new to northern virginia (Arlington, Alexandria: townhome, school district, salary)

[msbo0321]

My family and I will be moving to Northern Virginia in december. I have a job that will either be out of arlington or quantico. Was looking for some suggestions for places to live with a good school system and good communtiy.

[VRE332]

stafford

[akorosdc]

There's a lot of good areas, but it'll really depend on 1) your budget, 2) desired/ideal commute time, 3) size/type of home (townhome, single, etc).

[FindingZen]

Do you have an idea of your salary and preferred housing budget?

Also, as Arlington and Quantico are fairly distant from each other, you may get "twice" as many answers as you need in terms of possible places to live. In a sense, Quantico may be ideal as you could search for relatively affordable housing in Prince William, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties.

On the other hand, while the consensus here seems to be that Arlington schools are "pretty good", particularly in the north, the Fairfax County School District next door is known as one of the best in the country. Of course, you literally pay for that benefit and other conveniences with a dramatically higher cost of living.

[Newk]

Fairfax County schools worked for me....

Actually not really, I went to private school..lol

Arlington or Quantico, yeah you are going to have choose. Those places are about 50 minutes from each other.

[Yankeesfan]

You really do need to know which location you'll be working at and what your budget will be. When will you know that? Is it the same company that's deciding where to place you, or are there two different job offers and you're waiting to see which one you'll be taking? Also, how old are your children?

[Artsywoman]

Originally Posted by msbo0321

My family and I will be moving to Northern Virginia in december. I have a job that will either be out of arlington or quantico. Was looking for some suggestions for places to live with a good school system and good communtiy.

I am a native from Arlington and Alexandria, VA. They are great areas. Try looking at their sites which I believe are www.arlingtonva.gov. and www.alexandria.gov If not, you can google it. Unfortunately, the cost of living there is high everywhere, unless you move further out to Fredricksburg, which I would not reccommend.

[hulik]

Originally Posted by Artsywoman

I am a native from Arlington and Alexandria, VA. They are great areas. Try looking at their sites which I believe are www.arlingtonva.gov. and www.alexandria.gov If not, you can google it. Unfortunately, the cost of living there is high everywhere, unless you move further out to Fredricksburg, which I would not reccommend.

What will you suggest for me yearly salary of $48,000. 1st concern is elementary school and next is safety. Thank YOU!

[mielcre]

Stafford!

[Mike From NIU]

Originally Posted by hulik

What will you suggest for me yearly salary of $48,000. 1st concern is elementary school and next is safety. Thank YOU!

Where will you be working? This is key to balancing commute time (ie, time away from you kids), affordability, and education.