Alexandria Stinks (Richmond, Arlington, Reston: hotels, townhouse, neighborhood)

[yamota]

yeah instead of "FYI", it should be "IMHO"

[FairfaxGuy73]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

Don't get me started on that weird intersection of King St Braddock Rd and N Quaker Ln.

If you're exiting 395 and trying to miss that bizarre Quaker Lane loop that's guarantees to confuse even those who have used it over the years, you'll be tempted to take the Glebe Road exit. This one will get you lost too with it's multiple "decision tree" sub-exits. And woe to those who find themselves on the wrong side of 395 after this, because it bisects the whole area.

[FairfaxGuy73]

Originally Posted by PHX2DCA

We were just out in NoVA shopping for a neighborhood. Our focus seems to have narrowed to Old Town and Clarendon. Everyone raved to us about how great Clarendon was but there seemed to be a small handful of restaurants/bars And many of them along with shopping were corporate chains. I'll admit we explored mainly Wilson Blvd on foot, but I feel like we missed something about the area. Any suggestions on where to look in Arlington?

Admittedly, there aren't a ton of restaurants and bars in Arlington, just that's it's enough and you have fast Metro access into DC. Also, roads that you can drive on and not get frustrated (usually) and an upbeat younger crowd. If you want lots of restaurants you might consider Bethesda or DC. For something different in Arlington, you might check out Crystal City. It's more vertical but still has Metro Access unlike Alexandria (unless you're really into walking.)

[FairfaxGuy73]

Originally Posted by yamota

yeah instead of "FYI", it should be "IMHO"

Don't you know how much more rich and fulfilling your lives would be if you would just obey me without question?

Tone509 pointed out some positive factors such as some nice neighborhoods which are outside of my knowledge, but what I said was true. People come careening in off of the Beltway into narrow 17th century grid streets. Instead of adjusting to pedestrians, they get hyper-aggressive. Then the narrow streets are lined with narrow 17th century sidewalks to block out most of the sun. The atmosphere is dank and mean-spirited. Sure the lunkhead light-industrial truck drivers who will kill a cyclist if they have the right-of-way came from outside of Alexandria, but that's where they are.

Sure, there is historic, but don't let that adjective blind you to others like old, run-down, rotted, filthy, and dangerous.

[CAVA1990]

Old Town Alexandria is great. I live down the other end of the GW Parkway and really enjoy going into Old Town to shop, eat and walk around. It probably sucks if you don't have any money but if you're at least middle class around here it's very appealing. I feel fortunate to live near it.

[FairfaxGuy73]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Old Town Alexandria is great. I live down the other end of the GW Parkway and really enjoy going into Old Town to shop, eat and walk around. It probably sucks if you don't have any money but if you're at least middle class around here it's very appealing. I feel fortunate to live near it.

If I want to drive in circles for a tight parallel parking spot, I'd rather go to Georgetown. Plenty of restaurants there, and you can see the river either from the bridge or on the waterfront. A bartender did get me drunk for free at the Torpedo factory once and I was nuts enough back then to hobble through the projects to the Metro three miles away to get home, so it's not all complaints.

I was at a friend's townhouse in a trendy (and historic) Alexandria neighborhood last month. People were packed tight into tiny townhouses and condos. The there was a small patch of trees that they thought was great. Just car accessible to anywhere, but they thought they were in heaven. Places like that make me feel sick because I used to live in them and know better now.

[Stephen 81]

Originally Posted by FairfaxGuy73

Tone509 pointed out some positive factors such as some nice neighborhoods which are outside of my knowledge, but what I said was true.

So you're commenting on Alexandria as a whole without being familiar with neighborhoods like Del Ray or Rosemont? That, combined with:

Originally Posted by FairfaxGuy73

Admittedly, there aren't a ton of restaurants and bars in Arlington, just that's it's enough and you have fast Metro access into DC.

makes me wonder how much time you spend inside the Beltway. Arlington is full of restaurants - having grown up in Fairfax County, with friends and family still living there, I can tell you that Arlington has far more restaurants per capita than Fairfax.

I realize that not everyone likes the almost-urban lifestyle that Alexandria provides, but I don't understand the point of creating a thread to bash it. It's not like Alexandrians start threads called "Why I would never move to Chantilly".

[yamota]

It's easier around Old Town on a motorcycle, parking is no problem, all you need is a space about 6 feet wide tops, you can park as close to the action as you want

[SteelCityRising]

I suppose I'll buck the trend here and say I personally adore Old Town Alexandria. I live in the Reston CDP of Fairfax County, where a decaying and ugly 1960s-era dump called "Lake Anne" is ironically called a "historic district", so when I can actually visit a place with sidewalks, brick buildings, independent restaurants and merchants, and a sense of soul and charm I naturally gravitate there. Sure, Old Town has a few chains (i.e. Restoration Hardware, Starbuck's, and Chipotle immediately come to mind). However, by and large there are unique haunts there you can't find anywhere else. I love to walk from one end of King Street to the waterfront and back again, meandering up and down the adjacent side streets to see what treasures I may find.

Places I love in NoVA? Old Town Alexandria, Fredericksburg, Winchester, Old Town Leesburg (not the ugly suburban parts), City of Falls Church (despite the gap-toothed downtown replete with surface parking lots), Vienna (despite the horrible congestion on Maple Avenue), Berryville, and Warrenton. Places I dislike? Anywhere that remotely resembles an HOA, strip mall, or office park (i.e. 75% of horribly planned Fairfax County like Tysons Corner, Fair Lakes, or Reston). Old Town should be treasured because it is a glimpse into the era in which people used to actually WALK places and didn't have to be dependent upon their vehicles.

It is ironic, though, that so many on this forum dislike Old Town and love Reston when I really don't see why the latter is "better" than the former.

[FairfaxGuy73]

Originally Posted by Stephen 81

So you're commenting on Alexandria as a whole without being familiar with neighborhoods like Del Ray or Rosemont? That, combined with:



makes me wonder how much time you spend inside the Beltway. Arlington is full of restaurants - having grown up in Fairfax County, with friends and family still living there, I can tell you that Arlington has far more restaurants per capita than Fairfax.

I've been to Alexandria hundreds of times. I know Del Ray. No, I don't know every neighborhood off of Richmond Hwy. etc. I've been to Arlington even more. Bethesda and DC have more restaurants esp in a small area. Please don't make up what you think I know or don't know.