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I am curious on everyones thoughts on living in Northern VA compared to HR, especially from those who have lived in both area. I am prior military, was stationed in HR for a few years and worked there as a DoD contractor for a couple more. I work in IT/IA. I have a fiance' who is a Health/PE teacher and we have a newborn daughter. In a effort to get us closer to family we moved up to Southern MD with plans of moving up to Northern VA long term.
However, we are starting to have second thoughts and really missing the HR area. We have been trying to decide on where to settle down and plant some roots (I'm from Ohio, she's from NY, she was a ODU student) We are missing being near the beach, the more laid back vibe of HR compared to Northern VA etc.
With that said, I know that with what I do, with government/clearance IT work that no area can compare to Northern VA in terms of available jobs and earning potential but we also want to be somewhere we will be happy. While Northern VA does have a lot of potential and opportunity I also frequently hear about how congested and crowded it is, and I know personally I will miss being away from the ocean. One thing that concerns me though is with my line of work that if the military takes significant cuts then my career could suffer in the HR area, but I don't want to let what-if's control my life either.
Anyways, long story short and sorry for the rambling but we are ultimately trying to decide between the two areas on where we could see ourselves settling down and staying long term. We loved being near the water, the ocean vibe, all the restaurants and live music, concerts at FB on the lawn etc.
I would appreciate any input or comparisons between the two areas!
Quality of life and happiness are two of the most important aspects of life. If HR offers what you're looking for, it's a no brainer.
You're looking for justification on choosing happiness in HR over a higher pay in DC, which, in my opinion, is silly. You live one time. Once. Uno. 1. If HR makes you happy, there is no decision to be made.
I am curious on everyones thoughts on living in Northern VA compared to HR, especially from those who have lived in both area. I am prior military, was stationed in HR for a few years and worked there as a DoD contractor for a couple more. I work in IT/IA. I have a fiance' who is a Health/PE teacher and we have a newborn daughter. In a effort to get us closer to family we moved up to Southern MD with plans of moving up to Northern VA long term.
However, we are starting to have second thoughts and really missing the HR area. We have been trying to decide on where to settle down and plant some roots (I'm from Ohio, she's from NY, she was a ODU student) We are missing being near the beach, the more laid back vibe of HR compared to Northern VA etc.
With that said, I know that with what I do, with government/clearance IT work that no area can compare to Northern VA in terms of available jobs and earning potential but we also want to be somewhere we will be happy. While Northern VA does have a lot of potential and opportunity I also frequently hear about how congested and crowded it is, and I know personally I will miss being away from the ocean. One thing that concerns me though is with my line of work that if the military takes significant cuts then my career could suffer in the HR area, but I don't want to let what-if's control my life either.
Anyways, long story short and sorry for the rambling but we are ultimately trying to decide between the two areas on where we could see ourselves settling down and staying long term. We loved being near the water, the ocean vibe, all the restaurants and live music, concerts at FB on the lawn etc.
I would appreciate any input or comparisons between the two areas!
HR is actually a bit closer to Ohio in terms of density, pace of life, rat race, etc. I'm from Ohio as well (Akron) and I like it a lot. Same pace as Akron, people are about the same actually a bit friendlier here. Commutes are long but nothing like what you're experiencing in NoVa.
NoVa is a bit faster pace, due to being outside of DC. More Northeast, less Midwest.
People always talk about NoVa, as far as salaries go but if you can have the same quality of life in HR go for it. HR isn't necessarily that much slower, really depends on where you're at in HR and what you're looking to get into.
Money isn't everything; if you can get by on a fraction here but relax a bit and get out of the rat race go for it.
I am curious on everyones thoughts on living in Northern VA compared to HR, especially from those who have lived in both area. I am prior military, was stationed in HR for a few years and worked there as a DoD contractor for a couple more. I work in IT/IA. I have a fiance' who is a Health/PE teacher and we have a newborn daughter. In a effort to get us closer to family we moved up to Southern MD with plans of moving up to Northern VA long term.
However, we are starting to have second thoughts and really missing the HR area. We have been trying to decide on where to settle down and plant some roots (I'm from Ohio, she's from NY, she was a ODU student) We are missing being near the beach, the more laid back vibe of HR compared to Northern VA etc.
With that said, I know that with what I do, with government/clearance IT work that no area can compare to Northern VA in terms of available jobs and earning potential but we also want to be somewhere we will be happy. While Northern VA does have a lot of potential and opportunity I also frequently hear about how congested and crowded it is, and I know personally I will miss being away from the ocean. One thing that concerns me though is with my line of work that if the military takes significant cuts then my career could suffer in the HR area, but I don't want to let what-if's control my life either.
Anyways, long story short and sorry for the rambling but we are ultimately trying to decide between the two areas on where we could see ourselves settling down and staying long term. We loved being near the water, the ocean vibe, all the restaurants and live music, concerts at FB on the lawn etc.
I would appreciate any input or comparisons between the two areas!
These kinds of questions are too personal to give blanket recommendations... I have a good friend from VB that moved to NOVA for work after college, makes a great salary, but doesn't feel well off because he pays twice as much for his house (good school districts are pricey in NOVA), works long hours, and has a terrible commute every day (45 minutes to go 15 miles). All he does is talk about moving back so that he can surf again, go offshore fishing, grill with friends on the weekends, and play golf for cheap at all of the nice municipal courses here. When we go to stay with them we hang out as his suburban house (that looks a lot like my suburban house) and maybe go down to Dulles town center to grab something to eat (which has basically the same restaurants as HR).
I have another good friend from Chesapeake that lives in Arlington and works in DC and loves it... wouldn't move back if you paid him a million bucks. Of course he is single in his early 30's and makes a good salary so he has a nice condo, rides the metro to work, eats out almost every night, and meets plenty of women. You just can't account for taste and all situations vary.
If you like the beach, concerts on the lawn, and a more relaxed vibe and want a house in the suburbs with reasonably good schools then VB sounds like a better fit than the places I have been to in NOVA. DC has more in terms of culture, museums, bars, but you don't sound like those things are tops on your list of must haves. I haven't lived there but I stay a weekend or so with good friends up there at least 4 or 5 times a year. I love to visit but I wouldn't want to live there at this stage in my life (married, young kid, early 30's). Feels too much like a rat race, costs too much, traffic sucks, and on the whole is more spread out than HR unless you live pretty close to DC which costs a fortune.
Good luck with your choice, I am an HR native that left and came back after spending my single 20's elsewhere if that helps, I don't regret my decision to return at all.
I popped into this forum because VA Beach/Chesapeake are on our "short list" for working semi-retirement locales...
We live in NOVA and yes the salaries are great... however... that is the only thing that is great in my opinion. Oh, yes and the shopping... great shopping. But you won't have much money left to spend after living and commuting expenses.
Commutes... long and can take even longer with bad weather or an accident. I drive 6.7 miles to work and it can take me 45 min or an hour and 15 min.
$300 K gets you a condo or a scroungy townhouse in a less than desirable area. Did I mention the traffic and congestion any time of the day? You can hit traffic on 66 or 95 at 11 PM or 11 AM !!!
Beach? It takes 3+ hours to get to the beach.
I have lived here off and on since 1993, and it is not friendly and laid back here in Nova like it used to be. People used to speak to you at the grocery store or when you were walking in your neighborhood. Not really like that anymore. And it is only getting worse and more congested and citified as the time passes. If you are happy in Hampton Roads, why even consider a change? If it is for the money - trust me - you won't even realize the extra money here in Nova because it will be gone on expenses in a flash.
If you have the opportunity to live your dream, why not? In the worst case scenario you can always decide you made the wrong move and leave for the faster paced life but if you choose NoVa, you may not ever choose the "road not taken," and you may always regret it.
Thanks for your post Leaving4Ca, You touched on a lot of the things that concern me the most. While I know I could make a significantly higher salary in NOVA, I also am realizing that the salary won't stretch nearly as far since everything is extremely expensive. The other alternative is to live further out but then as you mentioned you spend most of your life stuck in a car in traffic..
It just doesn't seem to have much of a community or cohesive feeling and everyone is just trying to make it to work and back in reasonable times.. 3 Hours to get to the beach also doesn't appeal to me since I loved being near the water in Hampton Roads.
To be honest, I initially though NOVA would be great for me since I have a kid now and plan to have others, and I mainly thought that because of being blinded by the higher salary I could earn but I am quickly learning that it doesn't offer many of the things I want in a place I plan to raise a family in. Sure if I was a single guy still I could stay close to the cities in a townhouse and make great money, go out to all the restaurants and bars and have a blast but that isn't where I am in life now and it honestly doesn't seem like too great of a place to raise a family for many reasons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leaving4Ca
I popped into this forum because VA Beach/Chesapeake are on our "short list" for working semi-retirement locales...
We live in NOVA and yes the salaries are great... however... that is the only thing that is great in my opinion. Oh, yes and the shopping... great shopping. But you won't have much money left to spend after living and commuting expenses.
Commutes... long and can take even longer with bad weather or an accident. I drive 6.7 miles to work and it can take me 45 min or an hour and 15 min.
$300 K gets you a condo or a scroungy townhouse in a less than desirable area. Did I mention the traffic and congestion any time of the day? You can hit traffic on 66 or 95 at 11 PM or 11 AM !!!
Beach? It takes 3+ hours to get to the beach.
I have lived here off and on since 1993, and it is not friendly and laid back here in Nova like it used to be. People used to speak to you at the grocery store or when you were walking in your neighborhood. Not really like that anymore. And it is only getting worse and more congested and citified as the time passes. If you are happy in Hampton Roads, why even consider a change? If it is for the money - trust me - you won't even realize the extra money here in Nova because it will be gone on expenses in a flash.
Honestly Northern Virginia isn't a bad place but it's not for everyone, it's definitely stressful and has its drawbacks but everywhere does. Ours just happens to be terrible traffic at pretty much all times of the day and expensive cost of living but salaries make up for that. Just as many drawbacks as there are there's also a lot of positive amnesties in NoVA that are pretty hard to find in the rest of Virginia in my opinion.
If you like a laid back, less stressful sort of scene Hampton Roads is perfect. If you like a fast pace kind of environment and are looking to advance in your career and make more money NoVA is probably the better option but it just depends on what you like.
Thanks for the honest and straight forward response NOVA_guy!
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