Young Single Female Relocating to NoVA. Reston? Arlington? (Alexandria, Lynchburg: 2013, apartment) - Northern Virginia - Virginia - City-Data Forum

ashtonatk · 03-10-2016, 09:52 AM

Hi there I know there a tons of threads out there similar to this one but I just can't find the information I'm looking for

Hopefully someone can give me some insight on moving to NoVA. I currently live in Southern California but have a great job opportunity in Sterling requiring me to move within the next few weeks.

I am a 22 year old single female looking to move somewhere that has a similar demographic to mine. I will be working a full time job during the week and on weekends I enjoy a fun nightlife and getting outdoors. I do not mind living with a roommate and my budget is set around $1,500. I do have a car so as of right now being close to a metro isn't extremely important to me.

Can someone please give me some insight on where to live if I work in Sterling? The research that I have done points to moving to Arlington (Clarendon,Ballston area) but, what would the commute be like from there? I have read horrendous but, coming from California it might be what I am used to. About how long would the commute be?

I have also done research on Reston but, the crowd seems a little older (late 20's to 30's). Is it a nice place to live? What should I expect? How are apartment rentals for a single room? Are there other areas I should look into?!

Also, what are popular cars there? I am debating if I should ship my car or sell it out here and buy a new one.

Thank you in advance for all your help!!!

PK12 · 03-10-2016, 10:37 AM

Arlington is indeed the hub of nightlife and mecca for young professionals within NoVA, but a commute from Arlington to Sterling would not be very feasible. Traffic congestion is not so much of an issue but rather the distance and the toll costs (if you choose to take the toll road).

If you take 66 to Route 7, then there will be no toll costs but you will likely encounter heavy traffic.

Reston sounds like a good option. The crowd does skew older but you will still find a decent amount of folks under 30 who go out to the bars and restaurants in Reston Town Center. On weekends, you can head out to Arlington and DC for more nightlife options.

Highly recommend getting roommates - will help break the ice, get to know people in the area and such. If possible, try getting an apartment in a short-term lease and start out by living in Reston, i.e closer to work. Try out the driving times between Arlington and Sterling ; if you are able to deal with the commute then you could move to Arlington shortly after.

PK12 · 03-10-2016, 10:38 AM

Regarding cars - we do not have as many Priuses here as you prob see in California :P but they are still here.

People drive all types of cars here - budget, mid-range, luxury, sedan SUV etc.

LynchburgLover · 03-10-2016, 11:13 AM

One minor point -- VA has a car tax which clearly will be higher on a new car.

With $1500 and open to roommates, you have lots of choices. As mentioned, roommates can you make friends since you're new to area. Many use Craigslist; just be careful. My daughter found a great single family house to rent with three other girls in Arlington that way. She didn't know any of them in advance. Rent/utilities ran her about $1000 so she had money left over to have a lot of fun and still build savings.

PK12 · 03-10-2016, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LynchburgLover

One minor point -- VA has a car tax which clearly will be higher on a new car.

Yep but so does California, so I doubt that will be much of a shocker for OP

LynchburgLover · 03-10-2016, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PK12

Yep but so does California, so I doubt that will be much of a shocker for OP

Oh, ok. Thank God I've never lived in California. (Great place to vacation but wouldn't want to live there.)

PK12 · 03-10-2016, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LynchburgLover

Oh, ok. Thank God I've never lived in California. (Great place to vacation but wouldn't want to live there.)

Lol I would love to move out to California if I could - all else being equal. Suits my lifestyle a lot better

LynchburgLover · 03-10-2016, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PK12

Lol I would love to move out to California if I could - all else being equal. Suits my lifestyle a lot better

That's what so great about this country -- something for everyone! Also why I hate to see the franchising of America -- I'd like to retain our individual personalities.

Riley09swb · 03-11-2016, 01:01 PM

I moved to the NoVa area when I was 21. I lived in the Sterling area for all the years I lived in NoVa. If your job is in Sterling you could live in Herndon, Reston, Sterling, Ashburn or Cascades area. I had no problem making friends in the Sterling area and finding places to hang out.

bluef250 · 03-11-2016, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PK12

Yep but so does California, so I doubt that will be much of a shocker for OP

I was born and raised in California. The car "tax" here is different than in California. I don't know what it is for small vehicles, but I'll tell you that I pay SIGNIFICANTLY more in taxes for my 8 year old F250 truck here than I did in California. When I left CA in 2013, I was paying $500 for tags AND taxes/fees.... here, I pay over $700. Something else to consider is that there are jurisidictions in northern Virginia where you pay the tax to the town AND the county. Leesburg is a great example.

As for the original poster. I live in Sterling. Moved here directly from Los Angeles a couple of years ago. And I also work in Sterling. I can appreciate that it is important for you to have a social life, which is why you might want to live in a happening place, but the commute from those places to Sterling, even though it's a reverse commute, will take the life out of you.

If you work in Sterling, then my advice is to live in Sterling. When you want to go to the happening places, then drive to the nearest metro station (Reston)--less than 15 minutes away. Then take the metro to where you want (Tysons, Alexandria, Arlington, you name it.

The traffic here, compared to California, is downright horrendous. I'd say come visit before you decide where you want to live. Try out the commute and see if you want to commit to it. Even with it being a "reverse" commute (if you were to live closer to the beltway), it'll still take you 40+ mintues to get to Sterling--it's not exactly convenient to get to!