Reasonably affordable towns (Oakton, Winchester, Merrifield: apartment, to rent, big house)

[MassTerp94]

I'm trying to move down to the NoVA/MD area within a year or so and would ultimately like to be a teacher. Looking at the salary scales in the area, it looks like a first year teacher makes ~50K around here, about the same as in MA and with a similar COL. With a target of no more than 1/3 of my income going to rent, that's about $1300-1400/month. Ideally I'd like to spend a bit less than that, but I've already decided to forgo wasteful cable when I'm on my own so that saves a decent chunk of money (and I could always tutor or teach guitar if I need extra $$$). Being somewhat familiar with the general area (UMD '16), I'd be wary of anything less than $900.

I have been looking at certain towns, I just want input from locals. MD is fair game too, I might even prefer it for proximity to friends and relatives but I know NoVA has a stronger job market. I'm not terribly worried about commute, teachers tend to go to and leave work earlier than most people.

[spencgr]

You should be worried about commute; as our rush "hour" is typically from 6am-11:30 am and from 3 pm - 7 pm. It's long and congested for a long amount of time.

I think your best bet to to find a job, and get an apartment reasonably close by in a roommate situation. Your $ will go a lot further.

[austindoxie1972]

Agree with spencgr. Have you considered a roommate? Or a shared house situation? That opens up a lot more options. Even if you do it for just two years or so. I lived in a big house in DC with two roommates (yes...years ago). It was great, though I'm older and wouldn't do it now.

[LynchburgLover]

I'll agree with the above posters. Traffic is the pits and lots of commuters go in early (my husband leaves about 6:10). It doesn't seem like traffic ever abates around here. Get a job first then figure out a reasonable commute.

My daughter did the roommate thing in a shared house when she first started working in NoVa. She used Craigslist and just checked it carefully. There were four girls and her portion was about $900. She was making slightly more than $50k and it left a lot for savings and disposable income. It was also a nice way to meet some people and explore the areas where you want to eventually relocate.

Best of luck.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by spencgr

You should be worried about commute; as our rush "hour" is typically from 6am-11:30 am and from 3 pm - 7 pm. It's long and congested for a long amount of time.
.

My Special Ed teacher lives in Oakton and works in Falls Church neighborhood just east of Merrifield.

She has school at 8 am but always leaves at 7am because the traffic is so unpredictable. Some days shes at work in less than 20 mins, some days its the whole hour.

Welcome to Nova traffic!

[Bigfoot424]

Would you consider living and working further out? Say someplace like Winchester? COL is a little less and traffic is much better compared to NOVA.

[rmm0484]

Originally Posted by MassTerp94

I'm trying to move down to the NoVA/MD area within a year or so and would ultimately like to be a teacher. Looking at the salary scales in the area, it looks like a first year teacher makes ~50K around here, about the same as in MA and with a similar COL. With a target of no more than 1/3 of my income going to rent, that's about $1300-1400/month. Ideally I'd like to spend a bit less than that, but I've already decided to forgo wasteful cable when I'm on my own so that saves a decent chunk of money (and I could always tutor or teach guitar if I need extra $$$). Being somewhat familiar with the general area (UMD '16), I'd be wary of anything less than $900.

I have been looking at certain towns, I just want input from locals. MD is fair game too, I might even prefer it for proximity to friends and relatives but I know NoVA has a stronger job market. I'm not terribly worried about commute, teachers tend to go to and leave work earlier than most people.

I am very impressed with Frederick, MD. It has a college, parks, a small town vibe,and an up and coming food scene. It is about an hour away from DC, and housing costs are more reasonable than DC or NOVA.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti..._Maryland.html

[breakingbad]

I lived in Lansdowne and my child went to a great school. The teachers lived in West Virginia. MUCH less expensive.