Neighborhood guide

Arlington County, Virginia

Arlington puts high-rise neighborhoods around its Metro stations and older single-family streets a few blocks away, all just across the Potomac from D.C.

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Living in Arlington County

Welcome to Arlington County.

Arlington is a county with no towns or cities inside it. Rosslyn, Clarendon, Ballston, Shirlington, Crystal City, Columbia Pike, Westover and the rest are all neighborhoods of one county government, and they share an Arlington address. The whole county is just under 26 square miles, and it’s also home to the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery and Reagan National Airport.

It’s a quick trip up I-395 from my Springfield office. People choose Arlington for the short commute and for how much is within walking distance. The trade-off is less space for the money than you’d get farther out, so it helps to know early what matters most to you.

Arlington County

High-Rises, Colonials and Bungalows

Along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, the county planned its tallest buildings close to each Metro station, with heights stepping down toward the neighborhoods. Crystal City and Pentagon City are high-rise too. A few blocks off the Metro lines, you’ll find streets of 1920s bungalows, brick Colonials from the 1930s and ’40s, Cape Cods and foursquares, and brick garden apartments from the same era are common along Columbia Pike.

Many older houses here have been added onto more than once, and some have been torn down and replaced with much larger new homes. My construction background helps me sort the updates that were done well from the ones that will need work.

A red-brick Colonial with a magnolia in bloom on a tree-lined street

Arlington County

Urban Villages Along the Metro

Most Metro stops anchor a neighborhood of their own. Clarendon and Ballston are busy with shops, offices and apartments, and Court House hosts a Saturday farmers market all year. Crystal City and Pentagon City, now marketed together with part of Alexandria’s Potomac Yard as National Landing, are home to Amazon’s second headquarters.

Off the Metro lines, the Village at Shirlington has shops, a library and Signature Theatre, and Westover has a Sunday farmers market. Elevator buildings near Metro also suit people who are ready to give up yard work and drive less, and as a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)®, I can help you weigh that kind of move.

Townhouse-style brick condo buildings on a street in Rosslyn

Arlington County

The River and the Trails

The Mount Vernon Trail starts by Theodore Roosevelt Island, near Rosslyn, and follows the Potomac for 18 miles to George Washington’s Mount Vernon, passing Reagan National Airport on the way. At Gravelly Point, just north of the runways, people bring picnics and watch the planes come in low overhead.

Inland, the Custis Trail follows I-66 out of Rosslyn, the W&OD Trail starts in Shirlington and runs 45 miles west to Purcellville, and the Four Mile Run Trail follows its stream down to the river. Stretches of all four link up into the Arlington Loop, a ride of about 16 miles.

A plane coming in over the Potomac River to land at Reagan National Airport

Arlington County

Two Metro Corridors and National Airport

Arlington has 11 Metro stations. The Orange and Silver lines run through Rosslyn, Court House, Clarendon, Virginia Square and Ballston on the way to East Falls Church. The Blue and Yellow lines stop at the Pentagon, Pentagon City, Crystal City and the airport, and the Blue Line also serves Rosslyn and Arlington Cemetery.

Crystal City has a VRE station on both lines, ART buses and Capital Bikeshare fill in the gaps, and I-66, I-395 and Route 50 handle most trips by car.