Moving for a job in Fort Belvoir need help finding an apartment. (Arlington: apartments) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

MB251 · 07-09-2015, 01:15 PM

I will be working in Fort Belvoir. I am a 26 year old professional male, not married no children. I live 15 hours away and would like to fly in for a day or 2 and pick my new home. But because i know nothing about the area or the traffic, I need a little help. I would like to keep my rent at $1400.00 or lower. Because I am coming from an area with no traffic, i would like to keep my commute under 30 minutes. Anyone know of any good apartments that would fit my criteria? Or would I be better off working with a realtor?

ChristineVA · 07-09-2015, 01:59 PM

First question: what are your expectations for a social life? Are you a homebody or would you like to frequent the Arlington/Clarendon/DC nightlife scene?

Ashley Tauzier · 07-09-2015, 02:35 PM

If you would like to live in a condo or townhouse then working with a Realtor would be beneficial. If you want to be in an apartment then I would say go at it on your own. Cities would start with would be Alexandria, Lorton, and possibly Woodbridge.

newvadad · 07-10-2015, 03:06 AM

Traffic sucks. Live close to work will cost a lot but it will save a lot of time. From what I've heard from my coworkers. I'm not sure about the 1,400 but I don't believe there are a lot of options at the price range unless you go about 30 miles west or south..
Good luck.

Carlingtonian · 07-10-2015, 04:56 AM

You can have an easy commute if you live north of Ft. Belvoir. The traffic is only bad if you live south or west of the post, along with everyone else (mostly families with eight children) who moved there to get a large house for cheap. I worked at Belvoir (south post) a few years ago, and I could get there in 35 minutes from Arlington via 395, or 45-50 minutes via the GW Parkway.

Look at the Landmark and Huntington areas of Alexandria. Both are an easy commute via the above highways. Both entail a sea of concrete, but neither is unsafe, and you might find something in your budget there.

The Belle View area (directly on the GWMP) is more scenic and even closer, but I think the multi-unit buildings you see from the road are condos. Still, you could look on CL and see if any of them are being rented out. Driving through there, they look to be quiet and occupied mostly by middle-aged people.

Route 1 near Belvoir was still pretty dumpy the last time I was down there (2012 or so)--but maybe there are now some newer complexes peppered in there.

There are also some (presumably lower-budget) apartments in Baileys Crossroads, which is the area around the interesection of Route 7, Seminary Road in far western Alexandria (Fairfax County), bordering Arlington. It includes the Skyline area; FYI, the high-rise apartments there seem to be heavy on families (particularly from the Middle East). That's actually a great location if you don't mind driving everywhere or taking a bus.

Another area (just east of 395, right next to it) is Parc Fairfax. Older buildings and lots of trees. No idea who lives there, but that would make for a super-easy commute.

lqda4 · 07-10-2015, 05:09 AM

Also depends on where you will be working on Belvoir... If you work on the south side of the post, traffic through the gates + slow speed limit on base alone would take you at least 10'-15' extra to get to your office (from the gates). If your office is on the north side of I-95 you might have an easier commute (and don't have to dealt with Rt. 1. If you work for some other agencies with satellite office outside Belvoir (but still call themselves Belvoir) you are golden. It all depends...

gomason · 07-10-2015, 06:30 AM

I would recommend the Huntington/Kingstowne/Springfield/Lorton areas. Kingstowne will be the most expensive area. Don't look at Woodbridge, route 1 and 95 are a nightmare in rush hour.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lqda4

Also depends on where you will be working on Belvoir... If you work on the south side of the post, traffic through the gates + slow speed limit on base alone would take you at least 10'-15' extra to get to your office (from the gates). If your office is on the north side of I-95 you might have an easier commute (and don't have to dealt with Rt. 1. If you work for some other agencies with satellite office outside Belvoir (but still call themselves Belvoir) you are golden. It all depends...

With the new "Jeff Todd Way" road having being completed, it is very easy to get from South Side to Kingstowne/Springfield now.

lqda4 · 07-10-2015, 06:57 AM

true... but walker/pence/tulley gates are still PITA.

Edit: watch your speed on JT Way or you might end up in the reckless driving thread.

Terps10 · 07-10-2015, 07:21 AM

I lived in Huntington and Kingstowne, Now North Arlington, worked at a tenant agency on the north side of Belvoir. Depending which agency and gate, would take about 10-15 to get on base/to the office from Kingstowne. From Huntington I hopped right on the beltway to 95S and at the office in less than 20. If you used GW Parkway it would take closer to 30 I'd assume, but a much more scenic drive. Would take that to and from the gym on base on the weekends.
I'd recommend Huntington for two reasons: cheap if you get roommates, (I stayed at huntington club, nothing fancy and as a single guy it does the trick), and the metro stop is literally right next to them. I regularly rode my bike to Old Town alexandria and would go out there or DC on weekends. It was a breeze.
Also, when I lived in Kingstowne (rented a townhouse with 3 others), it was way too family oriented for me, and much less walkable, and traffic from all the lights and the new town center were a nightmare. Not that Huntington is uber walkable, but it at least felt moreso, and I could walk to old town in 20 if I chose, or to the Eisenhower area of Alexandria (where Hoffman movie theater is) in about 10.
Now I'm in Arlington, and it still only takes about 25 minutes to get to work because of the reverse commute, but it is WAY more expensive up here. But you can't beat the location IMO.

Carlingtonian · 07-10-2015, 08:14 AM

IIRC, Walker Gate used to be fairly easy traffic-wise, because there wasn't a separate lane from Route 1. I think I remember it getting worse when (in 2011 or 2012) they made it much easier to get to Walker Gate from other than the GW Parkway by adding a curved entrance lane to that gate. This doubled the traffic through Walker and required a "zipper" merge with traffic coming from the east (GWMP).

They really should make the folks coming from Route 1 use Tulley or Pence--both of which are actually on Route 1 and get you onto the south post pretty fast.

FYI, if the OP is working at NGA (which is not really at Belvoir even though they call it Belvoir), I've read that there's not enough parking there. That could be out of date or just wrong, but it's worth making sure.