Fairlington

[Anonymous]

Does anyone live here? I really like the look of the townhomes (and the prices). The area is pretty good for us too. My main concern is parking. We both drive to work every day and if we couldn't find parking at night, that would be a real problem. Is street parking actually "plentiful"? Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I don't live there now, but did for 2-1/2yrs. Loved the neighborhood. We never had problems finding parking. Between the off-street parking lots and the street parking, there were always plenty of spaces. I literally don't think that I ever parked more than 1 block from my condo, and most of the time I parked directly in front of it.

Beautiful neighborhood. Lots of amenities. Walking distance from Shirlington. Friendly people. Highly recommend it!

[Anonymous]

It depends what part of Fairlington. What block are you looking at?

[Anonymous]

We looked at a lot of Fairlington-area condos when we were house-hunting six years ago. Surprised to see that prices haven't really budged since then -- no loss of value, but no appreciation either. If you're going to be there a long while, this won't be as much of a concern. But if you expect to outgrow it pretty quickly, remember that there will always be five other houses in your exact model on the market at the same time, and they kind of all blur together.

[Anonymous]

LOVE Fairlington. I lived just south of it in Courtbridge, but was a Fairlington wannabe. The playgrounds are great, they have a lot of pools, a pretty organized mom's group. Nicely located near 395, etc etc.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input! One of the places is on Abingdon Street and 28th Road South and the other is on Stafford Street and 35th Street South.

Also, are the electric bills crazy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the input! One of the places is on Abingdon Street and 28th Road South and the other is on Stafford Street and 35th Street South.

Also, are the electric bills crazy?

We have lived in fairlington for 10+ years and have nothing but great things to say about this area. it is a great starter home area (although I see many people) with older school aged children and some teenagers in this area. The pools, parks, and tennis courts are great. We live on S. 27th rd which is the North side (i think) we are tucked down in a cul-de-sac so we have the luxury of not being on a bus route which is even better. Over the 10 years that we have lived here we have seen a lot of turnover but not once can we complain about the neighbors -for some reason this neighborhood attracts nice people. We are now starting to look for a single family home because our son is 2, very active and needs a little more space to run, plus we are hoping to have a 2nd child soon. In terms of parking, if you arrive home from work at a reasonable hour you should always be able to find parking within walking distance. Before I finished grad school, I waited tables and on late nights (arriving home after midnight) parking would be a bit scarce but always available, just maybe had to walk a bit further. I did this for 3 years and never once encountered a situation where I felt unsafe. A few other positive perks about fairlington is they done lots of community things like pool parties, halloween parties, if you are interested. we did not do any of it until we had a kid though.

good luck if is truly a wonderful place!

[Anonymous]

Check out Arlington Village too. It is very similar to Fairlington. In 22204 zip. We lived there 5 years and loved it. Pentgon metro is a quick bus ride down Columbia Pike. And route 50 and 395 are so close.

[Anonymous]

Wow, thanks for the detailed input!!

We did look at Arlington Village but it seemed like parking would be more of an issue there... no?

[Anonymous]

You can also try Fairlington Towne on the other side of King St. (Bradlee Shopping Center side). They have no ammentities - no pool, no playground (although the church next door has one) -but has a lower condo fee and there is plenty of parking.

[Anonymous]

quite a few of my friends live there; 1 off of Quaker lane, 1 on Columbus, 1 on Abingdon, can't remember the others. parking can really vary depending on where you are. I was at a friend's house last night and there was an absolute ton of parking; some other cul de sacs have less. (in some areas you have assigned spaces.) it's a nice community with nice amenities, which you pay for with condo fees of $300+/month if you're an owner. A friend of mine did tell me years ago that her electric bill was enormous, but I haven't heard others complain, so some houses may be better insulated than others. In all, though, it's a nice neighborhood, and depending on where the house is, you might be walking distance to cool stuff like Shirlington or the shops on Quaker lane. (I have heard that north fairlington-ites consider North to be better than South fairlington, but can't remember why.) The elementary school is supposed to be pretty good but I think a lot of folks with older kids move for more space or to not put their kids in Wakefield, not sure which.

[Anonymous]

We rent there now and live in South Fairlington (I think?) 34th and Wakefield. I have heard that parking is easier on our side than in the North but don't know first hand. We love it here and plan to hopefully buy there soon.

Our electricity runs from like $80/month (fall and spring) and then into the $200's in the summer but it evens out. Also, we've found that some sections are better cared for than others - there are a number of different communities and they are all run separately 'The Arbor, Mews, Village, etc' so definitely take note of how things are cared for in the area you are looking. The HOA fees vary by your section as well - some much higher than others.

[Anonymous]

At least in North Fairlington, you get some spaces in the lot. We had two cars and never had a problem.

It is true that the different villages are different. N Fairlington is the way to go if you want a big, professional, and not-very intimate condo association. They do a great job of keeping the reserve fund in good shape. They have more rules about some things, but less potential for arbitrary behavior. You can go to ANY of the pools in N. Fairlington.

S. Fairlington is divided into the different associations. I don't know much about the differences (never focussed on it), but I can tell you that it does matter. A few years ago, one ran short of funds and had trouble paying for roof repairs. Another caused my friend a whole lot of grief because the pool manager didn't like nannies. Higher fees doesn't necessarily mean more expensive if the money is used well.

Also, N Fairlington is phyisically higher than S. Fairlington. There is more highway noise on the Southern side (only matters for some units).

[Anonymous]

Thanks, everyone. We went to look at some townhomes today and I was so excited to check them out - unfortunately, I was really just underwhelmed by what I saw. The units were NOT in good condition at all and were really, really dated and just in bad shape.. one even had a bad smell, etc.

I was telling DH, it frustrated me because I felt like if you bought one and put in maybe 10-15k, you could have TOTALLY turned these places around, but oh well! I was sort of hoping for a place that someone had bought as their home and was choosing to rent it out in this low real estate market instead of selling it, rather than a place that was used exclusively as a rental property and was just treated terribly. I guess I will keep looking!

[Anonymous]

Never had any parking issues at Arlington Village. Always got the same spots in front of our TH.