Possible move to Fairfax, VA from Dallas (Arlington, Merrifield: real estate, apartment)

[Mnseca]

Originally Posted by The_Man74

Hello and thanks for reading this


So I am at a great point in life and making good money with my degree from a top tier private university in Dallas. I have worked 4+ years within a top well known government entity in downtown Dallas as an engineer.

I have recently been offered a position in the Fairfax area for around $105,000 which is slightly higher than what I would get in Dallas. Now this is a also a top corporation. For privacy reasons i won't post names.

So I would be making roughly ~10k more in VA... although I'm aware of the higher taxes in VA

Few things about me:
I stay very fit and active, have ZERO trouble meeting people, have VERY VERY good luck with the ladies(no cocky) and like to stay well read/traveled.
I am 28 and at the point in my life, and with the salary I have been offered, at the point where I would like to start a family and settle down by 30.... so I would like to enjoy myself and see/understand life a little more ~2 more years and maybe be settled down( i think that's fair)
I have always been a fan of the East Coast... and a lot of my former coworkers were east coast guys in VA, SC (so you could probably guess where my first job was now lol) but I am also a "Southern boy" at heart with conservative values, but i'm neither strong Republican or Democratic.
I am white and would potentially like to own a home within the next 2 years.

So my questions are:
1. What kind of living could i expect in VA for ~$105k?? Can I get a house?
2. What is the "scenery" like? beaches(i'm aware of Myrtle beach), lakes, rivers (lol)
3. I am a fan of BMW and would like to keep my current M series and so how are the driving conditions in Fairfax? I've heard roads are tighter in VA than TX but the drivers are better...(?) lol
4. What is the nightlife like?
5. Are the women attractive? Honest question lol
6. If not Fairfax, would Arlington or DC be reasonable and a decent commute? Any time estimates would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

-Living - yes, you can get a house and will do fine on 105, although the house will be nowhere near what you could get in Dallas for even 10K less than that.
-Scenery - Myrtle Beach is nowhere near here; no beaches are. There are some mountains, but few lakes and rivers. It's mostly suburban with malls. Not the greatest scenery, but I've been to Dallas and think it might still be an upgrade.
-There is traffic, but you can have your car and drive it too, as long as you don't live too far in the wrong direction from work. Roads are maintained fairly decently.
-Don't know about women and nightlife, sorry.
-I don't know whether you mean Fairfax city or county, so I can't answer this question. You need to provide the town.

[Mnseca]

Originally Posted by NOVA_guy

I'd probably stay where you are. Like spencergr said, in Fairfax, to live comfortably you would need to make much more than $105k and to match what you're making in Dallas. I wouldn't bother looking into DC/Arlington.

You could look into Prince William County which is somewhat cheaper but the schools are hit or miss and aren't as good as Fairfax as you said you would like to settle down eventually and own a home. Stafford County would work with $105k but your commute would be pretty long and tiresome.

Also, just a piece of advice, a large percentage of people here go to top universities and make six-figures so there's no need to constantly reference it, it doesn't impress people here much because it's sort of become part of the norm. Doing that, in the DC area, will only make you look pompous and make you standout.

Are you serious?? You can't live in Fairfax on 105? What on earth are you spending on? Whole families live here on little more than that and live quite comfortably. OP on his own will be just fine with that, even if it doesn't quite match up with the equivalent Dallas salary. He doesn't need to go to Stafford, for heaven's sake.

[FCNova]

COL is sky high in Northern VA. A 10k salary increase isn't going to go very far at all. It will be a bit of a rude awakening probably. Plus I'm sure the girls are hotter in Dallas. Just stay put

[NOVA_guy]

Originally Posted by Mnseca

Are you serious?? You can't live in Fairfax on 105? What on earth are you spending on? Whole families live here on little more than that and live quite comfortably. OP on his own will be just fine with that, even if it doesn't quite match up with the equivalent Dallas salary. He doesn't need to go to Stafford, for heaven's sake.

I guess you missed the part where I said to live "comfortably" yeah you can do it, but how comfortable are you going to be? Especially depending on what his other debt/bills look like. Not to mention he also mentioned wanting to buy a home and start a family soon... In Fairfax, on a 105K salary? Lol I'm sure he'll be very comfortable.

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by NOVA_guy

I guess you missed the part where I said to live "comfortably" yeah you can do it, but how comfortable are you going to be? Especially depending on what his other debt/bills look like. Not to mention he also mentioned wanting to buy a home and start a family soon... In Fairfax, on a 105K salary? Lol I'm sure he'll be very comfortable.

I think you can be very comfortable at 105k if you can manage your money. He did mention he has an M series beamer. Who knows how much he's shelling out for that. In terms of starting a family he'll just need his sig other to work. A household income of 200k could easily raise a family around here and be comfortable.

The problem is his current expenses are probably based on making 95k in Texas COL. So only getting a 10k salary raise and massively bumping up his expenses could be rough.

[Ffxdata]

Originally Posted by Mnseca

Are you serious?? You can't live in Fairfax on 105? What on earth are you spending on? Whole families live here on little more than that and live quite comfortably. OP on his own will be just fine with that, even if it doesn't quite match up with the equivalent Dallas salary. He doesn't need to go to Stafford, for heaven's sake.

I think that the commenter was saying that 100k doesn't go as far here and that it may be difficult to get a single family home where he wants on that salary. Not impossible at all but harder. Especially what you can expec for your money in Texas vs here.

[Gaylord_Focker]

Originally Posted by Ffxdata

I think that the commenter was saying that 100k doesn't go as far here and that it may be difficult to get a single family home where he wants on that salary. Not impossible at all but harder. Especially what you can expec for your money in Texas vs here.

I believe that's what all of us are trying to communicate. Stay put.

I'm beginning to think OP is just trolling us and being your stereotypical Dallas guy. He's 28 and wants a fam before 30 but he hasn't even moved here? No.

[slduvall]

Well I'm not impressed with that top tier school if you can't figure out that Myrtle Beach is in SC. 7-8 hours on a good day! Took me 12 hours once...and most of that was spent in VA!

[rpe290]

Originally Posted by Mnseca

Are you serious?? You can't live in Fairfax on 105? What on earth are you spending on? Whole families live here on little more than that and live quite comfortably. OP on his own will be just fine with that, even if it doesn't quite match up with the equivalent Dallas salary. He doesn't need to go to Stafford, for heaven's sake.

I am curious as well, I am seeing, of course a huge housing difference, but other than that I don't see how living there takes that much more out of him (obviously, one can choose to mitigate the housing situation if they really want to--it could be worth a sacrifice for resume/contacts).

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by rpe290

I am curious as well, I am seeing, of course a huge housing difference, but other than that I don't see how living there takes that much more out of him (obviously, one can choose to mitigate the housing situation if they really want to--it could be worth a sacrifice for resume/contacts).

WaPo indicates you can live "comfortably" for $108k (although no real definition of what that means).




https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...c-report-says/




My point was that he is obviously living well above "comfortable" in Dallas; so it would be a move to a less expensive lifestyle in DC/ NoVA.