Old Town Alexandria alternative (Arlington, Franconia: apartments, rentals, condos)

[tigerlilly31415]

Currently renting a townhouse in Old Town Alexandria (2 adults and a 4th grader in advanced academic services). We love it, but we’re about to get priced out of the area and looking for suggestions on neighborhoods to rent a townhouse or house that has good walkability/transit.

Places we need to get to regularly: medical services in Franconia (kinda near intersection of Franconia Rd and Beulah St), Inova Mt Vernon Hospital, and the Pentagon. Sometimes also IDA. Need access to a pool and safe running routes for exercise.

Things we love in Old Town: stupid easy commute to pentagon, walkable for most errands (library, pharmacy, bookstore, groceries, restaurants, barber, dentist, pool, parks…the list goes on), easy metro access, cool neighborhood events/vibe/general character of the area, Mt Vernon trail is nice but not a necessity (spouse is a distance runner).

We’d like good schools, or at least decent ones. Haven’t been impressed with acps but it’s been ‘tolerable’ for elementary school.

Any suggestions on areas to consider? The walkability/metro access is a BIG deal for us. I can drive, but not far due to medical issues, so I rely mainly on walking with metro when needed, and only drive when there isn’t another reasonable option (like for medical appointments).

All suggestions appreciated. We are so bummed to leave Old Town.

[ersatz]

Originally Posted by tigerlilly31415

Currently renting a townhouse in Old Town Alexandria (2 adults and a 4th grader in advanced academic services). We love it, but we’re about to get priced out of the area and looking for suggestions on neighborhoods to rent a townhouse or house that has good walkability/transit.

Places we need to get to regularly: medical services in Franconia (kinda near intersection of Franconia Rd and Beulah St), Inova Mt Vernon Hospital, and the Pentagon. Sometimes also IDA. Need access to a pool and safe running routes for exercise.

Things we love in Old Town: stupid easy commute to pentagon, walkable for most errands (library, pharmacy, bookstore, groceries, restaurants, barber, dentist, pool, parks…the list goes on), easy metro access, cool neighborhood events/vibe/general character of the area, Mt Vernon trail is nice but not a necessity (spouse is a distance runner).

We’d like good schools, or at least decent ones. Haven’t been impressed with acps but it’s been ‘tolerable’ for elementary school.

Any suggestions on areas to consider? The walkability/metro access is a BIG deal for us. I can drive, but not far due to medical issues, so I rely mainly on walking with metro when needed, and only drive when there isn’t another reasonable option (like for medical appointments).

All suggestions appreciated. We are so bummed to leave Old Town.

You can do almost all of that in the nearby Rose Hill area. You can walk to library, pharmacy, restaurants, barber. doctor, pool, parks. There is the 109 Bus that shuttles between Van Dorn Metro and Huntington metro, and the 310 bus that goes to Springfield/Franconia metro station. There's a paved running trail that cuts through Rose Hill and goes down to Kingstowne. There are nearby trails that connect to Alexandria and to the Holmes Run trail. The local public Rose Hill Elementary School is a magnet school. The Franconia District Fairfax County Rec Center at the end of Rose Hill Drive has a nice Olympic Sized indoor pool that is used by many local swim teams.

[tigerlilly31415]

Thank you! Do you mean Bush Hill Elementary? How are the middle and high schools in that area? I will admit to being completely confused by the fcps system and all the different programs and magnets and testings. Very different from what I grew up with. Would we use the closest schools to our address, or not necessarily?

[ersatz]

I mean Rose Hill Elementary at 6301 Rose Hill Drive. It is beside the John Marshall Fairfax County Library, across from the Rose Hill Shopping Center. Bush Hill Elementary serves Bush Hill and the nearby neighborhood just north of Rose Hill and Franconia Road. Rose Hill Elementary feeds into Hayfield M.S. Bush Hill feeds into Twain, in the neighborhood. They feed into Edison H.S. School boundries are laid out in https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/f...pyramids_1.pdf Rose Hill doesn't have many townhouses for rent - they tend to be apartments or single family homes. If you are interested in renting a townhouse, you may prefer the Kingstowne area. That's walkable and is serviced by the 321/322 circulator bus and the 231/232 buses. Route 310 stops in Rose Hill and also at the bus stop by the Franconia/Beulah intersection. The 308 bus runs from Springfield/Franconia Metro Station to Inova Mt. Vernon.

The old Landmark Mall site on Rt 236 (Duke/Little River) is under construction as a major Inova Hospital Level 2 Trauma Center. https://wtop.com/gallery/alexandria/...-campus-plans/ Meanwhile, most local health needs are served by the Inova HealthPlex on Walker Lane just outside of Kingstowne. https://www.inova.org/locations/inov...ia-springfield

If you have more specific questions, please PM me.

[springfieldva]

Kingstowne might be an area worth looking.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Originally Posted by springfieldva

Kingstowne might be an area worth looking.

I was about to suggest the same thing.

[kyle19125]

Check out the Lyon Village/Colonial Village area of North Arlington close to the Rosslyn and Courthouse Metro. It's the neighborhood where US29-Lee Highway and I-66 crisscross. The neighborhood is anchored by Colonial Village condos (has some rentals) which are garden-style two story brick buildings with lots of trees/mature landscaping spread out among three different sections. There's also a number of similar (and smaller) rental buildings along Lee Highway and the varying cross streets. Within walking distance is a Giant Foods, Whole Foods, Mom's Organic Market and all kinds of shops/restaurants.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Check out the Lyon Village/Colonial Village area of North Arlington close to the Rosslyn and Courthouse Metro. It's the neighborhood where US29-Lee Highway and I-66 crisscross. The neighborhood is anchored by Colonial Village condos (has some rentals) which are garden-style two story brick buildings with lots of trees/mature landscaping spread out among three different sections. There's also a number of similar (and smaller) rental buildings along Lee Highway and the varying cross streets. Within walking distance is a Giant Foods, Whole Foods, Mom's Organic Market and all kinds of shops/restaurants.

Good recs as I live in that area but it's not really a substantial price difference from Old Town. The schools are better though so there is that.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by NOVAmtneer82

Good recs as I live in that area but it's not really a substantial price difference from Old Town. The schools are better though so there is that.

I wasn't sure what kind of baseline budget was being dealt with, so from memory seemed to recall it was noticeably less than many other NOVA neighborhoods.

[DragonPi]

I Will check some of these areas out as well, thank you OP, good question!