Moving to NOVA; 20-somethings in Reston? (Richmond, Arlington: apartments, home, school)

[FromTheBurgh]

Hello all!

I will be graduating in May and starting a job in Reston later this year. I visited various areas in NOVA this past weekend and am trying to decide where would be best for me to live.

Some information about me:
- I'm a single female in my low 20's
- I value privacy and definitely want to live without roommates
- I enjoy barhopping and clubbing every now and then, but I much prefer meeting a few friends for an occasional drink over extensive partying
- My salary will be in the mid to upper 50k's
- I will be in a consulting position, so it is probable that I will be traveling very often

Given that I want to save a decent amount of my earnings, I've ruled out Arlington due to the commute and high cost of living, especially since living on my own is a priority. From what I saw of Reston, I like the town center area and the fact that everything is new. I grew up in rustic towns and went to school in a city with history and culture and whatnot, all of which never fully appealed to me, so honestly I think the new and shiny factor would be a welcome change.

I looked at apartments around Tysons Corner, but there didn't really seem to be a feel of community... mostly just commercialism. Also, it seems Reston would be much more walkable; I don't mind driving, but it would be nice to be able to walk around on weekend mornings to grab a cup of coffee and wander a bookstore and whatnot.

I guess my main question is - are there a decent amount of 20-somethings residing in Reston? I understand it won't be anywhere close to Arlington or the city, but I'd like to find out if a somewhat young professional population still exists in the area. The major concern holding me back from deciding on Reston is that I may not be able to find people my age.

Any advice will be much appreciated!

[FindingZen]

Your instincts are right with the Reston Town Center. As you observed, it's not as lively as Arlington but it's a good spot for laid-back socializing as Reston is in the midst of Tysons Corner and Dulles-area job centers. For your preferences, you should be reasonably satiated in Reston until you can hit Arlington and DC on the weekends.

[CaliTerp07]

A consultant based in Reston...we may work for the same company

Let me tell you, after my initial 3 week training stint in Reston, I never went back to the building again. I go once a year or so to get my laptop checked by the tech support people, and/or to attend some sort of presentation or pick up office supplies. I've been employed by the company for 3 years, and have probably been in the office a grand total of 4 times after training. Most of the clients in this area are inside the beltway. No, not all--there are a couple outliers, but the big ones (the government agencies, the civilian service agencies, the few major corporate clients my company had) are all closer to DC than Reston. People in my "start group" have had projects in L'Enfant, Courthouse, Kingstowne, and Metro Center areas. A few traveled out of town regularly, to Richmond or Philly or Baltimore. Only one was ever staffed in Reston, and that only lasted a month.

Also, despite the fact that corporate headquarters are in Reston, 90% of company events have been down town. They realize that the only people who actually work in Reston on a regular basis are HR and non-client facing employees, so they plan accordingly. The trainings, presentations, happy hours, company meetings, etc...all down town, or sometimes in Arlington.

Basically, expect to be commuting to DC (or at least within the beltway) if it's a typical consulting experience. If you're okay with a long commute each day, that may not be an issue, but I'm very grateful that I planned to live closer into the city. It's almost always a reverse commute for me to get to work, and I don't have to turn down projects because the commute would be horrendous (during the worst of the economy, people were getting laid off for turning down projects, even ones with 2-3 hour commutes each way)

I would look at Falls Church or Alexandria as "Arlington alternatives" while still keeping a semi-decent commute. Actually, what I would really recommend if you have a way of doing it is to live at home or with a relative for the first 1-2 months at the company, until you figure out what kind of a role you have. If you find out you're working in Reston, great--rent a place there. If you find out you'll be flying to Texas each week and will only be home on the weekends, again, the commute won't be an issue. But if you find out you'll be switching projects a lot, or will be on a long term project far away from Reston, then you'll be able to look at other areas.

[FindingZen]

CaliTerp07, you raise a good point. When I saw that the OP said they would be traveling, I assumed they were talking about flying. If it's actually driving around to sites around the region, then I suppose the location becomes almost irrelevant. I agree with Falls Church and Alexandria. Even downtown Fairfax City might work as well.

[CaliTerp07]

Yeah, and the problem with consulting is that you really have no idea what "travel" means when you sign up. People (including me, when I started out!) think it means the typical airport schedule, where you're only home on weekends. DC is an anomaly though, in that right now, we're the only city with excess work. My project is flying in people by the plane full from Chicago, Dallas, Columbus and NYC. They put a moratorium on new hires traveling out of DC though--they're needed here.

As is such, in my (albeit short) career here, I've only traveled for training, never for client work. Well, once I drove to Richmond for the week, but that was the week of inauguration, when no one was able to travel here, and we went to them!

[TheseGoTo11]

I lived near Reston for a year, and moved closer to the city. If you don't like to go out much, then maybe it's fine. Reston is for minivan driving suburbanites, the "town center" is just a mall without a roof.