Reviews/Experience with Arlington Village
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Anonymous
| Young couple here looking to buy our first home. We share one car and commute to Chinatown and Old Town respectively. We've keyed in on Arlington Village for its proximity to bus lines directly to the Pentagon, walkability, and neighborhood feel. I tried searching back in the forums to find reviews on the area. Anyone have experience previously living in Arlington Village? Pros/cons? Any issues with the association management? Thanks in advance for your feedback. |
Anonymous
| I don't live there but I walk through it often and the grounds are extremely well-kept. The landscaping is beautiful is the spring--the common areas are very nice and many people also plant around their front yards. It speaks to community pride, even though there are lots of renters. And the location is great. |
Anonymous
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A friend of mine has lived there for years and she likes it a lot. I can't tell you anything about the association management. I know I've been over there to hang out a few times and it seems pretty nice to me.
If you want more amenities and a similar feel, you might check out Fairlington too. |
Anonymous
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I lived there for 7 years- we just moved to be closer to work last spring. We really enjoyed living there.
Pros: Walkable to groceries, drugstore, library, multiple restaurants and bars, Starbucks, Chipotle, etc, but still in a quiet neighborhood. 16 Bus line- runs every few minutes at rush hour, and still frequently at other times of day. Nice green space Outdoor space on the deck Generally charming- wood floors, original doors, etc. Minimal exterior maintenance responsibility (you are only responsible for the deck, and may want to do some weekly upkeep on the landscaping) Free parking Pool Cons: Buses can be crowded by the time they hit Walter Reed/Barton. Parking can be full if you get home late in the evening. But you can usually find a space within a block or two. The townhouses are 75+ years old, so often need some love (refinishing or replacing floors, old electrical wiring, sticky doors, cracks in the plaster walls from settling- and that's assuming you get one with an updated kitchen and bathroom, and a washer/dryer in the unit) The downstairs is always a good 10 degrees cooler than the upstairs. They are supposed to be insulating the crawl spaces which should help, but the temperature difference is noticeable. Lack of bathroom fans. Spend the money to have one installed. You can hear the neighbors- clearly. There are a lot of younger couples moving in- more and pregnant women and strollers. But there is a nice mix of younger and older people. People were always nice- especially when digging out from the snow last winter- but we were not particularly close friends with anyone. The association management is fine- it's a large complex, so they have a full time manager onsite and several full time maintenance people. I had minimal contact with the manager, other than picking up our yearly pool passes- we just didn't need to contact her for anything. They publish a monthly newsletter and send email updates of what is going on. The maintenance staff will do some basic interior maintenance for a small fee- like unclogging a drain. They seemed very pro-active about maintaining the buildings- they painted the trim every 3 years, they had the bricks repointed, they work on landscaping different areas, etc. They are currently doing some structural work that was found in an inspection after the earthquake we had about 4 years ago- they raised the condo fees to cover the cost (in leiu of an assessment), but the fees are still reasonable in comparison to similar complexes. There are restrictions on making any exterior changes- ie, color of door, must use a specific model of storm door. They are always looking for volunteers for the various committees and the board, so you can get involved if you want to. They are redistricting the schools- right now Arlington Village is in the Henry zone. Henry is a great school and walkable (although across Columbia Pike). They are building a new elementary school several blocks north. Unfortunately, it's likely that Arlington Village will be redistricted to a different elementary school and the two most likely options are not as highly regarded as Henry. |
Anonymous
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^^^ awesome post!
I'm thinking it gets redrawn to Hoffman Boston which is getting a much stronger reputation. |
Anonymous
Not true concerning Henry redistricting. The old Henry school will become the Arlington county montesorri school, Arlington Village will be redistricted to the new school. Those boundaries will not be changing. |
Anonymous
Sorry. It is true. The new school will be built and the boundaries are going to change some. There is absolutely the possibility to be redrawn to a different school. I'm sorry. |
Anonymous
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Lived there for 5 years but moved 4 years ago (after 2nd kid). The PP did a great job describing the pros and cons but just wanted to weigh in that it was a lovely neighborhood and I miss our little townhouse all the time. I loved living in AV!
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Anonymous
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OP here, thanks for all of the feedback. Did any of you who lived in the village do any interior renovations? What about planters/landscaping near the decks? We're looking buying one of the un-renovated units and would like to add a washer/dryer and open up the kitchen some. How much of an issue was it working with the condo board in those areas?
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Anonymous
| OP it's a lovely neighborhood. I didn't wind up buying there but just bought a similar TH in a much smaller development right behind Arlington Village. I've heard nothing but positive things. I don't like the price differential between the 1 and 2 brs - that is what ultimately turned me off from buying there. |
Anonymous
| We did kitchen and bathroom renovations and put in a w/d in the dining room closet. Not a big deal at all. A lot of the units have been renovated beautifully. Did not do anything to the outside-- the condo association may be more concerned about that as any changes would be visible/in the common areas. That being said, though, there were plenty of folks who had plants, etc. on their decks. Also, you will LOVE the pool! |
Anonymous
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Did anyone purchase the one bedroom + den? Financially that looks like our best option, and we'd likely use the den area for a desk and an air mattress when visitors come.
Also, how is the insulation in the units? I know it will vary based on the HVAC installed in each unit, but I'm wondering if the age of the units causes significant heat retention issues. |
Anonymous
I think the OP who said that it will not change is correct, the school board intent is to continue serving henrys boundary. Of course boundaries can change in the future but currently there are no plans alter it. If you have evidence of the change please post a link. |
Anonymous
| Lived there for years (as renters) and loved it dearly. Miss it all the time. PP did a great job with pros and cons, but one they missed is access to Bangkok 54 -- my husband and I dream about it, best thai food ever. |
Anonymous
Why didn't you just buy ? Rents for units run the gamut from very low to very high depending on if the unit was updated by the owner. We had friend a who rented then they purchase which they felt it was so much better situation. Visiting them that area is super nice and some owners have really modernize their units. It's trullly a mix area of ages from recent graduates to retiree. I think they were hoping for buying the largest unit size which is a 3 bedroom but those never go on sale and there are so few built We did see a lot of families as well with toddlers and school age children I can see why people want children there it's very close off nice neighborhood with tennis court and swimming pool For OP, advice from our friends was that they felt getting a 2 bedroom rather than one was a better fit. The den is like a large walk-in closet or a small office and one bedroom are sometimes hard to sell since there is saturation of those units on sale and have various formats. Overall they love the neighborhood. |