Downtown
Young Professionals / Retirees
While DC comes up a lot in conversations about living in Arlington, Young Professionals and Retirees should not sleep on this city. It has a significant Downtown with a real restaurant and bar scene. There’s also tons of live music at three different music venues downtown and plenty of apartment and condo buildings for good walkability to all of these places.
Freedom Park is another perq of downtown. It's an elevated park with beautiful greenery, spots for picnicking and play, or just chilling and having a cup of joe with your doggo and watching the city go pass by.
If you work in the downtown Arlington area good for you but there are also multiple Metrorail Stops so if you work or just like to visit DC your commute is simple (remember, DON’T DRIVE!!! The roads are the worst).
LGBTQ+
Arlington does not have a particular neighborhood known as the center of the LGBTQ+ community but that does not mean this isn’t a great city to choose. In fact Arlington is frequently in the Top 10 of The Advocate’s list of the most LGBTQ+- friendly cities in the country. So, don’t sweat the neighborhood, just move on in.
Glencarlyn / Halls Hill
Families
If you’re a family interested in history then start your search in the Glencarlyn neighborhood. This is the area’s first planned community, dating back to 1887 and Arlingtons’ oldest standing home, the Ball-Sellers House (circa 1750s) still sits in the center of the neighborhood. The cemetery in town was started in 1766 and coolest of all, George Washington owned land in the forests that surround the city.
Setting all that history aside, know that the homes here are beautiful Queen Anne-style, Victorians, Colonial Revivals and Cape Cods. The blocks are beautiful narrow streets, with sidewalks for the kiddos, parks, forests and some of the best public schools in the state. The vibe is of an old New England village and locals love it.
Halls Hill is another historically significant neighborhood in Arlington with the first all-Black volunteer fire station started here back in 1918. It was originally a predominantly black community with ex-slaves buying parcels of land in the 1880’s. Today the black residents only represent 21% of the population but much of that original spirit of activism remains and residents whose families have been here for generations are still proud of the town’s history.
- Glencarlyn
- Halls Hill - High View Park
- Aurora Highlands