Have you ever dreamed of living in the 1950s? Fantasized about a neighborhood full of children for your children to play with, where your doorbell rings and neighborhood kids are asking if your kids can come out and play? It's all possible in these amazing DC suburbs in Alexandria, Virginia.
Waynewood, Collingwood on The Potomac, Plymouth Haven, Riverside Gardens, and Stratford Landing are five amazing Alexandria neighborhoods to live in.
In our house, it's not the doorbell that is ringing, it is the mail slot being opened and kids yelling through it to see if my kids are home. Neighbors can walk in the front door and call for me, and I can send out a panicked text asking if anyone on my street has an extra jar of salsa I can borrow and replace. This happened yesterday. Right after I borrowed the salsa I got a text from another neighbor asking if anyone had ketchup.
These great DC suburbs include schools within the neighborhoods. Children can walk to and from school, and on rainy days, parents can use the Kiss & Ride carpool line.
There are four fantastic preschools in these neighborhoods, as well. Plymouth Haven Christian Preschool, Aldersgate Methodist Church Day School, St. Aidan's Episcopal Day School, and St. Luke's Episcopal Day School.
Waynewood, Collingwood on the Potomac, and Plymouth Haven Neighborhoods:
- -community pool & playground (most, but not all houses come with the pool membership so be aware to look for that) summer swim team, -tennis lessons, and a variety of Summer camps
- -Waynewood Elementary School, Carl Sandburg Middle School, West Potomac High School
- -12 miles to the Pentagon
- -5 miles to Fort Belvoir
- -Metro Buses available in the neighborhood
- -closest Metro station: Huntington Metro Station
- -right off of the GW Parkway with the GW Parkway walk/run/bike trail
Riverside Gardens and Stratford Landing Neighborhoods:
- -community pool & playground (most, but not all houses come with the pool membership so be aware to look for that) summer swim team
- -Stratford Landing Elementary School, Carl Sandburg Middle School, West Potomac High School
- -12 miles to the Pentagon
- -5 miles to Fort Belvoir
- -Metro Buses available in the neighborhood
- -closest Metro station: Huntington Metro Station
- -right off of the GW Parkway with the GW Parkway walk/run/bike trail
Fairfax County Schools Details:
- -Waynewood's principal is Mr. Meier, he is also one of the crossing guards. He knows students and parents by name and is always out and about around the school keeping an eye on everything.
- -Stratford Landing has a Level 4 gifted program at their school and Waynewood is piloting the program this year.
- -All of these neighborhoods feed into Carl Sandburg Middle School. This middle school hired a retired Marine as their principal a few years ago and he has whipped that school into shape! Military families that I know who have children there are more than happy.
- -West Potomac High School doesn't have the highest rating on Great Schools because it pulls from a large diverse area; however, all of our amazing babysitters are West Potomac students and they are lovely. Our neighbors are West Potomac students too and they are skilled athletes and academically talented.
- -The schools have before and after school extracurricular activities such as Chess Club, Lego Club, Cooking Clubs, Excite Soccer, Track, Jazzercise, Boy & Girl Scouts just to name a few.
Details of Alexandria Neighborhoods:
- -All 5 neighborhoods are located off of the scenic George Washington (GW) Parkway just 12 miles south of the Pentagon and 3 miles north of George Washington's home Mount Vernon. The GW Parkway trail parallels the Potomac River making for a lovely trail to exercise on.
- -Fort Belvoir is the closest military commissary and military hospital for the 22308 area.
Commuting from Alexandria:
- -The closest Metro station is Huntington Metro Station which is the end of the yellow line. Metro buses run through the neighborhoods. You can walk from your house to a Metro bus, ride the Metro bus to the Metro and take that directly into the Pentagon, Crystal City, Washington DC, etc. Huntington Metro Station also has parking available there if you would choose to park and take the metro into work. Some military members choose to ride their bike the 12 miles from their house to the Pentagon especially during the beautiful spring, summer, and fall months. If you are stationed at Fort Belvoir Army Post you are one lucky military family! The commute from these five neighborhoods to Fort Belvoir is less than 10 minutes in your very own vehicle. Amazing!
Finding a house in the DC Suburbs:
- Rental houses can be a challenge to find in this area because it is such a wonderful place to live. Don't give up. Stay on top of MLS, Military By Owner, and Facebook Group listings. Keep an open mind! Some of these houses were built in the early 1960s and they have some crazy designs.
- **(This is also suburban Washington DC, you aren't going to get a 3000 square foot house that is completely remodeled for below your BAH. Consider renting a smaller house than you are used to or consider renting a house that needs a few gallons of paint to bring it up to 2013. Everyone says you don't move here for the houses you move here for the people!)
Read neighborhood and school reviews in the DC area
Alexandria is a great place to live when stationed at DC but also check out Burke, VA and the Burke Conservancy
