Friendly and Sophisticated, Virginia's Inner Suburbs Offer Tastes of Mayberry and Manhattan

In the 1980s, the area of South Arlington called Shirlington was an I-395 off-ramp with no draw to speak of. But by the '90s, Shirlington Village started to turn into an oasis of nice restaurants to serve the condo communities of Fairlington, Parkfairfax and others. Slowly, Shirlington began to lure others from the D.C. region in to see what the former no-man's land had become.

Then a plan was unveiled to load up the place with a new library, the relocated Signature Theatre, three high-rise condo complexes, new retail and restaurants, Harris Teeter and a hotel-office complex.

Well, it's all finished, and it actually works. We have a new urban village that is teeming with vibrancy. The environment is more Manhattan than Mayberry now, but there is a friendly hometown feel that's developing.

The thing I tell newcomers is: You've got it all here. First-class cuisine, entertainment and honest-to-goodness culture all over the place. With bike trails, a dog park and lots of pedestrian traffic, what's special is that Shirlington has now achieved Arlington's urban village vision.

Brad Calkin

Arlington

I would urge newcomers to Arlington to take advantage of the free concerts offered by the Arlington Philharmonic orchestra. The philharmonic, in its third season, makes live classical music performances available free of charge, relying entirely on donations from individuals and corporations and on community grants.

The orchestra is made up of professional musicians from the area, and is led by Maestro Ruben Vartanyan, a celebrated conductor of international renown. Most concerts are given at the recently renovated auditorium of Kenmore Middle School off Route 50 in Arlington.

The philharmonic relies heavily on the volunteer efforts of community music lovers, and volunteers are always welcome. More information can be found at http://www.arlingtonphilharmonic.org.

Dennis Siebert

Arlington