Help me find reasonable places to live? (Arlington, Lynchburg: apartment, rentals)

[pivotraze]

Hi everyone!

I accepted a job offer from one of the companies located in McLean, VA. I was hoping someone could help guide me towards finding reasonable places to live in the area?

My requirements:

1) I am 21, married with a son, so we need a family friendly location. Low crime rates are a must.
2) My salary will be mid to high $70s. I was hoping to find somewhere at or below $1,600. I can stretch to $1,800 if needed, but I'd really prefer the lower to help save up an emergency fund.
3) It needs to be pet friendly. We have a small dog (sub-30 lbs) and a cat.
4) We are not looking for roomates, so rented rooms are out of the question. We are looking for a home, townhome, or apartment we can have to ourselves.
5) At least 2 bed, but preferably 3 bed. 1 Bathroom is sufficient for now, but we'd prefer 2.
6) I'd prefer a no more than 30 minute commute, but the lower the better. 15 or less is the sweet spot.

With these requirements, is the price range I'm looking for reasonable? We'd love to stay in Maryland, but I've heard that crossing the bridge between MD/VA is near impossible under an hour during the rush periods.

Also, what kind of bills can we expect? I'm expecting ~$50 for water, ~$150 for electricity, ~$500 for groceries, ~$100 for gas, ~$110 for TV/Internet. That's roughly what it is here in MD, is that reasonable for VA?

[JfromReston]

Here is the best option I can find for you in Reston. It is located very close to the toll road for easy access to McLean (or to Metro), in an excellent elementary school zone and a very family friendly area.

2023 HEADLANDS CIR, RESTON, VA 20191 | MLS FX9830620 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com

[spencgr]

Welcome to NoVA. It will be nearly impossible to get your ideal wish (15 min commute, 3 BR, pet friendly, great schools, under $1,600). It's good that you are willing to budge on price, bedrooms, and commute; but expect to go a little higher on rent or a little farther than 30 minutes.

JfromReston posted a link to one (not sure if it is pet friendly), but consider this sweet spot to be the "unicorn". When they do pop up....they will be gone almost instantly. Act fast.

[Mnseca]

I'd like to offer help, but I can't think of anyplace at all that meets your criteria for that price. If you are renting, two pets (especially the dog) are going to be a deal breaker in many, if not most, places. The closest places that I can think of in VA that meet your price and space requirement are going to be very far west, at least out in Gainesville or Haymarket, and that's way out of your commuting range.

[ersatz]

I echo what everyone else said. You will not find housing matching your criteria within 15 minutes of McLean. Contrary to the other suggestions, I recommend concentrating your search east and south of McLean. That will give you somewhat of a reverse commute. Every little bit helps.

Try feeding your requirements into Zillow to get an idea of possibles. That is not the most reliable source for currently available properties but should provide you with some general possibilities and ballpark costs. Use www.allconnect.com to scout for utility packages once you have specific properties and addresses to check out.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by ersatz

I recommend concentrating your search east and south of McLean. That will give you somewhat of a reverse commute.

East of McLean? Prices aren't getting less expensive in Arlington or DC; they will go up. They also aren't getting less expensive south of McLean (unless you find a bad school district pocket) as it is still inside the beltway. To get cheaper problems, you have to go west.

[ersatz]

Originally Posted by spencgr

East of McLean? Prices aren't getting less expensive in Arlington or DC; they will go up. They also aren't getting less expensive south of McLean (unless you find a bad school district pocket) as it is still inside the beltway. To get cheaper problems, you have to go west.

Before posting, I fed the OP's original specifications into the Zillow rental filters and found multiple properties that met those criteria west, south, and east. (North of McLean is Maryland, of course, and there is that problem of getting across the river ...) Zillow properties change all the time depending on availability and crime statistics vary by neighborhood, as does the quality of individual schools. Crime would, as a broad rule of thumb, be somewhat lower out west and commuting time would be greater. Again, that is a broad generalization, actuals will vary by neighborhood. The listing that JfromReston found looks good but I didn't see anything about pets. Most rental listings will state so if pets are allowed, as that is a big selling point.

The OP asked for advice, I have given it. There are multiple possibilities and, living in Maryland, he/she should be able to check out the best ones individually. Visiting potential properties and checking out the neighborhood is always best, if possible. Fortunately, there are now multiple online services to help in screening potential homes.

[LynchburgLover]

Wow -- mid to upper 70s at 21 years old. Congratulations. May I ask what type of work?

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by LynchburgLover

Wow -- mid to upper 70s at 21 years old. Congratulations. May I ask what type of work?

I am equally impressed.

I was hoping someone else would ask first. Thanks.

[Hal Roach]

The hard truth is that your whole lifestyle is going to be determined by your dog and cat. Up your budget to 2000 and get an apartment near Tyson's in your commute range (15 minutes could be two miles at rush hour), or up your budget and get a house or townhouse in placed s like Springfield or Annandale or the County portions of Falls Church. Pet rent, pet deposit, and no pets including fishtanks will become familiar terms. High salaries and high rent have been feeding off each other around Tyson's for decades. Twenty years ago, some agency stated that a family of four needed to make 72000 per year to simply stay above water in Fairfax County....and that part of the County is most expensive...and home prices have nearly tripled since. Hopefully your husband can do more than play video games. Our little dog was a member of our family, but we bought houses in Springfield for 16k, and 35k. Ditch the pets before the kid gets attached to them. You are starting with great pay (likely part of our 20 trillion debt), but I can see a lot of excesses being trimmed from the defense budgets, which along with engineering jobs, can be very cyclical.