I Live in an Oasis?

An oasis of stability that is. Here's what The New York Times had to say about Arlington:

While many metropolitan markets around the country are enduring steep increases in vacancies in their office and retail sectors, the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington is an oasis of stability — and even of prosperity.

Served by five Metro subway stops within four miles, the corridor continues to attract new tenants, buyers and developers in the face of the deepest recession since the Great Depression. “It’s really an anomaly, considering the tough economy we’ve been in since December 2007,” said Sigrid G. Zialcita, managing research director for Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate services firm.

The firm’s most recent figures for the corridor show vacancy rates of 8.6 percent for offices — compared with a national suburban rate of 18.3 percent — and 3.5 percent for retail space, the second lowest of 23 major markets surveyed, ranging from 3.3 percent in Washington to 27.5 percent in Orlando.

Yikes! I didn't realize things were so bad back in Orlando.

The 3.3-mile corridor extends from the high-rise riverside canyons of Rosslyn; through Courthouse, the seat of Arlington County’s government; to hip Clarendon; to Virginia Square with its branch campus of George Mason University; and finally to Ballston, a few square blocks of high-rise offices, hotels and residences and also a hub for science and technology.

“The Rosslyn-Ballston corridor will continue to be the most sought-after area in Northern Virginia in the foreseeable future,” Cushman & Wakefield said at the end of June. “It has remained resilient during the worst recession in decades, and should continue to do so, as demand will remain healthy and new supply will be low for the next few years.”

And what is it about Arlington that creates such high demand? Find out here.