How expensive is it to live in NoVa? (Arlington, Alexandria: neighborhood, college)

[HokieFan]

Originally Posted by NovaOne

Because the desire to live in a nice town home on $50k income in the DC area communicates a level of naivete that grownups often find humorous in the innocence of children.

Dispense with the condescending tone. OP has made it clear that once his fiancé finds a job, they will be making well over $100k. Which will buy a nice townhome in PWC.

Having been in OPs shoes, my suggestion is to rent for at least year to get a feel for the area, maybe get a pay bump, fiancé will be employed and then buy a home.

[HokieFan]

Originally Posted by doubled8206

Being a 25 year old where do you recommend area wise? I'm no old man so somewhere with similar age range would be nice. Some of these home pricing talks scare me haha

Where in PWC is your job?

[newgatedenizen]

Isn't the median salary the number at which half the households make more and half the households make LESS? This being the case why do so many people assume that one can not afford to live in an area unless they make at least the median income?

If I wasn't such a privacy nut I'd love to go into great detail about our lifestyle the last 25 years in NOVA making considerably less than the median income for our zip code. Suffice to say it can be done and done well.

[Octa]

Originally Posted by newgatedenizen

Isn't the median salary the number at which half the households make more and half the households make LESS? This being the case why do so many people assume that one can not afford to live in an area unless they make at least the median income?

If I wasn't such a privacy nut I'd love to go into great detail about our lifestyle the last 25 years in NOVA making considerably less than the median income for our zip code. Suffice to say it can be done and done well.

Yup. I was reading this article on the Washington Post the other day about the DC region and it talked about how all these high salaries plays into a keeping up with the Jones' mentality.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by doubled8206

Being a 25 year old where do you recommend area wise? I'm no old man so somewhere with similar age range would be nice. Some of these home pricing talks scare me haha

You're likely to see a lot of younger professionals, especially those who have kids, scattered throughout the county. Possibly the closest thing to a younger professional hotspot would be Old Town Manassas...but detached homes may not necessarily be an option in your preferred budget. Apartment rentals may be available, however.


But as I think HokieFan may have been alluding to, the most important thing to consider should be proximity to your job. PWC encompasses a large area and even though your commute may not be as rough as those traveling further north, a shorter drive is an enviable amenity in this area.

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by doubled8206

Being a 25 year old where do you recommend area wise? I'm no old man so somewhere with similar age range would be nice. Some of these home pricing talks scare me haha

They were actually talking about the top 'hipster' areas in DC Metro on the radio yesterday. Their data was based on average age, amount of rental %, and a couple other factors I think. Del Ray, Ballston, and downtown Silver Spring were the top 3. Those are also 3 of the most expensive places to live in the area though.

[stateofnature]

Originally Posted by FCNova

They were actually talking about the top 'hipster' areas in DC Metro on the radio yesterday. Their data was based on average age, amount of rental %, and a couple other factors I think. Del Ray, Ballston, and downtown Silver Spring were the top 3. Those are also 3 of the most expensive places to live in the area though.

Ballston is the complete polar opposite of hipster. It is quintessentially yuppie. Del Ray and Silver Spring are kind of hipster.

But I don't think the OP is looking for "hipster" areas per se. I think he is asking for where people in their 20s post-college in the DC area hang out. The answers are Ballston, Clarendon and Court House in Virginia, downtown Bethesda and downtown Silver Spring in Maryland, and almost too many neighborhoods in DC proper to name, including Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, U St, H St, Adams Morgan, Cleveland Park, Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant and more.

You certainly can find people in their mid-20s and late 20s in other parts of the DC area, but those are basically the only parts of the area where you will find them doing social things in any kind of significant number.

[NovaOne]

Originally Posted by newgatedenizen

Isn't the median salary the number at which half the households make more and half the households make LESS? This being the case why do so many people assume that one can not afford to live in an area unless they make at least the median income?

If I wasn't such a privacy nut I'd love to go into great detail about our lifestyle the last 25 years in NOVA making considerably less than the median income for our zip code. Suffice to say it can be done and done well.

Sure, but no one is saying that the OP can't afford to live in this area. I know I'm not. In fact I've argued in other threads encouraging people making less than the OP to give NoVA a shot. We are just recommending that the OP have more realistic expectations about housing costs and to plan to rent for a while before diving head first into the search for something to buy.

[doubled8206]

Ya, I plan on renting before buying, that's for sure. I know I would have a decent starting salary and if my fiancé gets a job then we would be making around 100K or over. I'm not looking to live a life of luxury but don't want to be living away from civilization. Still being young I like to be around you get people. Not bars, Clubs, or stuff like that, but living in an area where the people I live around are my age.

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by stateofnature

Ballston is the complete polar opposite of hipster. It is quintessentially yuppie. Del Ray and Silver Spring are kind of hipster.

But I don't think the OP is looking for "hipster" areas per se. I think he is asking for where people in their 20s post-college in the DC area hang out. The answers are Ballston, Clarendon and Court House in Virginia, downtown Bethesda and downtown Silver Spring in Maryland, and almost too many neighborhoods in DC proper to name, including Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, U St, H St, Adams Morgan, Cleveland Park, Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant and more.

You certainly can find people in their mid-20s and late 20s in other parts of the DC area, but those are basically the only parts of the area where you will find them doing social things in any kind of significant number.

The point of my post wasn't what is 'hipster'. They used the term, not me. But one of the criteria for them was a younger crowd, which is what the OP was asking about. It was just a news tidbit I thought he'd find interesting.

I completely disagree w/ Ballston being yuppie too. It seems like the people who call it that are people who have never lived there who resent it for some reason. If anything the younger people there tend to have less money than most because it's so expensive.