Moving to Washington DC

I was just offered a job near Alexandria that was just too good to pass up, so my 4-month bout with unemployment (sans unemployment checks) is coming to an end.

So, whereas the job sounds tremendous, I am loathe to face the sky-high cost of living and atrocious traffic in the DC metroplex.

Any tips on housing locations, cool places to hang out, things/places to avoid would be great!

Brian

:(.. I hear it's very pricey there.. But what a great time to be near the action :) You will have a great time :):)

i live and work in DC now.. are you trying to live in DC or in northern VA? Good resources for housing and for entertainment are www.craigslist.org and www.washingtoncitypaper.com.

and that area. My job is actually in Ft Belvoir, so if I can avoid the traffic, that'd be great!

Alexandria is a total pain to drive to in the morning.

my family has lived in that county for hundreds of years
loads of history there -- Dumfries, Quantico, Occoquan

the Potomac River right at your feet

Woodbridge -- halfway between Quantico and Ft. Belvoir -- has lots of ugly rundown strip malls

the area is generally pretty funky
this is working class for the most part, lots of garden apartments and boxy little houses from the 1950s and 60s with well-etablished trees and yards

blacks and latinos chasing away a lot of the rednecks who used to have the run of the place

It's good to know that. Is the property along the Potomac worth it or overpriced?

B

any waterfront property from Fredericksburg on north is considered DC metro area, esp. the eastern part of Fairfax County known as "Mt. Vernon."

Whatever type of lifestyle you want, you can find it in that area. PW County is more rural, north to Alexandria is definitely urban.

edited to add: The Route 1 corridor between Belvoir and the Beltway is a place to avoid. And the corridor south of Belvoir, for that matter. Personally, I would live in PW county, but being rural-ish it can be boring if you are single. But that's me.


Don't forget - VA is shall issue. Looks like it will be time for a DC-DU range outing!!!! PM me for good ranges in the area.

although I am more of a clay shooter than anything else...

Let's go shooting sometime!

Brian

for about 600 sq.ft apartment....anything cheaper will get you roaches, screaming neighbors, loud music, and a deadly fire trap....if you need a parking place, add extra...the public transportation system is good...you can get anywhere on public transportation, with a lot less stress (someone is KILLED driving to work and back every single day here)....I live in Alexandria, and lots of people who work at Ft. Belvoir live here too...there are LOTS of mega-apartment complexes in the City of Alexandria...and some OK ones along Hwy 1 just south of the Beltway (which is actually outside the City of Alexandria)....

FREE stuff:

all the Smithsonium museums, and many of the events there...like Thursday night music outside of Hirshorn Museum

the National Museums of the Arts...Friday night outdoor concerts at the outdoor garden...

lots of outdoor events with great music all summer, along the Alexandria Parks near the Potomac River...

Think-tank lectures and luncheons...

Political events, especially for upcoming campaigns...

Alexandria Recreational Facilities (free or low price), if you are a resident of Alexandria....

Protests...volunteer to work on protests, and you'll make lots of friends...most National protest groups have offices in DC...you can join a protest here almost every single weekend...

Parades...there are TONS of parades, all kinds, from all over the country....this whole area is BIG on the glory of everything....you can wander around DC forever looking at glorious military statues and glories military presidents, and glorious military monuments, and glories military parades with caskets......of course, there are protest parades too...those are exciting...

NOT free:

Theatres...lots of world class performers come here...a creative thinking person can always get a discount ticket....

___________

DC sort of rolls up the streets at night...it's not NY...and there is little useful nightlife, unless you got LOTS of money, if you only have a little money, there's lots of sleeze along Highway 1 for military types, plus, most murders are at night which keeps most sane people at home....high crime, everything is LOCKED UP...make certain that anyplace you rent has alarms and lots of locks...good luck in your new job....welcome to the hell that bush* created with bushonomics...

when my partner got a job in Falls Church, MD (Alexandria area).

He still has to commute to VA on the Beltway... but he gets on just one exit before the Wilson Bridge then takes the first exit AFTER the Wilson Bridge (US-1 North) and drives directly into Alexandria.

Total commute miles: 11.0 (one way)
Total commute time: 25-30 minutes. (NOT BAD, considering.)

The cost of living and property in Southern PG county is much much much less expensive than in Fairfax County, VA. We're very pleased with our move.

-- Allen

They used to back in the 70's when I lived there. If you can arrange to live somewhere that makes it possible for you to take bus and/or subway to work, do so. The public transportation system there is fantastic. I lived there for seven years without a car, and it was wonderful. I had more spare cash than anyone else I knew (we were all airline employees making not a lot of money) precisely because I wasn't spending a dime on a car. Bus fare ran me very little -- it's so long ago I can no longer recall how much, but these days you can purchase some kind of monthly pass that's much cheaper than driving your car.

Lots of good restaurants, the museums, oh the museums! You can hardly live there long enough to see them all. And most are free.

Lucky you.

decide where to live.....

http://www.wmata.com/

this is going to be very helpful!

and Fairfax County both own and operate separate bus companies...these are separate from the Metro buses, which are part of the Metro-Train System....transfers work across all three systems...looks like your closest MetroTrain stops to Ft. Belvoir are the Huntington stop on the Yellow line, or the Franconia-Springfield stop on the Blue line...depending on where you live...

ask your NEW boss if they give free bus/train passes...lots of companies and Federal agencies do...and it'll save money...

the general idea is that buses take everyone mainly to the MetroTrain stops, major employers, and shopping malls...


Local Fairfax County Buses
http://www.co.fairfax.va.us/living/transportation/default.htm

Looks like Fairfax Rte. 107 will take you South from Alexandria, Huntington MetroTrain stop, and right into Ft. Belvoir...(link)
http://www.co.fairfax.va.us/comm/trans/connector/pdf/Rt107.pdf


and Fairfax Rte. 304 goes from the Franconia-Springfield MetroTrain stop all the way into Ft. Belvoir (15 minutes)...(link)
http://www.co.fairfax.va.us/comm/trans/connector/pdf/Rt304.pdf




Local Alexandria Buses
http://www.dashbus.com/

The whole Alexandria bus route (scoots mostly around the City of Alexandria, and to the Pentagon)
http://www.dashbus.com/s02_systemmap.html


If I can help you with anything else, let me know....also, you might contact your employer and ask them to circulate an email with your housing needs, etc....sometimes people do that where I work, and get some greater ideas out of people living/working near Ft. Belvoir...

another issue to consider is that reasonably decent apartments in Alexandria are usually FULL all the time...where I live, there are no apartments available until Oct. (maybe), and a long waiting list for those...when you see all these huges apartment/condo complexes, it's important to grasp that MOST are FULL...that's why if you circulate email at work...you might get a head's-up on an upcoming vacancy....

the area near the Franconia-Springfield Metro Stop is OK, you could add five more minutes commute and live by me, near the Van Dorn Metro Stop, which is decent, newer part of Alexandria...I personnally don't like the area near the Huntington Metro stop because there is more crime, but it is closer to DC and downtown (Old Town) Alexandria, which has some decent bars....

live close to one of these...but, close enough and on the correct side of interchange, so you can easily get to a MetroTrain parking lot or a bus stop...if you rent in an inaccessible area, it could take you forever to get to work, even though it looks easy...the City of Alexandria is about 10 minute drive from this interchange...

I grew up here in Arlington/Alexandria. Then went away, returning a few years ago. Only now I don't drive, I pedal. The area south of the Beltway to Belvoir used to be called Hybla Valley - is it still?. Rt 1 was a long strip mall, but there was housing,a way from the main drag. I had a great uncle who lived there. Unfortunatley, there's no real attraction for me to bicycle to those parts, so I can't say what it's like now. Looks like I have a nostalgic ride to make.

the bike path is beautiful, goes all the way down to Mt.Vernon and to Ft. Belvoir...it's a classic bike path, and I have enjoyed it often...off-road, has signs and double center lines, like a little road...and even DRINKING WATER fountains....it's a GREAT ride, one of the most scenic in DC area....

here's the Mt.Vernon trail bike path, this one cuts off into Ft. Bellvoir...
http://www.nps.gov/gwmp/mvtmap.html

Alexandria bike paths
http://ci.alexandria.va.us/recreation/recreation/bike-maps/index.html


You can also take your bike on the MetroTrains, anytime, EXCEPT rush hours....

I'd need to know what your into.

I know the cost is high, but it is a beautiful city.