Thinking of moving to NOVA, want a city feel (Arlington: apartment, houses)

[sat28]

My husband and I are thinking of moving out of the Georgetown area of DC to Virginia. We have a one year old son and I just started working in Northern Virginia. We love to be able to walk to shops but want to live in an area with good public schools. I also want to be in an area with young professional families and a neighborhood with sidewalks. Is there any place similiar to Bethesda in Northern Virginia? Please help!

[akorosdc]

Have you been to Arlington? I don't know a lot about schools, but I think North Arlington has good ones, and it'll have a more urban feel than further out.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by juniperbleu

Have you been to Arlington? I don't know a lot about schools, but I think North Arlington has good ones, and it'll have a more urban feel than further out.

North Arlington is suburban with some tiny/shopping areas/strip malls scattered about.

Bethesda is much more urban than NoVA outside of Seven Corners/Baileys Crossing and Old Town Alexandria.

[liloulou]

I think Arlington is your best bet. Perhaps Tysons area somewhat. Perhaps Bethesda (if you're ok with MD), but I can't think of anywhere else besides Arlington where you could walk to most places have that same kind of Georgetown feel.

We used to live in Georgetown and just got used to having to drive places after leaving the city.

[DiderotsGhost]

Old Town Alexandria fits the bill, but it's really expensive. Places along the Orange Line on the Metro like Rosslyn, Ballston, and Clarendon are probably the next closest things to an "urban feel" in NoVa. Crystal City is another place to look into.

Further out in NoVa, downtown Fairfax, Fair Oaks, and Reston Town Center are all suburban, but are more walkable and have more "urban" features than some of the other suburban areas.

Honestly, your options aren't that great if you want "urban" in NoVa, unfortunately.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Originally Posted by leighland

North Arlington is suburban with some tiny/shopping areas/strip malls scattered about.

Bethesda is much more urban than NoVA outside of Seven Corners/Baileys Crossing and Old Town Alexandria.

The Rosslyn-Ballston corridor isn't really what I would call "suburban" in nature. The whole corridor has plenty of restaurants and shops to satisfy ones needs, especially in Ballston and Clarendon. Pentagon City also has plenty of shoppping even though it's not really "north Arlington" it's still very close via Metro or by car.

Old Town Alexandria is a good option also but also like north Arlington you will pay dearly to live there.

[robbobobbo]

North Arlington has better public schools than Alexandria City.

Alexandria City, specifically Old Town, has a better urban feel IMO than any part of Arlington. Apart from Old Town, there is Del Ray, Alexandria, which has a community feel centered around Mt Vernon Ave, with some shopping, a library, and community center. But again, the downside is the schools - improving, but not (from what I hear) near the quality of north Arlington. I personally may move to Arlington as my children near middle school age. Of course, there are many good private school options if you can go that route.

Old Town is also more similar to Georgetown in terms of density, period of architecture, etc than Arlington is.

I agree with some here that the Ballston-Rosslyn strip is a long stretch of business development along a narrow corridor, but mostly suburban neighborhoods elsewhere. It may be the best for your needs, but as for "city feel" I prefer Old Town.

[claremarie]

You could try the City of Falls Church. Top schools, lots of yuppie families, sidewalks, and, depending where you live, you could walk to the library, parks, stores, restaurants etc.
But it's fairly spread out, not high-rise like Bethesda.

[Stephen 81]

Originally Posted by robbobobbo

North Arlington has better public schools than Alexandria City.

Alexandria City, specifically Old Town, has a better urban feel IMO than any part of Arlington. Apart from Old Town, there is Del Ray, Alexandria, which has a community feel centered around Mt Vernon Ave, with some shopping, a library, and community center. But again, the downside is the schools - improving, but not (from what I hear) near the quality of north Arlington. I personally may move to Arlington as my children near middle school age. Of course, there are many good private school options if you can go that route.

Old Town is also more similar to Georgetown in terms of density, period of architecture, etc than Arlington is.

I agree with some here that the Ballston-Rosslyn strip is a long stretch of business development along a narrow corridor, but mostly suburban neighborhoods elsewhere. It may be the best for your needs, but as for "city feel" I prefer Old Town.

I live in Arlington, about a 15 minute walk from Georgetown, and I agree with this 100%. Arlington is densely populated without necessarily feeling urban. Alexandria feels like a colonial city, on the other hand, much like Georgetown. The schools just don't compare, though.

To the OP, if you don't mind the look and feel of Bethesda, North Arlington is a viable option. The apartment buildings within a few blocks of metro stations tend to be filled with people in their twenties, but the 1920's to 1940's houses in the surrounding neighborhoods have a lot more families.

[DiderotsGhost]

Originally Posted by claremarie

You could try the City of Falls Church. Top schools, lots of yuppie families, sidewalks, and, depending where you live, you could walk to the library, parks, stores, restaurants etc.
But it's fairly spread out, not high-rise like Bethesda.

I've always viewed Falls Church as an incoherent blob of 'old sprawl'. There are blocks here and there that feel more urban, but most of it does not feel very urban to me. And by 'old sprawl', I mean, sort of early to mid 20th Century "suburbs" that are not quite as spaced out as late 20th Century suburbs; but are still quite sprawlish.