Moving to North Virginia, Working in Herndon, Need Suggestions Please (Arlington: apartment, rent)

[NewSean]

Hello, I just got an offer from Amazon in Herndon, Virginia (not HQ2) and plan to move there from Atlanta end of July. I am a low-maintenance, 25 year old male and do not know a single person in that whole area. I plan on looking for a roommate so rent isn't a big issue for me. I love going out to bars and want to live in a more city-like vibe among other young professionals. I prefer to take a metro to commute to/from work, but I will also be taking my car up there with me. Where do you guys suggest I live? I hear by then the silver line to Herndon will be completed, so I want to take that in to account.

[sonnymarkjiz]

You'll want to Arlington or Falls Church near the Orange/Silver Line f you care about nightlife and meeting people. But it's a bit of a commute to Herndon (about 30 mins).

If you care more about being closer to your job, I'd suggest Reston. The town center is a bit of an older crowd than 25 (more 30 ish) but it's only 5-10 mins from Herndon.

Arlington will be more expensive since it's near the city, but Reston will be slightly cheaper, if that matters.

Congrats on the job btw!

[MrKnight]

Congrats on your job! I am actually relocating to NOVA myself! As stated by the poster above, I would strongly recommend Arlington area on the Silver line, this is the perfect spot to be for a young professional looking to meet people and have easy access to bars/restaurants/social events, etc. While there would be a commute it is certainly doable especially if you use the metro, it would also be a reverse commute which is helpful. Feel free to send me a private message if you would like to connect and/or have any questions I can help with!

[ToyVW55]

Originally Posted by sonnymarkjiz

You'll want to Arlington or Falls Church near the Orange/Silver Line f you care about nightlife and meeting people. But it's a bit of a commute to Herndon (about 30 mins).

If you care more about being closer to your job, I'd suggest Reston. The town center is a bit of an older crowd than 25 (more 30 ish) but it's only 5-10 mins from Herndon.

Arlington will be more expensive since it's near the city, but Reston will be slightly cheaper, if that matters.

Congrats on the job btw!

I agree with this post only because Herndon will be a longish commute from Arlington (versus MrKnight below who is getting a job in Tyson's).

I like Reston a lot. But yeah, it is a little bit of an older crowd but still pretty nice. You would probably really like Arlington, but you'll need to drive until metro is complete.

[TheseGoTo11]

There are group houses around Arlington filled with recent grads, and plenty of bars around there that cater to them. You will be bored to tears if you live outside the Beltway.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Arlington is your best bet. Lot's of group houses and highrise apartment buildings full of twenty somethings, lots of bars and a reasonable commute to Herndon. It won't be 15 minutes, and you will have to start out driving until they finish Phase II of the Silver Line but worth it. I wouldn't recommend DC to live because crossing a bridge will often add 20-30 minutes onto your commute (been there, done that). Easier to quickly cross the bridge INTO DC / take the Metro for nightlife options when you want a break from Arlington.

[NOVA_guy]

Concur with the Arlington suggestions. It's expensive but IMO it's worth it if you're relatively young and don't want to be bored to death in Ashburn or Chantilly. The bar scene here is decent but there's been a lot of closures in the last couple years (RIP A-Town) most times DC is where the true action is.

[NewSean]

Thanks so much for your inputs, I really appreciate them. I think I’ll take everyone’s suggestion and move to Arlington, I want to meet a lot of new people and would rather have the commute than be bored. Does anyone have any idea when phase II will be complete? I was hoping it would be complete by August but I guess things don’t always work out as planned

[NOVAmtneer82]

The date has been pushed back numerous times - as of right now I believe they are targeting July - September but I don't think anyone familiar with Metro believes this. I would bank on likely fall 2020 or winter 2021.

[sonnymarkjiz]

Yeah last I saw, they were aiming for July. But because it's it's the Metro, I'll say Fall.

It was supposed to open back in like 2017. Just to give you some background.

They also famously made one of the Metro stations near absolutely nothing but a bunch of ....data centers.