Blog Posts for Henderson Hall

By Dawn M. Smith Despite the cliché, but true, gripes about living in the Washington, D.C. greater area , the winter and holiday seasons in the region are truly something to take advantage of while living here. The city is filled with festive events from street markets to spectacular ice shows to entertain your family and those guests who are bound to visit during the holidays. Holiday Activities in Alexandria Living in Alexandria, Virginia, is a convenient commute to many of the popular military stations in the National Capital Region, so it’s an ideal location for families to settle while s... read more

Welcome to Shirlington! A quaint little area of Arlington, Virginia. Shirlington is located just off of the 395 Beltway. Shirlington is 5 miles from The Pentagon! This makes it an ideal commute to working at The Pentagon, Crystal City, Fort Meyer, or Washington DC. (see map below) The Village at Shirlington is a place you can eat indoors or dine outdoors, walk the lovely little streets, shop at a boutique, and have a cup of coffee. You can catch a movie at the movie theater that shows second run films. Shop at the grocery store, fill a prescription at the drug store, or borrow a book from the... read more

Did you know you can have Tricare Prime and go off base to see a doctor? The plan is called US Family Health Plan and it works in addition to Tricare Prime. The six US Family Health Plans and their service areas Brighton Marine Health Center —serving Massachusetts, including Cape Cod, as well as Rhode Island and parts of Northern Connecticut; Christus Health —serving Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana; Johns Hopkins Medicine — Serving Maryland, Washington, DC, Delaware, and parts of Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania; Martin’s Point Health Care —Serving Maine, New Hampshire, Vermo... read more

PCSing and finding off base housing in DC and finding information about where to live can be a daunting task. Every military family knows they must do their research to find the good vs. bad areas to live. When searching for military homes, you have to look beyond the nice kitchen and big backyard, instead you need to know if it’s in a safe neighborhood or a good school district. Other military families have successfully moved to the DC area and are sharing their advice. Below are links to articles about the DC area. Step 1:Read advice about off base housing in DC Things to know before moving... read more

Moving to the DC area can be very confusing, especially when certain cities are covered by two different counties. The City of Alexandria is in a different county than the rest of Alexandria . Below is a description of how Alexandria and the City of Alexandria are different. Alexandria vs City of Alexandria The City of Alexandria has great walkability to shops ( Old Town ), but it’s more crowded and expensive. This area is north of the 495 Beltway and is run byAlexandria City Public schools which has some high rated schools, as well as, low rated ones. The part of Alexandria (located outside ... read more