The shopping center down Rt. 1 (Jeff Davis Hwy) is Potomac Yards. There is a Shopper's Food Warehouse grocery store there, with the lowest prices in the northern VA area for groceries. There is a good Mexican Restaurant there, Border Grill, great margaritas and they make their own tortillas- very fun atmosphere. Also a 24 hr IHOP and a tavern/restaurant that brews its own beer.

With regard to the metro, how long would it take to get from our area to my husband's work at 18th & K by 8:30 am? I looked for schedules, but there are none posted for the peak hours.

Also, what brand of pharmacy is most convenient there?

As for food, how 'bout Indian restaurants? We love Indian food. We've never tried Lebanese food - will have to look into that one. And that tip on IHOP is great - right now I'm hooked on their pumpkin pancakes! Oh -are there any regional specialties we should try?

If he takes the Metro, it's about a 20 minute commute door-to-door at Rush hour. He'll get the Blue line train at Pentagon City and take it to Farragut West.

CVS is the pharmacy chain with the largest # of stores in the area.

Tell your husband that when he gets on the blue line at Pentagon City to go to work, it is going to be crowded, but that at the next stop, Pentagon, half the commuters will get out.

Also, correction: the Mexican restaurant at Potomac yards is Don Pablos. There is a big Target store there also.

There are many Lebanese and Indian restaurants in D.C. Your husband will be tempted to try Bombay Palace as he will see it on K St. It is fairly upscale Indian. It has been around a long time (too long maybe) and gets very uneven reviews. Rasika in Penn Quarter is contemporary Indian food and a very hot place right now. LEbanese Taverna is very good and has a location at Pentagon Row. And there is a place a short drive from you on Mt Vernon Ave called Bomaby Curry Company - very good and inexpensive Indian. See here:

http://www.bombaycurrycompany.com/

http://www.rasikarestaurant.com/

http://tinyurl.com/yx55x5

Now that the chowhound.com site has been revamped, you can go on the Washington D.C. part of the mid-atlantic board there and search for "Lebanese D.C." or "Indian D.C." and ask questions there on D.C. dining and you'll get good answers.

You might also like: www.dcfoodies.com

You are going to have a great time. I wish I had a leisurely few months in a loft at Pentagon City, and I live only a few miles from there, a bit further out in Northern VA. When I first came here I was in a condo and on an expense account for 6 months. It was wonderful.

Bombay Curry Co. is one of the Washingtonian magazine's best 100 bargain restaurants; it is really inexpensive but very good. A real find.

OK - here's one more option. The corp housing people offered for us to stay at the Oakwood Arlington on Clarendon Blvd. The apartment would be bigger.
How is this location vs. the other? Seems like they are pretty close, but sometimes that can make a world of difference!

Both neighborhoods are fine; equally safe. The Oakwoods Arlington is near the Rosslyn and Courthouse Metro stations. I think the Pentagon City neighborhood is more interesting, but Oakwoods is a little closer to the city. Both are still in Virginia.

I would definitely choose Pentagon Row loft over a larger corp. apt. on Clarendon Blvd in Rosslyn. Rosslyn is not a nice place to live IMO. There is a lot of business there, and some apts. and condos, but it feels sterile, old, and not nearly as nice, cool, and hip as the Pentagon Row area. I have a client in Rosslyn and I find it somewhat depressing when I go there. There is more business located there than at Pentagon Row, and more tourists due to the Marriott and Hyatt and other tour bus hotels (and that god awful Orleans steak house that looks like a Mississippi river boat and gets tour buses). You'd be across the river from Georgetown University and Georgetown.

3 months should give you lots of time to explore the whole area- and in a relaxing pace, what i like the best in DC is the air and space museum..the holocust museum is also a must..if you need more ideas of what to do try this cute site http://www.tripcart.com/usa-regions/...l,History.aspx
it can give you some ideas for activities that appear on the map

I would definitely pick the Pentagon Row area over Rosslyn.

You are SO lucky!! D.C. is a magical city. I encourage you to go to the botanic garden, the new American Indian museum, the sculpture garden on the Mall and the arboretum, which has a world-class bonsai display. Also, you can get a lot of info about us by reading the Washington Post's Web site -- not only news but museums, restaurants, plays and performances, all kinds of happenings. Enjoy the People's City!!

As an update to this message, my husband chose the Rosslyn area apartment vs. the loft near Crystal City/Pentagon Row because of the size of the apartment, top floor, and a large balcony.
I like it here - the apartments are dated and quite an adjustment from our new house that is 4 times the size! But, we are learning how to live in smaller space and "make do".
Rosslyn is a quieter area and there seems to be an absence of the hustle & bustle, but that is fine by me. I went to the area near the Loft 590 the other day and it was so super crowded and busy. For people coming in from the burbs, that would be a radical transition!
Rosslyn is very convenient to the city and is working out very well for us. We just hop on the metro if we want to go somewhere "happening," but we can still come home to a quieter reprieve.
Thank you all very much for your messages - they've helped tremendously in figuring all of this out!

We lived in Crystal City for 2 & 1/2 years. One of our highlights was to rent a limo at night and see all the major tourist monumnets at night. It was a splurge and we saw a differnt monumnet lit at night.

Also contact the Senator from your state and ask for a tour of the White House and teh Pentagon. We also toured the FBI headquarteres (they may not do so now after 911) and the Tresurey.