Moving to NoVa from CA, working in Herndon VA

[michgc]

Don't forget that there is also a lot of employment on the I-270 corridor, a commute which is doable from parts of Northern Virginia. Vienna or Falls Church would trump Herndon or other far-out places in that regard.

[Caladium]

The bottom line is, move closer to DC is that's where you wish to live--but that's the only reason you would need to live closer in. You don't need to do it because of a concern about finding a job. There are a lot of job openings in the corridor from Tyson Corner to Leesburg, as well as along Rt. 28 and in Chantilly. You'd be amazed how many job openings there are in Reston/Herndon alone, which could be great because if you work near your husband maybe you two could occasionally have lunch together. Check it out for yourself, I'm sure many of the corporations in Reston/Herndon post job listings online.

[brooklynborndad]

srussel

see my PM

[Caladium]

OP, since you're familiar with the beach cities in southern CA, think of it this way. Reston/Herndon in 2012 reminds me of El Segundo, (at least the ES of the 80s and 90s, when I lived there). In other words, lots of large corporations, and lots of job openings at TRW, Northrop Grumman, Manhattan Studios, Mattel, Hughes, and many other smaller companies in the same area.

If someone moved to California for a job in El Segundo and asked you where the spouse should look for a job, you'd probably suggest right there in El Segundo/MB (VA equivalent: Reston/Herndon). The reason? Because there are lots of jobs there (or at least there were back when I lived there). Which is not to say that it's the only place to get a job in LA--there would also be jobs in Mid-Wilshire (Tysons) and Downtown LA (DC) but it's not necessary to drive that far to get a job.

[stpickrell]

When I was in Arlington a few years ago, I did encounter a good deal of random traffic at times when I wanted to head on an I-66 reverse commute. However, it broke up around 66/Glebe Road.

In your shoes, I'd live in Falls Church or Ballston. Walkable to some nightlife, easy cab/Metro to much more, your husband avoids the worst of the bad traffic, very good generic commute if you want a job in the future.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

To completely overcome the last mile problem, you need buses that are pretty frequent, or the wait time adds significantly to the total commute time.

I get what you're thinking, and for all I know you may be right. Time will tell. But, FWIW, naysayers said the same thing about the commuter bus that leaves from my neighborhood. They said that people wouldn't want to take it since the bus doesn't run frequently (it's a commuter bus that goes to West Falls Church metro station in the morning and returns home from WFC in the evening.) However, those fears did not turn out to be true--that bus is packed every day. Apparently there are some people who don't mind the wait time (or have learned to work around it).

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by Caladium

I get what you're thinking, and for all I know you may be right. Time will tell. But, FWIW, naysayers said the same thing about the commuter bus that leaves from my neighborhood. They said that people wouldn't want to take it since the bus doesn't run frequently (it's a commuter bus that goes to West Falls Church metro station in the morning and returns home from WFC in the evening.) However, those fears did not turn out to be true--that bus is packed every day. Apparently there are some people who don't mind the wait time (or have learned to work around it).

People who don't mind the wait will take it, and those who do mind, can drive to the station. And some people, in situations like that, will drive to the bus stop (aren't some of the Loudoun Commuter bus stops at park and rides?) which isn't an option in the employment end. So a commuter bus, even a feeder commuter bus, draws from a wider area than walking distance of the stops, often much wider - and can get operational improvements by having relatively few stops. A destination bus works differently - which is why the "last mile problem" in transit is different from the first mile problem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_mile_(transportation)

Note one can get from a wide area to the residential zone commuter bus with a bike or car one owns - most people do not own a car or bike they keep near their workplace, and store overnight at the station (or bus stop). Thats why bike sharing is such an intriguing solution (car sharing, like zipcar, could be also, but I think the costs are prohibitive for most commuters)

and note, Im not saying that some people won't do the walk to the metro, take the metro to wiele, take the bus to herndon - some will, especially of course car free folks from DC and North Arlington for whom the Silver Line opens up a whole new job market. But given the relative convenience of the reverse commute, and the free parking (also factors not present for the folks commuting from Loudoun to Ballston, DC and similar) at I guess all employers in Herndon, it not likely to draw a lot of commuters going all the way to Herndon who have a car available. And again, when multi-use is built in Herndon, and density there increases in general, the bus will see an upward spiral of usage and frequency. Of course it won't be long before that is followed by Phase 2 anyway.

[Caladium]

Opinion duly noted. Meanwhile, we're getting off topic so let's get back to the OP's search for a new neighborhood.