Help! (hotel, homes, find a job)

[JfromReston]

I think you would really enjoy living in Reston Town Center. It is very close to the airport and has lots to offer. Welcome to the Reston Town Center.
You can find more information including a map of the great nature trails in Reston at Welcome to Reston Association!

Here are a few rentals for you to check out.
View Property Details- 12000 MARKET ST #247, Reston, VA 20190
View Property Details- 12000 MARKET ST #467, Reston, VA 20190
View Property Details- 1855 STRATFORD PARK PL #315, Reston, VA 20190
View Property Details- 12000 MARKET ST #251, Reston, VA 20190
View Property Details- 12024 TALIESIN PL #35, Reston, VA 20190
View Property Details- 12024 TALIESIN PL #32, Reston, VA 20190

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by from nv

I'm not even sure what utilities will run out there! We're paying close to $400/mo just in elec alone.

You won't be spending $400/month on electricity here! I have an all electric 3000+ sq ft home and spend an annual average of $180/month.

[Ashburnite]

I second the suggestion for Ashburn. I live there so maybe I'm biased, but while some of the other places mentioned would be fine, I think Ashburn might be the safest if you're concerned about being home alone with your husband out of town. It's a family oriented area so if you're looking for something more on the nightlife side you might do better with Reston. The Ashburn area includes quite a few HOA communities that will give you some nice amenities like pools, gyms, nature trails, etc.

For airport convenience, I suggest when you come visit to look around at Ashburn, Lansdowne, Broadlands, Brambleton, Cascades, Countryside (Cascades & CS are communities in Sterling), Chantilly, and Reston. Once you've toured the communities a bit you'll have a better idea of what suits you best in terms of location, atmosphere, and convenience to the airport.

The job market here is pretty good if you have admin skills. Gov't jobs are good and there are also a lot of gov't contractor and association jobs (for example, National Recreation and Parks Association in Brambleton). Some of the higher paying jobs might be in DC, which would be around an hour commute but there are plenty of good paying jobs in the Dulles area as well.

Good luck in your search!

[SteelCityRising]

Reston, Northern Virginia's third-largest community, is without a doubt the most "fun" part of Northern Virginia outside the Beltway (I-495) if you're looking for a dense concentration of bars, restaurants, a movie theater, ice rink, concerts, festivals, etc. I live just east of Reston Town Center and even though at age 22 I would much prefer to live in North Arlington to be nearer to more people my own age for someone of your age (I'm assuming at least in your mid-to-late-40's since you say your kids are "all grown") Reston might be a good fit for certain. Housing is more expensive here than it would be in places like Ashburn, Lansdowne, Leesburg, Sterling, and other places in Loudoun County, but it seems like you pay, on average, an additional $50/month in rent each mile closer you get to DC, with anything inside the Beltway being reserved either for the upper-middle-class, the "too good to be true" rat traps, or those who don't mind shacking up with roomies to live comfortably.

I pay $1,135/month in rent here in Reston for a 960-square-foot 1-BR apartment and pay about $200/month-$250/month for all of my utilities (including high-speed Internet/cable from Fios). I'd imagine that tally would double per month if you were looking for a 2-BR or 3-BR unit with just under 2,000 square feet of living space. Forget about buying a house in Reston unless you have a nice nest egg. The least expensive single-family detached dwellings I've been able to find are all around $450,000 with some condos and townhomes going for the mid-$300k range. I would personally not recommend living right IN the Reston Town Center, as JFromReston had suggested, because in my humble opinion the rents there are overinflated. I live a short walk from the town center and pay just over $1,100/month in rent on a 1-BR that is sited in front of a country club. A similarly-sized and appointed unit IN the town center would fetch closer to $2,000/month, and the only "perks" would be living in a high-rise vs. living in my current garden-style community set-up and living IN the action instead of a 5-minute walk away, as I am now. If you honestly could swing buying property here that might be a good investment because Reston is getting a new Metro line (Silver Line) sometime around 2012-2013, and housing prices might RISE even higher when people realize they can now take a train from Reston to work in Arlington/DC---we won't be hearing friends from DC scoffing "You live WAYYYY out in Reston??!" any longer. I work in Tyson's Corner, and they've already torn down a building in front of my office to make preparations for a new Metro station there along Route 7, so we can see that after many years of debate this finally WILL be coming to fruition! I'm thrilled about this because both my residence and office will be in walking distance to the Metro, so I'll be just one of many I'm sure taking my car OFF of congested Route 7 between Reston and Tyson's Corner in favor of excellent mass transit service.

Reston is a very diverse community. From being here just a little over three months I'd say that politically the community is definitely left-leaning (with a lot of hybrids on the roads and Obama bumper stickers to be found). Racially we are a little bit more Caucasian than some other parts of Northern Virginia, but there's still a good amount of Hispanics, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, etc. There are all sorts of houses of worship inside the community and on the outskirts. I'd have to guess that the median age here is probably about 32 or so. In my estimation many NoVA kids go to school at places like GMU or VT, live on the cheap with the parents a few years before making the move to North Arlington in their mid-20s to live with a few roommates near the pulse of nightlife at the prime of their lives, and then Reston becomes the "stepping stone" place for them to live---when they've outgrown the party scene but are still not quite yet ready to pump out the kids. Many childless late-20s to early-30s couples seem to live here, and then my guess would be that from Reston many move to places like Ashburn, Lansdowne, Leesburg, Sterling, Broadlands, South Riding, Brambleton, etc. to afford a home with a bit of elbow room around them to raise their growing families. Reston is actually a blend of suburbia on steroids and quasi-urbanity. Most of us in town are very proud of our town center (our corny name for "downtown"), but we still wish it was a bit larger and perhaps a bit more affordable to those in the sub-$50k year demographic (i.e. not all of us can afford frequent nights of McCormick & Schmick's, sushi bars, wine bars, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, etc. and feel "left out")

There are MANY major employers within a 20-minute commute of Reston. Some include SAIC, Booz Allen Hamilton, Raytheon, BAE Systems, Sallie Mae, Rolls-Royce, Serco, Microsoft, General Dynamics, HITT, Google, and many more. There are also a plethora of job openings currently with the Federal government. While these career opportunities offer abysmal starting salaries in relation to the private sector (I should know! LOL!), if you're willing to stick around for the long-term you'll be earning a comfortable salary with great benefits within five years.

I know I may be biased, but if you don't have young children I think a place like Ashburn might be boring. The Dulles Town Center out there is nice, but it really is just a typical mall. Then you have a smattering of chain stores along busy Route 7, but otherwise the rest of Ashburn tends to be all cul-de-sacs and HOAs.

[Ashburnite]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Ashburn tends to be all cul-de-sacs and HOAs.

He's right about that! But if that's what you're looking for - great! If not, Reston does have a more city vibe and more to do.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Ashburnite

He's right about that! But if that's what you're looking for - great! If not, Reston does have a more city vibe and more to do.

True. Different strokes for different folks is a good adage to abide by for sure. In my opinion though I just view Ashburn as being replete with families with small children, and I don't know if a couple with grown children would feel "out of place" there or not. I know as a single 22-year-old I'd certainly probably stick out like a sore thumb. From my personal exprience back in Pennsylvania most empty-nesters looked to either live out in the country for some solitude or right near the heart of town to walk to arts/cultural events, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. It was pretty uncommon to see a 50-year-old couple living alone on a cul-de-sac surrounded by young families. Things may be different down here though.

[Ashburnite]

I was about to say that while there are a lot of families with school aged children here there are some older folks whose children have gone off to college and the parents are still here. Then as I formulated this statement I realized that when my daughter graduates from high school I'll be about 53! Thanks so much for making me realize that.

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

True. Different strokes for different folks is a good adage to abide by for sure. In my opinion though I just view Ashburn as being replete with families with small children, and I don't know if a couple with grown children would feel "out of place" there or not. I know as a single 22-year-old I'd certainly probably stick out like a sore thumb. From my personal exprience back in Pennsylvania most empty-nesters looked to either live out in the country for some solitude or right near the heart of town to walk to arts/cultural events, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. It was pretty uncommon to see a 50-year-old couple living alone on a cul-de-sac surrounded by young families. Things may be different down here though.

We do have a fair amount of singles, empty nesters, and married people without children here in Brambleton. The mix of housing types and the town center are attractive to multiple demographics. I know quite a few couples who started out in the townhomes, then traded up to the single-family homes as their families expanded. Our HOA does a good job of planning a variety of activities, including adult-only events (casino night, wine tastings), child-centered events (Santa, Easter egg hunt, family campout), and events for everyone (Fall Fest, summer concerts, dog pool party).

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I live a short walk from the town center and pay just over $1,100/month in rent on a 1-BR that is sited in front of a country club. A similarly-sized and appointed unit IN the town center would fetch closer to $2,000/month, and the only "perks" would be living in a high-rise vs. living in my current garden-style community set-up and living IN the action instead of a 5-minute walk away, as I am now.

I disagree with your $2,000/month for a "similary-sized" unit in town center. Please look at the six links I provided earlier, all are 2 bedroom/2 bath units for between $1500 and $2000. Some are in garden-style buildings and all looked rather nice (even fairly new & upscale). Also, my search indicated that these are just the tip of the iceberg - there are lots of units for rent in this area in this price range so that makes rents very negoatiable.

[from nv]

Everyone---

Thank you ALL so very much for the valuable info (and the links)!

I can definitely say now that I have lots of homework, i.e., in looking at multiple cities. I thought that we could just say Sterling or Reston and "that was it", but after reading the comments, we definitely have multiple areas to check out.

A few more questions...do most of the homes out there have basements? Does it snow much?? What about when the hurricanes come along the Atlantic...does the area get tons of rain? I guess this question sort of comes from living in Hawaii and dealing with the possibility of a tsunami.
We went to the Dulles Town Center once while my hubby was on a lengthy layover, (it's been about 3 months ago) and since we really weren't looking at places to live at that time, all I did was take in the beautiful trees, etc. during the shuttle ride to the hotel which was just about 5 mins from the Town Center. Now, I wish that I had been more observant!

Any future suggestions (and / or links) are definitely welcomed! Thanks again!