Moving to Dulles/Sterling, VA

[normie]

You're welcome, and welcome to northern Virginia.

[Gottasay]

I'd look at Reston near the town center. I hope you find something in your price range though. Frankly, given how you describe yourself (no suburbs, no kids, commute to work via bike), I think you'd be happier in East Falls Church or the Ballston/Clarendon area of Arlington. I would also consider NW DC. Your rental price point is low, however.

[pvgelder]

Thanks again, we've now definitely added Arlington to the itinerary. It will be great for my wife, not so sure about the traffic (doesn't look that bad during rush hours on routes.tomtom.com).

Just two more questions that I hope you've time to answer:

1. Is there any specific living consideration related to Dulles Airport? E.g., are there certain directions that will be extremely busy/noisy during the nights, etc.? Do people generally consider the airport as a burden? I live relatively close to an airport, but it has just one runway and no flights between 11pm and 6am so it's not so bad for sleeping etc.

2. Are there any no-go areas/neighbourhoods/blocks/streets in the area that I am considering (i.e., east of Sterling/Dulles and west of Washington D.C. center)? We're used to petty theft etc., I am more thinking about areas where my wife would be (or feel, perception matters) unsafe when moving around alone (especially when it's dark). Is the metro/public transportation generally considered safe? For comparison, we felt safe in the New York metro at night. Would it be considered safe or stupid for a woman to cycle alone between Arlington and downtown etc.?

(Ok, that was not really one question; if you can point me to website with crime statistics, that would be great as well.)

Many thanks again,

Paul

[michgc]

If you felt safe on the NYC subway at night, I think you'd feel safe pretty much anywhere in Northern Virginia.