Moving to Nova from Austin Texas (Springfield, Purcellville: vehicle registration, new house, employment)

[hedgeclipper2]

Hi everyone, first time poster. I am moving to Northern Virginia in about a month for work. Was offered an amazing position and had questions.

My work will be at 395 and Edsall Rd, and I will have normal work hours.

My starting salary is $75k, which I believe would be pretty decent for the area. I was wondering what some good places to live nearby would be and how the commute would fair from those areas?

I do have two small dogs, so would really like the area to be walkable and pet friendly.

My parents live in Springfield just off Old Keene Mill Rd at Huntsman Blvd, but being only 26 I would like to be in a more hip area.

Thanks for the help!

[spencgr]

Shirlington is very dog-friendly. Lots of restaurants.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by spencgr

Shirlington is very dog-friendly. Lots of restaurants.

Shirlington would be awesome for a 26 year old dog lover. Across the street from the dog park, walkable to a lot of stuff, good commute.

Old town would work too, for the same reasons.

It really depends on what you want for housing and what you're willing to spend.

[BMWZ4RUlz]

I would vote for Crystal City and welcome to the area.

[hilsmom]

shirlington would be great, as there are back roads you could take pretty easily to get to edsall and 395. I lived in shirlington when I was 26 - it was a great area then, and has built up/gotten hipper since then.

You could also look in Fairlington and/or Parkfairfax areas, which are right next door to Shrlington.

[Malletto]

I moved from Austin last year. One thing you will notice is everything here costs more than Austin. Food, gas, housing, vehicle registration, income tax. No HEB here, the grocery stores suck in comparison so that will take a lot getting used to. The restaurant choices in Austin are much better as well. Northern Virginia is just a completely different area.

Some of the pluses compared to Austin:

Won't be running your air for 9 out of the 12 months of the year! So lower electric and water costs.
Summer is really only a few months, rest of the time the weather is great for being outdoors, no 90+days of 100+ weather in Virginia.
Being close to DC, lots of stuff to do.
Higher paying jobs, but that is offset by the higher cost of living compared to Austin.

[HokieFan]

Originally Posted by Malletto

I moved from Austin last year. One thing you will notice is everything here costs more than Austin. Food, gas, housing, vehicle registration, income tax. No HEB here, the grocery stores suck in comparison so that will take a lot getting used to. The restaurant choices in Austin are much better as well. Northern Virginia is just a completely different area.

Some of the pluses compared to Austin:

Won't be running your air for 9 out of the 12 months of the year! So lower electric and water costs.
Summer is really only a few months, rest of the time the weather is great for being outdoors, no 90+days of 100+ weather in Virginia.
Being close to DC, lots of stuff to do.
Higher paying jobs, but that is offset by the higher cost of living compared to Austin.

Wrong. Last July, we had 16 days of temps above 95. And the humidity is a beast as well.

2nd hottest July on record in Washington, D.C.; warmest year-to-date on record, 5th driest - Capital Weather Gang - The Washington Post

Third hottest summer, 5th warmest August, warmest year-to-date in Washington, D.C. - Capital Weather Gang - The Washington Post

[hilsmom]

Malletto, where in Austin did you live? We were looking to relocate there in 2011, but wound up staying here due to lack of employment opportunities in my husband's job field. We found that the neighborhoods we were interested in living in there were just as expensive as here. Granted, we were interested in Westlake and Allandale as we wanted to be close in or in the city with good schools and walkable amenities.

[Malletto]

Originally Posted by HokieFan

Wrong. Last July, we had 16 days of temps above 95. And the humidity is a beast as well.

2nd hottest July on record in Washington, D.C.; warmest year-to-date on record, 5th driest - Capital Weather Gang - The Washington Post

Third hottest summer, 5th warmest August, warmest year-to-date in Washington, D.C. - Capital Weather Gang - The Washington Post

Yeah I was here, oh man 16 whole days above 95, it wasn't 16 consecutive days and if you read what I wrote it definitely was not 90+ consecutive days over 100. I'll take 16 days in a summer any day over 90+ in a row days over 100. If this last summer was the worst that the DC can summon, I'll take it any day over a Texas summer. It was a walk in the park compared to summer in Austin.

[Malletto]

Originally Posted by hilsmom

Malletto, where in Austin did you live? We were looking to relocate there in 2011, but wound up staying here due to lack of employment opportunities in my husband's job field. We found that the neighborhoods we were interested in living in there were just as expensive as here. Granted, we were interested in Westlake and Allandale as we wanted to be close in or in the city with good schools and walkable amenities.

Well yeah Westlake, thats expensive. We lived in north austin, almost cedar park. Avery Ranch was the name of the development. Our house up there cost half of what a comparable house costs here in NOVA. We are building a new house in Purcellville and the cost is more than double of what it would be in Austin.