Get to know Arlington

Though often referred to colloquially as a city, Arlington is, in fact, an entire county — the place you’ll land after crossing the Potomac from the heart of Washington into Virginia. Here, you’ll find a dynamic mix of urban and suburban neighborhoods. Arlington’s eastern reaches include Reagan National Airport, the Pentagon, and Crystal City, a soaring downtown of residential high-rises and office towers. It’s one of a handful of Arlington’s "urban villages," which benefit from convenient access to the Metrorail and the high-volume Columbia Pike bus line. Arlington’s more vertically developed metro corridor gives way to leafier locales, brimming with single-family residences, townhouses, and garden apartments. The neighborhoods of Ballston, Rosslyn, Shirlington, and Clarendon are also part of Arlington, as are Aurora Highlands, Fairlington, Country Club Hills, Donaldson Run, and East Falls Church.

Nearby Neighborhoods:

Alexandria

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Living in the Washington Metropolitan Area

The Washington Metropolitan Area starts with the District of Columbia proper and radiates out to the inner suburbs of Virginia and Maryland and stretches all the way to the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Colloquially, many locals refer to the region as the DMV, an abbreviation for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, but will often just say they live in D.C. when they technically have an address in one of the states. Each town has its own specific atmosphere and residents — even the newly transplanted — often display fierce loyalty to their own suburb of choice. Generally, towns that are closer to D.C., especially those inside the Beltway, have more access to public transportation and more pedestrian-friendly downtowns, while towns on the far reaches of the metropolitan area like Charles Town, West Virginia, will have a more rural feel and fewer daily commuters to D.C. and its immediate environs.