Leaving Virginia

When Dennis and I moved to D.C. back in the summer of 2010 we knew we wanted to live in the city itself, and not a neighboring suburb. We found a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartment in NW D.C., in a little community called Mount Pleasant. We lived with our mutual friend Joanna, who was also a Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama.

Living in the city was great. We could walk to restaurants, bars, and even work. But there were downsides to city life, too. We paid $2200 a month (total) for our apartment and it was pretty run down with a kitchen that literally used to be a closet. And not a walk-in closet, either. We paid an additional $75 a month for parking around the block, and had no outdoor space to speak of.

When our lease ended in August of 2011 Dennis and I began our search for a new place. We half-heartedly searched in Mount Pleasant, knowing that row houses in the area rarely offered one-bedroom apartments and that if they did, we could hardly afford it. We decided, after much debate, to move to Alexandria, VA. Specifically, we were looking in a little housing community called Parkfairfax where our friends Matt and Lisa had lived. When we found our apartment, it was perfect.

For $1500 a month we had free parking literally in front of our door, an expansive backyard, hardwood floors, ceiling fans, and 750 square feet of space. It was exactly what we had been looking for. Everything is a compromise, of course. We gained space and charm and gave up the excitement of city life and an easy commute. Travelling to work each day involved a 10-minute bus ride to the Pentagon, followed by a 30-40 minute train ride. It wasn’t too bad, except that the bus only runs during commuter’s hours.

Over the course of the year we found ourselves doing less and less things in the city, meeting up with friends less, and spending an unbalanced amount of time in our cute little apartment. Since we both tend to be homebodies, and didn’t go out very often even when we lived in the city, living in Virginia wasn’t doing our social lives any favors.

Our beautiful, spacious backyard.

So we decided to move, again. Last night was our last night in our Parkfairfax apartment. It served us well and it was our first home together, but it is time to move on. Stay tuned for photos and details of our new apartment!