Relocating from SoCal for job in McLean, what is good place to commute/live? (area, weather)

[Turbogyrl]

to Virginia.

If hubby is relocating for work chances are work can offer some assistance with that. $1500 won't get you a 2BR, though. Maybe about $1800 for a 2BR. I would look around a bit before committing to a long term lease - there are places that do short term. And yes, as several have already stated, no metro in McLean area. But... you could look in Vienna for a rental which is not too far for hubby and near the metro, or even Falls Church area. After that, my suggestion would be Silver Spring. Hubby can drive over to VA, and you can be near the metro.

[donita76]

Thanks, its becoming more clear now that I'll need to either go to school at UMD or do a correspondence course through UVA. I'm glad we're learning that commute from certain areas of MD wouldn't be too bad for my hubby (just expensive to live).
We're going on to visit and scope the universities and residentials areas in November for about a week.

[flrnova]

Commuting from MD to McLean is not a good idea. There are about a zillion Marylanders who work in Tysons and the road is a parking lot during rush hour. If you live in McLean and go to MD for work it's closer to being a reverse commute, although traffic will be heavy.

If you can afford it, you can find houses or THs for $2000 or less even in and around McLean. They won't be very nice; you get what you pay for. But you are not going to save that much by looking elsewhere in close-in MD or VA.

You can find apartments in McLean in that price range at places like McLean Chase, Gates of McLean, Dolley Madison, Colonies, Regency (and its twin building, forget the name). Apart from Dolley Madison, which is not very nice, the rest are condos so you would need to find private rental listings on MLS or Craigslist. (When I say it is not nice then you are going to find an equally crappy apartment or worse in Falls Church, Arlington, MD, etc. for that price. The housing stock is awful around here, but that is true of most of the U.S.)

There are also lots of condos and apartments around the Trader Joe's, but then you are adding to driving time to MD.

Actually, if you want a low cost SFH, you can rent them for as little as $1400 in Pimmit Hills. This is an enclave of mostly GI houses from ca. 1950 that borders McLean/Tysons. The zip is Falls Church, VA 22043. The Trader Joe's is on the fringe of this neighborhood. Again, you get what you pay for but there might be something livable there, I don't know.

If your husband worked at, for example, Mitre or Capital One then you could walk from many of the mentioned condos and parts of Pimmit Hills. But things are generally not walkable around here. One problem is if you are on the opposite of the Beltway even if it is in theory a 10-15 min walk.....

In Tysons proper there are also plenty of condos and apartments in that price range, but I would hate to live there. Your husband's job is likely to be in Tysons (not a formal location; will have a McLean or Vienna zip code). My definition of Tysons is that you have to cross to the other side of the Beltway.

You will save significantly on tax and car insurance by living in VA over MD.

BTW, commuting from DC to McLean is a breeze. I used to often drive home from my girl-friends in the morning. 20 min with very little traffic. But you are not going to be able to afford anything decent in DC. McLean is a nice place to live. I agree that I would avoid Tysons proper but you are not going to suffer any more congestion in McLean than anywhere else in this area. I find Tysons unattractive because you are living in the middle of an office park and shopping mall.

p.s. If you live in Langley then you refer to it as Langley. E.g. if you live in the premier part of McLean up around the CIA and Georgetown Pike. The name Langley pre-dates McLean, which got its name in the early 1900s from John McLean who bulit a railroad that followed Old Dominion Drive to Great Falls from Arlington. Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[bishie]

Let me note that the area actually around the CIA is very expensive. There is nothing for rent walkable to the CIA that is under $3000/month.

Second let me note this area has alot of mosquitos. I get bitten 5 times every time I walk outside in summer.

Third. Our traffic is pretty bad. Definitely comparable with SoCal. SoCal invests far more in its highways than the DC area (particularly DC itself).

Californians that emigrated here really fall into two categories. The first is the idealistic youth who are here to change the world. They rely on their parents for help to actually afford living here. They love it because there are so many nonprofits here and opportunites to "make a difference". The second are those who emigrate here for jobs. The weather here is considerably worse than SoCal. There are 2-4 weeks of good weather per year. The schools are however excellent. Houses are cheaper than SoCal but fairly expensive. The architecture is fairly similar to San Marino here. That said in spite of the many disadvantages there is low unemployment here and plentiful jobs if you are a lawyer (you mentioned law school debt).

I would recommend two cars. I also would say look at the area of Fairfax near Fair Oaks Mall. The area of Falls Church near Pimmit Hills suggested above is also an excellent area to consider.

The commute from MD to NoVA is fairly daunting. Bethesda, Potomac, and Chevy Chase are all fairly expensive. Bethesda offers excellent nightlife and food however and will feel the most like home coming from Cali. A commute from somewhere like Burtonsville to CIA/Tysons will be PAIN though.

The District, Arlington, and Clarendon similarly have excellent nightlife but you will pay dearly to live in these areas. Expect around $2000 a month for a 2 bedroom apartment at minimum.

[Leroy Brown]

Sorry for not responding right away Donita.

I don't think UVA does any correspondence courses. There is a "Northern Virginia Extension" of UVA, but its almost entirely education classes. I don't believe that there are any Speech-Language Pathology classes offered there.

You should try calling the department at UVA directly to see if they have anything that will fit your needs: the number is 434-924-6354. They may be able to help you even if UVA is not an academic option.

Point taken on the Langley name flrnova.

[donita76]

Thanks, Leroy Brown, your efforts and feedback are quite appreciated! I'm looking forward to our visit to the nova area in first week of Nov. Should be as good a time as ever to experience some weather change compared to SoCal.

[donita76]

To flrnova - thanks so much for your feedback as well! I had to read through it a few times to sink in the info, since I'm not all familiar with the references yet. But, I read it to my husband and we're saving this thread as future reference. It is a difficult challenge trying to move to DC area, and we're likely the ba-zillionth couple/family to do so.

[itsasmallworld]

Danita76, we have lots in common! I'm 32, also planning to move to the DC area, also looking to pursue a graduate education in speech-language pathology. Also planning on adding children to the family. I come to this forum specifically for advice on where to live, so I can't help much with that. But I can help you with some grad school advice. I'm actually relocating to Maryland with hopes of being a school-based speech-langauge pathologist assistant. Basically, that's a bachelor's level slp who has an undergrad degree in communication disorders/slp. Also, have you considered online degree programs? There is such a shortage of SLPs in various areas in the country that many state universities (note: state universities, not diploma mills) are offering online graduate programs in slp to target people who are career changers (like you & me) or who live in remote areas where there isn't a grad program. Hampton, JMU, Longwood U, and Uof Va have this program: Distance Learning in VA Educating Speech Language Pathologists (DVLE-SLP).

Also, since you live in Cali now and can prove residency there, have you tried CalState Northridge? They have a 3-year online program. You could try their online program in SLP. Read all the fine print to see what happens to tuition rates once you relocate.

To better help you, I want to understand exactly where you are academically. What kind of environment do you work in now (public school, private special ed, etc.)? What is your undergrad degree in? Do you have the prerequisites required for a grad program? Have you taken the GRE? If you prefer, you can send me a message.

Best of luck to you!

[treebw]

Oh...I think I posted also on your husbands thread stating I live in North Arlington near East Falls Church...you guys will love it here!!
There is a Trader's in Falls Church right by a Whole Foods, I cant think of the street name, it only takes me about 10 minutes.
To be precise: I live off Lee Highway and Harrison St. There is a neighborhood really close by called Westover; library, a couple of restaurants, post office, neighborhood grocery. Then at the Lee/Harrison center there is a Safeway (an expensive safeway) and a grocery store called Harris Teeter which would be similar to a Vons or something, though very clean and great customer service. There are also pet stores, small restaurants, etc. You would also like down town Falls Church. Lots of restaurants and such.
What you will miss coming from Ventura: THE PACIFIC OCEAN. I miss it every day (I am from Costa Mesa).

[lchoro]

Langely/CIA is on Georgetown Pike (Route 193) which is the first exit on the Virginia side of the Beltway. It probably wouldn't be too bad a commute from Maryland, especially from Montgomery County. Almost all of the drive will be on the Beltway.