Advice for New Graduate (Arlington, Reston: apartment complexes, credit, loans)

[tehjojo]

Hello.

I will be graduating next May, and am looking at my job offers, trying to decide which I should take. I am from a small town (4,000 pop.) in Southern Illinois. I am going to school in Champaign, IL which is a medium sized town (80,000 pop), so I am not used to a large amount of traffic. The offer I am considering is located near the Tysons Corner area. If I accepted this offer, I would be moving to Northern Virginia with my fiance, looking for a 2 bedroom apartment/duplex. We would like to continue to have a 2 bedroom apartment. Could you point me to some good neighborhoods within 45 minutes commute of Tysons Corner? I would prefer a more modern neighborhood, but I may be asking for too much. Am I going to be able to get anything decent for around $2000/mo? With school loans to pay off and my fiance wanting to do graduate school, I doubt I will have too much more to spare.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I appreciate any advice you could give.

[mikecart1]

Originally Posted by tehjojo

Hello.

I will be graduating next May, and am looking at my job offers, trying to decide which I should take. I am from a small town (4,000 pop.) in Southern Illinois. I am going to school in Champaign, IL which is a medium sized town (80,000 pop), so I am not used to a large amount of traffic. The offer I am considering is located near the Tysons Corner area. If I accepted this offer, I would be moving to Northern Virginia with my fiance, looking for a 2 bedroom apartment/duplex. We would like to continue to have a 2 bedroom apartment. Could you point me to some good neighborhoods within 45 minutes commute of Tysons Corner? I would prefer a more modern neighborhood, but I may be asking for too much. Am I going to be able to get anything decent for around $2000/mo? With school loans to pay off and my fiance wanting to do graduate school, I doubt I will have too much more to spare.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I appreciate any advice you could give.

Of all the areas, you choose Tysons Corner? You want to be when you are in your 30's and making mad dough (and not the type that rises in ovens)?

1) Ditch the 2 bedroom apartment and pay off that school loan ASAP
2) Make sure fiance goes to graduate school for a degree that is in demand - not just something to look fancy on a resume.
3) Learn to eat in, use NetFlix instead of cable, and be satisfied for a few years with not doing a whole lot that requires money

Do these 3 things and you will be from your 30's to your death OR
you can ignore these 3 things and be for the next few years and be for decades

[mshan242709]

What type of degree, and any specific reason for NoVA?

Larger one bedroom might be cheaper if you don't have a kid, even in Tyson's Corner itself (I would guess you can get generic large 1 bedroom (800+ sq. ft.?) for $1600 - 1700 ish (?), though they may tack on yearly amenities fees, plus you have to pay for water (not sure about trash).

[matsmom]

Try looking in Merrifield, a short drive down Gallows road will get you to Tysons area. Halstead and Vantage apartment complexes come to mind. Not sure if you can get 2 bedrooms in your budget, maybe 1 bedroom/den. Also, take a look at the Mosaic district for entertainment.

[slim04]

Originally Posted by mikecart1

Of all the areas, you choose Tysons Corner? You want to be when you are in your 30's and making mad dough (and not the type that rises in ovens)?

1) Ditch the 2 bedroom apartment and pay off that school loan ASAP
2) Make sure fiance goes to graduate school for a degree that is in demand - not just something to look fancy on a resume.
3) Learn to eat in, use NetFlix instead of cable, and be satisfied for a few years with not doing a whole lot that requires money

Do these 3 things and you will be from your 30's to your death OR
you can ignore these 3 things and be for the next few years and be for decades

Seriously, you will pay a huge premium for that spare bedroom/office/junkroom. If you don't have a child, let visitors crash on an airbed or stay in a hotel, get storage space for your junk you don't really need in the first place, and use the dining room table and a desk in the bedroom for study or office areas.

The DC area isn't like a small town, the rents for 2BR v. 1BR are signficant.

My wife insisted on a 2BR when we first moved to the area, but when we finally decided a 1BR was OK, the options were much greater and cheaper.

Also, you probably should consider what the deal with your fiance and grad school is going to be. Is he open to non-local schools and you may have to live much of the year apart? Some Virginia universities have extensions in NoVa, but their offering might be very limited and there is only 1 major university in the area: George Mason in Fairfax (though some of its grad programs are in Arlington). There are 4 major universities in DC: Georgetown, GW, Catholic, and American, and a major research university in College Park, MD, a DC suburb, the University of Maryland. John Hopkins and several U. of Maryland programs are in Baltimore as well.

If it likely he'd try for a DC or Maryland school, living closer to the city might be a better option to start so you get to know those areas better versus living west of Tyson's.

[scottfs]

Where does your fiance want to do graduate school? You might want to look at something in Arlington so your fiance could get into DC easily to go to classes at one of the many fine universities in DC. But that close in, you would not be in a new 2br for that price.

If this isn't a concern (maybe your fiance is doing an online thing or something?) I would try looking at something in Reston or Herndon, there are more newer apartments out that way and the areas are generally all pretty nice out that way. Maybe something in 20171, 20191, 20190. Use this link to see the geographical area of the zip code you're searching. Zip Code Finder and Boundary Map. You can find something for your budget there.

Be ready for a huge shock in terms of traffic and the stress it causes. Northern Virginia will be very different from southern Illinois. Sounds like you've done some price research already so that's good. Good luck to you.

[tehjojo]

My fiance would be looking to do some liberal arts grad degree (probably teaching). She would be taking a year off as we transition, so if she found a good job on her bachelors in that period, she might not even consider doing grad school. I think with the amount of online programs that are available now, I am not going to worry too much about being super close to the university, its more important that I don't get swallowed by the cost haha.

I will definitely look into doing 1 BR instead and just using the dining/living area as our office. Not a big deal, will just have to get used to it.

No kids yet, and no plans for any for at least 8-10 years, so nothing to worry about there.

I don't have much choice to working in the Tysons Corner area, just have to go where the jobs are. I am going into Software Engineering, and never thought I would be moving to the east coast haha.

Thank you guys for the advice, very helpful.

[slim04]

Originally Posted by tehjojo

My fiance would be looking to do some liberal arts grad degree (probably teaching). She would be taking a year off as we transition, so if she found a good job on her bachelors in that period, she might not even consider doing grad school. I think with the amount of online programs that are available now, I am not going to worry too much about being super close to the university, its more important that I don't get swallowed by the cost haha.

I will definitely look into doing 1 BR instead and just using the dining/living area as our office. Not a big deal, will just have to get used to it.

No kids yet, and no plans for any for at least 8-10 years, so nothing to worry about there.

I don't have much choice to working in the Tysons Corner area, just have to go where the jobs are. I am going into Software Engineering, and never thought I would be moving to the east coast haha.

Thank you guys for the advice, very helpful.

Good luck, I don't know why assumed your fiance was male.

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by tehjojo

My fiance would be looking to do some liberal arts grad degree (probably teaching). She would be taking a year off as we transition, so if she found a good job on her bachelors in that period, she might not even consider doing grad school. I think with the amount of online programs that are available now, I am not going to worry too much about being super close to the university, its more important that I don't get swallowed by the cost haha.

I will definitely look into doing 1 BR instead and just using the dining/living area as our office. Not a big deal, will just have to get used to it.

No kids yet, and no plans for any for at least 8-10 years, so nothing to worry about there.

I don't have much choice to working in the Tysons Corner area, just have to go where the jobs are. I am going into Software Engineering, and never thought I would be moving to the east coast haha.

Thank you guys for the advice, very helpful.

After she lives here for one year, she would be eligible for in-state tuition at NOVA (Northern Virginia Community College), George Mason, or the Virginia Tech-UVA Northern Virginia Center. That would save quite a bit (at NOVA, out-of-state tuition is more than double in-state tuition per credit hour).

You might also look for a 1BR+den option.

[CaliTerp07]

...

OP, get a place in Tysons, avoid any sort of nasty commute while you get your bearings, and then you can branch out further when she's ready to commit to a school and you have a better idea of what areas you like in NoVA.