Moving to Dulles (Arlington, Alexandria, Reston: apartments, for rent, condo) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

Mephistorian · 04-23-2012, 01:38 PM

Hello guys,

I got a job offer from a company at Dulles (Sterling) and have some questions.

1-) Offer is about 80k (gross) per year. Is it a good money to live in Dulles ? I am single. Since I never been in US, I don't know about life costs, etc.

2-) What is the price for 1 bedroom or studio apartments at Dulles ? Do you know any website which has listings for housing?

3-) Is Dulles a safe place to live ?

Thanks for your answers.

sportsterjohn · 04-23-2012, 01:46 PM

Working at Dulles will put you near the Fairfax / Louden county borders. Some of the towns in the area are Sterling, Herndon, Reston, Ashburn, Country Side, Chantilly. Most of the areas should be pretty safe but there are a few areas that will be better than others. You should be able to find a 1 bedroom for 1000-1200. (probably closer to the 1200) The rates tend to fluctuate on an almost daily basis. As far as living on 80k, for a small family that should be ok but keep in mind that the COL is very high here.

Carlingtonian · 04-23-2012, 01:48 PM

1. Single with kids--it'd be tough. Single, no kids--not bad at all, provided you're OK with an apartment or condo, rather than a house.

2. Craigslist is all I can think of. I'm guessing a 1BR would go for maybe 1000-1200/month. But depends where you mean; "Dulles" isn't really a town other than a mailing address for the airport. You'd be living in Centreville, Herndon, Manassas, or some other town near there.

3. Yes.

Carlingtonian · 04-23-2012, 01:50 PM

OMG, I just saw your reply, Sportsterjohn. I need to go on The Price Is Right!

Mephistorian · 04-23-2012, 01:51 PM

I am single, and I 'll be coming to the Sterling.

Mephistorian · 04-23-2012, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sportsterjohn

Working at Dulles will put you near the Fairfax / Louden county borders. Some of the towns in the area are Sterling, Herndon, Reston, Ashburn, Country Side, Chantilly. Most of the areas should be pretty safe but there are a few areas that will be better than others. You should be able to find a 1 bedroom for 1000-1200. (probably closer to the 1200) The rates tend to fluctuate on an almost daily basis. As far as living on 80k, for a small family that should be ok but keep in mind that the COL is very high here.

What is the meaning of COL ?

CaliTerp07 · 04-23-2012, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mephistorian

What is the meaning of COL ?

"Cost of Living"--the cost of daily expenses. Gas, groceries, rent, etc are higher than average in the DC area.

tysonsengineer · 04-23-2012, 04:17 PM

80k for a single no kids is very doable especially if your job is Western Fairfax/Eastern Loudoun.

Are you looking to still go out and meet a lot of other single people? If so I would say live in Vienna/Fairfax.

Now I am gonna get a lot of crap about recommending that area, but if you look at how many people have started living in Arlington and travelling to Dulles/Herndon/Reston you will notice that traffic has officially flipped inside the beltway to a reverse commute. People now live near a metro but the main job centers (like dulles... see I told you McDonnell) are not on metro so they have to drive (or bus). So if you live in Arlington and reverse commute to Dulles you deal with a 15-20 minute issue on 66 in the afternoon and 10 minute in the morning from 267.

Vienna and Fairfax arent really the single hubs as Arlington or DC is, but the commute is very quick in reverse from those locations (15 minutes max to Dulles when reverse commuting) and when you get home early you can still jump on the metro or get ready to go out at home and then drive into the city when traffic has calmed (around 6-6:30 on 66).

Commence yelling at me for recommending Vienna to a single person

Carlingtonian · 04-23-2012, 04:34 PM

I think Vienna would possibly be better for a single guy--although the argument for renting cheap and then commuting to the social hubs with deeper pockets (thanks to the rent savings) does have its merits. Still, is Vienna really much of a singles' scene? I think of it as Family Land.

tysonsengineer · 04-23-2012, 08:09 PM

Vienna is not, nor is fairfax old town also. Point being though that living in Arlington is getting tough to get to Reston/Dulles area all of a sudden... or atleast tough to get home from.

If you want the real single experience, no beating Arlington and Alexandria, no doubt about it (or DC of course).

But vienna is the closest you can get in FFX (though some would argue Reston... still disagree but thats just me)