Considering moving from CO to the Tyson's corner area

[leighland]

Originally Posted by RandomNovaGuy

just out of curiosity, what's the ethnic backgrounds of Dude 1 & 2?

These 2 young ones perfectly reflect that in the 10's DC is in someways the NYC of 1940's. Lots of new ethnicitys, living in the same hoods, climbing ladders and doing well. 40's NYC was Jews, Italians, Irish,
1st generations getting middle/upper income jobs and lifestyles.
Here ist SE Asians, Middle Eastern and Central Asians 1st gens in the middle class. When nonresidents think DMV, they imagine majority whites and AAs. Nope.

You live in a majority white hood with other random white people
Mine and the schools are majority minority. All sorts of minorities. Its fascinating. Its like the UN

The lesson here is that dudes 1 & 2, successful sons of recent immigrants, already are looking for ways to have career define their life and everything else will flow from work. That is super dmv.

[1984]

Originally Posted by Veritas Vincit

That's definitely true. Let's be real here, there's plenty of cushy white collar jobs in this area with a pay/workload ratio that''s damn near unbeatable. Both in government and outside it. But it's all appearances as you mention, gotta tell everyone how hard you're working and what an impact you're making.


I would say that this area isn't gonna be anyone's unique slice of heaven, and maybe people looking for that need to look for something different. But if you get a good job here, I don't see why you wouldn't consider moving here. It's a big city with all the pros as well as cons most big cities have. I think you could do a lot worse than this area.

Read the thread I posted the link to. There are many reasons not to move to Nova. I don’t think you can do a lot worse than Nova.

[personone]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I moved out of Northern Virginia in 2010 and settled in Pittsburgh. I'm much happier up here because despite earning only slightly less money than I did when I lived in Reston my quality-of-life has improved immensely due to the lower cost-of-living. Here in Pittsburgh I rent a 1-BR floor of a historic rowhouse in a neighborhood within walking distance of the downtown of a major city for $800/month so I have museums, sporting venues, concerts, theater, etc. at my fingertips. In Reston I paid ~$1,300/month for a 1-BR that was in a sterile suburb. In Pittsburgh I can walk to my office. In Reston I did the "Route 7 Conga Line" to my office in Tysons like everyone else (we poor people couldn't take the 267).

With that being said IF you make $$$, then the quality-of-life in Northern Virginia is exemplary. Top-notch public schools. Awesome diversity. The ability to use the toll roads to avoid the worst of the rush-hour congestion around the common folk. Easy access to The District for high culture, nightlife, and dining opportunities OR to the mountains, caverns, lakes, and historic small cities like Winchester and Charlottesville for fun day-trips. The cachet of telling people you're "from DC".

We're all different. I'm happy with just my Bachelor's Degree and my ~$40,000 annual income. That's not sufficient to live comfortably in NoVA, where you'd need at least your Master's Degree and double that salary to live a "fun" life as a single person (more if you want to raise a family comfortably with dining out, vacations, movies, etc.) As such I moved to Pittsburgh, where it seems like everyone has a Bachelor's Degree and makes roughly what I do. I like feeling like I "belong". I always felt "too poor" or "too uneducated" or "too liberal" for NoVA. Here is just right for me. NoVA works for many other people (especially Type-A people). Good for them!

I hear what you are saying. I grew up in the DC area and it can be expensive, but the one caveat is that some people seem to not consider some of the more affordable parts of the DC area. PG County gets a really bad rep, and does have some bad parts, but there are also some nice parts that are very affordable compared to many parts of DC. Places like Wheaton and Silver Spring will have more affordable options with easy access to all the amenities of DC. Even in NoVa, if you look in places like Fairfax city or Annandale, you can find some more affordable living. Although commuting plays such a big role on where you live in the DC area, so it’s not always possible to live in these areas.

In Chicago, where you live impacts COL. If you live in the downtown core of neighborhoods, it is really expensive. Most of the apartments are modern and high-end with all the bells/whistles amenities. I make 6 figures (but at the time had a fair amount of professional/grad school debt), and living in downtown Chicago was still tough my first few years, even with a decent salary. In Chicago, as you move away from downtown, the neighborhoods get much more affordable.

DC is a smaller city, so with premium demand, unfortunately you won’t get much break on cost. Although, if people’s commutes can tolerate it, I think people should at least check out the less “popular” parts of the DC area in order to get more bang for the buck.

[Veritas Vincit]

Originally Posted by 1984

Read the thread I posted the link to. There are many reasons not to move to Nova. I don’t think you can do a lot worse than Nova.

I read the thread you linked to and seem to link to in every thread. And guess what, there's people complaining about their area in every sub-forum because a lot of people move somewhere, don't like it and then complain; then there's people who grew up in an area, have seen it change and no longer like it.



This forum draws in a lot of people who seek to relocate, so perhaps it's no surprise that it features a lot of people with unrealistic expectations about where they live and who are unhappy where they live. There's also a lot of real estate folks who are happy to paint the narratives about places that suit them. Meanwhile other people just make the best of where they live and focus on other stuff in their life to improve it.

[DCGuy64]

For what it's worth, I love DC. I came from Louisville, KY, a great place to grow up but comparatively monochromatic compared to DC. Sure, you can park in a parking garage for $1 (for 3 hours), but it's not DC. I came here because I'm a polyglot and I sing professionally. DC has LOTS of music going on. And for the kind of music I perform, there are few other cities in America that can come close (New York, Chicago, San Francisco and maybe LA). That was enough for me, right there. Plus you have the endless variety of foods, you have incredible diversity, you have 3 major airports with nonstop flights to many countries (we like to travel). And then there are the museums, and the nightlife, and (this may not matter much to others but) when a new product or cell phone technology launches, DC is always right up there. Kentucky? Not so much. Now I do hate the traffic. HATE. IT. Ditto with the awful summer heat and humidity. I NEVER get used to it. I visited San Diego once and was in heaven. I'm also fortunate enough to live in the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, which is an excellent place to live if you're Catholic. So yeah, I have my beefs about DC, the same ones others have alluded to. But I'm not a workaholic, I enjoy my job but I mostly enjoy my musical, travel and spiritual life here. 22 years and counting, and I'm not planning to move.

[personone]

Originally Posted by DCGuy64

For what it's worth, I love DC. I came from Louisville, KY, a great place to grow up but comparatively monochromatic compared to DC. Sure, you can park in a parking garage for $1 (for 3 hours), but it's not DC. I came here because I'm a polyglot and I sing professionally. DC has LOTS of music going on. And for the kind of music I perform, there are few other cities in America that can come close (New York, Chicago, San Francisco and maybe LA). That was enough for me, right there. Plus you have the endless variety of foods, you have incredible diversity, you have 3 major airports with nonstop flights to many countries (we like to travel). And then there are the museums, and the nightlife, and (this may not matter much to others but) when a new product or cell phone technology launches, DC is always right up there. Kentucky? Not so much. Now I do hate the traffic. HATE. IT. Ditto with the awful summer heat and humidity. I NEVER get used to it. I visited San Diego once and was in heaven. I'm also fortunate enough to live in the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, which is an excellent place to live if you're Catholic. So yeah, I have my beefs about DC, the same ones others have alluded to. But I'm not a workaholic, I enjoy my job but I mostly enjoy my musical, travel and spiritual life here. 22 years and counting, and I'm not planning to move.

As a Catholic young adult, DC is an amazing place to be. My family still lives in MD, and I have friends in the DC area, and they have some great large groups that coordinate events for Catholic young adults in the DC area (DC, MD, Nova). Chicago has a very large Catholic/ Catholic young adults scene too, but it's not as coordinated as DC's. It makes for a great built-in network if you move to DC and don't know anybody.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by personone

As a Catholic young adult, DC is an amazing place to be. My family still lives in MD, and I have friends in the DC area, and they have some great large groups that coordinate events for Catholic young adults in the DC area (DC, MD, Nova). Chicago has a very large Catholic/ Catholic young adults scene too, but it's not as coordinated as DC's. It makes for a great built-in network if you move to DC and don't know anybody.

Yes it is. Gotta know where to look

Here are 2 you should involve yourself in immediately. Please check their fb pages.

[url=http://sma-church.org/about-us/organizations/young-adults-group/]St. Mary of the Angels Church » Saint Mary of the Angels Young Adults[/url]

[url]https://stclementchurch.org/belong/community-groups/young-adults[/url]

You should check out of SJC has a young adults too...
[url=http://www.cantius.org]St John Cantius Church - Chicago[/url]



Have fun!

[personone]

Originally Posted by leighland

Yes it is. Gotta know where to look

Here are 2 you should involve yourself in immediately. Please check their fb pages.

St. Mary of the Angels Church » Saint Mary of the Angels Young Adults

https://stclementchurch.org/belong/c...s/young-adults

You should check out of SJC has a young adults too...
St John Cantius Church - Chicago



Have fun!

Thanks!

Yes, I am very familiar with St. Clement, as it is in my neighborhood, lol. They have a very active young adults group and I participate in a lot of their activities. St. Mary of Angels is a beautiful church, and I have heard they have an active young adults group as well. I will need to check out St. John Cantius sometime. We do have a nice community here in Chicago!