Please Sticky: General Pointers If You are Moving To Northern Virginia (Arlington: rental, townhouse)

[Fairfax Mom]

I agree about the crime and gangs - I lived in the Princeton NJ area in an upscale neighborhood and Trenton was right down the road and there was a gang SHOOTING almost EVERY night. Nothing in Fairfax County even comes close

[jaywallace]

Originally Posted by SmerkyGrl

-Unless you live right across the street from or in the city of where you work, there will be no commute less than 30 minutes on a normal day.

-A typical studio or 1-bedroom starts at $1000. The only way you can find lower prices is if it is a private owner.

-Housing to own starts around 275k-300k with relatively crappy condos. No, we do not have 3 bedroom single family homes under 400k that are in liveable conditions.

-Yes Dingler, we do have illegal immigrants. No Dingler, not everyone that has light brown-dark brown skin is an illegal immigrant.

-Northern Virginia weather can be described as relatively balanced: we do have snow, there is a fall and a spring, and not to mention a scorching hot summer.

- If you are looking for nightlife for young people, a couple of places to check out include Ballston and DC.

- If you are looking for a small town feel, research City of Falls Church and Old Town Alexandria

- If you like stripmalls, you can live anywhere.

- We have plenty of diversity here though it is not often condensed in pockets (except Asiandale/Annandale). If you don't like diversity, you might want to reconsider moving here. If you do like diversity, sit tight, you will find the culture you seek as you settle in.

-You will come across a lot of whiners about how horrible Northern Virginia is so here are a few positive points to consider:

• Northern Virginia is very nature-friendly. Even in the most condensed of metropolitan areas, you are able to see various trees, flowers, and shrubs.
• World-class monuments and museums are within an hour's drive from you. So is shopping, the potomac river, small towns, and the capital of the United States
• Most of the residents in Northern Virginia and DC are transplants. You will not feel like a sore thumb newbie sticking out in the crowd---we have all experienced what you experience at some point in time.
• There are plenty of jobs to go around, as long as you have a college education. The tech industry here is booming, as are consulting firms in Tyson's Corner. There are even plenty of blue-collar jobs if you look hard enough.
• No, our traffic really isn't that bad. If you disagree, I suggest you move to Philly or LA.

...NoVa-ers, feel free to add more.

You make a lot of good and helpful points. I disagree with the illegal immigrant part though. They have affected many areas in Northern Va.

[alexandrian]

Originally Posted by SmerkyGrl

If you do like diversity, sit tight, you will find the culture you seek as you settle in.

You will also find a lot of great "ethnic" food. Take advantage of it.

[lqda4]

To find out exactly how much previous/current home owner paid for the house, tax info, etc.:
Fairfax County

I am sure other counties have similar websites where you can search...

[SmerkyGrl]

Want mod to sticky

[Yac]

Ok, ok. Done
Yac.

[shibainu]

I am looking to relocate to Fairfax County from Rochester ny. I will tell you it is like night and day. Crime in the rust belt is bad. I am in an inter-racial relationship and I saw no problems in Fairfax County. They only difference I disliked was traffic. I came down from 270 near Fredrick to get to fall church and I have never seen so much traffic. But 270 has 2 lanes and eventually opens up. If they expand their highway like nyc or nj I do not see them having a problem with traffic on the highways. Only difference in cost of living was housing. Actually checked price between cities and it cost more in upstate ny to live than in northern Virginia. From an outsiders point of view I liked northern Virginia. Only area I did not like driving into was seven corners, I never knew where to go.


Oh, Wegmans food is from rochester, ny. The flagship store in Rochester is in pittsford ny. It is nice but I love the fairfax store with the wine cellar and more room to move around in the market/wokery area.

[home*sweet*home]

Miles from job x 2.5, not 2. 30 miles = 1.5 hours on a bad day. Which could be any day, so you have to plan.

Driving from Loudoun County to the Dulles Airport Exxon and gassing up lets you ride on the otherwise-forbidden toll road. Keep your receipt. Not sure it saves you MUCH time unless the toll road is IMPOSSIBLY backed up, which is far too often - and boy you better NEED gas. In other words, FILL UP not just buy a few dollars. We have four cars and rotate the one that needs the most gas...but the cops will let you by if you really NEEDED gas.

The Greenway (Private toll road)'s prices are horrible until you examine the alternative.

[normie]

Observations about Loudoun County (may also apply to other counties--but I happen to live in Loudoun):

1. Loudoun is where families live. It can be lonely for single people, although that is starting to change. The best way to meet new friends here (if you don't have kids) is through a church. Toastmasters is also very big here. The local libraries are dynamic, and any club meeting at a library is likely to attract lots of people. Sweetwater and Champs are two good places to get a drink and meet new friends.

2. As mentioned above, the libraries are incredible resources. And guess what, they don't charge fines for overdue books!!!

3. You can hike all the way from Algonkian Park to Great Falls National Park. It's a beautiful trail--a bit hard to find at first but well worth it. There are many great trails in Loudoun.

4. The area near Dulles Mall is growing incredibly fast. All the new stores in Virginia seem to go there first. If you're looking for an upscale store, Sterling usually has it. Personally, I think it's exciting and vibrant--I love all the new stores and I think they've done a good job of planning. IMO, the traffic runs smoothly and the whole area is well designed. Others will disagree, and some people find the growth disconcerting.

5. If you buy a house, use mulch in your garden. It will help you conserve water, and protects your plants if the winter gets cold. It's available for free at the County site on evergreen road. Some people get carried away and build little mulch "volcanoes" around their trees. Don't do this--mulch should only be a few inches high.

6. Get free gardening advice from Merrified Garden Center. Probably the other garden centers have advice, too but that's the place I use. You can take a cutting from a plant and they will tell you what it is, how to care for it (and what's wrong with it if you have a problem). They have a tv show every Saturday at 8 a.m. that is very useful for people new to the area.

7. If you are new to the mid Atlantic and have pine trees--it is normal for some of the needles to turn brown and fall off at this time of year.

[normie]

Also--

Kayaking is a wonderful sport here (in the summer, anyway--the Potomac is starting to get a little cold now). You can rent them at Riverbend Park for $15. Riverbend Park is a gem that many people don't know about. It's right next to great Falls National Park, and there's a very scenic hike to the falls. And, best of all, it's free!