STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Yikes! That's a big move in a short period of time. I lived in DC for eleven years in the city, and most of our friends now are married with kids and have moved out to the Arlington area. We just got back from a trip to visit them last week. Here are my thoughts about places to live in VA:

Old Town Alexandria area - about 10 minutes south of the Pentagon. I really like the old town area because there are a lot of amenities and old town itself is really charming. There's a metro stop nearby at King Street. One of the drawbacks is that most of the more affordable places to live here are townhomes.

Alexandria further out 95 - I don't really like this are because it's not as nice as others and 95 into the Pentagon is basically a parking lot every day, even weekends.

Arlington/Clarendon area - 10 minutes northwest of the Pentagon (exact opposite from Old Town). This area is exploding with growth, because it's outside of DC but still a relatively easy trip into the city. Some people complain that it's too yuppy, but I have no problem with lots of restaurants and nice amenities

Arlington/Ballston - just beyond Clarendon - houses here are a little more affordable than Clarendon. I don't want to scare you, but our friends just bought a cute 3br/2ba for $700k and that's reasonable. Other friends bought a much smaller 3br/2ba condo for $450k last spring. I really like Ballston because it is a little less crowded that Clarendon.

Tysons Corner - could be up to 30 minutes northwest of the Pentagon or worse in rush hour traffic. Great area for shopping, I don't know much about the housing here because we don't know anyone in the area.

I guess your big decision will be house vs. townhouse and schools. If you are willing to give up some space, you will be able to live closer to the city, but I don't know how important that is to you.

I grew up in Northern Virginia and lived there until last year. I really like North Arlington (the whole orange line) but the area is pricey as jj mentioned. You may want to look around in south arlington. The area is more up and coming and therefore less expensive. It is also very close to the Pentagon. I have a few friends that bought cute fixer upper houses around there and they were somewhat reasonable (for Northern VA anyway). I used to commute to Crystal City (very close to the Pentagon) every so often as well. It took me about 45 minutes from Tysons Corner. If you have any questions about specific areas, let me know!