new college grad on a low salary looking to live in mclean (Arlington: fit in)

[mariagostrey]

so i'm a new college grad who is about to accept a low paying job offer near Dulles trade center because it is the only one that will get me a H1B sponsorship. I will be making roughly 2000$ a month, according to my calculations and am looking to live in the McLean area with my college age sister. the cheapest apartments come for here are $1300-1400. Can somebody give me information about how to make the best of my really meager income?especially rent-wise? also, what is a good area to live for a fresh out of college 23 year old looking to socialize?

please and thank you!

[Tone509]

Do you know if that $2000 estimated monthly salary will be before or after taxes? If it is the former, then you will have a rough time assuming you and your sister would be splitting apartment costs equally. The take-home pay would be around $1600. If it is the latter, then it still won't be easy but you'll have a bit more breathing room.

Besides rent, you will likely need access to a car as the Metrorail system here does not (yet) go out to the Dulles area. That may cost you approximately $400-500 between leasing a "decent" car as well as gas and insurance.

How necessary is it to live in McLean? There are other areas such as Ashburn, Sterling, Herndon and Centreville that may offer apartments for a couple hundred dollars less per month. If your sister has other trusted friends and acquaintances, you might consider splitting an apartment or house three or even four ways. That wouldn't be unusual here as it can be difficult, to say the least, for new graduates to afford to live on their own.

The most popular area for 20somethings is in the Arlington neighborhoods of Clarendon and Ballston. You may not be able to get there on a nightly basis -especially if you were to move further out than McLean - but it would be convenient enough on weekends. The Town Center section of Reston would be the next best thing.

[Caladium]

That's going to be a challenge, but you can do it, especially if you have the right attitude that this is a temporary adventure and "roughing it" without too many luxuries is part of the fun. At least you don't have to worry about buying expensive clothes or an expensive car to fit in--we don't tend to be into that sort of thing around here.

I believe we had a few threads on how to live economically here back when RR was moving in. You might try searching the threads from around June/July 2008. If I happen to come across one of them, I'll bump it for you. Also, city-data has a lot of good general tips in the Frugal Living forum.

When I was your age, I shared a house with a bunch of other girls. I'm not sure that's the thing to do anymore, but it really helped us cut our bills down. It was fun, too. If you belong to a church, maybe you could find a group house through them. Just make sure you don't have more than 4 unrelated people sharing a house, that's illegal here.

One tip I can give off hand: Ethnic food markets often have better prices than the other grocery stores. Wegman's has some good deals on basic grocery items (not the baked goods/groumet foods aisle). Getting a sub sandwich at Wegman's is less expensive than going to a restaurant, and sometimes they have a bit of entertainment to boot (things like board games or movie night). Plus, the Weggie's subs are very filling and good quality food.

As you discover great ideas for free and frugal things to do around Nova I hope you share them here. As for socializing, I'd try to do meetup groups, volunteering, and church activities. Go to all the exhibits at the Smithsonians, check out the free concerts, hike the local trails. I hear McLean Bible Church has a lot of activities for 20-somethings.

Welcome to Virginia, and I hope your year of frugality isn't too challenging. If it is, my sympathies. Many of us have been there and know how it feels when you have very little money and it seems like everyone else around you is rich. However... please remember that you're making the choice to move here, knowing that you're going to have to live frugally. So please don't lash out at us on those days that living frugally becomes frustrating. On this forum we're happy to give you advice, share a joke or two, and hang out for some friendly chit chat. Many of us will go out of our way to help you find information. But we're not a punching bag for people who are frustrated by their financial situation. Not saying you'll do this and I wish I didn't have to say things like that. Unfortunately, some people get angy at the challenges in their life and take it out on us--as a result I'm now a little more hesitant to welcome anyone who may potentially be in a challenging situation. OTOH there are also plenty of young people moving in who DO have a good attitude, and if you're one of them then WELCOME TO VIRGINIA!