Moving to NOVA for job, few questions (Arlington, McLean: apartments, for rent)

[dopke]

I'm moving to NOVA for a job in Mclean in a few months. I'm single in my mid 20s. Have not truly lived on my own while paying for all my expenses so I have a few questions:

1. On a salary of about 75k, what should I be comfortable with paying for an apartment considering the taxes, witholdings, etc taken out and car insurance/car payment/etc. Most of the apartments I've seen for 1BR are at least 1400-1500. I'd really like to keep my rent in the 1000-1300 range, but is 1500 rent within my means?

2. How is the commute on GW Parkway going North into Mclean? I have no idea, but I would think since it's going away from DC - would it be considered a reverse commute, and a "good" commute by DC standards? Also, is commuting through the suburbs in that Mclean area viable? i.e. 120, 309, 695?

3. Any recommendations on specific apartments in any of the North Arlington or even Central Arlington areas? From Google Maps, these places seem the easiest for me to commute to work from (in descending order): Rosslyn, Clarendon, Ballston, down to Columbia Pike?

Thanks

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by dopke

I'm moving to NOVA for a job in Mclean in a few months. I'm single in my mid 20s. Have not truly lived on my own while paying for all my expenses so I have a few questions:

1. On a salary of about 75k, what should I be comfortable with paying for an apartment considering the taxes, witholdings, etc taken out and car insurance/car payment/etc... is 1500 rent within my means?

'
Heck yes. It should be.
I'm 39, married with a child. Want to trade salaries?

[FindingZen]

1. Where are you looking for apartments? It sounds like Arlington which is the social epicenter for NOVA young professionals. The rents you're finding are pretty typical if not slightly low if looking in the neighborhoods along the Metro's Orange Line (e.g. Clarendon, Court House, Ballston). Assuming you have no other significant debts, you should be able to live comfortably paying $1500 rent. I would say that for the entire area, $1200-1300 might be baseline for a 1BR unit at a decent apt building/complex in an "okay" area with a moderately convenient commute.

2. Not too many "reverse commutes" in since many job centers are in VA including McLean(Tysons Corner) and Dulles. Having taken the GW Parkway north through McLean on fairly crowded weekend afternoons, I would predict a busy rush hour, to say the least.

3. I'll have to leave that to others more knowledgeable.

[SB4]

Originally Posted by dopke

1. On a salary of about 75k, what should I be comfortable with paying for an apartment considering the taxes, witholdings, etc taken out and car insurance/car payment/etc. Most of the apartments I've seen for 1BR are at least 1400-1500. I'd really like to keep my rent in the 1000-1300 range, but is 1500 rent within my means?

You should be fine on that salary.

Originally Posted by dopke

2. How is the commute on GW Parkway going North into Mclean? I have no idea, but I would think since it's going away from DC - would it be considered a reverse commute, and a "good" commute by DC standards? Also, is commuting through the suburbs in that Mclean area viable? i.e. 120, 309, 695?

The thing about DC/NoVA is that the "reverse commute" no longer really exists. It's pretty much different for every route, some reverse commutes I've actually found to be worse, especially in recent years.

Originally Posted by dopke

3. Any recommendations on specific apartments in any of the North Arlington or even Central Arlington areas? From Google Maps, these places seem the easiest for me to commute to work from (in descending order): Rosslyn, Clarendon, Ballston, down to Columbia Pike?

Nothing specific, but the neighborhoods get cheaper (and also less nice) as you go down columbia pike. Do you have your heart set on Arlington?

[dopke]

Originally Posted by SB4

Nothing specific, but the neighborhoods get cheaper (and also less nice) as you go down columbia pike. Do you have your heart set on Arlington?

Not really set on Arlington, but just seems like for the single young professional crowd it's where there's things to do. But, above all if the apartment is nicer and with a better commute time, I'd take that over the necessity to be in Arlington.

[slowlane3]

If your worksite has a McLean address, there's a good chance it's actually in "Tyson's Corner", the leading job site in northern VA, which has some 70,000 or 80,000 jobs concentrated in that small area, therefore it's not a simple "reverse commute" as you might naively think.

[oneasterisk]

Originally Posted by dopke

I'm moving to NOVA for a job in Mclean in a few months. I'm single in my mid 20s. Have not truly lived on my own while paying for all my expenses so I have a few questions:

1. On a salary of about 75k, what should I be comfortable with paying for an apartment considering the taxes, witholdings, etc taken out and car insurance/car payment/etc. Most of the apartments I've seen for 1BR are at least 1400-1500. I'd really like to keep my rent in the 1000-1300 range, but is 1500 rent within my means?

I would create yourself a budget to see how much you can comfortably spend. It's usually a good idea not to spend more than 28-31% of your income for housing.

[dopke]

It's not in Tysons Corner. I've seen where the site is, if I'm in Rosslyn the easiest way is definitely up through GW parkway.

As far as budget, yeah I was wary about committing 30% a month towards housing, but for some people here it seems like it isn't a problem.

[oneasterisk]

Check out this calculator: PaycheckCity.com | Paycheck Calculator

It'll give you an idea of your take home pay after taxes/401k/health insurance etc. Estimating your other bills you'll kind of have an idea of how much you'll have left over for rent.

Main thing is don't forget to pay yourself. Make sure you're contributing to your companies 401k/IRA or whatever. Start young and you'll surprise yourself with how much it accumulates so quickly.

[Badger21]

OP

I make significantly less than you, pay 1300 in rent, pay 450 for a car, go out every weekend, eat out a fair amount, and STILL have money left over for savings. You're gonna be fine with any apartment under 2k.