Young twentysomething professional moving to NOVA! (Arlington, Alexandria: apartment complexes, how much, buy)

[singmesweets]

I've accepted a teaching position in Purcellville, VA. I'm a twentysomething and relocating to NOVA from Pennsylvania. Ideally, I would like to live in a place with others my age, a reasonable nightlife, and with a nice variety of activities in order to meet people!

I wouldn't mind a 30-45 minute commute... any suggestions? I've been reading a lot about Reston and Tyson's Corner... how about Sterling? Pros and Cons?

Thanks!

[jb124]

Where in PA are you coming from? Are you used to urban, rural, or suburban living? How much do you have to spend on housing?

Reston has a semi-passable nightlife, mostly centered around the Reston Town Center. There you'll find an interesting mix of people who work 'normal' 50-75k jobs mixing it up with the 150k+ crew. Personally I was turned off by the shallowness of the RTC scene and instead sought out the more obscure night life centered around the various shopping centers in Reston and Herndon. You'll find a few restaurants that have live music at night and/or a DJ and will find a wide range mix of people from college kids all the way up to a more relaxed 100k+ group. Reston does have lots of community acitvities though, with plenty of ways to get involved. When I lived there I volunteered with everything from the local homeless shelter to the kids' Halloween trail.

Tyson's Corner is even worse than Reston when it comes to the clash between the yuppie rich and normal people. Places like Capitol Grille, Sam & Harry's, and eCitie stand out in sharp contrast to places like Friday's or On the Border. There's not much residential development in Tyson's itself though, it is more of a commercial area. There are only two apartment complexes as far as I can tell. There's no real way to get involved in community acitvities in Tyson's that I know of. In the surrounding residential areas it will be different though.

Sterling has some nightlife, but I didn't see too much of it. From what I remember, there were a couple of bars/pool halls that were very popular and at least one of them had dancing. They also have a collection of scattered restaurants that have live music or dancing like Reston. While I never got involved in Sterling's community activities, I know they did have stuff going on. Sterling was more 'country' than Reston and while both have plenty of ethnic diverisity, Sterling in particular is having issues with illegal immigrants.

That's all I can think of at the moment, feel free to ask any followup questions.

[newcomerfromTX]

There is not much nightlife here in VA. Tysons and Reston are boring places at least for my tastes. There is just not much to do here, that's probably why I can get a lot done at work and around the house. People here are too conservative and don't know how to relax. This is just my opinion, I grew up in a liberal place. Not many places here open 24 hours as they are in Texas.
What do people do here for fun????

And another thing, don't call yourself professional unless you have more than 5 years experience at specializing something. I think young people abuse the word, professional too much. Young professional, oxymoron. Think twice before using the word professional.

[jb124]

Originally Posted by newcomerfromTX

There is not much nightlife here in VA. Tysons and Reston are boring places at least for my tastes. There is just not much to do here, that's probably why I can get a lot done at work and around the house. People here are too conservative and don't know how to relax. This is just my opinion, I grew up in a liberal place. Not many places here open 24 hours as they are in Texas.
What do people do here for fun????

And another thing, don't call yourself professional unless you have more than 5 years experience at specializing something. I think young people abuse the word, professional too much. Young professional, oxymoron. Think twice before using the word professional.

Professional around here means 'white collar' and has nothing to do with years of experience.

People here may be conservative acting but I think you'll find plenty of liberal people. The conservative behavior is largely due to the political influences and governmental agencies in the area. Everyone knows someone who works for senator so-and-so or someone who's in the FBI or CIA, etc, even if they're simply lying/exaggurating. It's part of the pretentiousness I've mentioned in some of my posts about NoVA, but rest assured there are plenty of liberals here.

You won't find many places open 24 hours, especially in NoVA. Laws in the area are pretty strict about last calls and most places don't stay open much past 2 am here because of it. I think in DC places stay open until 3 though. There used to be a couple of after-hours places in DC but i haven't been to one in a long time so I don't know if they still exist.

It's true though, for real nightlife you're looking at parts of Arlington or Old Town Alexandria at minimum, with downtown DC being where the real action is (i.e., clubbing). But if you're looking to go out after work for an extended happy hour with some dancing and/or karaoke, Reston/Tysons/etc can suffice.

[singmesweets]

I am from Allentown, PA and am aware that housing in NOVA is quite pricey. I'm also wondering about commute time from areas such as Reston, Tyson's Corner to Purcellville - traffic etc... Would looking into Arlington or places close to Arlington be a stretch, commute wise? (I would be driving against traffic, but again I am unfamiliar with the traffic patterns).

In terms of nightlife, I'm not too interested in the club scene but would prefer fun bars to socialize and meet new people, seeing as I would move to NOVA alone.

[5stones]

Texas still has dry counties where you can't buy alcohol... the liberal center for Texas is Austin. Small pockets in Dalls and Houston. But overall Texas is very conservative. What places are open 24hours in TX??? (besides Denny's)

DC on the other hand...liberal. Most of NoVa is somewhat conservative in it's laws etc... but there is plenaty to do you just have to go out and look it's not going to come to your door. Arlington has some pretty hoppin' places as well as Alexandria and Reston Town Center. Heck we have a great biker bar here in leesburg that is always hoppin' on sat.

[5stones]

Arlington to Purceville to commute? yuk. Yes you are going against traffic for the most part but it's a haul. 60+ minutes would be my guess. (without traffic I can make it the Ballston metro from Leesburg in 40min using 267 and 66.) Reston to Purceville 30- 45 min.

[jb124]

Originally Posted by singmesweets

I am from Allentown, PA and am aware that housing in NOVA is quite pricey. I'm also wondering about commute time from areas such as Reston, Tyson's Corner to Purcellville - traffic etc... Would looking into Arlington or places close to Arlington be a stretch, commute wise? (I would be driving against traffic, but again I am unfamiliar with the traffic patterns).

Well according to the Yahoo directions, Reston to Purceville would take, on average, 30 mins; from Arlington (using Ballston as an example since it's right on 66) it says about an hour. You'd likely have to add 15 mins or so for rush-hour traffic. There is plenty of outbound traffic in the mornings so it's not completely open (many people try for the reverse commute) from Arlington to Reston, but it is MUCH lighter than the inbound traffic, for the most part (merging on to 66 can be a bear sometimes). I used to commute from Reston to Sterling and again, while the traffic wasn't as bad as the inbound traffic, it wasn't completely open either. I am unfamiliar with Purceville though so I have no idea about what the drive is like past Sterling.

In terms of nightlife, I'm not too interested in the club scene but would prefer fun bars to socialize and meet new people, seeing as I would move to NOVA alone.

Sounds like the Reston/Herndon/Sterling nightlife will be fine for your needs. Arlington has a great nightlife for the 20-something crowd, but is usually more expensive and like you say might be a stretch commute-wise.

[SmerkyGrl]

You could go go-cart riding in Nova... :/

[newcomerfromTX]

Originally Posted by 5stones

Texas still has dry counties where you can't buy alcohol... the liberal center for Texas is Austin. Small pockets in Dalls and Houston. But overall Texas is very conservative. What places are open 24hours in TX??? (besides Denny's)

DC on the other hand...liberal. Most of NoVa is somewhat conservative in it's laws etc... but there is plenaty to do you just have to go out and look it's not going to come to your door. Arlington has some pretty hoppin' places as well as Alexandria and Reston Town Center. Heck we have a great biker bar here in leesburg that is always hoppin' on sat.

24 hours places (this is easy) Not including the usual places ie Denny's, IHOP...

HEB (24-hour Grocery) http://www.heb.com
Taco Cabana TacoCabana: (http://www.tacocabana.com/index.asp - broken link) (Great Mexican Food)
Whataburger Whataburger (Great Hamburgers)
Most restaraunts are open downtown San Antonio
Some libraries are open 24-hours (People in TX like to read)
Some bookstores are open 24-hours
Bubble Tea Hut (my favorite for bubble tea)
Oil Change place (Texas Lube Service) (although I am not sure if they are still operational, but use to go there and while waiting they would give you a cold drink)
Fiesta Market (24-Hour Grocery that puts Wegman's to shame)
Fiesta Mart, Inc.
6th Street in Austin, (jazz clubs open 24-hours, just don't serve beer after 2:00AM)
Bowling AMF Showplace Lanes (Showplace Lanes, I think there may be one in San Antonio)
Jim's restaurant (Classic Diner) Jim's Restaurants or coffee shops, 24 hour family style dining in San Antonio and Austin Texas
Walmart stores are open 24-hours in Texas (I can't believe that the Walmart's here in VA close so early) <--- this ticked me off
The same with Taco Bell (they are open 24-hours in TX)

The list keeps going ..... especially in Houston and Dallas

This is what talking about when there is not much to do at night here in the DC area. My friends and I use to go eat and shop Friday's at 1:00AM. I truly miss this. Something you can't find here.

That's why I feel like there is nothing to do here at night. Because everything in the DC is closed. I work all day, and then there is nothing to do. San Antonio hottest spot for knowledge workers, see link below.

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Don't get me wrong, I still think VA has some nice places, and thankful for my high salary job.