need to relocate from SOMD to NOVA (Arlington, Alexandria: transplants, apartment)

[rachfromnc]

My husband and I are recent transplants from NC, currently renting a 3 BR single family house in La Plata, MD. We are expecting our first child in early August, and need to relocate to the NOVA area within the next 2 months.

I currently work in Arlington (Ballston area), and my husband works in Indian Head, MD. He is a government contractor, and looking for another job- which will likely be in the DC area. My current commute ranges from 1.5 hours(each way) on a good day to 3 hours on a bad day (which seem to be multiplying lately). Our main goal in relocating is getting me closer to work, as the child care I may be using is in Arlington, and I can't see transporting an infant every day on my current commute. I also had hip surgery in October (great time to be pregnant, huh? ), and the commute is taking a huge toll on me physically. My husband does not mind having a longer commute, so as long as we can keep his commute to Indian Head under 2 hours, he will be able to deal.

Our lease ends in July, but I have been having many pregnancy complications, so we're hoping to move sooner than later- my doctor is at GWU, and I'd like to be closer to the hospital- or at least to a hospital with more advanced care (the one down here has about 50 beds).

We will be renting, as I can't justify buying in the current market, especially with my husband's current employment situation. Our must-haves for a home include:

1. allow pets (we have 2 small dogs and 2 cats)
2. no shared living quarters (another tenant rents a basement apartment in this house and we share a laundry room; we hate this arrangement)
3. at least 2 bedrooms, but preferably 3 (we need some sort of home office capability with a door we can shut)
4. a bare minimum of 1200 sf
5. safety- I want to feel I can take my dogs and baby out alone
6. a commute under 1 hour to Arlington- I would love, theoretically, to be able to use Metro, but I just don't know how feasible that will be with a baby
7. shopping/restaurants/etc. within a reasonable drive (15-20 minutes). We don't need much, but the ability to grab some groceries and get the oil changed without it becoming a tactical operation would be nice.
8. rent under $2K a month, preferably in the $1600-$1800 range
9. reasonable access to highways so my husband can commute to Indian Head

Our strong preferences include:

1. single family house (I am losing hope that this can happen)
2. a backyard- even a tiny one- where I can curb my dogs (I still can't walk very well)
3. an english-speaking community.

If the last point sounds racist, I apologize. We looked at one rental house in Springfield last weekend, and the entire area seemed spanish-speaking only; lots of houses with 6+ vehicles parked out front and 10+ young adult men milling around. Garbage in the yards, generally run-down everywhere....I just want to live in a place that's decent-looking and safe, that's all.

We've looked in parts of Fairfax, Burke, and Springfield, and we've yet to find much with potential. I know we left an area (Raleigh-Durham) with comparable incomes but a MUCH lower cost of living, so it's taken a lot to change our expectations.

Are we being completely unrealistic? I can tolerate a townhouse for a year, but my husband reallly hates them. Are there other areas we should be looking?

Any advice you can share would be most welcome!

[claremarie]

Your situation is difficult. Finding a 3BR rental house under $2000 in a non-immigrant neighborhood near Arlington will be a challenge.
First, I would forget about Metro. You will pay a premium to live near a station, and commuting on the train with an infant every day would NOT be fun, especially in cold or rainy weather.
Your best bet might be in areas that are on the outer fringes of your one-hour commute, perhaps along I-95 in places like Woodbridge. Of course, that means putting your baby in the car for two hours a day, which is also less than ideal. Listening to your baby scream while you are stuck in traffic can be exceedingly stressful.
Did you look in the Shirlington/Fairlington neighborhoods in the Arlington/Alexandria area? There are lots of immigrants there, but you might be able to find a pet-allowing townhouse in your price range, and it would put you much closer to Ballston.