Sorry guys, another relocating to NoVA thread =) (Reston, Herndon: apartment, rental)

[JEEPJEEP]

So my wife just got an offer from the CIA. nothing fancy so dont get your hopes up lol .

we are both mid 20s, no kids, 2 dogs. we are not overly social people, and in fact would rather live in a little quieter area and be able to go to busy places than have to be in it all the time.

with her being fresh out of college we know the immediate area (mclean) is out of our price range. we would be looking for probably the lowest cost areas (but safe) to start in, then in a year or 2 find some place nicer.

Schools dont matter at this point because we wont be starting our family for a few years. places to be able to walk our beagles safely would be awesome. we also love trail riding (jeep style). we will definatley be renting to start as well. house or apartment doesn't matter (house with a fenced yard would be nice for the dogs though)

any suggestions or advice would be awesome! we have been reading so much info on all the areas up there its all starting to blur together

[buildinginva]

You are more likely to get helpful responses if you could state your housing budget.

[JEEPJEEP]

ha yeah i guess that would be helpful im thinkin the highest we want to go is around $1,600-$1,700. we currently live in a 1br apt in south florida. with just the 2 of us we dont need much room or anything fancy. that will all come in time.

[buildinginva]

Falls Church may be a possibility at this price, it would be an apartment. It's convenient to Langley and close to shopping, major commuter routes, metro etc. If you are close to one of several parks or the W&OD trail, that would compensate for not having a yard for the dogs. The other options, if you are willing to move out further away from DC, are Herndon and Reston. You may be able to find a townhouse or a small house rental at that price.

[NYmama2dallas]

Yes, I would look for an apartment in Falls Church or Vienna. Check Craigslist to see what you can get in your price range..I think you could find a nice 1-2 bedroom for that price. It might be harder to find somewhere that will take two dogs...maybe an independent owner vs a corporate apt.

I have never heard of "trail riding jeep style"...do you drive your Jeep around in places without roads? I would be surprised if that was permitted on any public land around here. It sounds fun but destructive. YOu might need to make friends with someone really rich with a lot of land.

[JEEPJEEP]

thanks for the suggestions!! the search starts full swing tonight.

some people hike, some people ride horses, some people jeep. this is only done in areas where it is permitted to do so. a lot of state forests, wildlife preserves and the like have horse trails, hiking trails, and vehicle trails (usually requiring a 4x4 vehicle). its not just going into someones back yard and doing donuts to rip the ground up. being destructive to anything is highly frowned upon by the jeep community.