebook, look at the site called "Nightmare on 210" which discusses the frustration and problems of commuting on Highway #210.
Huntington is not a "small town". It's full of tall high-rise apartments as well as townhouses constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, and noisy traffic. Just outside the legal city limits of Alexandria.
Do you mind if I ask, what is your national origin, or ethnic group. Because I can advise you which suburbs and communities have people of your nationality. I have great knowledge about this.
I am originally from Southeastern Europe ( former Yugoslavia ) but personally I really don't care if there is community from my country or not. Since I moved here few year back, I enjoy everything average American born and raised in the US does so I really don't feel like I need to be around people/culture from my country. Only things that I sometimes need are decent European market and Greek restaurant lol
We gave up on small town on Virginia side since there isn't any that suits are needs and Alexandria doesn't seem to be so big and intimidating as I thought so, at least based on photos and videos. ( it is so beautiful btw)
So if we were to stick with Alexandria, is there any neighborhood or part of town that we should avoid? I am little bit confused since almost every neighborhood is recommended according to different "research " but I would much rather get info from people who live there or are familiar with the area.
Also what would be drawback of living south from 495, if any? There are few cheaper apartments over there but cheaper usually means something isn't right
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) ?
Out of those 2 options, Kingsley or others in that area, by far.
I don't know of the Kingsley in particular, but I'm quite familiar with the area and have seen its changes over the past 15 years. You'd be a short walk from Trader Joe's and Harris Teeter, plus restaurants and the waterfront.
The Eisenhower Avenue area requires getting in your car to go nearly anywhere of interest. It seems isolated to me. A few housing developments interspersed among a mostly industrial location.
Eisenhower Ave locations would be very convenient for getting onto 495 from Clermont Dr, for getting to work at National Harbor, but the Kingsley location isn't particularly disadvantageous for getting to the Woodrow Wilson bridge to cross into Maryland.
Last edited by robbobobbo; 06-09-2019 at 02:27 PM..
Yeah it seems that area around those apartments isn't that far away from anywhere around Old Town. According to GPS, it is 0.7 miles away from King Street and City Hall which is 12 minute walk. Riverwalk is close as well.As you already said, Trader Joe is right around the corner and Harris Teeter (that I wasn't familiar with) is actually right in the same building apartments are which is really convenient. We wouldn't have to use a car for 90% of our shopping. Drawback is that apartment doesn't have a pool and garage parking is 90 dollars on top of around 1900 a month for 1 bedroom.
Only area that has cheaper (and still ok) apartments is Eisenhower Ave but after your warning I did look a bit around using Google Street View and it's probably not for us.
However just close by there are few decent apartments as well so not sure if you are familiar with that area? It's around Jefferson St and Washington Memorial Parkway, and there are few options but I was looking at Monticello Lee apartments, around 200 dollars cheaper than Kingsley but in much older and less modern building. It looks to be positioned just east of Eisenhower and around 7-8 blocks from Old town, just about the same as Kingsley apartments just in opposite direction. It is close to a large park with lighthouse, at least according to the map.
Is that area also part of Old Town and what is it like compared to area where Kingsley is?
I apologize if I ask too many questions , we like Kingsley location but I would like to have at least one alternative.
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) ?
I'm going to disagree with robbobobbo because I think he's misunderstanding what part of Eisenhower you're looking at.
The part you're looking at (near Southwest Quadrant/Eisenhower East) is usually referred to as Carlyle. For grocery, it has a Whole Foods and will be getting a Wegmans in 2022. For transit, it's situated between two metro stations. It's a nice neighborhood, and about the same distance from the main part of Old Town as the other location you're looking at. I would say both Carlyle and North Old Town are very nice, safe neighborhoods- just a matter of personal preference.
The part of Eisenhower that is more industrial is further west.
Yeah it seems that area around those apartments isn't that far away from anywhere around Old Town. According to GPS, it is 0.7 miles away from King Street and City Hall which is 12 minute walk. Riverwalk is close as well.As you already said, Trader Joe is right around the corner and Harris Teeter (that I wasn't familiar with) is actually right in the same building apartments are which is really convenient. We wouldn't have to use a car for 90% of our shopping. Drawback is that apartment doesn't have a pool and garage parking is 90 dollars on top of around 1900 a month for 1 bedroom.
Only area that has cheaper (and still ok) apartments is Eisenhower Ave but after your warning I did look a bit around using Google Street View and it's probably not for us.
However just close by there are few decent apartments as well so not sure if you are familiar with that area? It's around Jefferson St and Washington Memorial Parkway, and there are few options but I was looking at Monticello Lee apartments, around 200 dollars cheaper than Kingsley but in much older and less modern building. It looks to be positioned just east of Eisenhower and around 7-8 blocks from Old town, just about the same as Kingsley apartments just in opposite direction. It is close to a large park with lighthouse, at least according to the map.
Is that area also part of Old Town and what is it like compared to area where Kingsley is?
I apologize if I ask too many questions , we like Kingsley location but I would like to have at least one alternative.
Don't apologize. You're asking thoughtful questions. And you're engaging posters who provide helpful responses, which is very much welcomed (and atypical) on City-Data.
You're correct. The Monticello Lee apartments are older than many other properties that have come online in Old Town. The complex also abuts and partially faces Washington Street, which is a very busy and relatively noisy corridor. There is reserved street parking. It would be worth checking whether that street parking is easy to come by or not.
I don't find much difference between that area of Old Town and the area where the Kingsley property is. Regardless of where you are, Old Town is a highly walk-able and pedestrian-friendly place to live. The park you reference is Jones Point Park, which has a number of athletic fields, playgrounds, and walking paths. It's a scenic spot by the river, but the Beltway (Woodrow Wilson Bridge) passes over it, so you do hear the din of traffic (even with soundproofing glass).
Old Town's desirability puts housing prices (and parking) at a premium.
Check out the high rise apartments just south of 495 near route 1. Your wife's driving commute to National Harbor just across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge will be enviable to most everyone who lives around here. Some apartments are walkable to the Huntington metro station, I understand, and I've been told some have shuttles.
You are really close to Old Town, but it is not the same as living in Old Town. It is up to you to balance cost and convenience.
I DID want to let you know about a "best kept secret" spot in a strip mall across from the Huntington Metro "Kiss & Ride" lot on Kings Highway (Route 241). There is a family-run take-out eatery called "Balkan Grill" that has fabulous food. Love their Balkan Hamburgers and their home-baked breads plus they have a yogurt based drink that's tangy and good and refreshing for a summer day (I forget the name of it). Next to the Balkan Grill is a small store called "Euro Foods International". Very cool! I'm not Eastern European, but it's fun to get international stuff to eat sometimes. Love it!
This area is truly international. It is pretty rush-rush, and many people burn out but it sure is interesting. Good luck finding your apartment.
I'm going to disagree with robbobobbo because I think he's misunderstanding what part of Eisenhower you're looking at.
The part you're looking at (near Southwest Quadrant/Eisenhower East) is usually referred to as Carlyle. For grocery, it has a Whole Foods and will be getting a Wegmans in 2022. For transit, it's situated between two metro stations. It's a nice neighborhood, and about the same distance from the main part of Old Town as the other location you're looking at. I would say both Carlyle and North Old Town are very nice, safe neighborhoods- just a matter of personal preference.
The part of Eisenhower that is more industrial is further west.
If that's the case, then it truly is a misunderstanding on my part. I would assume the Southwest Quadrant would literally be the Southwest part of the city limits, which would be to the west of Quaker Lane, which if you look at a map, pretty much bifurcates the city. From Eisenhower Ave's perspective (since Quaker doesn't extend to it) that would mean west of Telegraph Rd and the section I was referring to. Now that I look at Google maps, I see "Southwest Quadrant" is labeled on the section of Old Town (not all of Alexandria) that is southwest. My apologies to OP for the confusion.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Back to Huntington area
