Best Apartments in Alexandria near PTO? (Arlington, Woodbridge: rentals, crime, houses)

[ptoguy]

Hi folks,

What a great message board! I happened to stumble across it the other day while looking for apartment rentals, and found such a helpful, well-populated board. Anyway, as you can tell from my name, I'll be starting work at the PTO in Alexandria in the fall, and am looking for apartments in the area. Ideally, I'm willing to spend around $1300 for a large studio/1 BR in a safe neighborhood, with easy access to the Metro/walking distance, and after browsing apartment ratings and rent.com, I've narrowed my choices to these.

1) Avalon at Cameron Court
2) Windsor at Arbors
3) Huntington Gateway
4) Stoneridge at Mark Center
5) Townsquare at Millbrook
6) Park at Arlington Ridge (in Arlington)
7) Riverside Apartments
8) Midtown Alexandria across from Huntington Metro Station

I originally rated #3 and #4 as my top choices (based on comments at aprtratings), but after reading some of the posts here, changed my mind because people indicated that the area around Huntington was rather shady.

I've heard some awful things about the Riverside Apartments, but they seem to only pertain to their older apartments. Not sure if their newer, renovated units might be better.

Lastly, some other posters recommended looking at Craigslist. There's a new highrise, called Midtown Alexandria, being built just next to the Huntington Metro Station, and some of their introductory prices are fairly reasonable (assuming they don't raise prices significantly at the end of my lease.)

I'm temporarily staying at home, but it's a 1 hour commute by metro, one way, from Rockville, MD.

Any comments would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[alexandrian]

The big advantage of living in the Huntington area would be proximity to the Yellow Line--easy commute to work and elsewhere, plus the PTO should subsidize your transit while you'll have to pay for a parking spot if you drive from the other places.

I think all the places you mentioned are in areas that are a little bit sketchy, but none of them are war zones, and the safety/crime aspect probably depends a lot on the specific building. If you're really worried about that, I would also look at the places in the Carlyle area near the PTO (Meridian and Post)--they are a little more expensive than you're looking for, but not terrible, and it'll be a 5 minute walk to work, 5 minute walk to the King Street Metro, 10 minute walk to Old Town.

[ptoguy]

Thanks alexandrian. I'm coming from central Jersey, and I've never had my car broken into there, so I'm a bit worried when I read stories of folks on this board who have had their cars vandalized.

[alexplorer]

Originally Posted by ptoguy

Thanks alexandrian. I'm coming from central Jersey, and I've never had my car broken into there, so I'm a bit worried when I read stories of folks on this board who have had their cars vandalized.

Hi,

I'm also coming from central New Jersey. Do you know if there are buses runing that stop in New Jersey?

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by alexplorer

Hi,

I'm also coming from central New Jersey. Do you know if there are buses runing that stop in New Jersey?

I would imagine that Greyhound has some stations in Jersey. You'll probably have to stop in Philly and Baltimore on the way.

[Flamingo13]

I'm a homeowner, but have you checked out Foxchase Apartments? They appear to be well maintained and it's a safe area w/great access.

[akorosdc]

I have friends in Foxchase who work in Old Town (they love it, and it's pretty reasonably-priced) and in the Park at Arlington Ridge (they also really like it, although it's a little further from the PTO). Between those two, you get more for your money at Foxchase (2-level, 2bed/2.5 bath for less than a small 2bed/1bath), since Arlington Ridge's draw is proximity to Crystal City and Pentagon City.

Check out places in Carlyle and also those near the Eisenhower metro (another Meridien, and others), as these are a little cheaper and are literally just on the other side of Carlyle.

[caution]

I lived at the Park at Arlington Ridge for a while:

pros:
-great neighborhood
-quiet
-garden style
-lots of nice walks through the neighborhoods of great houses (up on the hill)
-not much through traffic
-shuttle to metro with good schedules
- safe
-since it is a wooded neighborhood, you feel like you're way out in the burbs even though you live really close to some dense metro areas

cons:
- low weight limit on dogs (for us, our dog was too big to move back there or we would have)
-not many stores or shops within quick walk
- can't walk to metro so you have to catch the shuttle


Car theft seems to be lower here than other big cities where I have lived. The biggest problem (as you find elsewhere) is theft of consumer electronics or maybe vandalism.

I've had a flashy car (modded WRX) and a modded Jeep (currently) and lived in 4 different complexes in NOVA (including a rough one in Woodbridge and 3 in Arlington/Alexandria). No problems with the cars.