Job in Alexandria...where to live affordably? (apartments, rent)

[oldhousejunkie]

Hi all,

I'm thinking about applying for a job in Alexandria, and was wondering about living in the Metro area. I know it's insanely expensive, and coming from South Carolina, it could be quite a shock. It seems that Alexandria is pretty expensive.

Are there affordable neighborhoods in the DC area? Preferably in a historic setting? I'm married and my hubby is a cop, so I don't know where he would end up. I imagine that our combined income would be about $90,000, which I know is not a lot for the area. Plus we have about $500/month going to debt pay-off, etc. Plus a $275 car loan (which will be paid off next year). We'd want somewhere that's safe (i.e. we don't want our door broken down and our stuff stolen). I'm all in for public transportation, but don't want a super long commute. Neighborhood restaurants/pubs and shopping are a plus. We don't have kids so schools are not an issue.

Is it even possible for us to live in the DC area on this type of income?

Thanks in advance!

[terrence81]

Well the nice historic neighborhood would be Old Town Alexandria. But its hardly affordable. You and hubby would probably be paying $1500 for a one bedroom I'm sure. I knew a couple that managed to get by on a similar income in Old Town so its not out of the question.

You two can get by just fine on that income. Don't expect to be in "high cotton" as my mama likes to say but at the same time I wouldn't be in despair over it.

So with that being said honestly I'd look into Burke or West Springfield very nice area also there are lots of cheaper hi-rises in west Alexandria but some of them are cheap for a reason but some are very nice but of course costlier.

My own neck of the woods in south Arlington is an option as well with some cheaper apartments but as a rule of thumb the further out one goes in the DC area the cheaper the housing. The question would be: "How long am I willing to commute?"

[CaliTerp07]

What are you looking for? An apartment? (# of bedrooms?) A townhouse? A SFH?

You can rent a nice 2 bedroom apartment in Alexandria City for $1600/month. TH's in the same area start around $2000. SFH's start at $2400 or so. Alexandria is generally a very safe area.

If you want to save money, you can go into the part of Alexandria that's in fairfax county, or look to the neighboring towns of Springfield or Annandale. You should be able to shave a couple hundred off your rent that way, but your commute will increase a bit. None of those are really historic (unless 1950's architecture is historic), but they're all safe and provide easy access to the major errand spots (grocery stores/drug stores/restaurants).

$90k won't make you wealthy by any standards here, but you'll be right around average. Since you don't have kids, your $90k will go further than many so you should be just fine.