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Old 12-11-2007, 01:28 AM
 
Location: Southern California
421 posts, read 3,223,039 times
Reputation: 286

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Thanks everyone for the kind words! They're even more uplifting than the sunshine! I drove to Fredericksburg yesterday and found a hotel that isn't so great for internet connection but they accept my cats thank heavens (thank you ACWhite for the links )

I discovered that...

VA has no "slow lane" I had people stuck to my bumper even though I was doing 65 in the right lane!

The sunsets seem better here or is that my imagination? The sun was almost fluorescent orange yesterday!

Fredericksburg looks a lot like Sonoma or Napa or Healdsburg in California! How weird is that?!

No one should worry about overpopulation in the US. Millions of people can live in the area between Springfield and Fredericksburg with room left over!

I do realize I’ve left CA and I don’t regret leaving for even a minute …despite the weather. Been there, done that. I really *want* to like living here so thats half the battle. Saganista- I'm too chicken to look up a palmetto bug but I have a feeling its like a roach..how did you know I have an absolute paranoia of roaches and potato bugs??? Are they all over Florida or just the Southern part?

I realized yesterday small town living isn't for me...no matter how much I want a big house. I had plenty of it in CA. I think I need to live either in DC or right outside...maybe Arlington before I make up my mind about VA.I assume all the night life is in DC.. I've decided to hang out here until the wooly bears come out like Normie suggested

I think the weather wouldn't be so much of a downer if I knew I could definitely afford to buy a house in an area I'd like. I'm so sick of apartment and (now hotel) living. Although I admit watching my cats wrestle and play under the tent I've made from my suitcases and the bedcover is very entertaining.

Ok here is the $64,000 question...can I buy a detached house ( I realize it would be a shoebox and major fixer) for 300k in Arlington? Don’t laugh! Would you guys recommend living right in DC? I imagine a house in a decent area would be incredibly expensive.. I don't have a job yet, but just knowing that I could buy something would be motivating!

Hi Yankeesfan I am looking for work. It feels easier now that the move is behind me although I spent 4 hours today trying to get a live military HR person on the phone! Whats with all the acronyms in the government???? JIEDDA, AIE, OTC which doesn't mean over-the-counter! Its like cracking a ccode.

Thanks for your comments.
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Old 12-11-2007, 04:09 AM
 
192 posts, read 263,733 times
Reputation: 21
Depressing weather, or depressing economy; take your pick. It's a good place to save some dinero to go to someplace nice. Or would you prefer to make 7 bucks an hour working at a golf course in Florida?
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Old 12-11-2007, 04:46 AM
 
Location: Southern California
421 posts, read 3,223,039 times
Reputation: 286
Quote:
Originally Posted by El General View Post
Depressing weather, or depressing economy; take your pick. It's a good place to save some dinero to go to someplace nice. Or would you prefer to make 7 bucks an hour working at a golf course in Florida?
Thats exactly my point. Why live somewhere you don't like for most of your life in order to make money to move somewhere you do like (ie Florida) for the last few years of your life?? How absurd is that?

You might make $7/hr, but your home wouldn't cost $700,000.

Anyway, thats not the reason I moved here. I was actually in a positon to pick anywhere in the US, and I picked VA because it has so much going for it, in my opinion.

Now back to my question about house prices in Arlington....
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Old 12-11-2007, 06:38 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,934,961 times
Reputation: 19090
Default Woolly Bears

Woolly Bears are always around. They live in bushes and you start seeing them sleeping on and sunny bit of pavement once the days turn cooler. According to legend, the wider that middle brown section is the milder the coming winter will be. Conversely, a narrow brown band is said to predict a harsh winter.

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Old 12-11-2007, 06:44 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,934,961 times
Reputation: 19090
Default Palmetto Bugs

If you don't like bugs, don't go to Florida. Virginia has cute, friendly insects (well, except for the mosquitoes...) But palmetto bugs are nasty. They eat the bindings of your books. It's a horrible thing to pull your favorite book off a shelf and have all the pages fall out.
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Old 12-11-2007, 06:47 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,934,961 times
Reputation: 19090
One last thought about woolly bears...

Biologists have been studying them for years. Their accuracy rate is about 80%. That's just about as accurate as Bob Ryan (the local weather guy).
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Old 12-11-2007, 06:59 AM
 
Location: Washington, DC
65 posts, read 286,660 times
Reputation: 29
There is only 1 SFH in Arlington under $300k (at $299k). And 1 at $334,000...then you start getting over $350k. If you're set on a SFH that's close to DC, I'd try some of the neighborhoods in Alexandria. They're less expensive. Arlington is and always will be expensive
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Old 12-11-2007, 08:18 AM
 
Location: Southern California
421 posts, read 3,223,039 times
Reputation: 286
AAAck! I didn't know wolly bears were bugs!!
I thought they were the silver-grey furry buds that some trees have (Magnolia trees?). Good thing Normie posted a picture or I would have been looking for buds until next winter!

I'm packing my bags and getting the cats ready (poor things) yet again to go look at a rental in Arlington. Its way more than I was planning to pay but I figured I'd be in a safe area. Is that right?

I had thought Alexandria and Falls Church were really good areas, but I read somewhere that they're hit and miss. Can you guys please help me figure out the good vs bad areas of Alexandria and Falls Church please. Thank you
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Old 12-11-2007, 11:29 AM
 
192 posts, read 263,733 times
Reputation: 21
The North side of Arlington is nicer, and pricier. THere, you are looking at 300K for a 1 bedroom condo. I would go for a SFH or TH in Springfield for about 300K. Look at Countrywidedotcom REOs. There are about a dozen in Springfield right now.
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Old 12-11-2007, 03:17 PM
 
19,198 posts, read 31,464,947 times
Reputation: 4013
Another good place to look for rentals in the DC area is Military-by-Owner. You don't have to be military to use it. You do have to select a military base. Ft Myer or the Pentagon would be good. Then type in a town and see what you get.

Alexandria has various nice areas and a couple that are on the shakier side. The actual City of Falls Church is 100% nice, as are many of the environs. But there are also some areas that have a Falls Church mailing address that aren't so hot at all. Pretty much anything south of Seven Corners would require some looking into, for example...

PS. Yes, palmetto bugs ARE roaches, I don't care what Floridians say. And they are mostly in the southern part of the state...like everywhere south of Jacksonville...

PPS.

Pusssy Willows

Last edited by saganista; 12-11-2007 at 03:45 PM..
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