Where to live when working in McLean (Reston, Herndon: apartments, lease)

[ryan1313]

Hello all,

My wife and I currently live in Los Angeles but I am considering a job that would move me to McLean, VA. My wife would eventually be working and her career has been in the Hotel/hospitality business so we both figure the most job opportunities for her would be in D.C. What would be good options to look for apartments where we could get hopefully a 2 bed 2 bath for $1600 or less and where it would be a reasonable commute to both McLean and D.C.? Being from L.A. we are both used to traffic and commuting but it would be nice to be able to get to work in 45 minutes or less either driving or by public transit.

[703]

You could rent in Mclean or Vienna, but if you want to commute to Mclean, you can consider Reston

I would narrow down the areas a bit and then asks specifics.
Use apartment search sites.

[claremarie]

It's difficult to commute to a job in McLean by public transit, so you should probably plan on driving to work.
There are quite a few hotels in northern Virginia, especially in the Tyson's Corner area (which is where most McLean employers are), so you should not assume that your wife will need to commute to DC. If she can get a job in the suburbs, that will give you a lot more housing flexibility.

[703]

Wife wants to work for actual hotel or hotel company HQ?

There are some HQs in Tysons...

[ryan1313]

Thanks for the replies. I would certainly prefer to live in Tyson's area if possible to minimize my commute. My wife works in the accounting office for a hotel as assistant controller. While most of her experience has been in hotel industry her job is something that could translate to other industries and I guess there are plenty of businesses in McLean. Since I would have a job initially and she wouldn't it would probably make sense to find a place in the Tyson's area and hope she finds a job close to there. If she ends up working in D.C. or some place that is a bad commute for her we could suffer through until the lease is up and then re-evaluate what area to live in after we know the area a bit better and what commutes and traffic is like.

[703]

Yup.

And if she finds work in Reston-Herndon-Dulles area, commute is sort of against traffic...

[Claire2900]

Falls Church, Vienna and parts of Fairfax would work for keeping your commute down and you could look in these areas for properties that are the closest to the metro.

[normie]

Where in McLean is the job? If you know a nearby street intersection that can help us give you an idea whether you want to aim for Reston/Herndon or the opposite direction, Fall Church. Traffic in Tysons Corner is unusually bad right now and will continue to be bad for another year or so due to metro construction. So it might make a difference to know what part of McLean your job is in.

[ryan1313]

I would be working in Tyson's Corner. The more research I've done it seems like Falls Church, Vienna, Reston and Fairfax would be the best bets for us which seems to be the opinion here as well. Any advantages to one area over the other? Any difference in crime rates/safety? Seems like Falls Church and Vienna would also be the best access to Metro?

[bmwguydc]

All are very safe areas, and it depends upon the part of Fairfax regarding relative distance to the Metro, since there are parts of Fairfax that are very close to the station at Vienna-Fairfax. Reston does not have its own police force, though the cities of Falls Church, Fairfax, and Town of Vienna do. Unincorporated areas in the county are patrolled by the Fairfax County police, though there's no distinct advantage in one area or the other in terms of overall crime rate.

Reston is the furthest from the Metro, requiring a bus connection to West Falls Church, or a drive to the station.