General Pointers If You are Moving To Northern Virginia (Amended with link to Photo Tours index) (Arlington: renting, insurance)

[OrangeFish]

Adding a link to the older thread with General Pointers about Moving to Northern Virginia

[Melbourne Family]

Great idea, very helpful for NOVA newbies!

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

Why not merge Normie's FAQ thread and this one?

A very good idea, Alanboy!

[Toni.G]

I have moved from CT to NOVA and I can say I thought the trafic was bad, but that is because where I am from we are spoiled. Where you can leave for work and be at work in 10mins. I have gotten used to it. I live in Woodbridge/Dumfries and work in Fairfax off of 123. It takes 20 to 30 mins when there is no traffic. With Traffic it takes 45 to 50 mins to get to work. But seeing my paycheck makes it all worth it when you have a family to support. I am a single working mom and I can say NOVA is great for my daughter, it is family oriented here and it is mostly suburban in all the areas I know here. The schools are great educational wise and they are serious about our childrens education. There are a handful of rough communities, but nothing to worry about to much. I make 3 times the amount of money I was making in CT. Even though the cost of living is expensive here in NOVA, you still make more money to support your living. However you do have more chances when you have a education, but jobs are not that hard to come by here like they are in most places. Another thing, coming from where I'm from, I had to get used to the fact that it is almost a crime to broke here. LOL

[Toni.G]

I would also say that NOVA is more beneficial to family oriented people! If you are not serious about working hard and taking care of home, then I would say that NOVA is not for you!!
"OPINION"

[BaCo]

Just got back from Woodbridge where my son and his wife recently bought a home. It's a 3-level, 3 bedroom row house with patio and deck off the living room and comes with access to a lakeside park with boating. AND all for under $350k. I like it down there (am in New England) and my son woulld like to get me to move there. It's those scorching summers that I'm leery of, having experienced one in '06 when I visited Alexandria and greater metro. Also view driving there with trepidation, but I suppose I could get used to it.

You're right about the commute--at least half an hour, no matter where you are going. (It's 35 minutes for my son to get to his job in D.C.)

Still, I like the ambience and the 'multicultural' aspect suits me fine, having lived in NYC for several years. Thanks for the tips, some of which are new and some of which confirm what I've been learning.

[free_food]

I'm here on business and your state is BEAUTIFUL! The only drawback is that the traffic is horrendous! That, and I seem to get lost everywhere I go, LOL. But other than that, I have to say that the beauty of this area is nothing short of phenomenal, especially at this time of the year. I could fall in love with this place (Springfield/Alexandria area).

PS. I got lost (again) today. Mainly it seems to be with the lack of a real "grid" system, and the exits to local roads from the Interstate are few and far between. Goodness, I drove almost five miles between exits!! All of the roads are running in every direction and have several names (what is up with that?). But, I ran across one of the county's best (Police Officer), who was VERY helpful and considerate. I am now safe in my hotel in Springfield!

[FrannyBear]

Originally Posted by mnm1130

I'm really enjoying all of this new information. My name's Mike and I'm from Virignia Beach. ME and my fiance are planning on moving to northern virginia. I am 20 years old and am being offered a job making 40-45k a year which is more than what I make here. I've heard it's expensive in NOVA. I'm not so concerned with the commute because my job will consist of me driving in a company van with a company gas card all up and down 66 and I will be getting paid for drive time. The man offering the job told me to look around warrenton, manassas, springfield, and leesburg. All of these places are pretty up class, high dollar areas...am I wrong? I was thinking Fredericksburg... does Fredericksburg have easy access to 66? Are there jobs on the west side of NOVA for my fiance. She is young, too and has some office experience. I'd love some help.

I would stick with Warrenton, Manassas or Fairfax City if you can afford it. Anything close to Rt 66 will make your life so much more pleasant -- and plenty of people live around here on that salary. My nephew just moved here from Pennsylvania and he makes $36,000 a year and has a nice apartment in Falls Church that he shares for $1400 a month. If your fiance can do office work and has computer skills she will be able to find employment fairly quickly. I suggest the website SIMPLYHIRED -- google in the zip code of Fairfax and you will see lots of jobs.

[ajzjmsmom]

We went to DMV this morning in Stafford to title and register 2 vehicles and get drivers licenses for 2 people. I preprinted and filled out all of my paperwork at home, we were there 15 minutes before they opened and we went middle of the week, we were there for 1.5 hrs start to finish. It was not the nightmare that I kept reading about from posters on here. I made sure to use the checklist online for what documents I needed so we had everything with us and are now set up for the next 2 years. So to newcomers just make sure you get there early, try not to go on Monday or Friday, the first or last of the month and take all your necessary documents with you. It also might be worth the trip to drive to a DMV that maybe less crowded, I know this morning there was a guy from PWC at the Stafford DMV getting his done. Make sure you have had your cars inspected and emissions tested before you go to title and register.

You can print all of the needed documents off of the DMV website, and since I had a question about this yesterday we only needed to fill out the form that is for both titling and registering the vehicle. The information from the DMV website for "new to Virgina" shows you have to fill this one out and then one for registering but it was not necessary.

[happy2Baim]

[*]"No, our traffic really isn't that bad. If you disagree, I suggest you move to Philly or LA."

Well, that makes me feel better as I bet Atlanta rates up there with Philly or LA. Great input, thanks! Not to mention that was another 'transplant' town.