Relocating to Reston, Virginia (apartments, rentals, condo)

[angel_eyes]

Hi

I am Riya working as software engineer in India. My finacee is moving to Reston, Virginia soon on H1 visa and will be working for a medium enterprise (outsourcing firm) as SAP consultant, he is certified in MM module.He has been offered $ 55k per annum initially but we are not sure if this money is good enough to have a average living in Virginia. Since he is going alone , so will be sharing accomodation with someone.

Can anyone answer the following queries ?

What would be his inhand salary after tax deduction ?
What would be his room rent, and other expenditure including local travel, groceries, food etc
Will he be able to do some saving with this offer ?
And last is, after marriage, I will also be moving to Virginia, so what are the job opportunities for software engineers(Java/ J2EE) there ?

Looking forward for reply,

smiles
riya

[lchoro]

How long will he be working here?

He should look into the possibility of getting a per diem for the first year to cover living costs while on temporary assignment away from home. Per diems are nontaxable. A certain portion of your salary would be paid out as the per diem during the first year. If he stays here longer, the whole pay package would revert to a straight salary.

[jb124]

I'd guess at losing an overall 15-20% to taxes as a married person. 55k is doable in Reston but not all that great. I'm not sure what current rentals are in Reston, but you can check out Craig's List to get an idea of general price ranges of apartments and shares: craigslist: northern virginia

You should have no problem getting a job at all as a Java/J2EE programmer.

As far as how much things will cost, it will vary greatly depending on lifestyle, type of vehicle, distance of commute, etc.

[angel_eyes]

Thanx Ichoro & jb124 for your replies !!

[angel_eyes]

Hi

I have few other queries like,

How much will an appartment cost ,if it has to be shared?
In which areas I will find out appartments in reston?
Will the landlord ask me for some security deposit or advance money ?
What would be the inhand salary per month if the offer is on $55K per year?

I think these are bit too many queries :P But Please reply

Riya

[austindoxie1972]

Hello Angel_Eyes! I have lived in Reston for two years. Here is what I've found:

Apartments will usually start around $1000. You might be able to get something for less than that, but it will probably not be in a good neighborhood. Overall, Reston is a fairly expensive but very nice place to live.

Most places require security deposits, ranging from $100 and up. Some of the privately owned apartments may require one month's rent. Sometimes these apartments owned by individual investors can be good deals, so I wouldn't shy away from them.

Apartments to avoid (from my personal knowledge) would be Chestnut Grove, Waterside and Colvin Woods. All of these have a high number of police calls and/or building maintenance issues.

There is a nice condo complex in Reston called Bentana. Many of those units are owned by individuals who rent them out. They rent quickly -- the buildings are solid and quiet. All your utilities are paid, which is a big bonus. There is also a nice grocery store across the street that you can walk to.

Parc Reston might be another option, though I think Parc Reston is fairly expensive. I've also been told this complex is very noisy from poor construction.

If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to post it! Good luck to you!

[angel_eyes]

Thanks Austin, This info will help alot

smiles'
riya