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Old 02-16-2012, 08:49 AM
 
9 posts, read 11,656 times
Reputation: 10

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My wife and I have just been offered jobs in McLean in a new office our company is building (we both work for the same company). It's more money for the both of us, but cost of living out that way is much higher form what I've managed to gather so far.

Our combined salaries should be around $150k-$160k annual (likely more with bonuses, but I'm lowballing it for now). Whereabouts in the McLean area would be reasonable housing wise? For the first year we're going to get an apartment until we get settled and get a feel for the new area, but after that a house or townhouse would be better (starting a family soon we hope!).

Commute time is also a factor for us. Currently it's very short, only about 15-20 minutes or so. It's probably going to go up, but shorter would be nicer (really hate driving haha).

We live in a very suburb-y area now (Plano if you're familiar with the area), and would like to move to someplace similar. Good access to shopping, grocery, restaurants, etc would be outstanding.

Also, I'm a bit of a huge nerd! Anyone here know of any local comic/gaming stores that are quality? We have quite a few in the Dallas area, and that's going to be one of the biggest things I miss

Looking forward to the new experiences, and thanks for taking the time to read!

Cheers,
Joe
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Old 02-16-2012, 09:32 AM
 
13 posts, read 28,788 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by CapJoe View Post
My wife and I have just been offered jobs in McLean in a new office our company is building (we both work for the same company). It's more money for the both of us, but cost of living out that way is much higher form what I've managed to gather so far.

Our combined salaries should be around $150k-$160k annual (likely more with bonuses, but I'm lowballing it for now). Whereabouts in the McLean area would be reasonable housing wise? For the first year we're going to get an apartment until we get settled and get a feel for the new area, but after that a house or townhouse would be better (starting a family soon we hope!).

Commute time is also a factor for us. Currently it's very short, only about 15-20 minutes or so. It's probably going to go up, but shorter would be nicer (really hate driving haha).

We live in a very suburb-y area now (Plano if you're familiar with the area), and would like to move to someplace similar. Good access to shopping, grocery, restaurants, etc would be outstanding.

Also, I'm a bit of a huge nerd! Anyone here know of any local comic/gaming stores that are quality? We have quite a few in the Dallas area, and that's going to be one of the biggest things I miss

Looking forward to the new experiences, and thanks for taking the time to read!

Cheers,
Joe

I'm also from that area, but I moved to the southern part of the beltway. I think Vienna has some pretty fair pricing and a suburban feel, but I haven't driven around the neighboring Mclean regions as much.

You're going to miss your clean, nice road construction, ease of shopping everywhere, ridiculously low cost of living, and other conveniences from back home, haha.
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Old 02-16-2012, 10:38 AM
 
298 posts, read 682,209 times
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About any interest you may have is represented here in NoVA. For your "comic book store near McLean" cravings, here's a Yelp search: Comic books McLean

For housing, you'll probably want to look within McLean, Vienna, or Falls Church for a short commute to McLean. Housing is pretty expensive in this area. Not NJ or CA expensive, but expensive.
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Old 02-16-2012, 11:11 AM
 
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I really appreciate the info!

Is living within the beltway more metro than suburb? A few coworkers warned us that it was a lot more dense population wise inside the beltway vs outside.
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Old 02-16-2012, 12:18 PM
 
Location: Northern Virginia
4,489 posts, read 10,967,813 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CapJoe View Post
I really appreciate the info!

Is living within the beltway more metro than suburb? A few coworkers warned us that it was a lot more dense population wise inside the beltway vs outside.
In a very few, specific areas, yes. Arlington along the orange line (metro) is high rise condos and fairly dense, and Old Town Alexandria is narrow townhouses and condensed retail. The rest of the area inside the beltway though is just your typical suburban sprawl. I really don't see a whole lot of change when you cross the freeway. You have to go quite a ways out (or seek out specific neighborhoods) before it feels drastically different.

What are you comfortable spending on housing in your budget? You say your income, but that's not indicative of if you have a lot of other financial obligations. Your budget and commute tolerance will likely narrow down possible locations pretty quickly. A 20 minute commute doesn't get you very far here (for me, it's about 4-5 miles).
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Old 02-16-2012, 12:47 PM
 
9 posts, read 11,656 times
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So currently we're living in a nice little house for about $140k (Texas is super cheap), and we're paying about $1100 on our mortgage, and living well under our means. Outside of our house, we're basically debt free. After moving, we should be able to afford at least $2500-$3500 for rent/mortgage. Doing some quick searches for apartments, that's well within our means.

Our concern is that for a stand alone single family home, it's going to be a little over what we feel comfortable paying. But there are some nice townhomes in the Springfield/Vienna areas that would fit our budget nicely I think. Does that sound about right?
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Old 02-16-2012, 12:49 PM
 
Location: Northern Virginia
4,489 posts, read 10,967,813 times
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Yep, $2500-$3500 should get you a very nice townhouse. You could get a very nice SFH as well, but probably not in McLean.

Springfield is going to be a bit of a trek to McLean--not horrible, but definitely outside of your 15-20 minute desire.
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Old 02-16-2012, 12:59 PM
 
Location: Reston, VA
2,092 posts, read 4,261,069 times
Reputation: 1332
Check out Reston!

I think you will feel a little more settled if you rent a SFH or TH rather than an apartment.
2223 CEDAR COVE CT, RESTON, VA 20191 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com
http://www.homesdatabase.com/rentals...69627601/popup
11210 LAGOON LN, RESTON, VA 20191 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com
2038 SWANS NECK WAY, RESTON, VA 20191 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com
1925 LAKEPORT WAY, RESTON, VA 20191 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com
Currently there are no SFH in the area for rent - but there often are a few in your price range.

All of the above are in the area of this photo tour I did a few years ago.
https://www.city-data.com/forum/north...uth-lakes.html
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Old 02-16-2012, 01:41 PM
 
9 posts, read 11,656 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by JfromReston View Post
Thanks for the links! And the picture album is amazing, coming from the Dallas area (flat, no trees to speak of), it's absolutely beautiful out there. And that's helping a lot in terms of coming to grips moving away from home!
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Old 02-16-2012, 02:40 PM
 
Location: Prince William County, VA
722 posts, read 1,928,600 times
Reputation: 468
Quote:
Originally Posted by CapJoe View Post
So currently we're living in a nice little house for about $140k (Texas is super cheap), and we're paying about $1100 on our mortgage, and living well under our means. Outside of our house, we're basically debt free. After moving, we should be able to afford at least $2500-$3500 for rent/mortgage. Doing some quick searches for apartments, that's well within our means.
Since you mentioned in an earlier post that you're thinking of starting a family soon...Childcare is very expensive here. You might want to look into costs of that or the effect on your budget if one of you stayed home to watch the child(ren) and consider that in your housing budget.
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