Moving to Alexandria, VA? 5 Gigantic things to know

  • Author: Devin Henry
  • Last Updated: November 14, 2023
Table of Contents

What you should know before moving to Alexandria VA

moving to alexandria

So the Potomac River beckons your name? Ah Alexandria, the historic home of the brave, filled with national monuments, museums, landmarks, and nature hikes.

Who wouldn’t want to live there? With tasty dining options, a vibrant culture, and a historical ambiance waiting around every corner, Alexandria is truly the place to be if you’re thinking about moving to the Northern Virginia and DC area.

This is an exciting move. There is always something new to do in the quaint community of Alexandria, which lies right outside Washington, DC, the heart of the Nation.

It’s time to get your ducks in a row and put things in order, especially as you develop your timeline for moving.

Are you wondering about the cost of living, climate, school system, employment options, and neighborhood? We’ve got you covered.

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Here are the 5 biggest things we think you should know are:

  1. The cost of living
  2. The weather
  3. Great schools
  4. Employment options
  5. Neighborhood culture

Read on for more information about moving to Alexandria.

1. The Cost of Living in Alexandria, VA

When moving right outside the hub of the Nation, you can expect the cost of living to be a bit higher than anywhere else in the country.

The cost of living in Alexandria is among the highest in the country, and it clocks in at 60 percent above the national average. Groceries, utilities, and other costs are much more reasonable.

The average cost for a one-bedroom apartment in Alexandria is around $1700 a month, and the median cost for a home is about $500,000.

Dollar bills laid down, moving to alexandria

2. Your Weather Forecast

If you have never experienced all four seasons before- get ready. The capital area comes with its range of weather and temperature, and moving to Alexandria is no exception to this rule. The sun shines bright and humid in summer. Leaves change colors in fall. The New Year brings a blanket of white snow and Spring greets to melt the ice as Apil showers drip down into May flowers.

The cycle of nature is such a beautiful experience, uniquely so when you are situated by the Potomac River and so many national parks.

Picture of four leaves for each season

3. Great Schools

Whether you are looking to further your education or sign the kiddos up for school, there are a lot of great options to consider when moving to Alexandria, Virginia.

Alexandria is home to Virginia Tech’s Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, and the Northern Virginia Community College is super close by! The Virginia Commonwealth University and George Washington University are also nearby if you are looking to hit the books. Alexandria City Public School system operates 17 schools and educated over 10,000 students in the area. And if you are looking for Private School options welcome in some of the best in the Nation such as Burgundy Farm Country Day, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School, Bishop Ireton High School, and Episcopal High School.

School supplies

4. Employment Options

The Northern Virginia area is growing fast, and there is a plethora of tech job opportunities opening up with Amazon’s recent move to Crystal City. The city also has a substantial armed force and government influence. A sizable amount of the population is employed through the U.S. Department of Defense, the Institute for Defense Analyses and the Center for Naval Analyses. As you can see, moving to Alexandria doesn’t have to be stressful considering how many job opportunities there are.

People in a great office

5. Neighborhood Culture

There is live music, festivals, museums, and art culture galore in the 300-year-old city of Alexandria. Its a great area with plenty of events, food, and entertainment for the whole family.

Two neighbors shaking hands

Check out our recent blog on all the things to do in the city of Alexandria to explore your options! And if you have any questions about your big move, give Nomadic Real Estate a call today. We can help you rent, buy, sell, or manage a property in Northern Virginia, and the rest of the Metro D.C. area.

Alternatively, if you are looking for a place to rent, check out our DC rentals.

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Enhanced Reporting

Your portal includes a selection of extremely useful reports. Reports are available in the “Reports” section, and are distinct from the financial statements. Unlike financial statements which are static records, Reports are dynamic real-time records that will update with current data every time you view them. 

Scroll down to learn more about Reports:

Navigate to the "Reports" module in your portal:

Owner Portal Reports
  • Keep in mind, these reports are dynamic records. They will refresh to display current information every time you view them. 

Enhanced Rent Roll Report:

Enhanced Rent Roll Report
  • The Enhanced Rent Roll Report will show the rent amount, last payment date, move-in date, lease expiration date, and security deposit amount for each of your tenants. 
  • It will also show a portfolio summary with occupancy percentage, vacancy loss, and more!

Unit Comparison Report:

Unit Comparison Report
  • If you own multiple units (or buildings) with Nomadic, you’ll get access to the Unit Comparison Report. 
  • This report enables you to quickly compare financial performance between your units at a glance without toggling between individual reports. 

Income Statement Month-Over-Month:

Income Statement by Month Report
  • The Income Statement Detail – Monthly Report serves as a month-over-month record of portfolio performance. You’ll see itemized income and expense categories and can track monthly. This report will update with fresh data every time you view it. 

Financial Statements

Financial statements will be published to your portal on a monthly basis. The statements are found in your Documents library, and provide a historical record of all financial performance. The statements serve as a snapshot of financial performance over a given period, and are static documents (unlike Reports, the statements do not update/change in real-time). 

Scroll down for more info about the Financial Statements in your Documents library:

The Documents area contains monthly financial statements:

Owner Portal Documents
  • The statements in the Documents are are static documents. They are posted to the portal once a month to serve as a historical record of financial performance. 

Download a statement to see month and YTD financials:

Owner Portal Property Statement

You'll also find a month-over-month operating statement:

Month over Month Statement

Portal Communication Tool

You can use your owner portal to communicate with our team. Any messages you send through the portal will go straight to your Account Manager. When we reply, you’ll get an email notification and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

Here’s an overview of using the communication platform:

Click "Communications" and navigate to "Conversations":

Commincation Dashboard Screenshot
  • The communications module will contain a record of all messages that you create through the portal. 

Click the "New Message" button and send your message:

Owner Portal New Message Screenshot

Responses will show up in the conversation ticket:

Portal Conversation Response Screenshot
  • You’ll get an email notification whenever you get a response, and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

You can reply in-line using the comment box:

Owner Portal Comment

Each conversation will be logged in its entirety:

Portal Conversation Snapshot

Understanding the Ledger

Your portal includes a ledger with all transactions. The ledger is populated with data in real-time as transactions flow through our accounting software. Much of this information is also available in the Reports area, as well as the Statements in your Documents library, but the ledger is the most comprehensive resource for diving into the details. 

Please scroll through the sections below to get a better understanding of how to interpret the ledger. 

By default, transactions are sorted chronologically:

Owner Ledger Dates
  • The date reflected in the lefthand column is the actual transaction date, not the “bill date”. This is the date the transaction was actually processed. 

If you have multiple properties with Nomadic, you'll see the address for each transaction in the "Location" column:

Ledger Property Column
  • You can filter the ledger to look at just one property, all properties, or specific sets of properties. 
  • If you only have one property with us, you’ll just see the ledger for that property. 

The Description column displays the transaction type:

Owner Ledger Description Column
  • BILL: this is an expense transaction, such as for repair costs or management fees.
  • CHARGE: this is a transaction  billed to the tenant, most typically a rent payment. 
  • NACHA EXPORT: this is a credit we processed to your distribution account. This type of transaction is how you get paid! 

The Amount column shows the dollar value of each transaction:

Owner Ledger Amount Column
  • Positive Amounts: if an amount is positive, it reflects a transaction that is payable to you. Typically, this will be a rent payment that we collected from your tenants. On occasion, a positive number could also signify a journal entry or credit adjustment. 
  • Negative Amounts:  if an amount is negative, this is a transaction that is either payable to Nomadic or is an amount that has already been paid to you. Typically this will be for repair costs or management/leasing fees. Owner draws (net distributions into your checking/savings account) also reflect as negative amounts, since they have already been paid to you. 

The Account Balance column shows a sum of positive/negative transactions at a given point in time:

Owner Ledger Account Balance Column
  • Account Balance should always equal zero after a net distribution has been processed. When the balance is zero, this means that all expenses have been paid and you’ve received the remainder as net operating income, leaving a balance of zero (meaning: no one is due any money, as all funds have been distributed appropriately). 

Navigating the Propertyware Owner Portal

Your portal includes some extremely useful features that help you understand your property’s financial performance at a new level, with real-time transparency into every transaction.

Scroll through the snapshots below for an overview of portal navigation! If you need more help or have specific questions about using the portal, you can reach out to your Account Manager any time for a screen share. 

You can filter all info by date range or property:

PW Portal Filters

View a snapshot of income and expenses on your dashboard:

PW Owner Dashboard View

See every transaction in real-time on your ledger:

Owner Portal Ledger View

Statements and forms will be posted to your documents library:

Owner Portal Document Library

View a suite of real-time financial reports:

Portal Reports View

See a running list of all bills, and drill down for more detail:

Owner Portal Bills View

Under Bill Details, you'll find dates/descriptions/amounts and more:

Portal Bill Details

You can also communicate with your Account Manager through the portal:

Owner Portal Communication Tools

How do net distributions work?

Net distributions keep your accounting clean and simple. Each month we’ll collect rent from the tenants, deduct any repair expenses for the previous month and any management/leasing fees for the current month, and credit the remaining net operating income to your account. 

Net Distribution

You’ll receive a statement via email each time a net distribution is processed, and can view all transaction details in your Propertyware owner portal.