I need help picking a Luxury Apartment! (Arlington, Alexandria: apartments, rentals)

[DC.Boy]

Hey Everybody, I just graduated from college with my MBA and start working @ a Fortune 200 company in Falls Church, VA this summer. Apartments are CRAZY EXPENSIVE I see in Northern Virginia and DC.

However after reading horror stories @ ApartmentRatings.com I don't want to live with mice and roaches at the $1000/month places. I want to stay at one the luxury apartments. What are some good ones?

Are these any good?
The Alexander (Alexandria)

Alexandria, VA Apartments and Rentals - The Alexander

Halstead Tower

Alexandria Virginia Luxury Apartment Rentals – Halstead Tower

The Meridian @ Carlye, Courthouse, Gallery Place etc.

Meridian Portal

[DC.Boy]

REQUIREMENTS
I'm not trying to pay ANYMORE than $1700/month.
Job is in Falls Church, so I want something close like Arlington and Alexandria or any other close cities.

Also Many places have 2 Months Free Rent which is great!!!

[Azmordean]

If your job is in Falls Church, you might consider an apartment there. There are some newer luxury developments, I think. Falls Church City itself is pretty nice and is walkable, with a Main Street with shopping, restaurants, etc. Also, it is close to the East Falls Church Metro - about a 20 minute walk, but a really quick bike ride. I mention this because you could save some money there as opposed to the "Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor."

That said, if you want to live in the heart of the young professional scene, Rosslyn-Ballston is a good place to be. Your rent requirement of $1700 is just about spot on for that area. You will find some places less than that, some a bit more, but all pretty close to it (for a real 1br - if you want a studio/efficiency you can save some bucks). If you do live there, you'd have a quick reverse commute drive to Falls Church, or, if your office is close to Metro, you could reverse commute on that as well.

One thing to keep in mind - if you are going to drive to work, you might want to look at some apartments in Rosslyn-Ballston that are a bit further from the Metro. Get even 4-5 blocks away and prices can drop a decent bit. Walking that extra 4 blocks can be a pain if you are a commuter as it adds time to the commute, but probably isn't as big a deal if you are only using Metro to go out in the evening.

Finally, regarding the free months rent deal.. those are good deals, and they will usually pro-rate it so your rent for the whole year is cheaper. BUT, be sure to find out what the real rent is, and be sure you can afford it. You don't want to have to move out in a year because you can't afford the place once the incentive is no longer in effect. That happens to more than a few people.

[DCguy03]

In my experience, Apartmentratings.com is a good tool to use as part of your apartment search, but take the postings on there with a grain of salt.

Most people who are satisfied with their apartments are not going to take the extra time to write details about the complex...so the site tends to attract a skewed % of people that have had problems.

Also, sometimes building management gets wise to the site, and will post artificial reviews to the site to inflate their apt's ratings.

The Clarendon and Court House neighborhoods would be perfect locations for you...an easy commute a few stops away to Falls Church, but on the weekends it's a lively place.

[DC.Boy]

Thanks for your advice. I'm excited to be moving to NoVA this summer. I hope I have fun.