Considering moving to NoVa from Jersey (Arlington, Alexandria: apartment complexes, rental, credit check)

[rmm0484]

Originally Posted by jds560

So after spending 3 days in Alexandria and visiting DC, I absolutely love it. I stood at the Hilton in Old Town and I love how everything is walking distance. My hometown of Newark USED to be how Alexandria is now. Bustling shopping area with great restaurants and friendly people. Then the demographic changed and it's become one of the worst cities in the country.

I walked, took the free trolley, an used the metro, only taking my truck out of the parking garage once to drive a friend I know down there home. People at the bars and restaurants were very friendly and I was able to strike up a conversation with anyone I spoke with, something you can't do where I live. I also can't believe how clean everything is/was. The streets look like they are cleaned nightly, I didn't even notice any litter. If the job I get allows me to afford living in Alexandria, that's where I want to stay.

If you rent along South Washington Street towards the Wilson Bridge, you will find the rents more reasonable. Also consider Mason Hall, right next to the parkway and one light to DC. Glad that you liked it here!

[QUEMQUAHT]

JDS560
If I were in your situation, I would first check out the roommates/shared housing section in Craig's List in the areas near your job when you get one. These are the only reasonable housing options in the DC area for single people (without an also working spouse) who is making making under 65,000/year. If you drive to work, and if the employer does not provide free parking or parking reimbursement, you are looking at daily parking fees of $12.00/day and up. With three cars, 2 or them subject to paid daily/weekly parking charges in the garages, plus daily fees at or near your job site (depending on the job and where it is), you may find yourself working two jobs just to keep your head above water when the taxes, car personal property taxes, possible aca health care insurance costs if you work for a small company that does not provide all of that, expenses to keep all your vehicles going--remember, personal property taxes for the state, city and possibly county will be collected for each car twice a year--these will leave you will very little left to bar hop for fun. When you get established in a house with a couple of roommates, and get the gist of where you will be working, then start to look for an apartment that will be in your price range, and move the extra stuff down from your parents place after you actually decide on a place that meets your needs. You might want to stay away from the high crime areas of the counties. Very few people especially singles, unless they have a large inheritance or extensive parental support backing them up, start out in the DC Metro area with their own townhouse or apartment--things are extremely expensive the closer to DC that you get, and Arlington and Alexandria have parking meters on every free roadside space found in the counties--they seem to be making up their tax shortfalls by impoundment fees for cars left in places where the meter is not being fed every hour. Try it before you make a jump, as once you sign that lease the apartments will not let you out of it even for a couple of months in many cases without forcing you to pay for the whole year on your lease. You can get really great deals on room rentals in a nice house with nice roommates if you are careful, and it will cost you half of what a small apartment would cost.

[jds560]

Originally Posted by QUEMQUAHT

JDS560
If I were in your situation, I would first check out the roommates/shared housing section in Craig's List in the areas near your job when you get one. These are the only reasonable housing options in the DC area for single people (without an also working spouse) who is making making under 65,000/year. If you drive to work, and if the employer does not provide free parking or parking reimbursement, you are looking at daily parking fees of $12.00/day and up. With three cars, 2 or them subject to paid daily/weekly parking charges in the garages, plus daily fees at or near your job site (depending on the job and where it is), you may find yourself working two jobs just to keep your head above water when the taxes, car personal property taxes, possible aca health care insurance costs if you work for a small company that does not provide all of that, expenses to keep all your vehicles going--remember, personal property taxes for the state, city and possibly county will be collected for each car twice a year--these will leave you will very little left to bar hop for fun. When you get established in a house with a couple of roommates, and get the gist of where you will be working, then start to look for an apartment that will be in your price range, and move the extra stuff down from your parents place after you actually decide on a place that meets your needs. You might want to stay away from the high crime areas of the counties. Very few people especially singles, unless they have a large inheritance or extensive parental support backing them up, start out in the DC Metro area with their own townhouse or apartment--things are extremely expensive the closer to DC that you get, and Arlington and Alexandria have parking meters on every free roadside space found in the counties--they seem to be making up their tax shortfalls by impoundment fees for cars left in places where the meter is not being fed every hour. Try it before you make a jump, as once you sign that lease the apartments will not let you out of it even for a couple of months in many cases without forcing you to pay for the whole year on your lease. You can get really great deals on room rentals in a nice house with nice roommates if you are careful, and it will cost you half of what a small apartment would cost.

I won't be taking all my vehicles with me. Initially, just one. I happen to have caring, lax, grandparents with a very large driveway and 2 car garage which they don't use . Once I get on my feet, I might bring down the others. A lot of people on here seem to say that the DC Metro area is "expensive," but I think they are comparing it to other areas in VA or MD. It's not unusual in the NY-NJ area for a 1 bedroom to be $2000+ a month. In Brooklyn or Jersey City you can't find a studio for less than $1500, so the times that I've been down to NOVA, I've felt everything is significantly less expensive. Even food and drinks felt cheaper while I was down there. Just as an example. In a New York bar, a Heineken is about $10 a bottle. My friend and I had several beers each and it was $24 in Old Town.

[Ffxdata]

I would say people from New York City and San Francisco are the only people who don't have a heart attack (understandably so!) over cost of living. It is an expensive area by every measurable standard.

[jds560]

I have a question. I've been avoiding applying to jobs in Maryland just outside of DC because I have a fear that it's a rough commute from NOVA (simply basing this on a North Jersey - Brooklyn commute). Does anybody on here actually make that commute? There are a lot of government facilities in Greenbelt and other towns. I assume the DC metro sytem goes there?

[bmwguydc]

Greenbelt is not a bad commute from Alexandria, actually, because you avoid the top side of the Beltway in Montgomery County, and the Tysons traffic in the morning. Using the Wilson Bridge, Greenbelt is about 30 minutes without traffic, and generally 45 or so in the rush hour as there is not too much traffic on The Beltway through PG headed toward Greenbelt. Metro goes to Greenbelt, but it depends upon where you need to go once in Greenbelt and whether or not your employer has a shuttle. It's a single train commute from Alexandria, on the Yellow Line, but you would need to budget about an hour for the trip at rush hour, give or take.

[jds560]

I'm curious, does anybody know of historical sites in the area that I should contact about employment that aren't widely known. I'm already in process with the Smithsonian institute and several other government agencies, but perhaps there are smaller museums or research institutes that I should be checking out as well.

[gomason]

A research center was just opened at Mount Vernon recently. The Marine Corps has a museum in Quantico. The Army will have a national museum on Fort Belvoir opened by 2019.

[jds560]

Hi guys. Still applying for jobs in the area, but I'm starting to feel that I will have to move first before I'm able to get hired. A lot of the recruiters / HR people I've spoken to said that since I'm not a local there's no incentive to hire me. That being said, I think I will continue to save money for the next two months and then move in January with or without a job (unless an opportunity comes up between now an then). I'm very unhappy here in NJ, so the sooner the better.

I have a significant amount of savings put away. If I had to live entirely off my savings, I could last 6-8 months without a job but then I'd go broke! I'm going to look into rooming in a 2 or more bedroom apartment, but is there a better option than Craigslist? I found one place I really liked in Alexandria called the Foxchase Apartments on N. Jordan St. It seemed really nice an the rent for a 1br on the first floor was about $1150 with a 6 month lease. Anybody have info or experience with this copmlex? It's a bit strange to me, but it doesn't seem like there's a lot of 2-3 family houses in NOVA (at least on Craigslist). North Jersey is full of 2-3-4 family homes, which are typically cheaper than apartment buildings as far as rent.

[gomason]

Originally Posted by jds560

I have a significant amount of savings put away. If I had to live entirely off my savings, I could last 6-8 months without a job but then I'd go broke! I'm going to look into rooming in a 2 or more bedroom apartment, but is there a better option than Craigslist? I found one place I really liked in Alexandria called the Foxchase Apartments on N. Jordan St. It seemed really nice an the rent for a 1br on the first floor was about $1150 with a 6 month lease. Anybody have info or experience with this copmlex? It's a bit strange to me, but it doesn't seem like there's a lot of 2-3 family houses in NOVA (at least on Craigslist). North Jersey is full of 2-3-4 family homes, which are typically cheaper than apartment buildings as far as rent.

Be careful about Foxchase. Mice and roaches are very common in their apartments. I have a friend who lives in Foxchase and she's seen a couple roaches.