Arlington, VA, Virginia

NonamerMedia
2y ago
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Depends on where you live and if you’ll bring your car…the southern part of Arlington is very urban, and though there’s lots of nice trails and parks it’s in the context of a large (and growing) city. Northern Arlington is a bit more suburban and is close to nice parks and trails, but comes with a notable price bump and longer commutes to work. Also parking is more expensive (ie at least $100 per month) the closer you are to a major urban area. If you’re looking for nature, go closer to Falls Church or Fairfax county.

As for making friends, the good news is that, aside from perhaps Clarendon, Arlington is a hub for introverts that would be more interested in hobbies and other nerdy passions. The bad news…is that Arlington is full of introverts, so it may seem hard at first to find people who are quick to make friends. My suggestion (for Arlington and in general) is to look up groups on meetup or other sites for your interests and see if DC, Arlington, or NoVA come up. In my personal experience, all my friends are outside Arlington.

Arlington is very liberal on social issues, but is more moderate-left fiscally and militarily (lots of defense contractors live here thanks to the Pentagon). In general, people are very tolerant of differing viewpoints as long as you demonstrate a willingness to listen and respond respectfully. If your job involves working in the federal government (as a civilian OR contractor), you are likely to be discouraged (and possibly forbidden) from being overtly political.

I think Arlington right now is good, but not great, in terms of livability. Public transit and diversity of things to do can hardly be rivaled, and you have DC across the river in case you want something more culturally enriching. However, it is expensive, and people living here are very transient, moving due to better jobs or the desire to own a bigger home. I think Arlington and NoVA in general is a good starting point for living an urban lifestyle if you can afford it.

Low_Potential7315
6mo ago
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NoVA native, lived in Arlington in my 20s, it's an absolutely wonderful place. Safe and clean with everything you could want, shopping, parks, access to DC/Alexandria for history, restaurants, public transit, excellent schools. Economy is solid. Weather is decent - it's DC, it gets swampy in the summer. Housing/life is bananas expensive and I do not know of a peer who is able to purchase a single family home in North Arlington. I used to babysit on the side when I lived there and all the families were power couples pulling major $$$.

I moved into DC proper in my 30s but Arlington has my heart. I loved running into neighbors and friends out and about and I cherish the time I spent living there.

Getthepapah
6mo ago
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Amazing place if you can afford it. It’s way less expensive than the Bay Area and NYC, and it’s a tad less expensive than Boston or Long Island (when factoring in higher property taxes), but is more expensive than any other metro area. Excellent local economy, weather is mild in winters and hot in summers, and the people depend on where you live but I’ve always been very happy here.

madmoneymc🦉gee
8mo ago
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Arlington is fully urbanized and not a sleepy suburb* or commuter town even if it's a bit more low key compared to DC across the river. It's not a perfect comparison but it's like if Greenwich never became a borough of Metropolitan london and stayed independent.

London is bigger than DC but the DC Metro area is now like 5th or 6th in population for the country and it shows in the regional economy plus the cultural benefits of being the capital and Arlington benefits from all that.

Arlington is well known nationally for its urban planning to enable people to live without a car and plenty do. I have a car but can go a week or more without needing to use it and I'm not even in the most transit friendly area.

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