Moving This Weekend... (Richmond, Arlington, Springfield: flat fee, apartments, how much)

[AnalyzeThis]

First off thanks to everyone that offered productive information/advice/opinions during the time I have been deciding on whether to accept a position in the area or not. I am extremely excited to get into the swing of things and will be moving into Carlyle Place apartments this weekend. I do (as always) have a few questions however..

1. Is Telegraph road extremely congested during the week say after 5? I noticed I would have to take this road to get to Target, Walmart, Harris Teeter, etc.

2. What are some grocery stores around the 22314 zip? I know there is a Whole Food a couple of blocks from the complex but I have heard the food is very expensive there. I found a Harris Teeter on Duke street in Fox Chase. Are there any other reasonably priced grocery stores? Here we have Food Lion, in Tampa there was Publix, is there any thing of the equivalent?

3. I will be taking the metro into work and this will be subsized through the government. However, since I have many friends that live in D.C. proper, and will probably meet them in Crystal City, D.C. itself, etc. what would make the most sense to buy for a metro card? Is there one where you pay a flat fee for unlimited riding during the month?

4. I passed Landmark mall but was told this mall is umm..undesirable. Baileys Crossroads has been recommended to me. Can you metro to Baileys Crossroads?

Sorry for ALL the questions but you all have given me SOOOO much good information I figure I can suck a little bit more out I choose my location because I liked the proximity to the interstate, Hoffman center and most importantly the Eisenhower metro (I will be working in the Pentagon). OH! Is that area pretty well lit early in the morning and at night? I will most likely be starting work at 6:30am or 7:00am. Ok I am done for real this time, thank you!

[lokahi]

1. Haven't driven much on that road, but when I have it's been congested.

2. Whole Foods isn't too badly priced, and they have lots of great free samples! Harris Teeter is good, but the Safeway in Bailey's Xroads is the best, and they have the best two for one deals, along with being one of the biggest grocery stores (it beats other Safeway locations hands down!)

3. Your job should have the option for you to enroll in MetroCheck, where they pay for your metro (includes bus and rail), or you pay for it, but it comes out of your paycheck (pretax) at a certain amount per month. Go onto the WMATA website and put in your commute: www.wmata.com - from here you'll know how much you should ask for per month, as it will give you the price of your commute.

4. Landmark has gone downhill in recent years, but they still have good sales. Bailey's Xroads isn't much of a mall (it's a strip mall, not an indoor mall) but it does have a Staples, Ross, Borders, etc. It's not metro accessible, but you can take either the Arlington Transit bus or a metro bus there. Better to drive if you have a car, tho...

Good luck on your move!

[Mike From NIU]

Originally Posted by lokahi

2. Whole Foods isn't too badly priced,

Compared to what?!? Boneless skinless chicken breast for $12-$14/lb isn't too badly priced? Beef prices that top $20/lb? There's a reason it's often referred to as Whole Paycheck. Whole Foods is great for people who have food allergies or want their organic cereal in organic hemp cereal boxes, but it's not too practical for the average family.

Stick with the Safeways, the Wegmans, & the Harris Teeters for somewhat reasonably priced groceries.

[FindingZen]

Regarding #2, if you're willing to travel a little further north by northeast, there are more options.

On N. St. Asaph St - just east of Washington St. aka GW Parkway - there is a Giant supermarket. A few blocks south is a Trader Joe's whose clientele and prices probably dovetail with Whole Foods.

Or you could head up north on Route 1 (Patrick St.) over the Monroe St. Bridge to the Potomac Yards shopping center where you'll find Shoppers Food Warehouse. Their prices are generally lower than most other larger supermarket chains around here (except maybe Bottom Dollar).

It shouldn't take you more than 15-20 minutes to get to any of those places in non-rush hour traffic.

[akorosdc]

1. I don't know about 5:00, but my guess would be yes. I'd wait until 7 before trying it. Once you're past the 495 ramps, however, it shouldn't be too bad.

2. As others mentioned, there's a Trader Joe's and Giant in North Old Town off of St. Asaph. It's a hefty walk, but you could do that, or use the Braddock Road metro. Going west on King Street there's a Safeway and another Giant at the Bradlee Shopping Center (along with Rite Aid and a bunch of other stores). Keep going west on King another few minutes and you'll hit Bailey's Crossroads (the street name changes to Leesburg Pike) where there's a huge Safeway and a huge Giant. There's also a World Market in that area and a Target in the Skyline complex (on the left, the rest of the stuff is on the right). Make a right on Patrick Henry and after you cross Arlington Blvd (rt 50) you can turn into a shopping center with a huge Target. If you don't turn on Patrick Hentry, go one block further up King/Leesburg Pike and you hit Seven Corners. There's a complex on the right that has a Shoppers, Barnes & Noble, Home Depot, Michael's, etc (to get to B&N and Home Depot you need to drive around the back down the hill). The one thing I advise is to avoid the intersection just beyond this shopping center at all costs. It's extremely confusing and can take forever. If you ever need to get from rt. 7 to rt. 50, just use Patrick Henry, it'll save you some stress.

3. If you work for the government and are getting the subsidy, you will have to get a SmarTrip card (no option). There's no lump-sum unlimited-use card, but the subsidy should cover most of your travelling costs.

4. You can't metro to Bailey's. If you want to go to a shopping mall, you can metro to Pentagon City or drive to Tyson's. Landmark could be a lot better, but if you want to go there it won't kill you. I actually liked their Macy's better than Pentagon City for some reason. Someone also mentioned Potomac Yards for shopping as well.

[g3org3]

1. Telegraph's congested near the Beltway during the pm rush. But, you'll be going away from the Beltway to get to Duke. There are also other roads that take you from Eisenhower to Duke. If the going to the Kingstowne Walmart, you can take Eisenhower to Van Dorn. Van Dorn is not quite as bad during rush hour.

2. Giant is another local Publix-type Grocery store -- you'll pass it on your way to Harris Teeter. There's also a Trader Joe's on N. Washington St., a small Safeway on S. Royal, a Safeway up on King closer to 395, a Safeway in Bell Haven, a Giant in N. Old Town, and a few more, all of which are closer than Baily's Crossroads. Whole Foods is expensive, but if there's a certain cheese you're looking for, it's the place to go. Balducci's on S. Washington is another high-end grocery.

3. Metro - Homepage

4. Pentagon City is the closest Metro-accessible mall. Tysons is the biggest and will have a Metro stop... sometime. Springfield is another older mall. Ballston is on the Metro. Fair Oaks is nice, but a little further afield. Unless you really like sitting on the train you'll end up driving.

There's a big movie theatre and some chain restaurants near the Eisenhower stop, not to mention all the commuters, so you should feel safe coming to/from work.

Welcome!

[lokahi]

Whole Foods really isn't that bad on their prices, and esp. if you're close to them, you might have to go in a pinch. Groceries in DC as a whole are more expensive than say, Lakeland, FL. So, if you don't mind spending a few more dollars (b/c the cheapest chicken you're going to find is at Costco for $6.99!) then Whole Foods isn't bad...plus, it's very healthy. Granted, you can find certain items at Safeway or Giant (Wegman's ain't cheap either!), but by the time you drive, sit in traffic, etc. etc., you might as well have gone to Whole Foods that was close to home.

I load up and only go to the big Safeway in Bailey's and/or Costco (which is a great investment and right off of the Pentagon City metro stop) once a month to get needed items. From there, I maintain by going to Harris Teeter and Whole Foods (Giant if I can find time to get there, too).

[pcity]

Originally Posted by AnalyzeThis

First off thanks to everyone that offered productive information/advice/opinions during the time I have been deciding on whether to accept a position in the area or not. I am extremely excited to get into the swing of things and will be moving into Carlyle Place apartments this weekend. I do (as always) have a few questions however..

1. Is Telegraph road extremely congested during the week say after 5? I noticed I would have to take this road to get to Target, Walmart, Harris Teeter, etc.

Telegraph going south from Eisenhower towards the Beltway is extremely congested during rush hour, probably up till about 7, sometimes later. Route 1 is also bad at that time. You would have to take it to get to Target or the closest Walmart, but to go grocery shopping, you would probably go north on Telegraph to Duke, and that would not be congested at that time. The best advice is to just wait it out and do your errands later after 7 if you have something you need at Target or Walmart.

2. What are some grocery stores around the 22314 zip? I know there is a Whole Food a couple of blocks from the complex but I have heard the food is very expensive there. I found a Harris Teeter on Duke street in Fox Chase. Are there any other reasonably priced grocery stores? Here we have Food Lion, in Tampa there was Publix, is there any thing of the equivalent?

I see a lot of people are suggesting some fairly far away grocery stores, or ones in Old Town. I respect their opinions, but personally, I think driving through Old Town just to go grocery shopping is a huge pain in the neck, and going all the way up King Street doesn't seem efficient when there's a much closer Giant to where you live.

If I were living where you live, I would mostly go to the nearby Giant (near Duke and Quaker), and occasionally the Harris Teeter, which is a little further down Duke at Foxchase.

3. I will be taking the metro into work and this will be subsized through the government. However, since I have many friends that live in D.C. proper, and will probably meet them in Crystal City, D.C. itself, etc. what would make the most sense to buy for a metro card? Is there one where you pay a flat fee for unlimited riding during the month?

No flat fee. You just have to buy a SmartTrip card and keep reloading it.

4. I passed Landmark mall but was told this mall is umm..undesirable. Baileys Crossroads has been recommended to me. Can you metro to Baileys Crossroads?

Landmark is a pretty dead mall. I concur with the other posters and recommend Metroing to Pentagon City for mall stuff. Springfield Mall is also Metro-accessible, but it's easier to drive from where you are. Baileys Crossroads also has a lot of stores, but is not Metro accessible.

It seems (at least to me) that most of the big chains in Baileys Crossroads have stores that would be closer to you in other places, like Richmond Highway, Springifield, Landmark, Potomac Yard, etc. I actually live closer to Baileys Crossroads than you do, but I rarely go there, except for REI.

Sorry for ALL the questions but you all have given me SOOOO much good information I figure I can suck a little bit more out I choose my location because I liked the proximity to the interstate, Hoffman center and most importantly the Eisenhower metro (I will be working in the Pentagon). OH! Is that area pretty well lit early in the morning and at night? I will most likely be starting work at 6:30am or 7:00am. Ok I am done for real this time, thank you!

Some people will be coming in to work at Hoffman Center and USPTO at that time, so the area is fairly well-lit and there will be people walking and driving on the street. The area is very safe. It's also a really short walk if you live at Carlyle Place.