Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 05-18-2011, 04:45 PM
 
4 posts, read 7,543 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

hello, im 38, single african american female. Have a bachelors degree and in grad school. im moving to woodbridge from atlanta with two teenage girls. Would like to know how the job market is and how long it might take me to find employment. Im focused mainly in the mental health field. I really dont know what to expect and very anxious to find employment. I chose woodbridge over wilkes-barre, pa. I hope I made the right decision, I do not know anything about either of these areas. Help
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-18-2011, 04:52 PM
 
Location: Woodbridge
265 posts, read 952,906 times
Reputation: 114
I would recommend having a job lined up before you move to the area. While our job market is much stronger than other areas due to the strong government and military concentration it still will take some time to get started with a job.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-18-2011, 05:00 PM
 
4 posts, read 7,543 times
Reputation: 10
I agree, however my situation has gotten bad in atl, im stayn with relatives and have enough money to support my family for a couple of months after I get there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-18-2011, 05:10 PM
 
Location: Woodbridge
265 posts, read 952,906 times
Reputation: 114
The cost of living in this area if quite high. Very different from other areas in the country. Are you planning to stay with family in the area or get a rental? A 3 bedroom townhouse will start around $1250 a month and if you are considering a single family that would be about $1500 and up.

Traffic here is awful. It can take 1.5 +hours on a heavy traffic day to get to DC which is about 35 miles away. Jobs are all over the Northern Virginia area and DC. Many people in the area do that commute everyday. If you find a job that is in the Arlington or DC area, many people do something called SLUGGING so they can use HOV-3 and it shaves time off their commute. There is also the VRE which is the train and there are 2 stops in Woodbridge.

I would encourage you to visit the area before you commit to moving you're whole family out here and see if you like it.

Last edited by smagid; 05-18-2011 at 05:21 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-18-2011, 05:12 PM
 
Location: Censorshipville...
4,437 posts, read 8,132,491 times
Reputation: 5021
Just keep in mind that this area has a very high cost of living. Also traffic is very congested so it helps to live not too far from where you'll work otherwise you'll be spending a lot of time commuting. You don't want to get settled somewhere and then find a job 50 miles away.

Job market is great in this area. Lots of competition for those jobs too so keep that in mind. Good luck!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-18-2011, 05:40 PM
 
4 posts, read 7,543 times
Reputation: 10
im in atlanta, traffic is bad, cost of living is high if you want something nice in a nice area. Competition for jobs is horrible here. With that being said I have no job in atl after next friday, and I have to move with family. The two places I can go is woodbridge or wilkes-barre pennsylvania. Im originally from ny and I do not want to look for work in ny, which is close to pa. That is why i chose woodbridge.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-18-2011, 08:29 PM
 
8,982 posts, read 21,171,724 times
Reputation: 3808
Your chances of finding employment will definitely better in Northern Virginia than the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. Woodbridge/Prince William County will not have as many opportunities as further north, particularly in Fairfax, Loudoun and Arlington Counties.

As others have said, traffic is pretty bad here but coming from the ATL, it should not shock you but so much. At least you will have more public transit options as also mentioned compared to MARTA.

Woodbridge is relatively affordable by NOVA standards but you may be in for sticker shock when you do get your own place. As you can imagine, the cost of living only gets higher further north as you approach DC as well as other job centers in VA like Tysons Corner.

It's good that you have family to support you in your transition. Best of luck to you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-23-2011, 07:40 AM
 
Location: Woodbridge, Virgina
191 posts, read 357,417 times
Reputation: 122
Well first off welcome to NOVA

I am a teen and in NOVA local community college and dont know how old your daughters are but will tell you there is so much to do here, i attended a local high school and loved my experience there and all my friends did also! Woodbridge is a AMAZING area to live in and the commute to DC, Alexandria, Fairfax, or Loudoun is about a hour away ( which is most likely where you will find a job in your field ) .....try your best to learn the roads because around here it is almost impossible to get to work sometimes so you have to take alternative ways .I can tell you that the quickest way to find empolyment in our area is networking so its all about who you know, and since your in grad school you already have the credentials so when you find the right job you will get it! Best of luck and just know that most NOVA people are friendly and will help you if you ask!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:42 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top