Anyone here living in Ballston/Clarendon high rise condo? (Richmond: condos, townhouses)

[indiko]

My husband and I are finally ready to move into smaller housing with less repairs, yard work and general upkeep. We first thought we wanted to buy a smaller house located closer to a metro station in Arlington (we are in W. Springfield now) but we find ourselves fantasizing about living in one of those high rise condos with that “city-like” feel. Our oldest (20-something) lives in Ballston so we spend a lot of time up there and we like it. Our oldest recommends Ballston very highly and says it’s perfect for what we’re looking for – maintenance free housing, easy traveling, smaller space, easy commute to DC for work and an energetic surrounding are among the most desired changes from our current situation.

If you live in Ballston – we would love to hear about your thoughts, especially if you're 40-something!

[Carlingtonian]

I'm 40-something, and my wife and I used to live in a Ballston high-rise, Richmond Square. (It's the one behind IHOP.)

I found it too noisy--even in my early 30s. Ballston (thanks in large part to Rock Bottom Brewery) has a high proportion of hard-partying 20-somethings. Often I would hear some meathead hollering in the street at 3AM. Once, a drunk girl fell to her death from a balcony at the building across from us (Lincoln Towers). The early-morning garbage and recycling trucks were also loud.

That said, there might be some buildings that are not as loud. Perhaps Hyde Park (next to the Harris Teeter). But Virginia Square or Rosslyn would be quieter. As would one of the many townhouses on the north side (between the Metro and Washington Boulevard)--but then you have less of a city feel.

The other thing to keep in mind is parking. My wife's car was once towed--from our own building! And a visitor once had a giant, super-sticky warning plastered on his windshield.

If you're a heavy sleeper and don't own or don't want a car, then you might love Ballston.

[indiko]

"meathead"

made me laugh

[tysonsengineer]

In Tysons (soon to be near metro) there is Park Crest that I live in. We have double pane structural windows and full concrete walls. I can't hear a damn thing outside of the occasional person walking past the door in the hallway.

There are two semi-newborn babies on either side of me. Either those kids are sedated, or the walls do the job cause I literally have never heard them cry once.

Its not as walkable an area as Arlington yet, but the prices are better, and theres upside for the future of course.

[indiko]

We checked out Tysons and generally like it a lot! Problem is commute. We are trying to shorten it (to L'Enfant), currently takes 45-60min depending on timing of switch from metro to bus. Also, we are out and about EVERY weekend day and drove the Tyson's area last weekend. Kinda hard to get to places like Vienna/Annandale/Fairfax/Arlington without spending a lot of time in traffic.

Outside of that, Tysons is pretty ideal.

[PK12]

Whats your monthly budget, and how many BRs/BAs are you looking for?

[indiko]

We'd most likely purchase...need at least 2br/2ba. 600k max...500k would make us happy....400k we would pass out...

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by indiko

We checked out Tysons and generally like it a lot! Problem is commute. We are trying to shorten it (to L'Enfant), currently takes 45-60min depending on timing of switch from metro to bus. Also, we are out and about EVERY weekend day and drove the Tyson's area last weekend. Kinda hard to get to places like Vienna/Annandale/Fairfax/Arlington without spending a lot of time in traffic.

Outside of that, Tysons is pretty ideal.

Silver line will be here probably before you move in to Tysons (will be completed they say now mid-march to late march; possible early April though we are all hoping it not be the case).

Goes straight to L'Enfant in approximately 25-30 minutes.



If you want an extremely short commute to LEnfant you could look into Pentagon City. Again not the most walkable neighborhood, but has restaurants, easy to get to Arlington proper, and about 8 minutes to L'Enfant on the Yellow.

[indiko]

TYSONSENGINEER:

You certainly offer up a lot of useful information. We considered Pentagon City. Spent time lolling around to get a feel for the place and found it oddly deserted and empty after working hours. Maybe it was the timing and we didn't spend enough time there. Will go and check the area out again because you certainly cannot beat the commute time!

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by indiko

TYSONSENGINEER:

You certainly offer up a lot of useful information. We considered Pentagon City. Spent time lolling around to get a feel for the place and found it oddly deserted and empty after working hours. Maybe it was the timing and we didn't spend enough time there. Will go and check the area out again because you certainly cannot beat the commute time!

Tysons has the same problems (if not worse) so if that is a concern, ie lack of people moving around and being at streetlevel, then thats a negative for both.

Now in the case of Tysons it is perceived (and planned for) being more of a street level town over the course of the next 5 to 10 years. In pentagon city they have the problem of it being a bit of a planning secondary thought to the much more invested in/planned for Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. Its not that Pentagon City hasn;t had its share of good design achievements also, its just not where the big money is necessarily funnelling as far as new condos/developers/trails/road improvements, etc

By cost I believe it is still Clarendon/Courthouse > Rosslyn/Ballston > Pentagon City/Crystal City > Tysons/Falls Church

And in many ways the walkability of each of those areas also follows that heirarchy; walkability being a measure of both the functional ease of walking from one point to another point but also the aesthetic and quantifiable amount of things to do on that walk (# of stores, restaurants, destination points)