Inquire on area - social, license plates, working (Alexandria, Fairfax: transporting, home)

[coredneck]

I have been in Colorado for about 13 years but however, the job market has been ruthless. Have not hardly had any interviews and have yet to get a job offer. I know the DC/NoVA/MD are the best areas to find work right now with a lousy job market. I have a few questions.

First on the license issue. How quickly are you expected to switch you tags over to VA after moving in and how ruthless are the authorities on forcing you to switch ? I don't plan on being there too long but the idea is to buy some time until the job market comes back in Colorado. I know one big thing is the safety inspection and my vehicles would not be able to pass. I don't want to fool around with the VA license paperwork and vehicles mods to meet VA rules and regulations. I don't want to hear the attitude of "the law is the law, follow it and like it" from anyone. Also before you ask on why the vehicles would fail - I have some lighting and some dark tinting. I know tinting is not accepted in the DC/MD/VA area.

Second on social. What I understand. I was in the area a few years back when I was on vacation. I rode into one of the towns in Fairfax County to get carry out food and one thing that stood out was everyone was dressed to a "T". No one in blue jeans, all wearing dress slacks, dressy type of shirts and shoes. Back in Colorado, everyone dresses pretty casually such as blue jeans, shorts, t-shirts and sweatshirts.

Lastly, on working, I know it is more of a "live to work" culture. I understand that many companies that people work for have a lot of social things in the evenings and on weekends and you as the employee are expected to put in some "face time" there. True ? I worked for a couple of VA based companies and there was those expectations.

On employers, do most of them expect you to dress to a "T" for work. This concerns working for private employers. Are you expected to do business formal with long sleeve shirt regardless how miserable it is outside (95 degrees with 90% humidity). Are there places where blue jeans are acceptable ?

Also on working, is it looked down on when you ride your motorcycle to work ?

Is there anything else that I should know ?

[JfromReston]

First off let me say NOVA is not Colorado. I've never lived in Colorado but have seriously considered moving there more than once, have family who have lived there for decades, had more than one long-distance relationship with men from Colorado, and many times got as many as 20 days of skiing in a year.

I don't know about the vehicles except that if you have a Colorado license & tags and you get pulled over you still need to look like you live in Colorado. Most people I know get in trouble when they switch their license to VA but haven't yet switched their cars.

I don't think everyone here dresses to a T to go out - I certainly don't.

Social/work time really depends on the company. My company has nearly none. The annual Holiday party is even a luncheon. Same with dressing for the office - It really depends. My office usually dresses in what I would call business casual except for jeans on Fridays and Business attire for the occasional meeting. I used to work at a company that was all jeans except for client meetings. You won't see shorts in the office at too many places in NOVA.

A lot of people ride motorcycles to work. It is a good thing - it gets you on the HOV lanes!

[Nancy in Nokomis]

I know you have 60 days to get your new tags and license- but I know a couple of people who have not changed their tags and they have been here at least a year with no problems.

People here are not very friendly - I think the more South you go in VA the friendlier they get - just my opinion.

I see people dressed like slobs all around me - not everyone is all dressed up.

My husband is a professional in a big company and he just wears a nice shirt with no tie and nice pants but no jeans -

A ton of people have motorcycles - all the rich yuppies have them

[akorosdc]

#1 - License/car issue: Technically you have I think 60 days to get your car inspected, get your license, and switch over your tags. If you don't and get caught, they get mad. That said, I lived in Alexandria for a year with Pennsylvania plates. Basically, if you don't want to switch it over, you're best not getting anything from Virginia. If someone ever asked, my car spent just over 6 months of the year in Pennsylvania at my parents' house. Since my license still said Philadelphia, there's no way to prove that it didn't. It's a gamble, but if I get caught I usually play the dumb "oh I didn't know" card. It can't be too difficult, I've seen plenty of non-VA/MD/DC plates around here.

#2 - Dressing up: What time of day where you doing this? My guess is that if it was on a weekday around dinner/lunch time, people were in their work clothes. DC is not known as a place where people dress up for everything. You have to fight to get my roommate out of her jeans for anything except for work.

#3 - Work time: It really depends on where you work and what industry you're in. My office is extremely laid-back and flexible, work no more than 40 hours a week on average, weekly in-office "happy hour"....I mean "discussion forum" (which is completely optional, but extremely popular), etc. We typically dress business casual, but it's not uncommon to see jeans, sandals, and shorts on some of the older employees. Since I'm on the younger end and still look like I'm 16 I tend to dress up more just so I don't feel like a kid. If you wear a suit you get teased or everyone assumes it's your first day. Fridays it's officially casual, so everyone is in jeans.

In the summer most offices get more casual, unless you meet with clients or are in a situation where you need to look very professional. Even still, most I've seen will keep their suits in their offices/cubicles, and then just change for the meeting.

As far as the motorcycle, I'd think you're more likely to be the subject of envy than "looked down upon." Less gas, HOV lanes, and (probably) easier parking....sounds like a good deal to me.

[spalmer]

You will be forced to change you tags to Virginia whether you like it or not. In fact some companies employ security and you will be talked to if the Colorado tags stay on too long. The companies I am speaking for are in the area of Dept. of Defense and Federal Government.

I am an executive for one the companies in Northern Virginia. Also dark tint and the lights that you are talking about will have to be fixed in order to pass inspection. Virginia has one of the most thorough inspection programs in the country. It is for the safety of others why we have such a strict law on tint. I as an executive support this law.

On dress code, most places especially dealing with the Federal Government in some kind of capacity, better think about wearing dressy type of clothes especially on Friday. If you move to Virginia, better get use to the formality that is expected in the workplace and outside as well.

Take this for what it is worth but here are the expectations.

[car54]

Normally, I would say your chance of getting away with not changing the CO tags is excellent. There are so many military personel and tourists, etc around here.

But all bets are off with the dark tint. It is not only glaringly illegal....but due to the danger it represents for them, it is a violation that police officers are very sensitive to. Even the gangstas don't bother with that crap around here....not worth the hassle!

You might as well paint STOP ME down both sides of the car. And after they stop you, the subject of the Colorado tags is very likely to come up....

[coredneck]

On the tint, so they can stop you for that even with out of state tags ? Who is big on tint enforcement ? State or local or both ?

Originally Posted by car54

Normally, I would say your chance of getting away with not changing the CO tags is excellent. There are so many military personnel and tourists, etc around here.

But all bets are off with the dark tint. It is not only glaringly illegal....but due to the danger it represents for them, it is a violation that police officers are very sensitive to. Even the gangstas don't bother with that crap around here....not worth the hassle!

You might as well paint STOP ME down both sides of the car. And after they stop you, the subject of the Colorado tags is very likely to come up....

[car54]

Originally Posted by coredneck

On the tint, so they can stop you for that even with out of state tags ? Who is big on tint enforcement ? State or local or both ?

All cops hate tint....they can't see if you're going for your gun or what you're doing in there.

I'm just the opinion if you're doing something illegal to start with....why call attention to yourself.

What always amazes me, is on those TV shows where they show the actual dash-cam video of traffic stops, guys are transporting trunkloads of dope and they get caught speeding! How dumb is that? If I had a load of dope, I'd be driving the speed limit, giving turn signals....all that good stuff! LOL

[anpanman]

Here's a police opinion (granted, from 1998) about tint. It basically says that it's a law that applies to everyone, even those with out-of-state plates.

http://home.pcisys.net/~bpc/auto_law/tint/tint_va.sp.html

And here's a page directly from the state police page. It says it applies to any motor vehicle operated in the state of VA.

Virginia State Police

If you're not going to be here long, maybe you should leave the tinted car back home with someone you trust and buy a beater to drive while you're here (and sell it when you leave).