Relocating to Loudoun County - IT Companies (Reston, Leesburg: appointed, how much)

[Brian_from_Atl]

Hi Forum Readers,

My wife and I are considering relocating to Northern VA from Atlanta to escape some of the "big city" problems we have here. My late brother lived in Winchester and we fell in love with the area. On a recent vacation we discovered Leesburg, Middleburg and Loudoun County. Since Middleburg is a little out of our price range we're narrowed our search down to the Leesburg - Purcellville area. What are your opinion of this area? Any insights?

Also, I am an IT manager with a large company. I would like to find a job in Loudoun County. Possibly Leesburg, Ashburn or Sterling. I would like to avoid a commute into the DC Metro area. I don't want to trade one long commute for another. Do you have any recommendations?

Regards,
Brian from ATL

[Electron]

I would avoid Leesburg. Home prices there are not worth it. Purcellville, Round Hill, Upperville are all nice, quickly catching up with Middleburg prices if you looking for a house on more than just a lot. Jobs, well, there is FEMA and the not-so-secret presidential bunker there on top of the mountain. Try www.fema.gov and look for something in Round Hill, VA. Unless of course you are some kind of felon or terrorist.
As far as commuting to a job, the Dulles area has a lot to offer, and traffic doesn't get suicidal until you pass that area. Route 7 into Leesburg backs up in the mornings, with most of those people getting on the Dulles Greenway.

Also, the FBI is opening some sort of new office in Winchester. My mom has applied there, but I'm not sure what they plan to do out of that office. But IT is IT. Meaning that if you can do it, you can do it anywhere.

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't accept 20K more a year if I had to get back in that traffic. The sanity and home time is worth the pay cut if you can do it.

Best of luck.

[Brian_from_Atl]

Hi Electron,

Thanks for the recomendations. I agree about the traffic. It's worth the extra money to spend that time with my family while they're still young. Not to mention saving the cardiologist bill.

[Electron]

Well Bro, I made that drive for thirteen years. Add 'Body Shop' to your list of things to avoid. I killed four deer and critically wounded a Buick Skylark over that time period. About the traffic, I liked route 50 better than 7, and I66 was out of the question. I'd seriously check into FEMA(DHS) or the FBI. Winchester is really growing, enough so that I bet a guy with an IT background could make good money right across town.

[theburro]

Regret to say, you will not avoid "big city problems" by this proposed move. Northern Va (including loudoun Co.) has every imaginable problem due to its phenomenal growth rate.

[Golfinnova]

Originally Posted by Brian_from_Atl

Hi Forum Readers,

My wife and I are considering relocating to Northern VA from Atlanta to escape some of the "big city" problems we have here. My late brother lived in Winchester and we fell in love with the area. On a recent vacation we discovered Leesburg, Middleburg and Loudoun County. Since Middleburg is a little out of our price range we're narrowed our search down to the Leesburg - Purcellville area. What are your opinion of this area? Any insights?

Also, I am an IT manager with a large company. I would like to find a job in Loudoun County. Possibly Leesburg, Ashburn or Sterling. I would like to avoid a commute into the DC Metro area. I don't want to trade one long commute for another. Do you have any recommendations?

Regards,
Brian from ATL

Hi Brian,

In today's market, there are lots of bargains in housing especially in Leesburg; however, as some of the earlier posters have noted traffic on Rte. 7 can be pretty bad. There are plenty of IT companies along Rte. 28 in the Dulles Corridor. You may be able to find a job with the Loudoun County government and stay in downtown Leesburg given your background. You could also look into working in IT for the Loudoun County school system since their headquarters are in Ashburn.

[wanderingsoul]

Originally Posted by theburro

Regret to say, you will not avoid "big city problems" by this proposed move. Northern Va (including loudoun Co.) has every imaginable problem due to its phenomenal growth rate.

> Actually, it sounds like nova is much better than Atlanta in terms of commuting and the amount of construction going on. I don't know where the OP lives in Atlanta metro area, but many of my colleagues who live up north around Alpharetta and Marietta hate their commutes.

My family wanted to move to Atlanta earlier this year and went to scout the area where they had job offers. They came back rather disappointed with how bad the traffic is and how much new construction is going on and schools definitely are much better in loudoun county and fairfax county than whatever county they were checking out over there.

I think if the OP can be find a job within loudoun county, he/she can grit and bear the traffic. It's not worth commuting beyond Reston anyday. Many of my colleagues commute from Purcellville. I wouldn't do it, but they say it's not so bad as I imagine it to be!!!