17 January 2008

We Get Letters


Dear Vic,

My candidate recently won a major primary election and I am considering relocating to Washington to assume a major Cabinet level position in his-or-her's prospective Administration. I have heard that you are the go-to guy for information on the Arlington area, and you live right near Carl Rove and other national figures who are now spending more time with their families.

I do not think I can afford the Naval Observatory where the Vice President lives, so can you help me out with some recommendations?
- Ambitious in Michigan

Dear Ambitious,

I hope you are not thinking about Defense, since a small consortium of us here are trying to keep DoD in our hip-pockets, just in case there is a recession and we have to go back to Government.

I would recommend something quieter, like Commerce, or Interior. You can have a lot of fun there, and there isn't much going on and you still get an airplane.

As to places to live, I must put in a good word for the Big Pink, which is named the unique color of the brick facing on our eight majestic stories.

I say that because Northern Virginia is an expensive place; I won't trouble you with how I washed up here at Big Pink, but our building is one of the best values in the area. The Arlington County Master Plan of 1980 dictated all the high-rise development be along the Metro Orange line. There are many condos along the line, at Courthouse, Virginia Square, Clarendon and Ballston, and you can search those neighborhoods on line with ease. What has been built lately is aimed at the high-end condo market, as my son has discovered, which drives a lot of young people to group living, a tradition in the DC area that goes back to WW II.

Big Pink predates the master plan, the Metro system and I-66, so we are unique and there will be no more International-style towers in our neck of the woods. We are nearest to the Ballston stop, if you Google the neighborhood there are plenty of real-estate links, and Carl Rove's house might be available.

 It is a 20-minute walk on a nice day to the train and there is bus service at the corner when it is not, so a car really is optional once you get moved in. Mr. Rove had a car come for him in the morning and he did not have to use the Bus.

Many people get around on bikes, and there is even an abandoned rail right-of-way that has converted to a bike path that goes all the way to Leesburg in Loudoun County.

Twenty minutes is a little further than many people want to hike, though, which accounts for the fact that rents here are traditionally in the mid-$900s/month for efficiencies, and up an increment of a few hundred as you add bedrooms and baths. My two-bedroom, two-bath, refurbished, would probably go for around $1800 a month. That is nothing like the mortgages that new owners are paying, which should have tipped us off to the looming sub-prime meltdown.

Why would you buy when the rent is about a third cheaper?

That said, many owners (and mortgages) pre-date the bubble in prices, and the rents have a life of their own. Traditionally, the owners pay the condo fees, so the rental prices reflect inclusion of all utilities except phone (and most now just have cells), and cable TV/internet (Comcast).

There are cheaper ways to go in Arlington, but not many, and in my experience they were crumbling garden apartments with old musty smells in the stairwells. The people you wind up living with are not necessarily who you would want to be with, meaning no offense to Mr. Rove or the Special Prosecuter.

Big Pink has security, exercise rooms, a pool, tennis courts, plenty of parking (unheard of here), and a 24 hour concierge. It is old school.

Alternatives to Northern Virginia include farther out (Fairfax County) and south (Prince William) and that is why people who live there look haggard and wan from the hassle of the commute, which is either an hour or more in the car, or the VRE train. I did the commute in on the Beltway and I-395 for years, and it is certainly an option for a limited time, but trust me, you pay for it in the long haul. Millions, in fact, but I digress.

I have found Arlington to be safe, diverse, lively if you want it, and quiet if you prefer it that way. There are two major malls (Ballston and Pentagon City) I can be downtown in ten minutes (off peak) or in thirty if I walk to the Metro at rush hour. The longest part of a trip to the Pentagon itself from Big Pink is the walk from the car to the vast gray building.

Maryland (schools and zoning are the primary issue there) and the District are the other alternatives, which lately has a glut of condos which will probably also be on the rental market. Metro accessibility drives the price on those, and in my investigations (I have rented twice this decade and bought twice) Big Pink has provided "best value" for scarce bucks regardless of the Administration.

It has thick walls, as opposed to the new construction, and you can't hear people plotting against you from next door, and vice versa.

Places come on the market to rent here regularly, and I will take a look on the bulletin board (most go by word of mouth since it is desirable). The hottest in demand are paradoxically the smallest and cheapest, which is the hottest component of the market due to the highly volatile job market in DC and the number of ambitious young people and politicals like yourself coming in to “mandate change” and “reform the system.”

It is always great to get the new blood, and it will take a couple months to get you turned around and thinking properly.

I'll check the bulletin board for you.

Vic

Copyright 2008 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com

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