Good fit for young couple looking to move near NOVA or MD?

[aandb]

Potential job place would Annandale, Virginia 22003 or Fairfax, Virginia 22031/22032.

[FindingZen]

Baltimore would not be feasible; besides the hellish commute to Annandale or Fairfax City, your transit costs would eat up your rent savings as mentioned earlier.

Basically, $1000 for a 1BR just isn't realistic in anywhere that will be moderately convenient or comfortable for anywhere in Fairfax County except perhaps if you're dealing with a private owner. You may want to compromise in the short term until both jobs are able to come on line here. Walkable neighborhoods that attract young professionals will come at a premium.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by aandb

Potential job place would Annandale, Virginia 22003 or Fairfax, Virginia 22031/22032.

harrumph. Good news, there are lots of options for getting to those areas. I live in 20003. Theres annandale itself, or you could commute in from Burke, Springfield, Fairfax city, and lots of other places, or you could reverse commute from Falls Church, south arlington, or alexandria (others can speak to the possibilities for 22031/22032.

The bad news is that most of those areas it will be hard to find a decent 1BR for 1000, and esp so in the more walkable/arts oriented/progressive areas. Burke and most areas south and west of annandale are kind of generic suburbs, more or less. FFX city has a nice little walkable section, with a tiny touch of artsiness, but I dont think of it as terribly "forward thinking". Springfield is ethnically diverse and relatively inexpensive, but physically not very attractive in an aging inner suburb kind of way. Annandale is a tad more expensive than springfield, is diverse, the commerce (other than a few generic options) is almost entirely Korean. Del Ray would be perfect, and the reverse commute wouldnt be that bad, but its more expensive.

Best bet might be somewhere in S Arlington - its a mix of inner suburb old enough to be almost urban, which over the years became a mix of blacks, hispanics, and both elderly and I would say some forward looking whites, and is now becoming gentrified (in new hi rises and fixed up SFHs) It might be possible to find something there that kind fo fit, and would be an easy reverse commute to Annandale.

OTOH I think really the best strategy would be to get someplace cheap farther out and give up on the artsy forward thinking stuff till the second income is in place. If thats too chancy or unappealing, I would look elsewhere.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by Tone509

Baltimore would not be feasible; besides the hellish commute to Annandale or Fairfax City, your transit costs would eat up your rent savings as mentioned earlier.
.

to clarify - i wouldnt suggest a commute from baltimore to annandale - I would suggest looking for a job in baltimore.

[SPHokie]

Originally Posted by aandb

Ok, I'm sure there are several posts similar to this one so sorry for repeating in advance...

We are a young couple looking to move to a new area. We are looking into Northern VA, MD or areas around DC. We are open to areas outside these states as well if we find an ideal fit.
We're looking for a place that has lots of young couples or young families. We want a place that values forward-thinking people, the arts, music and education. We would like to be close (20 min) to a big city, but don't have to live right in the heart of it. We don't want conservative suburbia, minivans and chain stores cause that's where we're at now. The ability to bike or walk to stores, restaurants, entertainment would be a bonus.
We have good vibes about neighborhoods like Cleveland Heights and Coventry in Cleveland, OH or places like Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh, PA if that helps.

Thanks for your help in advance.

If you're looking for "forward" thinking people then I'd strongly recommend MD over VA.

Also, all "forward" thinking individuals currently living in VA should move to MD as quickly as possible...preferably before November 2012

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

to clarify - i wouldnt suggest a commute from baltimore to annandale - I would suggest looking for a job in baltimore.

Oh yes, I did think that you were suggesting Bmore as a destination onto itself rather than a commutable option...but I wasn't sure that the OP was clear on that.

[stpickrell]

Live in some guy's basement until you both find jobs. As PP's have said, $1200 might get you a 1BR in an OK area. Or, get used to living in Front Royal or Winchester, neither of which are arts meccas (but do have more character than many parts of Northern VA).