Please comment if you have lived in the Clarendon area, Internationally, and all over the U.S. (Arlington: apartments)

[Kassad]

For those that have spent a considerable amount of time in the Courthouse/Clarendon/Virginia Square metro area, as well as other places in the U.S., can you comment on specific neighborhoods in the U.S. that are very similar to the Courthouse/Clarendon/Virginia Square metro area?

My wife and I love the Courthouse/Clarendon/Virginia Square metro area. It has a great vibe and is laid out in a way that is very walkable, but walkable in a way that is more than just a high walk score. The high walkscore was attained without building large commercial buildings and the area is also modern, very clean, and inviting. Restaurants are more than a bunch of fast food places. Jumping on the metro can get you into DC in 15 minutes, or you can walk to amazing Georgetown in 25-30 minutes, give or take. My wife is from Europe and she cannot find another U.S. city that compares to this area, and we've been to quite a few U.S. cities. One of the pluses is that there isn't a downtown per say, and yet it is extremely walkable, and has easy access to a large city (Wash DC). This makes the Courthouse/Clarendon/Virginia Square metro area extremely appealing to many diffrent types of people.

The downside is that because of the above mentioned, a 3-4 bedroom house in this area is well over a million dollars. I would say a nice 3-4 bedroom house is 2 million easy. There are so many residences (apartments, houses, and townhouses) I find myself wondering what line of work all these people are in.

So my question is are there any neighborhoods that are similar to this neighborhood. Please don't suggest large cities like Philadelphia, New York, Boston etc. That's not specific enough. I'm looking for a lower cost of living version of the Courthouse/Clarendon/Virginia Square metro area. I don't think there is one but I'd thought I'd ask. if nothing else maybe it starts an interesting discussion.

[Skatergirl]

One place that comes to mind is Rochester Hills, Michigan. Very walkable, quaint, and affordable housing. Not far from Toronto for weekend getaways.There are some other areas in Michigan that have that Clarendon feel like Bloomfield hills or Gross Pointe, but their houses are pretty pricey. You could also consider West Hartford, CT. BUT, the downside there is that place is snooty as heck. It's quaint and has a very New England feel, but I could never get past the arrogance in that area. But, I'm from a blue collar area and have lived all over the U.S. as well as outside of the country. Still, that area seemed snootier than most.

[aurora5]

I live in the Courthouse area of Arlington, VA.



Pros: high walk score, easy access to metro/bus/rentable bikes/scooters, some restaurant choices. Walk to DC via Key Bridge possible. Bike paths. Sidewalks. Highly educated population, kind people, supportive community. Great choices of world class doctors/hospitals including Hopkins in Balto. Airports: DCA, BWI, iAD. Amtrak too. Lots of employers: federal gov't, telecom, Amazon, Google, non-profits, etc. Governance is outstanding - police come quickly when you call and are quite civil, crime is low for an area this size (200K +/- population for all of Arlington).



Cons: new construction constantly - more and more high rises, ever more expensive rents & home prices, everyday store purchases more expensive too. Auto traffic is legendary. Crowds on bike paths and sidewalks. Aggressive scooter riders. Entitled hipster vibe from some people/sometimes.


Alternatives? Reston, VA near the Reston Town Center which is scheduled to have a metro stop in the future, and has lots of bike/walking paths. DC, especially the neighborhoods near the Zoo.

[Veritas Vincit]

Originally Posted by Skatergirl

One place that comes to mind is Rochester Hills, Michigan. Very walkable, quaint, and affordable housing. Not far from Toronto for weekend getaways.There are some other areas in Michigan that have that Clarendon feel like Bloomfield hills or Gross Pointe, but their houses are pretty pricey. You could also consider West Hartford, CT. BUT, the downside there is that place is snooty as heck. It's quaint and has a very New England feel, but I could never get past the arrogance in that area. But, I'm from a blue collar area and have lived all over the U.S. as well as outside of the country. Still, that area seemed snootier than most.

I know both and Grosse Pointe isn't really like Clarendon or Courthouse at all. Grosse Pointe is mostly SFHs and townhouses with hardly any density. Clarendon/Courthouse is mostly apartment and condo buildings with 5+ floors except for a few small side streets. Extremely different vibe. Not to mention there's hardly any public transit around Grosse Pointe and certainly no equivalent to the Metro.


Honestly, looking for a 3-4 bedroom house in an area like Clarendon or Courthouse seems like a fool's errand. The 'secret' of these places is sharing. Apartments, townhouses, condos, SFHs..often shared between multiple parties. Once people have the money to buy a place for themselves, certainly a large house, they tend to look in other areas.


I am no fan of the Clarendon/Courthouse vibe myself, but what generates the vibe is a high density of young-ish adults with college degrees and in the early stages of a white collar career. This density is caused by its proximity to a large quantity of employers seeking white collar professionals. As a result you will only find this vibe in or near highly desirable metropolitan centers attracting the wealthy. That drives up prices. That promotes dense development i.e. older SFHs are bought and torn down to be replaced with multi-tenant developments (happening all over Arlington). So what is left in SFH stock is even more desirable and expensive. What I'm saying is..if you want a big house and don't count yourself among the 1%..plan to work remote or plan for a long commute and definitely plan on 'heading into town' for entertainment.

[Vernum]

I have not seen anywhere like the places you mentioned, but maybe look into Columbia Pike, it is really getting a lot more shops, and is more affordable.

[Vernum]

Was at Clarendon today and had McDonalds in the mini park area across the street, was good vibes all around. Parking was a breeze, but normally I would take the metro for lack of this, but not so today. Feel sorry for peeps living in DC, their riots look chaotic and scary.