Planning to relocate from TX (Reston, Springfield: apartment, rentals, townhouse)

[shayas]

Hi All,

We are a family of 3 and currently live in Dallas, TX. Me and my wife are both in IT and we are planning to relocate to East Coast within the next 2 years primarily for the following reasons:
1. We have family in New Jersey and want to be within driving distance of them.
2. Hot weather in Texas.
3. Options to visit places that are drivable.

Based on our preliminary analysis, we have narrowed down to the following places:
1. Nothern Virginia
2. New Jersey

We need help in narrowing down to locations/neighborhoods that might work for us based on the following selection criteria:
1. Good IT (software) opportunities
2. Good school district as our daughter will start KG in 2 years.
3. Reasonable cost of living.

Thank you!

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by shayas

3. Reasonable cost of living.

Thank you!

Go ahead and rule out NoVa. This area is one of the most expensive in the country.

[jeff22152]

Originally Posted by shayas

Hi All,

We are a family of 3 and currently live in Dallas, TX. Me and my wife are both in IT and we are planning to relocate to East Coast within the next 2 years primarily for the following reasons:
1. We have family in New Jersey and want to be within driving distance of them.
2. Hot weather in Texas.
3. Options to visit places that are drivable.

Based on our preliminary analysis, we have narrowed down to the following places:
1. Nothern Virginia
2. New Jersey

We need help in narrowing down to locations/neighborhoods that might work for us based on the following selection criteria:
1. Good IT (software) opportunities
2. Good school district as our daughter will start KG in 2 years.
3. Reasonable cost of living.

Thank you!

Before anyone can give you helpful input, sharing a housing budget is necessary.

[shayas]

Originally Posted by jeff22152

Before anyone can give you helpful input, sharing a housing budget is necessary.

Thanks for your response. We would be renting initially when we move in - at least for the first year or so. And our max budget for renting would be around 1800$. As far as buying is concerned, we would be comfortable in the range of 500-550K.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by shayas

Thanks for your response. We would be renting initially when we move in - at least for the first year or so. And our max budget for renting would be around 1800$. As far as buying is concerned, we would be comfortable in the range of 500-550K.

I'd focus on NJ. You aren't getting much for here on that budget.

[Fredesch]

You can buy a house in FFX in you budget. I think renting for $1800 in a decent location might be hard to do.

[JfromReston]

As others have said - NOVA doesn't have a reasonable cost of living. There are lots of IT jobs in the Reston/Herndon/Dulles area. Lots of townhouse options in your price range in Reston.

Here are a few examples for renting that are just a little over your budget.
2265 WHEELWRIGHT CT, RESTON, VA 20191 | MLS FX9661719 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
11963 BARREL COOPER CT, RESTON, VA 20191 | MLS FX9641099 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com

Here are a few examples for purchasing in your budget.
11450 LINKS DR, RESTON, VA 20190 | MLS FX9658243 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
2019 WINGED FOOT CT, RESTON, VA 20191 | MLS FX9667148 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
11732 PUTTING GREEN CT, RESTON, VA 20191 | MLS FX9642240 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
2150 GOLF COURSE DR, RESTON, VA 20191 | MLS FX9676205 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by spencgr

I'd focus on NJ. You aren't getting much for here on that budget.

It depends on what one is looking for. I doubt our house would sell for $550k, but it's a nice SFH in a popular W. Springfield neighborhood.

"Affordable" and "much" are open to interpretation.

$500-550k is doable.

[airjay75]

I think OP might want to specify what they expect to get for a home that costs $500k-$550k. I'm guessing that buys a lot more house in TX than here, but, as tgbwc said, that is certainly a doable budget here if you have the right expectations. The rental budget, on the other hand, is probably not going to get a whole lot more than a 1 bedroom apartment, so that might need to be upped at least a little bit - of course, some people might be ok with small living quarters on a temporary basis.

[jeff22152]

Originally Posted by shayas

Thanks for your response. We would be renting initially when we move in - at least for the first year or so. And our max budget for renting would be around 1800$. As far as buying is concerned, we would be comfortable in the range of 500-550K.

First off, as others have said, there are definitely IT jobs in northern Virginia. The highest concentration of jobs is along the Dulles Tollway corridor between the airport and Tysons Corner; however, IT jobs (especially federal jobs) are peppered across the region.

My foundational advice is you secure a job before moving anywhere.

As for your housing budget, rentals (I assume 2-bedroom?) will be somewhat difficult to come by at $1,800 a month. If you can squeeze an extra $200-$300 a month, it would open up more possibilities for you.

Your purchasing budget is sufficient for a townhome, newer construction in some of the outer suburbs (e.g., areas of Loudoun and Prince William Counties) or older construction in some of the closer-in suburbs (e.g., south-central Fairfax County). Northern Virginia is fairly large geographically, so it's difficult to get into more specificity without knowing where you might land a job. Just keep in mind that prices will in all likelihood continue to rise in the coming two years.

Others on this thread have mentioned the high COL around here. They're right, but the COL in New Jersey is also high, the tax burden is higher, and the IT job market may not be as robust. So, I'd say don't cross off northern Virginia from your list. Most of NJ can be reached from here within 2.5 to 4.5 hours.