SO SICK of the DC metro area!!!! (Roanoke, Washington: mortgage, job market)

[hairmetal4ever]

Originally Posted by dullnboring

Yeesh. That's the worst, when you do everything right but fall victim to someone else's negligence. I've always been very wary of driving behind dump trucks, and tow trucks, and really anything carrying something on the exterior of the car (i.e. mattress, Christmas tree, or just a trunk that is "roped" shut, etc.) just because I was paranoid about one falling off. I just got back from picking my car up. The culprit was indeed the brake light switch. The total cost was $126. The part itself supposedly cost some $24 but as usual, labor was the killer, at $88. I was surprised considering I was expecting the cost to be around $75, but by the same token, several days ago, I was anticipating my car failing inspection and possibly having to spend hundreds of dollars to repair it, so I guess I got off easy this time. Generally, that's not the case. Last year, I had to make over $800 worth of repairs on my car after it failed inspection to meet the state's standards. At this point, I don't know that I'd even bother paying such a massive bill again were I to incur one. I might just trash the car. But, at least in theory, I'm good for another year.

Old Town Alexandria is beautiful. I love it there. The only problem of course is that it is incredibly expensive to live there. I think that commutes and cost of living are really the biggest gripes amongst people in the DC area, as they sort of cloud over possible other great attributes of living in the area (i.e. the great economy, low crime...in the suburbs at least, terrific schools, cosmopolitan atmosphere, etc.).

As for moving, well, that's why I'm on this board I'm trying to figure out where I should move to. I was sort of forced to return to the DC area a few months ago (long story involving family) but now I'm in a sense free to leave again so it's just a matter of getting my job, living situation and finances in order to do so.

For me, it's not a matter of "expensive" so much as I CAN'T AFFORD to live there. Sure, I could rent forever, but I really don't want that. For what I'd pay in DC or NoVA to rent a small one bedroom sh*tbox I could buy a 1750 square foot ranch on a half acre in a GOOD area here. I want a yard, and to be detached from my neighbors. In Ohio I can do that. NoVA is beautiful and has many positives, but if I can't afford to live there, the whole point is moot. I have done a LOT of research, and found that the increase in salary I could expect in the area does NOT make up for the higher cost of living, the ridiculous traffic, etc.

I'm not knocking DC/MD/VA. I love the area. I've been there quite a bit as my girlfriend lives there. I just don't see myself EVER living there unless housing prices drop about sixty percent. I'll take Ohio's slightly colder weather and less-gleaming job market over insane housing costs and painful commutes any day of the week.


I applaud (and also at the same time, feel sorry for) the 4-million-odd people that somehow manage to get by there.

[tarp]

Not everyone has a painful commute. I live in Fairfax, and work in Herndon. It takes me 20 to 30 minutes to get to the office.

[CSM]

I'm not sick of it yet-we love the stuff to do in DC, the beautiful landscape, family events, etc., but anyone moving here needs to be aware that you will either spend hours and hours in your car in traffic or else you'll need to get up around 4 am to beat the rush hour and you'll always be tired. Where we live (Northern Prince William County, VA), they have built sooo many houses so fast, that the schools and the roads can't keep up. They are doing construction now on roads that they should have done years ago. There are certain times of the day that I never leave the house to do errands because I'll be stuck in traffic either coming or going, and the window is narrowing of when those times are. The prices of homes are sky-high too. We bought in 1999 and there's no way we could afford to buy here now. So we have mixed feelings about the area and are thinking of moving out of state where we could afford a single family home.

[tarp]

This area is great if you have money and can afford to live in a nicer area closer in (Fairfax County, Arlington). It's even better if you don't have a long commute or your commute goes against the flow of traffic. Thankfully I fit into this... For people who don't fall into those categories, yes, life sucks.

[DavidS827]

I don't know...call me crazy, but I love it here. Where else can you be so close to everything...the mountains, the beaches, the history, the restaurants, the jobs. I look at the opportunities that this area provides for my children in terms of education, the history of our country and its general diversity and I can't complain about traffic. I have friends and family that live all over the country...they don't complain about traffic, they complain about how much the private education costs them because the public schools there are sub par. Again, I think I must be crazy...

[tarp]

Yes, this area is excellent. The diversity itself is a huge draw for me. So many great ethnic restaurants and events.

[Dorothy1960]

Originally Posted by stratos75

I made the drastic mistake of moving here 8 months ago (DC Metro area) and work everyday toward getting my wife and I back to Upstate NY. It's all about the car you drive and the clothes you wear, all superficial. I work in Tysons Corner and the smugness nearly chokes me everyday. I have not met ONE person that has a bit of integrity or imagination here, let alone the ability to look you in the eye when you speak to them. IT IS REALLY THAT BAD. This is the punishment I get for chasing money. If you are going to move to this area, do yourself (and your family) a favor..check it out, go to the local stores, parks etc. before making your decision!

Ahhh like minded... I was enjoying this thread for a while... I agree with the above quote, WHOLEHEARTEDLY. Nothern VA is all about: BIGGER, BETTER, FASTER, MORE MORE MORE. We want it NOW. I lived in Europe for 4 years, I speak several languages, and I absolutuely dreaded returning here... Its all about how you look, what you wear & drive, and which swanky neighborhood you live in, etc etc., which ipod do you have, I could go on & on. Plus the traffic! ARGH !!! Makes a stau on the autobahn look like a walk in the park. We are hoping to get out of here sooner than later, still waiting to hear about a transfer to TX, and if that doesn't work, then we'll be stuck here for another 2 years. THEN we'll get out of here and head on down to TEXAS. Buy a house as big as the one we have now, for 1/2 the price. Not to mention how badly I want to get away from this politically driven area. I'm sick to DEATH of the liberal crap that a certain newspaper publishes as "news" -- totally one sided garbage. It would be so refreshing to just see the facts... so one can draw one's own conclusions and opinions.

I could say alot more on this & other issues about Northern VA, but as I was taught as a child, when you can't say anything nice, say nothing at all.

[rubytue]

Just want to say that I have done it, I'm getting out! Moving to a more rural area in Maryland. woohoo!! I can't wait to be able to afford a single famiy home under 10 minutes from my office!!!

I will miss the ethic food

[Dogbert]

The only difference between living in Northern VA and holding a loaded .45 handgun against the roof of your mouth is the former takes longer to kill yourself than does the latter.

[brassy&bold]

Hi Jmarkd,

I have lived in the Ashburn/Broadlands area for 11 years. We moved out when our kids were young and nobody was really here. back then we also looked at SR and found that in 1995 it would be 5 more years before they got the Elementary school built. Although the community is more built out now, it is contained in the Dulles South Corridor and anything the people who live there want (like a hospital) takes years to move through the system. They consistently get shafted while where we live now has lots of restaurants, good schools, etc. I have also heard that the backups getting out of SR in the morning to go to work are horrendous. The commuter traffic on Route 50 east is legendary and this area is about to be massively built up in the next 10 years or so.

Sterling (the area around Sterling Boulevard) is the area where most of the gang violence is. It was the original suburb built in Loudoun County in the 1960's. Most of those houses remain and you know the area is not that great when you do not see the houses being renovated or re-designed like houses in other older areas.

The Cascades area part of Stering is pretty nice. It has the main branch of the library, good shopping and a variety of restaurants, a large Regal Cinema, good schools, etc.

This being said, for the past three years, we've been waiting for my son to finish High School (Stone Bridge) to get outta here. While my husband works locally and makes over 100K, we are priced out of here and the area. The costs associated with living here and running the house is smothering us. While we still have a 7th grader, and a mother in law who lives 3 miles from us and will go with us when we move, we are not interested in cookie cutter homes and stepford. Forget it if your not PTA or super involved in volunteering at the school.
It used to be good , then all are friends moved far afield. What is the most common thing I hear newcomers say to me? How cold the people are and how crazy the driving is. Yep!

Everything you've read on this forum about the road rage, rudeness and the insipid "ME" culture we have seen developing here for about the last 4 years. It is really bad. We have been in our house in the Broadlands for 3 years, and our phone hardly rings. We used to give parties which everyone enjoyed, but nobody reciproactes. I had heart surgery for an arrythmia and nobody came to the door with food or to visit.

People here work 70+ hours - it's almost expected of you - even as a salaried employee. They race to and from work (hardly anyone considers carpooling) and then they coccoon when they get home. Don't see many kids playing outside - even in the cul-de-sacs. Kids are very over scheduled. Halloween this year? well it lasted all of 1 hour; 6-7 pm!!! (This really sucked (!) according to my 7th grader)

Oh Yeah, did I mention that there are still about 28,000 homes approved by a previous board of supervisors which haven't yet been built?