job opportunity in near Dulles Int'l Airport...where to live? (Virginia Beach: appointed, for sale)

[onelilredrose]

My husband has recently been offered a job opportunity at the Dulles Int'l Airport.
We are currently used to paying $800/month rent in El Paso TX for a very small 3 bedroom house. I have come to realize we will be spending more for rent in this area; what area should we be looking at to stay near $1000/month with a back yard?
We are used to sun and heat, so the cold winter mornings will take some getting used to...are garages a standard here?
We have a prekinder kid and will be looking at elementary schools in the fall.
We are also looking forward to being somewhat near an ocean/beach; how far away is the nearest sandy beach? When does it get warm enough to take a day trip and stick our toes in the sand?
Any info you have is greatly appreciated.
Rose

[Guamanians]

I'd suggest looking in Sterling or Manassas if you want to be relatively close to Dulles. I have to warn you that it may be difficult to find something for $1000. There is a neighborhood in Falls Church called Pimmit Hills, and you should be able to find a decent house there for $1300-$1400. It will be slim pickings in the areas close to Dulles... Good luck

[saganista]

I don't think you'll find much in terms of an SFH anywhere for $1000/month. Not so nice 1-BR apartments, yes, but not so much an SFH. You would start to find a few things in the $1500/month range in the Dulles area, but I'd say that's pretty close to the low-point in the market. More and more homes of all sorts come with garages these days, but they have not been traditional in the area, so many older homes won't have one. The nearest beaches are in the Delmarva area where Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia all sort of meet up. Ocean City MD and Rehoboth Beach DE would be about a 3-and-a-half hour drive from the Dulles area as long as you don't go at the same time that everybody else does...

[CaliTerp07]

Going to agree that $1000/month is going to be near impossible to find. $1500-2000 is a more realistic guess for an older 3 bedroom home. I'm currently renting a 1500 sf 1950's home in Springfield for $1900. If you want something newer, expect $2000-2500, or more.

Beaches are about 3.5 hours away (either Delaware/Maryland, or Virginia Beach). Expect to spend up to 6+ hours if you want to go on a warm summer weekend though! Bridge traffic is HORRIBLE in the summer.

The weather isn't awful, but it's definitely not warm all year round. I moved from southern california to here, so every winter I experience some weather-related depression due to cold and lack of sun. I didn't even own a winter coat when I moved out here (i was so spoiled by weather!), and now I have a whole closet full of them! You'll learn to dress in layers, wear long underwear, and the joys of scarves and mittens!

The DC area has a lot to offer, but affordable living, warm weather, and beach access are not on the list...

[EuroExpat]

You might want to look into townhouses as well, many are 1500sq ft and up and a little cheaper to rent than a SFH. We're renting a 2000 sq ft townhouse with a small backyard in Ashburn (close to the airport) for $1750 a month. You might find much better deals south of the airport, especially in Manassas.

[fir$ttimehomebuyer]

You can check here craigslist: washington, DC classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events

[Dazed&Confused]

You should be able to get to Ocean City Maryland in somewhere between 3 and 4 hours without traffic, but I wouldn't plan to make it a day trip if you plan to spend more than just a few minutes on the beach. If you'd consider a river or lake beach, you'd have more choices.

[5stones]

a TH is your best bet. (and as other s have said probably going to be closer to 1500)

As for a day trip to the beach... I read a great article about the beaches of Chesapeak Bay. For those who want a day trip...not ocean but sand and water enough to get your fix in. Aslo they are known for the huge prehistoric sharks teeth that are found there.

Traffic is the main obsticle in reaching close by beaches not distance!

[perries]

Hey there. I stumbled across this whole forum by accident this morning while trying to find a place to eat lunch this afternoon. Your lucky day onelilrose, because I'm a local & have a couple of hot tips!
This is an expensive area for housing though the housing downturn has impacted us here too and may give you some advantage. As for housing near Dulles, I would recommend Brambleton which is a recent development that has lots of young families and brand new schools. They have a wide variety of housing because it is a mixed use development - having condos, townhouses and single families and the whole place was designed with community in mind - sidewalks, streetlights, playgrounds - very family friendly. It is just a few miles west of Dulles. Our friends moved there a couple years ago.

We live in Reston which is 15 minutes east of Dulles. This is an older mixed use community (housing mostly built between the 60's to the 90's) which also has a wide variety to offer in condos, townhouses and single families. There's lots to do right here in the neighborhood for all ages. There are some cheap rental prices in south Reston (zip code 20191), but there are crime and safety issues in some areas there and that is probably why the prices are cheaper, so that is something to be aware of in your search.
These aren't the only 2 places to live but are my top two recommendations, both close to the airport.

The climate and landbound issues - It may be a tough change at first. I really like it but came from somewhere colder & find winters here mild by comparison. Closest beach is about 3 hours if you don't drive at a peak time.

You can search available rentals in Northern Virginia and get a sense of prices and housing styles on www.homesdatabase.com. We used that site in our search and think its great.

Best of luck!

[Alicia Bradley]

Beach!?! Ha ha ha ha!! (I just had to say that.)

And if you do end up making the trek all the way to Ocean City, you might be a bit disappointed. Idyllic it is assuredly not.