Relocation to Fairfax county VA (Arlington, Burke: condo, house prices, best schools)

[skeddy]

Originally Posted by Middlin

Plenty of information on school profiles, etc for schools in Arlington County and Fairfax County. I wouldn't pick a school because of a Great Schools rating.

I agree, it's a tool, but not one I would use as a determining factor. Tough asking a HS senior to move on. I'd move to Maryland in an area more convenient to your wife and your commute and consider sending your daughter to private school for her last year.

[kidyankee764]

Vin -

I just made this move. I’m not sure where in CT you were (we were in Fairfield County), but there are so many pluses to living in the DC area over CT. The taxes are significantly less, the infrastructure modern, people friendlier, winters milder, etc. The overall cost of living is shockingly less, again, mostly due to not being taxed to death. The home prices in places like Arlington will be similar to Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, etc. You can go slightly further out and get much more for your money but it doesn’t sound like that’s an option for you.

If you have any questions, feel free to DM.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Vin -

I just made this move. I’m not sure where in CT you were (we were in Fairfield County), but there are so many pluses to living in the DC area over CT. The taxes are significantly less, the infrastructure modern, people friendlier, winters milder, etc. The overall cost of living is shockingly less, again, mostly due to not being taxed to death. The home prices in places like Arlington will be similar to Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, etc. You can go slightly further out and get much more for your money but it doesn’t sound like that’s an option for you.

If you have any questions, feel free to DM.

Thank you! This area is expensive due to excellent job market and high median incomes but people often fail to understand that our taxes are considerably lower than places in the Northeast or West Coast which makes a huge difference. You also can largely get more square footage for your money (if you want) by simply going a few miles down the road. We aren't deep South or Rust Belt cheap, but things could be a lot worse.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by NOVAmtneer82

Thank you! This area is expensive due to excellent job market and high median incomes but people often fail to understand that our taxes are considerably lower than places in the Northeast or West Coast which makes a huge difference. You also can largely get more square footage for your money (if you want) by simply going a few miles down the road. We aren't deep South or Rust Belt cheap, but things could be a lot worse.

Amen. I sort of chuckle when people around here complain about the cost of living. While keeping in mind everything is relative, it is still so much better than where I came from. There is a reason the middle and upper middle class are fleeing places like CT. And those who stay just don’t know what it’s like to live in a lower cost metro (with same or better amenities), so they stay put and deal with it. In VA, you can go 20 miles out and pay a fraction. Can’t really do that in much of the coastal Northeast or West.

People don’t realize high taxes until they live in a state like NY, CT, NJ, or CA. It’s not just income taxes either - every little activity you do daily is taxed. It drives up the cost of everything.

My home in CT had a 14k tax bill. A similar home in Nova has a 5k tax bill. That’s a huge quality of life difference for an upper middle class couple. And I’m closer to a major city (45 mins to NYC when in CT, 25-30 mins to DC here).

[Veritas Vincit]

Taxes won't be lower here for much longer once they figure that it's a safely blue state (as it is on the verge of becoming). Arlington already is basically under single party Dem rule and voters will basically vote for any spending initiative put before them. Once all that spending happens, they'll come with the raised finger and say 'well, in order to afford all these public services and investments in the greater good, we need higher taxes, that's just civics 101' and there you go.


After all in Arlington you're either rich enough to not worry about it, poor enough to not pay it or not there long enough to care. Arlington now, VA tomorrow as it gets to be even more dominated by NoVa voters.

[NOVAmtneer82]

I dont personally agree with that assessment but I suppose time will tell- Virginia might be purple now (we need at least another election or two to fully prove it's reliably blue) but the state is considerably more moderate than hard blue states like those in the Northeast and West Coast. I just don't see the same dynamics at play here re: taxes.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Veritas Vincit

Taxes won't be lower here for much longer once they figure that it's a safely blue state (as it is on the verge of becoming). Arlington already is basically under single party Dem rule and voters will basically vote for any spending initiative put before them. Once all that spending happens, they'll come with the raised finger and say 'well, in order to afford all these public services and investments in the greater good, we need higher taxes, that's just civics 101' and there you go.


After all in Arlington you're either rich enough to not worry about it, poor enough to not pay it or not there long enough to care. Arlington now, VA tomorrow as it gets to be even more dominated by NoVa voters.

I’m afraid that’s going to happen, too. I see in NoVa what I saw in CT 20 years ago. I plan to stay in town for the next 5-7 years and will be jumping ship to go to South FL. While it certainly isn’t cheap in Coral Gables or Boca Raton, it’s way more tax friendly than points north. And, no cold winters!

[Vin100]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Vin -

I just made this move. I’m not sure where in CT you were (we were in Fairfield County), but there are so many pluses to living in the DC area over CT. The taxes are significantly less, the infrastructure modern, people friendlier, winters milder, etc. The overall cost of living is shockingly less, again, mostly due to not being taxed to death. The home prices in places like Arlington will be similar to Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, etc. You can go slightly further out and get much more for your money but it doesn’t sound like that’s an option for you.

If you have any questions, feel free to DM.

Kidyankee..
Its nice to hear from someone who moved from CT. We live in New haven county. Having lived in CT for past 8 years, its difficult to think about moving. Perhaps you may be correct as you have experienced first hand, however its always difficult to make a change when you are used to a particular state living.
As far as COL, I am not sure because the home prices in NOVA are far too much and even the rentals are very high. That may balance out the other lower COL. Moving further out is not an option for us since my wife will be a single parent during the week and will have a busy work schedule too.

[Hal Roach]

Spend an arm and leg to live in the Langley HS area, but the Langley principal is a Robert E Lee graduate.

[Vin100]

Hal Roach,
That brings us back to original confusion. We are in communication with McLean HS and Langley HS, but the thought of moving in the senior yr to a school with large number of high ranking kids makes us worried about the peer competition in getting into a good college for similar course. That makes us rethink if living in DC NW may be better for one year albeit at the cost of poorer quality of living compared to NOVA.