Moving to Arlington,VA from Australia- any aussies there? (to rent, house)

[usabound]

Hi All,
My husband has been offered a job in Arlington, VA.
We currently live in Canberra.

We have visited the US a few years ago and travelled around DC and VA for a while but i cant really remember it from a "living & raising kids" perspective.

We have 3 children under 6. Does anyone live in this area? Can you offer me any perspective coming from an Aussies point of view?

He will be on about $110k ( we think) but what that means in terms of lifestyle, housing, schools I am completely in the dark.

I am more than happy to move just feel very nervous about the fact that I will not get to see Arlington area before we move. My husband may be there before me, not sure yet.

A few people have recommended Mclean, so i may use that as a starting point.

Anyway please excuse the rambling - any advice, opinions, etc greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[car54]

Do a search for posts in this forum by "Melbourne Family".

She just got here from Oz a little while ago.

Good Luck!

[Doppelganger69]

Welcome to Northern Virginia! Arlington is a great area, and is very convenient to all the fun stuff DC has to offer. Is this a permanent job, or temporary?

How you can stretch your US dollar depends a lot on your specific situation. Do you plan to rent or buy? Do you have to pay for the house out of your salary or do you get a housing allowance? Do you expect to use the public schools or does your husband's job offer private school benefits for the children? Lots of people do live here on 110K or less, but you will have to house-hunt and budget carefully. Also look into whatever relocation/housing/school benefits your husband's job offers you, as they will be worth real dollars.