Relocating for San Jose to Northern Virginia::Need Inputs (Leesburg: sales, apartments)

[ashishsonileo]

Hi Friends,
I am currently living in San Jose area of California. I work in a tech company. The cost of living here is shockingly very high, i.e. nearly 40% of my income goes in Rental(I rent a 1 BR apartment, and paying $1500). Another very negative point about San Jose is the high taxes, i.e. nearly 33% of my income goes in taxes.
I now have an option from my employer to relocate to Northern Virginia. I am also happy and keen to take this up, as the overall cost of living in Northern Virginia is little less than Bay Area. Once I moved to Northern Virginia, I would be majorly working from home, with occasional visits to DC area to meet clients. I have a complete list of questions for which I need some inputs: Please help...

1: 2 BR(Even a 1BR with a Den for my home office would meet my needs) in the range of ~$800/month. 1 Hr drive to/from DC would be OK. However it needs to be in 30 mins of driving range from Ashburn(as my manager tele-commutes from Ashburn, and he wants me to live near him for us to easily work together). Also It need not have to be in any school area, as we dont have any kids.

2: Please suggest the localities and area wherein there is lots of Indian population.

3: Here in San Jose, we pay 9% income tax, and 8.25% sales tax. Whats the tax scene in NV. Does it depends on counties and localities. Can you please name few localities which have least taxes.

4: How safe it is for an Expat Couple. Atleast here in San Jose, safety has never been a concern. We can go for a walk even at 10PM in the night and we need not have to worry about anything.

5: Does people drive sensibility there, or road rages are common. Here in San Jose people drive very sensibly, but when I travel to San Francisco, I see so many crazy drivers(It reminds me of India).

6: Lastly, with the earning of 75K/year, would it be good enough for a family of 2, to live a decent lifestyle, with decent savings.

All kinds of replies are WELCOME

[stateofnature]

$800 for a 2 bedroom? Not going to happen. Even $800 for a 1 bedroom is very hard to find in a safe neighborhood here.

I think you're assuming this area is cheaper than San Jose than it really is. It's cheaper, but not by much.

[stpickrell]

You can pay under $1000 for a place in Leesburg and probably Sterling. $800 or less will require moving to Winchester and that is more than 30 minutes from Ashburn.

I don't know the specific areas where there's a lot of Indians. But we're not devoid of them here.

The tax in VA is this:
federal tax stays the same
state tax tops off at 6% of income
you're renting so property tax (which is $1.23 or so per $100 of value) is not a factor. VA has no locality property tax.
you pay property tax on your car at the rate of 4% of its value, BUT the first 80% of the first $20,000 is exempt. So if your car values at $10,000, the taxable value is only $2,000.

Northern Virginia is safe. Even our unsafe areas get laughed at by other states' unsafe areas. With that said, there's some areas in each locality that are preferable to others.

Driver quality is a matter of opinion.

$75k a year is doable in Loudoun County.

[ashishsonileo]

Thanks stpickrell,
So out of Sterling, Leesburg & Winchester, where you'll find more of Indian population.
Any recommendations of specific apartments is more than welcome

[Caladium]

I doubt you'd find anything in Sterling for that price--if you do, be wary because something is wrong with the place. In Leesburg you might find something in some of the less desirable neighborhoods, but nothing around here is really "undesirable". In other words, you might be in a neighborhood with noisy neighbors or petty crime, or you might find something that's a little run down, but it won't be that bad. There are plenty of Indian people living through northern Virginia, but probably more in Leesburg than in Winchester since Winchester is quite a bit west of the metro area. If you can pay just a little bit more, you'll find it much easier to find a nice place closer to work. IMO, it's worth it.

Road rage is less common here than in similarly sized metro areas. Many people think the reason is so many people have security clearances here. When you have gone out of your way to get a clearance, you're not going to risk it by getting in fights or indulging in road rage.

[ashishsonileo]

Thanks Caladium.
O Ya...after doing little more research I found that asking for a 2 BR in $800 is like too much.
I can definitely stretch up-to 1000 or 1100, if the place is good, with walkable distance to grocery shops and lot of indians around.
So as if now, I have 2 votes for Leesburg.
Looking at Google Maps, it seems to be decent--15 mins from Ashburn, 25 mins from IAD Airport(Inportant for me, as I travel a lot for business around the country) and just about 1 hour from DC. That's exactly what I am looking for.

Any reference for a specific apartments in Leesburg area.

For now, I found 1 which is within my budget and looks decent aswell.
Availability - The Fields of Leesburg I
Any Suggestions?

[ashishsonileo]

Originally Posted by stpickrell

you pay property tax on your car at the rate of 4% of its value, BUT the first 80% of the first $20,000 is exempt. So if your car values at $10,000, the taxable value is only $2,000.

On the car thingie, I recently bought a car worth 15500 OTD in San Jose and paid 8.25% sales tax here. Does this means that when I ship this car to VA, I again have to pay the sales tax there.

[car54]

I'll just add that the surest place to find Indians in the DC metro area is Dunkin Donuts (which are everywhere).

For some reason, Indians seem to have a lock on the donut biz around here. Don't ask how I know this...my doctor might be reading...

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by ashishsonileo

Thanks Caladium.

For now, I found 1 which is within my budget and looks decent aswell.
Availability - The Fields of Leesburg I
Any Suggestions?

those rates are for a special "imcome restricted" program. You cannot earm more that 50K and rent those apartments.

[Margery]

Originally Posted by spencgr

those rates are for a special "imcome restricted" program. You cannot earm more that 50K and rent those apartments.

Correct, that is easily verified by clicking on the link within the post. If your income is $75,00 for a family of 2 there is no way you can qualify for an income restricted program. You will have to pay about $1200 per month for a 2 bedroom apartment in Leesburg, which is not an unreasonable amount for an income of $75,000. Try homesdatabase.com to search for Leesburg, there are some nice ones available at that price, some within walking distance of shopping.