28 year old, single female moving to Alexandria, VA (Arlington, Springfield: apartment complexes, for rent)

[miss camie]

Hello all

I live out of state and recently got a job in the Springfield are of Alexandria, VA. I am looking for a safe area, that is convenient to lots of restaurants and shopping. I'm willing to pay around $1200/1300 for rent, although preferably closer to $1200. I am looking at Archstone at Springfiled Apts or Cascade at Landmark Apts. Does anyone know about these apts or have any suggestions for others? Safety and cleanliness are my two biggest concerns. I am also open to the Arlington area. Thank you for any information you can provide.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by miss camie

Hello all

I live out of state and recently got a job in the Springfield area of Alexandria, VA. I am looking for a safe area, that is convenient to lots of restaurants and shopping. I'm willing to pay around $1200/1300 for rent, although preferably closer to $1200. I am looking at Archstone at Springfiled Apts or Cascade at Landmark Apts. Does anyone know about these apts or have any suggestions for others? Safety and cleanliness are my two biggest concerns. I am also open to the Arlington area. Thank you for any information you can provide.

Springfield is actually its own town although it's understandable how you might have reached that conclusion since the boundaries aren't very clear.
In fact, there are "two" Alexandrias: the City of Alexandria as well as the unincorporated section of Alexandria in Fairfax County. The latter segues into Springfield, particularly in the Kingstowne neighborhood which is part of "county" Alexandria. Yeah, it's interesting.

If you're referring to the Archstone apartments near the Springfield metro, that would certainly be convenient to the typical mid-level shopping centers. However, the Springfield Mall across the way seems to be fading and isn't so popular these days. I'd be pleasantly surprised to hear that those Archstone apartments can be found for less than $1300.

Actually, the Kingstowne neighborhood might be worth a look as well. Compared to a somewhat more amorphous Springfield, it has a lot of newer "well-scrubbed" apartment complexes and retail compared to Springfield.

Springfield/Kingstowne is definitely suburban albeit at a dense level. You're more likely to be families and spouses at Panera Bread than singles. If you're looking for a 20-something singles haven, the Ballston-Clarendon corridor of Arlington -nicknamed the "Orange Line" due to the Metrorail route that goes through it - would be ideal. However, a short commute is an advantage not to be taken lightly in this area. Living in or close to Springfield would be a good move.

[miss camie]

Originally Posted by Tone509

Springfield is actually its own town although it's understandable how you might have reached that conclusion since the boundaries aren't very clear.
In fact, there are "two" Alexandrias: the City of Alexandria as well as the unincorporated section of Alexandria in Fairfax County. The latter segues into Springfield, particularly in the Kingstowne neighborhood which is part of "county" Alexandria. Yeah, it's interesting.

If you're referring to the Archstone apartments near the Springfield metro, that would certainly be convenient to the typical mid-level shopping centers. However, the Springfield Mall across the way seems to be fading and isn't so popular these days. I'd be pleasantly surprised to hear that those Archstone apartments can be found for less than $1300.

Actually, the Kingstowne neighborhood might be worth a look as well. Compared to a somewhat more amorphous Springfield, it has a lot of newer "well-scrubbed" apartment complexes and retail compared to Springfield.

Springfield/Kingstowne is definitely suburban albeit at a dense level. You're more likely to be families and spouses at Panera Bread than singles. If you're looking for a 20-something singles haven, the Ballston-Clarendon corridor of Arlington -nicknamed the "Orange Line" due to the Metrorail route that goes through it - would be ideal. However, a short commute is an advantage not to be taken lightly in this area. Living in or close to Springfield would be a good move.

That's very interesting the way you broke it down. Thanks for that. I have heard a few things about this Kingstowne area, however I haven't found an apartment in that area that is within my budget. I definitely would like an area that is "single" friendly, however I would prefer an older, more established singles crowd rather than the fresh out of college twenty-somethings. I'm almost 29 myself. Do you know anything about the Cascade at Landmark Apts or that area in general? Thanks for the response and suggestions.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by miss camie

That's very interesting the way you broke it down. Thanks for that. I have heard a few things about this Kingstowne area, however I haven't found an apartment in that area that is within my budget. I definitely would like an area that is "single" friendly, however I would prefer an older, more established singles crowd rather than the fresh out of college twenty-somethings. I'm almost 29 myself. Do you know anything about the Cascade at Landmark Apts or that area in general? Thanks for the response and suggestions.

I live a stone's throw from the Cascade so I'll chime in. It's a pretty good complex. There are problems with car break-ins in the area but they are easily avoidable by not leaving anything in your car. The area will give you a very easy commute to Springfield. The area has a very mixed population which does include older professionals.

[miss camie]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

I live a stone's throw from the Cascade so I'll chime in. It's a pretty good complex. There are problems with car break-ins in the area but they are easily avoidable by not leaving anything in your car. The area will give you a very easy commute to Springfield. The area has a very mixed population which does include older professionals.

The things I've heard about Cascade so far seems to be pretty consistent, as far as break-ins and safety is concerned. But coming from Atlanta, I'm pretty used to that happening so I can deal with that. Thanks for the insight.

[GustavoFring]

Landmark is not the greatest place, but probably not horrible. If you want to be a little closer to the city, there are some good deals at places over near skyline right now because they just lost a bunch of DoD facilities due to BRAC (Base realignment). If you're looking for some decent anecdotal evidence of what you can expect to pay for places around here, here is a recent thread on Reddit that was pretty good:

What do people ACTUALLY pay for rent around here? : nova

Hopefully I don't upset the mods with that link, since I don't consider reddit a direct competitor.

[FindingZen]

^No worries...although thanks to an odd first post right above yours, this older thread was inadvertently revived.

[FindingZen]

^No worries...although thanks to an odd first post right above yours, this older thread was inadvertently revived.

[GustavoFring]

Oops, had no idea, didn't check the dates..