does anyone else hate it here? (Fairfax, Washington: crime, house, job market)

[Badger21]

I am taking it, but if I am offered the position I am going to ask for more money than what they discussed. In my opinion, it is win-win for me because if they match my offer I guess I take it and can leave the jerkoff roommate situation I am in. If they do not, then I guess I set the date for when I move to Florida and hope to get some interviews before then.

Awesome... to convince them to give you that raise, you should print out this post and show them how much of a hard worker you are and how you don't like to complain. You should be swimming in the greenbacks after they see your work here.

[anonymous703]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Caveat emptor, I suppose. I thought in advance I wouldn't be happy living in the suburban social experiment called Reston, Virginia, and sure enough after living here half of a year I'm very depressed.

I don't mean to knock you for this, but if you had choices in job offers, why in the #$%^ did you move somewhere where you didn't think you would be happy? I'm sorry, but considering that life is what you make of it, hoping that things would turn out otherwise ("grow on you") just doesn't compute.

What am I doing about? I've begun job-hunting in Pittsburgh. Since my job here included a relocation bonus (since retention is so poor at my employer in this area) I am NOT going to move until next summer at the earliest because I don't have that cash available right now to pay back if I leave.

Suggestion: Ask an employer if they'll repay your signing bonus.

No, the salaries aren't as high in Pittsburgh (I'd probably be looking at making $34,000 per year instead of $41,000), but what's the trade-off? I could pay $600/month for rent (including most utilities) on a cozy 1-BR apartment within walking distance to downtown in a historic neighborhood with sidewalks in Pittsburgh (saving me $600/month).

Because net income doesn't have a 1:1 relationship with gross income, I'm guessing a $7k reduction in income would equate to $450/mo, so you'd probably have a monthly surplus of around $100-$150 on this line item.

I could eschew my car because Pittsburgh has great mass transit and is a good walking city (freeing up another $400/month). Already combined I'd be getting a $1,000/month raise (through savings) just by moving to someplace where salaries have kept pace with the cost-of-living---which isn't the case in Northern Virginia.

Well... uh... first you're assuming that you will find a job that is transit accessible, and if you do, that it has a schedule that meets your needs, otherwise, you're in the same world of hurt that you are out here. That limits your options. Second, you'll likely need to buy a transit pass, which is somewhere between $75-$110/mo, so your savings is more like $325.

Third, most of your car expenses go to paying for your car itself and paying for insurance. Depending on what you owe on your car and how much it's worth, you might not get enough to pay off your balance, which means you'd have to come up with some dough to keep the lender happy. Additionally, because your car is financed, you're roped into full-coverage auto insurance. You're also a young, unmarried male, which doesn't help your premiums. My point here is that if you simply paid off your car (and as you age) certain expenses just evaporate. My car is paid off; my expenses now are about $100/mo for gas and insurance.

There is also a "cost" to having your transportation needs be at the mercy of everyone else (and the transit system.) I lived in Arlington (north of courthouse metro on lee highway) for 9 months without a car. It was, um, inconvenient to say the least.

My only regret is that at the time of college graduation I didn't apply for any jobs in Pittsburgh. I thought Northern Virginia was "the place to be",

You thought it was the place to be at the same time you thought you wouldn't like living here?

but if you don't like chain restaurants, big-box stores, drab housing, immense traffic congestion, a relatively inefficient mass transit system

Metro is pretty good if it goes where you want to go.

What will I miss about NoVA when I move to Pittsburgh?

Oh, don't forget the gay community. Sounds like the only option you have are the college kids... that may be okay now, but how about in 5-10 years?

SB,

As much as you want to get out of NoVA, you're looking at the 'burgh with some very rose colored glasses logistically. First, you claim that you will get $1000/mo in savings through reduced expenses, but neglect to consider that you lose $450/mo in net income through a reduction in pay. That puts you down to about $550. Second, I think you're way off on your transportation expenses. You still have to get around, be it through mass transit, cabs, or what not. Third, you're being way too presumptuous about how convenient (or even how likely) your life is going to be without a car. (I can see using your car a lot less, but it's totally different to ditch your car altogether.)

[d-fens]

Originally Posted by Badger21

Awesome... to convince them to give you that raise, you should print out this post and show them how much of a hard worker you are and how you don't like to complain. You should be swimming in the greenbacks after they see your work here.

Since not liking where you live has a direct correlation to work ethic apparently.

[Yankeesfan]

Originally Posted by d-fens

Went to high school there and hated it. My family still lives there now. Very cold, nothing to do, and almost no diversity.

Uh, oh ...

[Yankeesfan]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

To be quite honest threads like these are also very much of value to people considering moving into the area. While most people like to sugar-coat the quality-of-life here, luring potential newcomers and lurkers into a false sense of Utopia...

I only wish there had been more of these "I hate NoVA" threads and less "NoVA is amazing" threads when I was moving here so I, too, wouldn't have come here thinking that one of the nation's highest cost-of-living factors was justified by a superior quality-of-life to the rest of the country.I'm going to feel badly in the end to know I wasted a year of my life here, but at least I learned my lesson about moving to a new area just for the sake of it being "different."

Maybe the lesson to be learned is that basing your decisions on what strangers on a message board think isn't the best idea. And what's with claiming that people are just "sugar-coating"? Some people are happy here, but you refuse to recognize it. Apparently the OP thinks that you're sugar-coating Pittsburgh ...

[Badger21]

yankees fan what are you doing on here!?!?!? game is on man! haha

[AnalyzeThis]

I am sick and tired of complaints against the "wealthy young professional". Guess what? I fall into that category and I make no apologies for it. I choose a field that I not only enjoy, but can make a great living at as well. I had numerous opportunities to move to this area in the past and did not because I did a little thing called RESEARCH and realized that the salary I was being offered would not allow me to have the kind of life I could truly enjoy here. I bid my time in an area that was not ideal for my personality and lifestyle, and then applied for and got a job making great money here. It was all about planning, sacrifice, and strategy.

Honestly, I feel your pain. I truly do. I understand how it is to live in an area that you aren't happy in. But when I was in your situation I certainly did not spend my time sitting around complaining to strangers on the internet about my life. I was pro-active. I completed my MBA, I ran half-marathons, I volunteered, I traveled often, and invited friends and family to visit me ALL the time. Most importantly, I always knew that it was just a means to an end.

I think you need to refocus all your negative energy on the good things the area has to offer and leaving as quickly as you possibly can. Hopefully your job interview will work out for you. But in the interim, don't classify a whole demographics of people based on your personal generalizations. I have many friends who make six-figures and many who don't. Some of my six-figure friends love wine, some don't. Some of my $30K/year non-profit org working friends love wine, some don't. Every group of people don't all live the same kind of lifestyle, have the same morals or beliefs, and enjoy the same things. You would probably be surprised if you met me that in the last year I went to the Lil' Wayne concert, a rave, to see the Color Purple and Chorus line, and have volunteered at over a dozen events. And by the way I hate wine AND beer.

[AnalyzeThis]

Originally Posted by Badger21

yankees fan what are you doing on here!?!?!? game is on man! haha

He probably saw the Phillies load the bases in the first damn inning!

[Yankeesfan]

Originally Posted by Badger21

yankees fan what are you doing on here!?!?!? game is on man! haha

Today I got my Yankees hat autographed by Rudy Giuliani!

[Yankeesfan]

It's all part of the strategy -- gotta go to six games so they can win at home! (Trusting Moderator Tone doesn't mind the digression since he's watching too...)