Fort Belvoir has a lot to offer military families on post. However we all know that you can't find everything you want at the PX or the Commissary so knowing where to shop for other essentials and special treats is important. It isn't hard in Northern Virginia to find what you need. Whether you are looking for a bag of chips, a paint brush to put your own touch on your new home, clothes to deal with our ever changing weather or a whole house full of furniture because you are ready for something new, there are number of places to shop all convenient to the main gate.
One of the hardest things to get used to when you move to a new area is the differences in the grocery stores. In Northern Virginia you can find all types and sizes of grocery stores. For more "upscale" grocery shopping you will find Harris Teeter and Wegmans, smaller "speciality" stores, like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods or our regular chain stores of Giant, Safeway or Bloom. If you are looking for alchohol outside of beer and wine then you need to go the then you need to head to a Virginia ABC store (usually located close by to one of the mega chain stores) to pick up the stronger stuff.
Northern Virginia offers a variety of malls for you to choose from. The closest mall to Fort Belvoir is the Springfield Mall with large stores such as Macy's, JC Penney and Target as its anchor stores. A variety of smaller stores fill in the in the GAP in the middle. Just across the street from the mall you will find two smaller shopping centers which feature Old Navy, Linen's and Things, DSW (shoes) and for those who would like to include an intellectual pursuit to their shopping trip Borders and Barnes and Noble book stores are there as well.
If you are looking for a few new items for your home you might want to take a jaunt just a few miles down the Springfield Parkway to Kingstowne. There you can look for bargains at Home Goods or World Imports. If you need an entire house full of furniture then head to Haverity's or Ikea at Potomac Mills Mall.
So don't worry when you move to Fort Belvoir you will find plenty of places to buy what you need. If one of the things you need when you get here is a new home give me a call at 703-346-2213. I'll be glad to show you not only lots of great neighborhoods to call home but point out the local shopping and dining spots as well.
Target Photo from j.reed through Flickr Creative Commons License
Cindy, I can not tell you how valuable this post is. I remember, I was in the Military... we had to learn the hardway, by trial and error and asking fellow military people where and what was near by. Keep it up.
Thank you Endre. I work hard to provide our incoming military families information about our area. I too have been in their shoes all around the world and was always happy when someone would help us find our way around a new location.