Temporarily relocating to DC (Arlington, Alexandria: apartments, rentals, condo)

[MovingSoon1218]

I was recently offered my "dream" job. This job will require that I take a pretty significant pay cut (33%) and temporarily relocate from North Texas to the DC area. My family and I (my spouse, 3 year-old and 4 month old) will reside in the DC area between 3 - 12 months before moving overseas.

While in DC, I'll be working Downtown for about a month and then in Arlington for an amount of time that has yet to be determined.

What areas should we consider living in? After researching the cost of housing and day care in the DC area, we're starting to second guess our decision. I'm really not sure how people survive financially in this part of the country especially with more than one kid in day care.

My spouse will likely be working in the Springfield area. I'd like our rent to be under $2,000 a month. We'd prefer 4 bedrooms (an extra bedroom for visiting relatives), but we think we could possibly manage with just two bedrooms since we know this is only temporary. We'd like to be in a safe, kid-friendly neighborhood with a reasonable commute to Downtown and Arlington (under 45 minutes if possible). While we'd prefer to rent a house or townhome, we're open to renting an apartment. We live in the suburbs now, but we think it would be a fun experience to live in an urban area that has lots of stores and shops within walking distance. Based on what I've seen, I don't think that's possible given our budget. I think we'd like Arlington or Alexandria, but it seems like the nice apartments are out of our price range. I've been looking at Silver Springs, Ashburn, Vienna and Reston, but I'm concerned about the commute times.

Any insight is greatly appreciated!

[ChristineVA]

After reading your post, I think you should look in and around Springfield.

Your budget would probably work there, your wife's commute would be zero. Let me say this--after having two kids in daycare, it is VERY important to have one parent near the kids' daycare. It's just easier for pick up/drop off and when you get that sick call in the middle of the day.

Your commute into town would probably max out at 45 minutes and you will have very easy access to all methods of public transportation.

Given your short stay here and the fact that you aren't looking to put down roots/find a good home value, I would give myself the BEST possible commute.

[claremarie]

I agree with Christine. You can manage with a 2 BR apt (visiting relatives can stay in a hotel!), which will give you considerably more housing options than trying to find a 4 BR townhouse. Which part of Arlington will you be working in? If it's Crystal City, you could live right there. Soul-less high rises, but safe and very convenient.
Day-care spots can be very difficult to find, especially for infants. If you're planning on a center of some kind rather than in-home care, you might consider nailing that down FIRST, and then finding housing nearby. Apartments are easier to come by than infant day-care slots.

[HereinVA]

If you're only going to be here a year or less, does your spouse "have to" work? Do they already have a job lined up for them? Depending on your circumstances, it might be easier for your spouse to stay home and take care of the kids rather than deal with the stress/expense/limitations of daycare--since it's for such a short period before your next move overseas.

[slduvall]

One of bigger problems at least with a house is going to be finding someone willing to rent to you essentially month to month. 3-12 months is a huge span. As a homeowner with a rental, the only way I would do that is to charge a higher month to month rate.

On that note I was just browsing miliarybyowner.com yesterday and found a really nice house - can't remember where - that was up for a short term type of lease.

A company with TH and condo rentals might be more open to it.

But I agree with others, stay where your spouse will work -Springfield area will let you have more choices with daycare and provide you with access to the metro.

[MovingSoon1218]

Thanks for the responses. My husband doesn't have to work, but he really wants to. I have thought about the possibility of him staying home, but this may be his last opportunity to work for a while since he probably won't be able to work once we're overseas. His current employer in Texas has told him that he can transfer to their branch in Springfield. If we can't find reliable care for our infant, he may have to stay home. One of the reasons that we are hoping for a four bedroom place is that my mom may be willing to stay with us for a few months in order to baby sit our infant.

We're planning on taking a trip to the area next week specifically to look at day care facilities. So far, I haven't had any luck in locating a day care center that has or that will have an opening for an infant in our time frame. Any suggestions regarding a day care center? We are planning to get referrals for at home child care from ITFDC (infanttoddler.com) next week while we're in town.

I've checked out militarybyowner.com and there were a couple of nice places there. My new employer has given me some verbiage that we can try to have inserted into our lease that will allow us to terminate our lease early when we receive official orders for our overseas post. I've heard that people have had mixed success in having this clause added.

Would the drive in from Silver Springs to Arlington be unbearable? It seems like the apartments there are more reasonably priced (by DC standards). My husband's hours will likely vary so I'm not too concerned about his commute. I'll be working 8 - 5 and I'll likely be responsible for picking up the kids.

[novadc]

Hi there. North Texas to DC is going to be a huge cost adjustment, especially if you're taking a pay cut. Just want to warn you that DC is extraordinarily expensive compared to North Texas (I have family in Longview, so I know North Texas). If you still think you can swing DC, I say look in Springfield or Alexandria. I live in Alexandria and my husband works in downtown DC and his commute is 30-40 minutes. Alexandria is very family-friendly and beautiful. You can rent a townhouse here for about $2100/month in a nice neighborhood. Most of the kids in my neighborhoods seem to have nannys, though. So I can't comment on daycares. Don't even consider Silver Spring- the commute would be horrendous, and Silver Spring has some sketchy areas. Stick with Springfield or Alexandria. Alexandria is prettier and closer to DC but also will be a bit more expensive than Springfield. Good luck!

[movingtodcfromseattle]

My husband commutes from Fairfax (near Burke) to Silver Spring. His is in a temporary situation which is why we chose to buy our house in Fairfax. I would NOT recommend it, especially if you are responsible for picking up the kids. I wasn't thrilled with the daycare centers in the area. I've heard good things about Kiddie Country (Burke) and La Petite in Kingstowne. We chose to go a different route with the daycare thing which fits our part-time need nicely. Sorry I can't be of more assistance, but thought I'd chime in my 2 cents. Good luck!

[CaliTerp07]

If you're looking at commutes to Springfield and DC, you'll want to live in VA. A commute from Maryland is unnecessarily ugly, unless there's something awesome about wherever you're looking in MD.

Alexandria should have 3br apartment options in your price range. I don't think you'll find a SFH though--I wasn't able to when I was looking last year.

[stpickrell]

1. Would you be willing to consider 60 minute commutes if much of it were on a subway or train? If so, that opens up some options, such as Fairfax/Vienna/Falls Church, or even I-95 on down through Stafford/Fredericksburg. Some parts of eastern Prince William are better than others.
2. Be on the lookout for rooms that can become bedrooms in any situation.
3. If parts of Silver Spring are sketchy, by that standard there's parts of Springfield and Alexandria you want to avoid. (Yeah, that's me defending MoCo.) But you really don't want to live in Silver Spring -- or anywhere in MD -- if DH is working in Springfield and you're working in Arlington/DC. Plus, Maryland is to Virginia what Oklahoma is to Texas. Why would you want to be there?
4. "Alexandria" can refer to either Alexandria City, or the parts of Fairfax County with an Alexandria mailing address. (Ditto with Falls Church.) Independent cities in VA are treated like separate counties.
5. Daycare becomes harder to get into the closer in you get.