Alexandria :
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I'm hoping I will get a better idea of "living" in Alexandria if you all can help me a bit. I live in Fairfax now, but may be moving to Alexandria within a few months. I've heard good and bad stuff about living in Old Towne Alexandria. But, I want to be withing walking distance of the metro to get to work in SE DC. I'm 35, married, no kids. Not looking for tons of "nightlife". So, what's better...the Old Town or the West End? Thanks.
I guess I should be more specific. What areas are decent in Old Town? And what areas should I stay away from (in terms of renting an apartment) in Old Town. I'd hate to get a lease, only to find section 8 right around the corner....
gabydamage Wrote:
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> I guess I should be more specific. What areas are
> decent in Old Town? And what areas should I stay
> away from (in terms of renting an apartment) in
> Old Town. I'd hate to get a lease, only to find
> section 8 right around the corner....
Yeah, because we all know section 8 people are below the average person and would bring down the neighborhood.
I am section 8. I live in an apartment complex that has only a few apartments that are set aside for section 8. I am the only one in my building that has it. I have never had the police to my home. A couple of my neighbors have. And a few of the kids sit in the laundry rooms and get high. They are not section 8. Could you be clearer on what you want to avoid?
As a rule, the closer you get to the water, the better off you are. On the other hand, you could only spend $200k in Arlington, so I'm not sure how much you can get in the 400-500 block area.
You can/should take a walk around a prospective area and get a feel for the area. I'm not sure if HUD has a website where they list areas with section 8 housing. Your Realtor is legally limited in what he/she can tell you but should be able to guide you to sites where you can do research.
Fairfax Co. has a website that lists where 911 calls were made and roughly for what reason. I'm not sure if Alexandria has such a thing.
to mcmuffin; everyone knows section 8 people are dihonest,they take money under false pretenses.why dont you get a job like everyone else. i would be ashamed to tell anyone that i had accepted section 8 wellfare money.
Old Town is full of begging niggers who live off of government handouts. Every once in a while, they get greedy and will break into your car and steal your shit, mug you, or break into your business.
On a daily basis they leave their trash all about: condoms, condom wrappers (at least they're breeding less, beer cans, liquor bottles, chunks of weave, all sorts of shit.
They're filthy little animals and unfortunately, they refuse to remain in their own areas and stroll into the nicer parts of Old Town, spreading their trash, crime, and filth.
The "West end" is increasingly becoming the worst part of the city.
The Police Dept. divides the city into 3 areas. Downtown, Delray and West end (basically (with some exceptions) the area west of Quaker Lane. In the past few years the west end has a higher number of calls for service than the other two sectors. Not just a little bit more, a lot more calls!
Section 8 housing is not the major issue. The issue is ARHA (Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority) owned areas (Wythe St area, the Berg, Alfred St). These areas are being redeveloped and the residents are being moved all over the city (mainly west).
Given a choice, move to Delray. Close to King St o Braddock Rd metros and very low crime. The Police Dept will give you crime stats but don't rely on those. Find a place you like and go there at night, various hours, when the weather is warmer out (I know it's almost winter).
There are some nice areas downtown too, just a little more crime.
I live near Braddock Road Metro. In 6 months, I know of the following crimes within a 1 block radius:
-1 stabbing
-1 mugging
-2 businesses broken into after hours
-2 cars broken into on the street. One of which was mine with over $2,000 of damage
-approx. 5 cars broken into in a garage at about 4:45pm on a Sunday.
-wheels stolen off a new Corvette while parked in the garage (same day as the above).
-approx. 12 bikes stolen from inside a parking garage on at least 3 separate occasions including during daylight hours.
If you expand the radius a few blocks, there have been several armed robberies, including a bank robbery.
A few months ago I called to report a burglary and the police took 14.5 minutes to respond....despite the fact that the burglary was in the SAME building as a police satellite station and it was possible that the suspects were still on the premises. I saw a cop drive by and pull into a 711 while I was out front waiting for them to show up.
Alexandria police are inept and worthless. They commit about as much crime as they prevent. From illegal vehicle searches during traffic stops and illegal road blocks (the other night in Arlandria - EVERY citation was dismissed because the police violated the 4th Amend) to assaulting suspects in custody and needless tasering. Alexandria police are poorly trained and barely supervised.
Old Towne Wrote:
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> A few months ago I called to report a burglary and
> the police took 14.5 minutes to respond....despite
> the fact that the burglary was in the SAME
> building as a police satellite station and it was
> possible that the suspects were still on the
> premises. I saw a cop drive by and pull into a
> 711 while I was out front waiting for them to show
> up.
A 14 minute response time for a Burglary in Progress call is VERY unlikely in Alexandria. My only guess is that information wasn't relayed or received that the suspects were possibly still inside. Response times in Alexandria for calls for service are possibly some of the best in the area. If an officer went into 7-11 while you were waiting I'm guessing that the call showed that it was a burglary that occurred earlier and it wasn't his beat.
> Alexandria police are inept and worthless.
Are there some? Yes, a very, very small percent as there are in any job.
> They commit about as much crime as they prevent.
Really? They commit crime? Maybe you should call the FBI or State Police to investigate if this is so bad.
> From illegal vehicle searches during traffic stops
On occasion searches are thrown out in court because of a technicality but I doubt there are officers out there just searching cars just because they want to. If so, the FBI and State Police option is still available.
> and illegal road blocks (the other night in Arlandria
> - EVERY citation was dismissed because the police
> violated the 4th Amend)
I DOUBT that this is true. If this road block happened "the other night" I find it hard to believe, nearly impossible, that these cases have been before a judge yet. It's possible this happened and the tickets were dismissed because of either a) a technicality or b) a crappy judge.
>to assaulting suspects in custody
Again, FBI or State Police.
>and needless tasering.
Name ONE incident of this.
> Alexandria police are poorly trained
Not even CLOSE to being true.
> and barely supervised.
This shitty supervisors are mostly Lieutenants and above and definitely most of the Deputy Chiefs and THE Chief of Police . The officers, for the most part, are an asset to the city.
Go to Washington DC or PG County and I GUARANTEE that you will be VERY thankful with what you have.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2010 07:31PM by fuzzymunkey.
Stay as close to King Street as you can (within a couple of blocks in either direction) between the river & the 1000 block and you'll have a good time living in Old Town. There's lots of great restaraunts, local bars, stores & in general people are friendly and will get to know your face and say hello on the street etc.
The two main projects in Old Town are around Alfred & Gibbon St, and then the entire north end (up above Oronoco or something like that).
As far as the West End, if you're talking about Landmark or Duke Street areas outside of Old Town, honestly if it's closer to work I understand, otherwise there's not many redeeming qualities about that area anymore. It's oversaturated with traffic and you're still not in a walk-able Old Town type environment where you can walk and get almost anything you need... you're relegated to still shopping in the same old strip malls that cover all of NOVA with no character or soul to them.
FUCK YOU ALL I AM ALEXANDRIA, I ROAM ALL PARTS GOOD AND BAD SMOKING DRUGS AND DRINKING TIL I PUKE......FUCK OFF AND GO BACK TO YOUR FAGGOT NEIGHBORHOODS, ALEXANDRIA DOESN'T WANT YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well fictional fuzzy, your last cheif went to jail in Arlington for drunk driving, a crime responsible for more deaths than heroin, crack, and marijuana combined. It is widely held that someone working in law enforcement for the city is responsible for murdering the last sherrif's wife. The new Sherrif is no saint. He ignored charges his staff steals prescription medicine from inmates. The city's 10% black population is responsible for 90% of the jail 's inmate population . The medical department at the jail is despicable.Beds are covered with various bodily fluids. Powerful prescription Sedative medicines litter the floor!
If you want to see different dining options, happy hours, nightlife, or to get a feel for the type of events going on, there's a great site called oldtownnights dot com.
Are you looking hear? I bet you are. You search crazily every day. If you could learn to live without me, you might not appear the desperate, whiney fool that you are. LOl. h-)
TJ Stone's is a terrible bar, with awful food and indifferent service. Avoid at all costs. Tons of better places to go - that Limey prick manager is a jackass...
Johnny Wrote:
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> The two main projects in Old Town are around
> Alfred & Gibbon St, and then the entire north end
> (up above Oronoco or something like that).
>
> Just my opinion.
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Everything north of Wythe / east of Washington St. is not Section 8, nor projects. Indeed, it's quite the opposite.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2014 11:06PM by LiberalZombies.
William Kenney Jr. Wrote:
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> Well fictional fuzzy, your last cheif went to jail
> in Arlington for drunk driving, a crime
> responsible for more deaths than heroin, crack,
> and marijuana combined. It is widely held that
> someone working in law enforcement for the city is
> responsible for murdering the last sherrif's wife.
> The new Sherrif is no saint. He ignored charges
> his staff steals prescription medicine from
> inmates. The city's 10% black population is
> responsible for 90% of the jail 's inmate
> population . The medical department at the jail is
> despicable.Beds are covered with various bodily
> fluids. Powerful prescription Sedative medicines
> litter the floor!
Mr Kenney if the people of Alexandria had any idea of what the new Sheriff hides and ignores they would be amazed. All they see is his picture in the Gazzette every week. There are many deputies that are still young enough to stay longer but refuse to consider this, and many more counting their days to do the same,