Best Friends with Kids Looking At Where To Move Between DC and Richmond (Arlington: bankrupt)

[MexGirl]

My BFF and I own a duplex here in Los Angeles,CA we are very close our kids are a month apart and they have been together since day of their lives. her boyfirend is in the military and truth be told he here only for a few wks at at time. She is talking about moving to Richmond or some where near there. She is asking for a starnfer to FBI head quaters in DC and has ask me to consider moving out with her . She is the godmother to my son and i am the godmother to her daughter our kids aver very close. I have lived in LA all my life truth is i'm done with the rat race and school for my son hold prioraty for me. She is originaly from Maryland so for her is like going home...
I want whats best for my son, she tells me that life in the east coast is very different from LA. truth is I know nothing about the area. I do want to be close to my goddauther and nothing holds me here except our perfect 77 degree year round weather (wink wink). What area do you suggest , She mention that she can take the merto or train in so I can't be too far from DC.
Lost in my head.

[Katie1]

Dead center would be Fredericksburg VA

[Darkseid]

Culturally speaking, I do not consider Richmond to be "East Coast". Richmond is more akin to Southern cities like Memphis, TN, Birmingham, AL or Louisville, KY than Philadelphia, NYC or Boston. The DC area (to include Northern Virginia) is now north of the cultural Mason-Dixon line.

If you are trying to stay metro accessible, then Richmond is pretty much out of the question. Driving from Richmond everyday would be about a 2.5 hr commute each way with DC traffic factored in. Unless she has some specific reason for wanting to live in Richmond, like family members or a job, then you should probably scratch Richmond based on what you have written above.

Generally speaking, the closer to the District, the more expensive it is. Arlington is pretty much an extension of DC. Fairfax County is next to Arlington, but at the moment, only Falls Church, Springfield and Vienna are metro accessible. Alexandria (it's on locality) is also metro accessible.

Northern Virginia can range from the pedestrian friendly with night life (Ballston, Old Towne Alexandria) to the very suburban and family friendly (Ashburn, Woodbridge). So it depends on what you are looking for and (most importantly) what your budget is.

[CaliTerp07]

If you're trying to escape the rat race, DC isn't the area to do that. It's a different kind of rat race, but it's still very much a high powered, high pressure area (unless you move quite a bit further out from the city).

Traffic here is awful, at least as bad as what you would find in LA. Until your friend and you both know where you'll be working, it's futile to give you suggestions on where to live.

[cb at sea]

LA and DC traffic are both awful...except we have fewer lanes on the interstates!

Yes...this IS the "east coast", but we're not on the ocean at all....the nearest beach (of ocean variety) is about 2-3 hours away. The mountains (or, hills, as you would call them) is about the same distance.

Va. is a pretty state...and we aren't bankrupt like CA....yet! Give more info on what you're looking for...we'll try to help!