Moving from NJ to NOVA (Richmond, Reston: 2014, townhomes, transfer)

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by Mr Jersey

Those are OK but I am looking for something a bit more like this:
Houses For Rent - 6 Homes | Zillow

with this house, you are choosing size and cost. You will compromise dearly with a commute from Woodbridge to DC.

[Old Guard]

Originally Posted by spencgr

with this house, you are choosing size and cost. You will compromise dearly with a commute from Woodbridge to DC.

My opinion, and it is just my opinion, is that summer is the lighter traffic time in this area but living in Woodbridge you can get some horrid, I mean absolutely horrible, beach traffic in summer on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Disclosure: I have never made this particular commute regularly but hit 395 just outside the city as part of my normal commute rotation.

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by Mr Jersey

Those are OK but I am looking for something a bit more like this:
Houses For Rent - 6 Homes | Zillow

You are not going to get that in Reston for the price you are looking to spend. These houses will be more to your liking - just not the price.
1808 POST OAK TRL, RESTON, VA | MLS FX8632771 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
11297 SPYGLASS COVE LN, RESTON, VA | MLS FX8634056 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
2043 BEACON PL, RESTON, VA | MLS FX8638743 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
2024 UPPER LAKE DR, RESTON, VA | MLS FX8622744 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
2017 SOAPSTONE DR, RESTON, VA | MLS FX8640183 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com

[NOVA_guy]

Originally Posted by spencgr

with this house, you are choosing size and cost. You will compromise dearly with a commute from Woodbridge to DC.

Woodbridge isn't ideal when commuting from DC but it's still much better and more tolerable than Stafford, Fredericksburg and the western parts of Loudoun and Prince William.

[RecessionCasualty]

I would say everyone has given you good advice. Chances are really slim with finding a house that size further in at your price. We've lived all over NoVa and at one point we lived in Lake Ridge. It is a nice middle class neighborhood (big neighborhood) but the commute was terrible. We have had to turn down several opportunities merely thanks to the commute- 3 hours each day driving back and forth. We said no thanks but perhaps that's not an issue for you, some people really don't mind the drive. Personally I would take a smaller house with a shorter commute but to each their own. Good luck!

[gomason]

The OP works on K street. I don't see why 95 traffic matters if he/she can take a 35 minute bus ride to work. It would be incredibly stupid to drive.

[FCNova]

Townhouses can be had in my neighborhood near Tysons Corner(zip 22182) for that price range. I think one is renting for exactly $2,600 right now in my development. They are about 2,200 square feet. Nothing came up in an online search but it could be an area to monitor. We're very close to Dunn Loring metro if you were going to commute that way. Be careful how far out you go to get more house, unless you really do understand what you're signing up for. Traffic here can be very very bad.

[Mr Jersey]

Originally Posted by gomason

The OP works on K street. I don't see why 95 traffic matters if he/she can take a 35 minute bus ride to work. It would be incredibly stupid to drive.

This is what I am looking for either a bus ride or a commuter lot where I can take the metro or VRE into D.C. As long as it takes less time, I am fine with it and as far as cost well I don't think anything down there will compare to my current cost of about $600 month to commute to NYC from central NJ.

[HDTBill]

...also try Burke next to Springfield. You can take VRE into town or slug (organized car pools).
That's where we (South Jersey folks) ended up.

[Major Barbara]

I've done NJ Transit (and the Erie-Lackawanna before that) up there, and also done express buses, carpools, and DC Metro down here. Any of the latter would rock in comparison to driving alone. Driving in general is simply awful here unless you are able to drive at way off-peak hours. I've done that as well, and while pricey, it was easy. Simply changed my work hours to 10:30 to 7:00 and wasn't any too strict about sticking to that either. Not everyone can do that of course.

My various offices over 35 years were along K Street between 14th and 17th Streets. That's Farragut West and McPherson Square on the Metro Orange, Blue, and Silver lines. Like many DC employers, mine paid part of the monthly Metro fare for me. My advice would be to put a top priority on finding a place with quick access to a station on one of those three Metro lines. I would give a little on other things if I had to. I commuted from both Vienna and Dunn Loring on the Orange Line, and from sitting at my desk at home to sitting at my desk at work ranged from just under to just over an hour. It's a big thing if you can make it work.

Express buses and VRE would be better than nothing, but they run inbound in the morning and outbound in the evening. Metro runs in all directions at 12-minute intervals all day long. While buses do, VRE doesn't go anywhere near K Street. You'd have a second commute to do once VRE got you into the city.

As for housing, in addition to the usual sources, I would give a look to MiltaryByOwner.com. They usually have a good selection of rentals that should at least give you a sense for what the market is like at the moment. You don't have to be military to use the site, but you do have to pick a state -- that would be Virginia -- and then a military base. Fort Myer (in Arlington) will give you inner suburbs coverage. NRO (in Chantilly) will get you stuff a little further out .

Good luck. This can be a terrific area in which to work, live, and play in if you can just get all your ducks to line up.