Another Young Couple Moving to NOVA (Arlington, Reston: real estate, apartment, rental)

[ghett61]

Hello everyone. I am currently in Huntsville, AL. Today I just accepted an offer to take a job in Chantilly. It is with my current company so its just a transfer. Anyway my start date is July 19. I am not sure when all the actual move or house hunting trip will happen yet, but I am going to get a head start by getting any info I can here.

A little background:
I am 26 and my wife is 23. We have no kids yet...just 2 cats. My wife will not have a job at the time of the move but will be looking. We would like to be in an area where there are other young couples. The couples can be with or without kids...we don't care. Just people to socialize with on occasion. Since we don't know where my wife will be working, we would like to be at least within short driving distance to metro if possible. That is only in case her job is accessible from metro...I know mine is not.

We are currently looking at Vienna, Falls Church, or the area around the Fairfax metro stop. We are considering looking at Reston becuase some posters have made it sound attractive. Our budget will be 1800 or less. We would prefer 2+ bedroom. We would like a small house if possible, but townhouse or apartment is fine as well.

We are up for any suggestions.

[JfromReston]

Here are a few Reston options for you to consider.

10980 GRANBY CT, RESTON, VA 20191 - HomesDatabase
11921 SENTINEL POINT CT, RESTON, VA 20191 - HomesDatabase
2001 APPROACH LN, RESTON, VA 20191 - HomesDatabase
2058 HEADLANDS CIR, RESTON, VA 20191 - HomesDatabase
11342 LINKS DR, RESTON, VA 20190 - HomesDatabase
11764 BAYFIELD CT, RESTON, VA 20194 - HomesDatabase

[Nancy in Nokomis]

Vienna and Falls Church can be expensive - not sure $1800 will get you much in way of a home rental -

And watch out - some places around here look nice, new and neat but actually have crime problems - well - that is what I have been told anyway

[Teebyrd86]

For a young couple and since your not single I would say the Ashburn, sterling area sounds like a good fit. I live in Herndon near Reston; Reston is nice but Ashburn will you get you more bang for your buck & there are lots of young couples moving out that way. As the last poster stated areas near metros such as Vienna will be a lot more expensive.

[Badger21]

OP.

Metro will be here (as in Reston) in 2 years if that makes any difference in your long term planning. If you want to be around younger couples AND near a metro, you're going to have more success looking around Arlington. Your budget is kind of near the cutoff for a 2br apartment in that area, but you should have a couple options. Reston really doesn't have a lot of "young" couples moreso in their mid 30s and early 40s types. However, you will save money and the Reston Town Center (place EVERYBODY in Reston hangs from Thu-Fri) isn't too bad. If you're willing to eschew the Metro completely, I would also suggest the Brambleton area...seems like an up and coming place and they also have a Town Center. Both Reston and Ashburn will offer you about a half hour commute while Arlington will be more around 45 minutes during normal business hours.

[GoHokiesGo]

My wife and I are both 26 with no kids, just a dog, so somewhat similar situation. We bought a place in Ashburn and like the area. Its nice, safe and clean, but there arent very many young couples out here. Most of our neighbors are a bit older and have kids already; the quality of life is nice though and it's true that you get a lot for your money compared to other areas. I pass Chantilly on my way to work, and it'd be roughly 15-20 mins commute.

We go out to Reston Town Center during the work week if we feel like going out, and drive into dc and arlington on the weekends to meet up with friends where there's more nightlife. You'll get mixed opinions on Reston Town Center from the single people on this board, we personally like the area.

Parts of fairfax may be worth considering as well, Fair Lakes/Oaks is a nice area to look into as well. Arlington is the best area for nightlife for younger people, but you're increasing your commute to Chantilly from there. Falls Church isn't too bad, and would be a decent compromise between chantilly and the downtown locations.

I'd recommend picking a location that gives you a better commute over nightlife. You can always drive downtown on the weekends, but the commute in this area can be brutal if you live too far from your office.

[JfromReston]

One comment on choosing a place to live when you don't know where your wife will be working - the farther away from the city you choose the more you limit her options for employment. Living in Ashburn may get you more bang for your buck in the housing arena, but if your wife takes a job in DC she will have a misserable commute. We were in a similar situation when we moved here - husband had job in Herndon and I was looking. I have had three jobs since moving here one in Tysons and the other two in DC. We briefly considered Ashburn and Leesburg and I'm glad we dismissed those as they would have been extremely limiting for my career.

[claremarie]

Don't bother with Arlington or Falls Church. Rents are higher there because of the location close to DC, which you probably won't need. Many, perhaps most, jobs for entry-level workers are increasingly found outside DC in Tyson's and Dulles areas, so it is highly likely that your wife will be able to find a job in northern Virginia, perhaps even in the Chantilly area. Even if she ends up in DC, the commute to DC from, say, Reston, isn't too bad, and you can always move closer in after a year.

[ICS67]

I second the advice from Go Hokies Go that you select a location based more on commuting time than on nightlife. Traffic in the DC metro area has been ranked the second worst in the nation, after only LA.

I live in Reston, and while it is suburbia, it is somewhat less of a typical suburb than much of the rest of Fairfax County. It wouldn't be a bad commute for you to Chantilly, and would also be fairly central for your wife should she get a job in Loudoun County, the Dulles Corridor, or Tysons Corner. Not as great if she ends up working in DC, but I did that commute for several years by public transportation and survived.

Of those real estate listings posted by J From Reston, I know the areas around the Sentinel Point and Headlands Circle properties; both are in safe and pretty quiet areas. Both are also within an easy walk of a Fairfax Connector bus line that takes you to the West Falls Church Metro station. But as someone else said, you probably are not going to find tons of 20-something couples in Reston or, for that matter, in most of the rest of Fairfax County. Arlington County is the hot spot for that demographic slice, but it will be more expensive and more of a commute.

Good luck with your move and your new job.

[chariega]

OP, I would definitely take the advice of Go Hokies Go when it comes to commute over nightlife. You can always go out and meet up with people on the weekends and actually have the money to do so if you choose an area like Falls Church, Fairfax or Reston