Where to live? - Fort Belvoir, VA

I'm being relocated to Fort Belvoir, VA because of my awesome computer skills. Anyone in the DC/Virginia area have any recommendations as to where to live? I've been searching and searching and finding some decent apartments but most of them are chock full with no openings in a while. I've searched homes for rent but most are out of price range or rooms for rent (not doing that with a prego wife). Budget is around $1500 before utilities and so on. Thanks in advance!

I have a brother in Bethesda and he's pushing me to live around there but with 12 hour shifts, no way in hell am I making a 30+ mile commute in a metropolis like the DMV region.

I grew up in Springfield, VA which is close by. When my dad was still in the Air Force he was stationed at Ft. Belvior and was there as a GE then Lockheed contractor for another half dozen years.

My opinion is that the whole area is just basically one big sprawl. Most of Springfield is pretty decent. The Parkway extension would make getting to base easier. After living with the traffic my best advise is to find something close by. My ten mile commute from Springfield to Fairfax was about an hour each way on average down the Parkway (opposite direction you would be headed).

Woodbridge is known as "hoodbridge", Lorton is usually pretty nice. Alexandria and Arlington is hit or miss.

Hoodbridge is like any other place. Some places to avoid and others are quite nice.

<- lives in the non-rapey section of woodbridge according to a friend who lives in a different section of woodbridge.

What I was told when I moved out here was to avoid most of the stuff around route 1 and look more in the Dale City/Lake Ridge area.

I do the Woodbridge, VA to Rockville, MD commute everyday but I work off hours so it is not bad.

I'll be on 0600 to 1800 wed-sat. "off-hours" to most. Saturday wouldn't be an issue it's just the whole I like to work out a lot as well and living close would give me that time to work out and do things.

Springfield, Alexandria, and Lorton have been are main areas of concentration through our searches. I'll be calling around tomorrow, hopefully my brother can take a look if we find a place. Thanks for the input!

Friend of mine lives in a condo community in Woodbridge near Potomac Mills mall. Zillow says there's stuff there for sale the 240s...which would be right up against your budget before condo fees and stuff. The Dale City side looks a little more affordable. Maybe something like this?

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/15142-Cloverdale-Rd-Woodbridge-VA-22193/12462581_zpid/

Fort Belvoir? My condolences. That place was a commuting nightmare 5 years ago, and that was before they BRAC'd a bunch of bases and moved even more personnel to Belvoir.

You're either looking at spending a ton of money and having a short commute or spending almost a ton of money and having a nightmare commute.

In reply to Sky_Render:

True... awful choice. You could also go east and look for something on the train lines, but its still a terrible commute.

My post sounded abrasive. I didn't mean it to. Honestly, if it were me, I would do everything in my power to NOT take a job at Belvoir. I'm serious. Last time I was there on a business trip, I stayed a mile off-base. And it was like a 20-minute commute. If you want to drive somewhere for dinner, either wait until 7:30 PM or spend over an hour driving there.

There are some nice areas around there, but you'll pay dearly for them. It basically comes down to what is a bigger priority to you: money or time?

You can look for housing here: www.hotpads.com

It's not a job, it's orders. And where I was at is possibly the worst operating base in the US military so I'll take paying a bit more to live and a crap commute if it gets me out of where I am at. The fact that I drive round trip 600 miles every weekend just to get away and stay with my parents should tell you something lol.

Thank you for the heads up though. That completely rules out living anywhere far away. Like I said I'd rather fork over a few extra $ than sit in a car pissing my life away.

I would seriously consider on-base housing if it is available to you.

Waiting list, plus I'm not high enough rank for some housing that is open. I had the same issue when I was supposed to PCS to MacDill. That website you provided though has been a godsend though. We've gotten in touch with people and we'd rather rent a condo than through one of these large apartment complexes.

Well, I found a place in Fairfax that is a perfect price for us. 2 bed/1 bath, decent sized living room, balcony, dining room, huge kitchen, built in desk area, tons of storage space and within our budget. Plenty of shopping around for the wife, close to highways, decent commute to Fort Belvoir and other places I will be working, and still close to my brother and his family.

You guys were right about Woodbridge being Hoodbridge. The area around base is kind of sketch, but I will only be working on base part time.