UVA Job - Salary and relocation (Arlington, Charlottesville: apartment, rentals, lofts)

[dwiggin3]

Afternoon all,
I am interviewing for a position at UVA next week for which I have very well qualified. I currently work in Fairfax at GMU and since both are state funded universities, the benefits will be the same. The salary band I am currently in happens to be the same salary band as the UVA position and my salary is right about mid-band. I am uncertain if UVA would be required to at min. meet my current salary so obviously, I need to look into this.

A bit of background – I am tired of living in a high cost of living area, crazy lifestyle and would like to slow down. I live in Arlington in a low/moderate income apt. that is running about 1k a month. Sadly, compared to the medium income in Arl. County, I am at the 55%, which shocks me. Charlottesville seems like just the place – a bit of the city but close to nature. I also really like the university setting. I am 31 and single. My decision to look elsewhere for work has less to do with advancing a career and earning big money and more to do with lifestyle – hence why I applied for a job that is theoretically, very similar to what I do now.

I will not accept this position unless my salary is at least equal to what I make. I should be able to find housing for less than what I pay now. I think the change in lifestyle, and decreased cost of living is worth a lateral pay wise. Of course, there are some other things to think of that I will not bore you with. Assuming there is room to negotiate on the salary, what would be a fair increase in my salary given my qualifications? They are aware of my current salary. While the COL is less compared to where I currently live, I feel I am worth a raise (and it is UVA – I know they have the state funding to pay well). One odd thing about the classification of this position compared to my current is that they indicated they want someone with a Masters degree, which I have. My current position only wanted a BA/BS. However, the salary bands are the same. I feel I should be paid more because of not only my professional qualification, but also my education. How does this factor in? Any suggestions on how to determine how much of an increase is fair?

I have a number of other questions that I will list below. I would love to hear from some of you.

Housing:
I am unsure where to live. I do not mind a 20-30 min. drive to work. I DO NOT want to live in predominantly student housing. I don’t mind an occasional party or football game blowout but I DO NOT want regular EMS vehicles showing up for alcohol OD’s and drugs. I have seen some rents as low as $550 (Blue Ridge Apt. Counsel website) however, my concern is that this is predominantly student or at least undergraduate housing. Places I have looked at via the web that appear more “working adult, mature people” are $800-$1200 – but then again, I’m sure there are more resources/places I am not aware of. I would love to live in a historic place or one of those converted lofts but suspect that is out of my price range. I have done a bit of housing research but would love to hear from you folks.

Relocation
Frankly, I think it is highly unlikely that this position comes with relocation expenses but I will ask. Obviously, I need to give 2 weeks at my current position but what is an acceptable amount of time for UVA to provide me to move? I am not sure I could logistically start the Monday immediately preceding the last day of work (a Friday). Thoughts?

I am not familiar with the area and would like to have a chance to learn my way around and see what areas are good for housing etc. I am in a position where I could store all of my furniture at my families place in Fredericksburg while I apartment shop. What I do not want to do is sign a lease at a place just to have a roof over my head, and then when I do figure out where to live, break the lease, and find that I have been blacklisted with the management company. Should I be upfront and say, it is short-term housing? They may not want to rent to me. I cannot afford to live in a hotel or corporate housing. Another thing to keep in mind, the academic year ends in May and there may be a greater supply of rentals available then – something to consider.

I am sure I will come up with more questions, but in the meantime, please feel free to reply.

Cheers,
Dwiggin3

[meskito]

As far as your housing concerns - Charlottesville is beautiful, and there are many non-student options available. It is a bit pricey (sounds like you are used to that) and many people commute from nearby areas. If you would be willing to drive a bit, you could afford SO MUCH that would cost you under 1k a month which you currently pay.

Charlottesville is expensive, and at times the traffic is bad - but nothing like NOVA. It's very pretty and historic, the people are friendly and the university adds to the artistic feel. It's a very nice town.

My family chose to live in Staunton due to the beauty, small town feel, friendly community, and affordable housing. My husband commutes to work. We were able to buy a great home, and pay less in mortgage than you currently do in rent. It's about 45 minutes drive to C-ville from here. My husband does it daily.

There are many areas worth looking into. Waynesboro is between Staunton and C-ville. It's growing rapidly, and has a more spread out feel. You should drive down one weekend and check out the area.

[stacylee926]

Just popping in to give you a bit of info. I lived in NoVa (Arl and Fx) for 41 years - moved away 4 years ago because it was so expensive . This past weekend DH and I went to Cville for the first time. We were only there for 2 days, but my first impressions were that it was a very cool place!! It is very hilly and houses are built into the sides of the mountain (but they aren't really mountains - just VERY hilly). Much different than NoVa hills.

We drove around town midday on Monday and we didnt really see a traffic issue - NOTHING like NoVa!! The UVA campus seems much more spread out compared to Mason. It is hard to distinguish between on-campus and off-campus in some areas. I imagine all the housing around the campus is mostly student housing, or private homes rented to students.

The surrounding area overall is beautiful - and it was raining when we were there! I am sure you would find affordable housing away from campus and would probably love all the mountain views. There are alot of wineries and antique stores close by, if that interests you.

It would seem like a very nice opportunity.