Arlington/Crystal City (Alexandria, Orange: apartment, to rent, condos)

[Bigbluelandrover]

I'm considering a job transfer to the Northern Va area. The office would be off Plaza Americas Dr. I'd like to know if what areas are good for a family with 2 school aged kids. (heard good things about Alexandria). Looking to rent for under $1600--if possible.



Also what mass transit is available? (I do not want to drive!).


There is a relative in the Md area that I could stay with for a few weeks..Near New Carolton. How long would that commute be? Is there transit from that area to NOVA?

[dullnboring]

I would say that Arlington has a leg up on Alexandria as far as families are concerned for the sole reason that it's public schools tend to be a bit better, particularly in North Arlington. Crystal City itself isn't very family-friendly. It's sort of geared towards younger people and singles and is a pretty sterile area with dozens of high-rise condos and apartment towers and little else. Homes in both Arlington and Alexandria, in the better portions at least, are insanely expsnsive. It's not uncommon for a standard brick, one-story, three bedroom, post-war rambler on a small lot, to go for 700K. If you can afford it however, both are great places to live.

As far as mass transit, there is the bus and there is Metro. This area is the most friendly to those without a car in all of Virginia. Bus service covers the entire area or Arlington and Alexandria. Metro covers Arlington much better than Alexandria, but generally wherever you are within Alexandria, you're still just a 10 minute bus ride from a Metro station.

From New Carrollton, you can take the Metro to Crystal City. You'll take the Orange Line into DC and transfer to the Yellow Line at L'Enfant Plaza. This portion of the trip will take approximately 45 minutes. You can also take the MARC (Maryland Commuter train) from New Carrollton straight to Union Station in DC, then take the Red Line to Gallery Place/Chinatown and transfer there to the Yellow Line, but this only shaves off maybe five minutes worth of commuting time and is pricier. These commuting times don't include of course the drive TO the New Carrollton Metro station, which in this area, even if just a few short miles, can be pretty time-consuming, especially considering how gridlocked the areas around Metro stations become each and every morning.