Moving to NOVA- I need your help (Reston, Manassas: renters, houses)

[EnsignPulver]

Moving from Texas, I will office in Reston, and another location near Annapolis. Salary is 110k

We will lease at first, we need a 4-5 bedroom house (3 young kids), and I would rather have a nicer house with a big yard, and make the longer drive. My one way commute in Houston is 55 miles in 90 minutes, so I am used to it. At this point, schools are not important

I am sure there are many questions I don't know to ask, but here are a few I do have

-Best bang for the buck in housing, I am thinking 1800-2200 for a 12 month lease. Is this reasonable?

-What area has the overall lowest cost of living

- Is Virginia better or Maryland for taxes

- Is there anywhere I can keep the drive under an hour in BAD traffic and get the above too?

I appreciate all your help

EP

[Fern435]

I'll do my best at pointing you to a few options. I'm a military spouse (we are renters too), so I understand the difficulty of house hunting here.

You mentioned the most important needs regarding size, price, commute. Traffic here is REALLY bad, so what you need to determine is how often you'll be in Reston and how often you'll be in Annapolis. Definitely let that be part of your decision since schools are not an issue.

More informed folks on here will hopefully help out with your questions, but I think someone here has mentioned that the taxes in Maryland end up being higher than in Virginia.

Having said that, I would suggest looking in Ashburn/Loudoun County in northern Virginia (that would be an easy commute to Reston). HUGE houses with larger lots for less money are much simpler to find there. Manassas and Haymarket might work for you too (larger inexpensive homes, but I'm not familiar with traffic patterns in that region).

If you have not posted this in the Maryland section, you probably should try that to see what suggestions are offered. Hope you find what you need!