VANITY: Moving to Virginia and need some help/advice

Myself | 12/30/03 | KC_Conspirator

[KC_Conspirator]

My wife is serious about taking a job in the DC area and we are planning on moving there soon. However, we are not getting much help and we are on a budget. I figured a network of people in the area might be able to help me out the answers to my questions.

First is finding a place to live. We are a little strapped for cash and I am looking for the most economical, but cleanest, and safest place to live. From what I gather, that means living the VA suburbs. Does anyone know of an apartment service that is available?

I am also looking to stay close to the DC area - about 45 minutes to an hour within driving distance and I am looking for what towns/cities to live in. Hopefully Republican leaning places. I understand that Northern VA is a breeding ground for government workers so that probably means being lorded over by democrats like I am now. We dont have kids yet, but plan starting that soon.

As far as the community I am looking for, I just want a place that has cable, malls, metro access, and a nearby sportsbar.

I have been looking at online job sites for some months now in anticipation of this, but have had little results. I just found a place in KC that has the Sunday ComPost so I am now perusing though it, but if anyone knows of better jobs boards, let me know. If your curious, I have been a mainframe programmer for about 6 years and in the past year been doing software sales due to an lousy job market. My job is awful, so finding a new opportunity sounds rally good.

[agrarianlady]

As far as local IT contractors, I've always had success finding jobs with:

http://www.newboston.com (Vienna branch)
http://www.teksystems.com (any Northern VA branch)

You'll probably end up contracted to the DoD if you're going to be doing any technical work.

[kaboom]

You mentioned that your wife was looking at a job in the DC AREA. Could you clarify which town or city.

Unfortunately, the DC area is quite large as far as business and housing sprawl is concerned. There is also the Potomac River and its limited bridge crossings to contend with. A ten mile (as the crow flies) distance could result in a 45 minute commute in some areas. If you can provide us with the location of employment then we can get more detailed and provide better advice.

[KC_Conspirator]

I thought I knew what BBQ was until I moved here 16 years ago. Nothing will replace Gates and Arthur Bryants.

I could easily become a Skins fan, especially now that Spurrier is gone. He is not an NFL coach. Rumors are that Nebraska is contacting him. However, that idiot owner may hinder the team for years to come.

[duckbutt]

Ditto Reston - - we've lived here for about 10 years - - but property has been spiraling upward. Once you can find something you afford, hang on to it. We bought a nice three bedroom townhome on a nice wooded street in Reston 10yrs ago for $160K - - now worth $330K.....and we're not near a metro stop (haven't moved out this far west..yet...) but we're about 1 1/2 miles from the Dulles Toll Road.

Gotta get ready for the commute - -if your wife works in DC, suggest taking the metro bus to Orange line metro stop (Nutley Street) and going in - - but plan on spending an hour to get in, and an hour to get home.....

Otherwise.....glad to have you neighbor!

[Hot Tabasco]

I figured a network of people in the area might be able to help me out the answers to my questions.

Ole D.C. ain't the place to be,

Crime and lefties swarm around like bees.

High rent and politico wannabees,

Sorry to tellya but the Carribbean's the place for me......

[StayAt HomeMother]

I can't see any conservative choosing to live in DC or Maryland over Virginia. And even in Virginia, most areas close to Metro and/or inside the beltway tend to be liberal. Reston is also VERY liberal. The Congressional Districts were designed to keep Arlington, Alexandria, and Reston together - a SOLID democrat district that keeps electing Jim Moran.

Also as someone indicated above, if you are going the public school route in Northern Virginia, you do NOT want to live Arlington or Alexandria. Some pretty good private schools are available, but they can be very expensive and very hard to get in.

It is tricky to know which jurisdiction is which. In Virginia, cities (such as Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax City) are separate entities from counties (such as Arlington, Loudoun, and Fairfax County). Some parts of "Alexandria" are not in the city of Alexandria but rather in the county of Fairfax. All of these jurisdictions have their own local governments and school systems (except Fairfax City is pretty much part of the 164,000 student Fairfax County school system).

Someone mentioned Thomas Jefferson High School, a Fairfax County public high school which for years has had the most National Merit Scholars of any school in the world. Admission competition is open to almost all Northern Virginia eighth graders, but with only 430 per class it is VERY hard to get into. In any case high school is too far down the road to be much of a location factor now.

Following so far? Sometimes there are incorporated towns within counties, but there is very little difference between being in or out of one of these towns. For example, in Fairfax County are the towns of Vienna, Herndon, and Clifton but they are under the same Board of Supervisors and school system. Then there are areas with no separate government, such as very built-up Tysons Corner, the VERY liberal Reston, and some of the other areas named in other posts.

IT jobs are found in lots of different places. You might want to secure a job first and then find a place to live so you don't end up commuting from Baltimore to Reston. You can rent an apartment for a month or two while you check all this out. Freepers live all over the region and if you get down to choosing between three or four or five specific places, I suspect you can find some opinions from us.

[MoodyBlu]

If you come through SW Virginia on I-81, let me know. You can stop in and visit.

Where do you live along I- 81? We have always loved SW Virginia and have been considering the purchase of property anywhere from Blacksburg down to the TN line.

I spent a lot of great weekends in Blackburg when my brother played football at Va. Tech. I am 6-7 years from retirement and would love some property down in that area. Regards,

MoodyBlu

[EverOnward]

Familiar with DC area (lived here over 30 years. Prefer VA side. Communities close-in to DC (Arlington, Alexandria, McLean) good for commuting but not raising children. Yet moving further out means less time with the family and more time on the road. The area is over-populated and not necessarily family friendly. It's worth your move here to decide for yourself. It's good you are planning on renting -- that will give you time to explore the area and decide which area is best for you to purchase a home. There are lots of good jobs OUTSIDE the district now where people can work minutes from the house (Dulles corridor, Loudon county, etc.). Best of luck. We need good conservatives.

[Gabz]

I sure can't help because I live way too far from the DC/NOVA area. And from what I've read here, probably wouldn't want to live there even if I was paid for it.

But to everyone else - holey moley.

I can't believe I actually saw suggestions to move to Montgomery County, MD as opposed to Virginia. Sheesh.

I've read both good and bad about the public school system, but the school district in Accomac County was the icing on the cake for us in choosing where we now live.

We've only been in VA for 7 months having moved from Delaware but find it to be far less expensive than the supposed "home of tax-free shopping." Granted I live on the forgotten Eastern Shore, but the school district is far superior to anything in Delaware, property taxes are only 1/3, the people are far more pleasant and welcoming, low crime rate.........I can't expound enough on how happy we are to be here.

[Coop]

It takes me about an hour to get to work in Crystal City (Arlington) from here, driving.

An hour?!? Ugh. You need to slug, bus or train. :-)

[Coop]

If you move to Falls Church VA, you'll increase the number of conservatives by 50%!

[Coop]

I'm not sure about sportsbars but it has linedancing and crime is less than in DC.

Damon's, at the intersection of Beulah and the Franconia/Springfield Parkway.

[xsmommy]

and the one that DOES live there is himself an earthwatcher....

[patton]

I need some coffee. Shade-grown, environmentally-friendly, coffee.

[xsmommy]

figures, you falls church earthwatcher.

[cynicom]

Best move would be not to move into that area, period.

[patton]

Three generations worth. But the town has gone downhill.

[dakine]

Take a look at Waldorf in Charles County MD, (also known as Chuck County because of locals). A lot of good ol' boys plus Sport's Bars like Howard's and the Moose.
Comcast Cable.
Schools okay, actually have a nice conservative on School Board.
Cheaper living then closer into D.C.
I commuted for 5 years to Arlington, not bad if you can time it correct.
Wife commutes to Langley Va. everyday, flex schedule popular in D.C.

You like fantasy Football?
How about golf, plenty of military courses around...

[patton]

By 100%, actually.

[nina0113]

Steve and I are several miles west of Fredericksburg, in Spotsylvania County. We leave the house at 6:15 and arrive at the Pentagon around 7:30 on a normal day. We pick up one or more slugs at the commuter lot so as to use the HOV lanes. For an explanation of slugging, see here: http://www.slug-lines.com/ .

The VRE is slow and expensive - after September 11th, when many of the roads around DC were closed, and traffic was impossible on the remaining ones, I had to catch the 5:50 train from downtown Fredericksburg to get to work by 8 am. I believe the fare at that time was something like $11 - each way! And I still had to pony up another buck or so for the Metro to get to my office.

We live in a 3-BR house on a third of an acre. The mortgage is under a grand.