Talk to me about Alexandria City

[Anonymous]

Real talk — what is the history of Alexandria having a lot of poor people. Half the city is incredibly nice and seems like it was always pretty well off, but then you have all of these non native immigrants, crime, poor people etc.? What is the history?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I firmly believe most of the Alexandria 'haters', especially when it comes to Del Ray, are actually real estate agents in Arlington trying to to drum up business. They're scared about how quickly Alexandria became more desirable than Arlington.

You are an idiot. No one is scared of Alexandria becoming more desirable than Arlington. You don't know what you speak of, leave the room.

Struck a chord, huh?

Get out of your MONA bubble. The wealthy boomer class find Alexandria much more desirable than Arlington. Do you want to live in Turnbury Towers and look into the wall of an empty office building and walk to Chopt for brunch or do you want not have a sweeping river view and your choice of good restaurants.

Huh? Since when did Alexandria have "good restaurants."

Anything in old town close to the waterfront is overpriced and either a tourist trap, generic bar/grill, or stuck in the 1970s. Adas, Mias, Volas, Blackwall Hitch, Chart House, Virtue, Fish Market, the Wharf, Landini Brothers, etc. are all terrible 2 star restaurants. The restaurants further up King street or down the side streets are mostly much of the same. Fontaine, 1787, all the sushi places, all the thai/noodle/asian places (Thai Signature is ok), the beer garden (when you're not just swilling ale), all the "upscale" restaurants like Josephine, Magnolia, etc. All bad. Same with the coffee. Misha's is quaint but the coffee really isn't that good and doesn't compare to any 3rd wave stores elsewhere. Tatte is fine but it's Tatte and is now everywhere. Everything else tastes like my grandpa's can of folgers from the 50s. Del Ray is even worse than old town, with less options and only one or two places that are ok. The rest of Alexandria city is slim pickings.

I guess food in Alexandria City is fine if you have the palate of a boomer, but compare it to Arlington and Fairfax County where the ethnic options such as Korean, Thai, Chinese, Afghani, Indian etc. are plentiful, fine dining options are more sophisticated, and everything is just less expensive.

WTF is a 3rd wave coffee whatever? Mishas is great. We’ve been to almost every coffee shop in the entire region. Does the coffee shop you go to give reach arounds or something?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-wave_coffee

Granted, Mishas is fun to hang out at, and the coffee is drinkable, but it’s not great. They over roast the beans, brew them indiscriminately in big batches, and let them sit too long. Fine for harried parents, boomers, and a break from the office I guess.

Are you a professional coffee drinker?

+2 Right? I can just tell how pretentious this person is in real life. Please stay far away from Old Town. I drink my Tatte (that is found everywhere) or even an occasional Starbucks. Don’t shame me please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I firmly believe most of the Alexandria 'haters', especially when it comes to Del Ray, are actually real estate agents in Arlington trying to to drum up business. They're scared about how quickly Alexandria became more desirable than Arlington.

You are an idiot. No one is scared of Alexandria becoming more desirable than Arlington. You don't know what you speak of, leave the room.

Struck a chord, huh?

Get out of your MONA bubble. The wealthy boomer class find Alexandria much more desirable than Arlington. Do you want to live in Turnbury Towers and look into the wall of an empty office building and walk to Chopt for brunch or do you want not have a sweeping river view and your choice of good restaurants.

Huh? Since when did Alexandria have "good restaurants."

Anything in old town close to the waterfront is overpriced and either a tourist trap, generic bar/grill, or stuck in the 1970s. Adas, Mias, Volas, Blackwall Hitch, Chart House, Virtue, Fish Market, the Wharf, Landini Brothers, etc. are all terrible 2 star restaurants. The restaurants further up King street or down the side streets are mostly much of the same. Fontaine, 1787, all the sushi places, all the thai/noodle/asian places (Thai Signature is ok), the beer garden (when you're not just swilling ale), all the "upscale" restaurants like Josephine, Magnolia, etc. All bad. Same with the coffee. Misha's is quaint but the coffee really isn't that good and doesn't compare to any 3rd wave stores elsewhere. Tatte is fine but it's Tatte and is now everywhere. Everything else tastes like my grandpa's can of folgers from the 50s. Del Ray is even worse than old town, with less options and only one or two places that are ok. The rest of Alexandria city is slim pickings.

I guess food in Alexandria City is fine if you have the palate of a boomer, but compare it to Arlington and Fairfax County where the ethnic options such as Korean, Thai, Chinese, Afghani, Indian etc. are plentiful, fine dining options are more sophisticated, and everything is just less expensive.

You're missing some great places. For example, have you been to Vermilion? If not, you should go.

https://www.alxnow.com/2024/04/26/washington-post-food-critic-highlights-favorite-restaurants-including-an-alexandria-spot/

Thanks for the recommendation. The photos of the food on yelp look like boomer food, but I'll try it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I firmly believe most of the Alexandria 'haters', especially when it comes to Del Ray, are actually real estate agents in Arlington trying to to drum up business. They're scared about how quickly Alexandria became more desirable than Arlington.

You are an idiot. No one is scared of Alexandria becoming more desirable than Arlington. You don't know what you speak of, leave the room.

Struck a chord, huh?

Get out of your MONA bubble. The wealthy boomer class find Alexandria much more desirable than Arlington. Do you want to live in Turnbury Towers and look into the wall of an empty office building and walk to Chopt for brunch or do you want not have a sweeping river view and your choice of good restaurants.

Huh? Since when did Alexandria have "good restaurants."

Anything in old town close to the waterfront is overpriced and either a tourist trap, generic bar/grill, or stuck in the 1970s. Adas, Mias, Volas, Blackwall Hitch, Chart House, Virtue, Fish Market, the Wharf, Landini Brothers, etc. are all terrible 2 star restaurants. The restaurants further up King street or down the side streets are mostly much of the same. Fontaine, 1787, all the sushi places, all the thai/noodle/asian places (Thai Signature is ok), the beer garden (when you're not just swilling ale), all the "upscale" restaurants like Josephine, Magnolia, etc. All bad. Same with the coffee. Misha's is quaint but the coffee really isn't that good and doesn't compare to any 3rd wave stores elsewhere. Tatte is fine but it's Tatte and is now everywhere. Everything else tastes like my grandpa's can of folgers from the 50s. Del Ray is even worse than old town, with less options and only one or two places that are ok. The rest of Alexandria city is slim pickings.

I guess food in Alexandria City is fine if you have the palate of a boomer, but compare it to Arlington and Fairfax County where the ethnic options such as Korean, Thai, Chinese, Afghani, Indian etc. are plentiful, fine dining options are more sophisticated, and everything is just less expensive.

That's where you lost me.

They lost me at Thai Signature is ok. I have never had a meal there that had decent flavor, and I just keep trying. Now Sisters on the other hand... yum

Funny. I've had exactly the opposite experience. Both restaurants under season their food. Most likely because they're cooking to the palates of all the retirees in old town, who think pad thai is too much to handle and are flabbergasted when they can't find chop suey on the menu.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I firmly believe most of the Alexandria 'haters', especially when it comes to Del Ray, are actually real estate agents in Arlington trying to to drum up business. They're scared about how quickly Alexandria became more desirable than Arlington.

You are an idiot. No one is scared of Alexandria becoming more desirable than Arlington. You don't know what you speak of, leave the room.

Struck a chord, huh?

Get out of your MONA bubble. The wealthy boomer class find Alexandria much more desirable than Arlington. Do you want to live in Turnbury Towers and look into the wall of an empty office building and walk to Chopt for brunch or do you want not have a sweeping river view and your choice of good restaurants.

Huh? Since when did Alexandria have "good restaurants."

Anything in old town close to the waterfront is overpriced and either a tourist trap, generic bar/grill, or stuck in the 1970s. Adas, Mias, Volas, Blackwall Hitch, Chart House, Virtue, Fish Market, the Wharf, Landini Brothers, etc. are all terrible 2 star restaurants. The restaurants further up King street or down the side streets are mostly much of the same. Fontaine, 1787, all the sushi places, all the thai/noodle/asian places (Thai Signature is ok), the beer garden (when you're not just swilling ale), all the "upscale" restaurants like Josephine, Magnolia, etc. All bad. Same with the coffee. Misha's is quaint but the coffee really isn't that good and doesn't compare to any 3rd wave stores elsewhere. Tatte is fine but it's Tatte and is now everywhere. Everything else tastes like my grandpa's can of folgers from the 50s. Del Ray is even worse than old town, with less options and only one or two places that are ok. The rest of Alexandria city is slim pickings.

I guess food in Alexandria City is fine if you have the palate of a boomer, but compare it to Arlington and Fairfax County where the ethnic options such as Korean, Thai, Chinese, Afghani, Indian etc. are plentiful, fine dining options are more sophisticated, and everything is just less expensive.

WTF is a 3rd wave coffee whatever? Mishas is great. We’ve been to almost every coffee shop in the entire region. Does the coffee shop you go to give reach arounds or something?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-wave_coffee

Granted, Mishas is fun to hang out at, and the coffee is drinkable, but it’s not great. They over roast the beans, brew them indiscriminately in big batches, and let them sit too long. Fine for harried parents, boomers, and a break from the office I guess.

NP here. Hey PP, are you the parent at my kid's school who was going on and on about "high altitude coffee"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I firmly believe most of the Alexandria 'haters', especially when it comes to Del Ray, are actually real estate agents in Arlington trying to to drum up business. They're scared about how quickly Alexandria became more desirable than Arlington.

You are an idiot. No one is scared of Alexandria becoming more desirable than Arlington. You don't know what you speak of, leave the room.

Struck a chord, huh?

Get out of your MONA bubble. The wealthy boomer class find Alexandria much more desirable than Arlington. Do you want to live in Turnbury Towers and look into the wall of an empty office building and walk to Chopt for brunch or do you want not have a sweeping river view and your choice of good restaurants.

Huh? Since when did Alexandria have "good restaurants."

Anything in old town close to the waterfront is overpriced and either a tourist trap, generic bar/grill, or stuck in the 1970s. Adas, Mias, Volas, Blackwall Hitch, Chart House, Virtue, Fish Market, the Wharf, Landini Brothers, etc. are all terrible 2 star restaurants. The restaurants further up King street or down the side streets are mostly much of the same. Fontaine, 1787, all the sushi places, all the thai/noodle/asian places (Thai Signature is ok), the beer garden (when you're not just swilling ale), all the "upscale" restaurants like Josephine, Magnolia, etc. All bad. Same with the coffee. Misha's is quaint but the coffee really isn't that good and doesn't compare to any 3rd wave stores elsewhere. Tatte is fine but it's Tatte and is now everywhere. Everything else tastes like my grandpa's can of folgers from the 50s. Del Ray is even worse than old town, with less options and only one or two places that are ok. The rest of Alexandria city is slim pickings.

I guess food in Alexandria City is fine if you have the palate of a boomer, but compare it to Arlington and Fairfax County where the ethnic options such as Korean, Thai, Chinese, Afghani, Indian etc. are plentiful, fine dining options are more sophisticated, and everything is just less expensive.

You're missing some great places. For example, have you been to Vermilion? If not, you should go.

https://www.alxnow.com/2024/04/26/washington-post-food-critic-highlights-favorite-restaurants-including-an-alexandria-spot/

Thanks for the recommendation. The photos of the food on yelp look like boomer food, but I'll try it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/08/12/vermilion-restaurant-review-alexandria/

[Anonymous]

The city sucks and the cities population has been decreasing significantly so that speaks for itself. Their plan to repoulate includes free crap and low income housing buildings. That's their plan! 🙃

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The city sucks and the cities population has been decreasing significantly so that speaks for itself. Their plan to repoulate includes free crap and low income housing buildings. That's their plan! 🙃

The F you talking about? Mr. Developer Mayor has been constantly supporting new housing, there are new luxury apartments everywhere, schools are bursting at the seams, traffic has also massively gotten worse. The population in Alexandria is INCREASING rapidly - too fast that we can't keep up with supporting infrastructure.

If you want to criticize Alexandria, go for it with legitimate claims. But your claim that people are leaving the city of Alexandria is like saying Maryland has some of the best driving schools in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't wait to leave the city of Alexandria. It's been a hectic nightmare here. First the road diets what used to make me 5 min to get to the store now takes me 25-30 min. NO ONE ever uses these bike lanes. The density is out of control like 13,000 people a square mile. The panhandlers everywhere (the city just recently took the crime OFF the books.) There is trash every where on curbs, overflowing city cans, there are about 4-5 bags of trash around all the city trash cans by seminary right now no ones picked up in over a week. The crime is crazy their have been two shootings in my complex alone one ended in murder. There was over 70 cars broken into one night alone here in the west end. There is no less than 7 low income project housing buildings they have stashed away in the west end in less than 1/4 mile area. Free busses for everyone including those who don't even live here plus we are paying for public school busses AND the "free" city busses that the kids now use for school. This and we get to drive by the tent people in Linconia by duke st. And I agree with the PP about the insane utilities. $120 a month for ONE bathroom for just the water and sewer bill! I don't have 5 toilets! I have one! The comcast monopoly, $220 a month for cable and internet (basic cable). It's a NOPE all the way around.

You lose a lot of credibility for your whole post when you complain about Comcast as a problem with the city.

[Anonymous]

Lots of poor disgruntled millenials in here. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't wait to leave the city of Alexandria. It's been a hectic nightmare here. First the road diets what used to make me 5 min to get to the store now takes me 25-30 min. NO ONE ever uses these bike lanes. The density is out of control like 13,000 people a square mile. The panhandlers everywhere (the city just recently took the crime OFF the books.) There is trash every where on curbs, overflowing city cans, there are about 4-5 bags of trash around all the city trash cans by seminary right now no ones picked up in over a week. The crime is crazy their have been two shootings in my complex alone one ended in murder. There was over 70 cars broken into one night alone here in the west end. There is no less than 7 low income project housing buildings they have stashed away in the west end in less than 1/4 mile area. Free busses for everyone including those who don't even live here plus we are paying for public school busses AND the "free" city busses that the kids now use for school. This and we get to drive by the tent people in Linconia by duke st. And I agree with the PP about the insane utilities. $120 a month for ONE bathroom for just the water and sewer bill! I don't have 5 toilets! I have one! The comcast monopoly, $220 a month for cable and internet (basic cable). It's a NOPE all the way around.

You lose a lot of credibility for your whole post when you complain about Comcast as a problem with the city.

Especially since Ting fiber internet has been here for over a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The city sucks and the cities population has been decreasing significantly so that speaks for itself. Their plan to repoulate includes free crap and low income housing buildings. That's their plan! 🙃

The F you talking about? Mr. Developer Mayor has been constantly supporting new housing, there are new luxury apartments everywhere, schools are bursting at the seams, traffic has also massively gotten worse. The population in Alexandria is INCREASING rapidly - too fast that we can't keep up with supporting infrastructure.

If you want to criticize Alexandria, go for it with legitimate claims. But your claim that people are leaving the city of Alexandria is like saying Maryland has some of the best driving schools in the country.

The population actually fell and is about 4K residents below pre-pandemic levels down.

https://patch.com/virginia/oldtownalexandria/alexandria-not-rebounded-covid-population-loss-census

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't wait to leave the city of Alexandria. It's been a hectic nightmare here. First the road diets what used to make me 5 min to get to the store now takes me 25-30 min. NO ONE ever uses these bike lanes. The density is out of control like 13,000 people a square mile. The panhandlers everywhere (the city just recently took the crime OFF the books.) There is trash every where on curbs, overflowing city cans, there are about 4-5 bags of trash around all the city trash cans by seminary right now no ones picked up in over a week. The crime is crazy their have been two shootings in my complex alone one ended in murder. There was over 70 cars broken into one night alone here in the west end. There is no less than 7 low income project housing buildings they have stashed away in the west end in less than 1/4 mile area. Free busses for everyone including those who don't even live here plus we are paying for public school busses AND the "free" city busses that the kids now use for school. This and we get to drive by the tent people in Linconia by duke st. And I agree with the PP about the insane utilities. $120 a month for ONE bathroom for just the water and sewer bill! I don't have 5 toilets! I have one! The comcast monopoly, $220 a month for cable and internet (basic cable). It's a NOPE all the way around.

You lose a lot of credibility for your whole post when you complain about Comcast as a problem with the city.

Especially since Ting fiber internet has been here for over a year.

Has anyone on here tried Ting? They did a good job getting the word out but haven't heard one way or the other about whether it's good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't wait to leave the city of Alexandria. It's been a hectic nightmare here. First the road diets what used to make me 5 min to get to the store now takes me 25-30 min. NO ONE ever uses these bike lanes. The density is out of control like 13,000 people a square mile. The panhandlers everywhere (the city just recently took the crime OFF the books.) There is trash every where on curbs, overflowing city cans, there are about 4-5 bags of trash around all the city trash cans by seminary right now no ones picked up in over a week. The crime is crazy their have been two shootings in my complex alone one ended in murder. There was over 70 cars broken into one night alone here in the west end. There is no less than 7 low income project housing buildings they have stashed away in the west end in less than 1/4 mile area. Free busses for everyone including those who don't even live here plus we are paying for public school busses AND the "free" city busses that the kids now use for school. This and we get to drive by the tent people in Linconia by duke st. And I agree with the PP about the insane utilities. $120 a month for ONE bathroom for just the water and sewer bill! I don't have 5 toilets! I have one! The comcast monopoly, $220 a month for cable and internet (basic cable). It's a NOPE all the way around.

You lose a lot of credibility for your whole post when you complain about Comcast as a problem with the city.

Especially since Ting fiber internet has been here for over a year.

Has anyone on here tried Ting? They did a good job getting the word out but haven't heard one way or the other about whether it's good.

I never bothered since the gigabit cable service works so well for us. The controller hardware for our portion of the neighborhood is about 100 feet from my house and I get consistent 900mb/s down. Ting is symmetric, so the up speed is much better, but since it’s all working I’ve been hesitant to change anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The city sucks and the cities population has been decreasing significantly so that speaks for itself. Their plan to repoulate includes free crap and low income housing buildings. That's their plan! 🙃

The F you talking about? Mr. Developer Mayor has been constantly supporting new housing, there are new luxury apartments everywhere, schools are bursting at the seams, traffic has also massively gotten worse. The population in Alexandria is INCREASING rapidly - too fast that we can't keep up with supporting infrastructure.

If you want to criticize Alexandria, go for it with legitimate claims. But your claim that people are leaving the city of Alexandria is like saying Maryland has some of the best driving schools in the country.

Do you know how to read? PP was correct population is decreasing:
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/alexandriacityvirginia/PST045222

PP also said they are building "low income housing buildings" to increase population. So the "money" is leaving and the "poors" (as DCURBANMOMS calls it) are moving in. That's how this is working for the city.