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I will be moving to the D.C. area in August to work for one of the Big 4 accounting firms. My workplace will be in McLean, VA, however I may have clients in and around D.C.
I literally know nothing about D.C. I have tried reading the forums to figure out the cool places for young professionals to live and then pin pointing those on a map however it is quite a challenge. The problem I am having is that people name areas like Arlington, but don't give specifics of where to live in Arlington. I don't want to live in a dull place.
I have heard I should live on a metro line, however the metro also confuses me as I grew up in a rural area. I have tried looking on their website but the map is overwhelming.
I guess I am just looking for ideas to help me narrow down my search. I am 22 year old male so I would like to be around other young people/ professionals. I am looking to pay no more than $1400 (that may be naive?). I am also trying to decide if I should even bother with keeping my car and just stick with the metro.
I'm not sure what other information I can give as I am new to this forum. If you think I need to give more information please let me know!
If you're working in McLean, you are definitely going to want to keep your car. There is no metro line out there (yet). One is being built, but don't hold your breath, and besides, McLean and its environs is a very suburban, spread-out area anyway, so even with a metro you'll need a car to get around conveniently.
The other thing you need to know is that DC has by some accounts the worst traffic congestion in the country. As a result, you have to look at distances differently than you do elsewhere. A few miles that you would ordinarily think could be a quick drive can be a brutal slog when you're inching in traffic.
With that said, McLean is 10 miles from DC. From most people I've heard that even though in theory this is a "reverse commute" (against traffic) it is still a pretty long drive in rush hour. For that reason, I would suggest that unless you have some really really big overriding reason why you want to live in DC proper, that you instead try to live closer to work. That means the Virginia suburbs, which is colloquially known as "Northern Virginia."
There is a dedicated forum on city data for Northern Virginia. If you want to live there and have a relatively short commute, I suggest you post on that forum because the people that check that forum are very knowledgeable about the suburbs, as opposed to this forum where people know more about the city.
After a little more research, the commenters on this blog suggest that a drive from most parts of DC to Tysons Corner will take about 45 minutes to an hour:
I'm assuming that your office is near Tysons Corner since that's the big employment area out that way.
So if you think 45 to an hour drive one way a day is doable... then maybe consider DC. If not, focus on the Clarendon, Ballston, Virginia Square, and Courthouse corridor along the Orange Line in Arlington. That's the most popular part of Arlington for singles in their 20s. It has a (somewhat true) reputation for being very yuppie and fratty.
I will check out that other forum and ask there too. And yeah I am trying to avoid commute time. I had heard Arlington orange was good. That may also be beneficial depending on whether or not I have clients in the city. How much should I expect to pay in rent?
One of my friends commuted to Tyson's for some time - from Rosslyn (Arlington) to Tysons usually took at least 40 minutes taking 66 during rush hour. It's even longer if there's an accident, if its raining, or even remotely bad weather. But probably less than 20 minutes with no traffic
I think living in Arlington might be a good compromise for you. Yeah, it is a little yuppie and fratty but it's convenient, a little easier to have a car there, and you can hop onto the metro into DC whenever you want! And depending on your job you might not be in the Tyson's office a lot anyways, so no need to live super close to work.
Are there certain places of Arlington that are better than others? Like I don't know where in Arlington I should be looking for an apartment.
Check out Ballston and Clarendon... That's where you'll find most of the yuppies in Arlington. Shirlington is good too but its not on a metro line, however there are numerous express buses that takes you to Pentagon station.
Arlington. Its full of people your age. 22 at a big4 you'll be clearing $70, $80K a year i imagine, you'll be fine.
For what its worth, I do the DC to Tysons commute daily. Takes me 25 minutes on a normal day. My speed run record is 16 minutes.
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