Working in dc where to live.... N.va or md??? (Burke: apartment complexes, rentals) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

DACP_BU · 03-25-2010, 04:12 PM

HEY ALL,
In about 4 months I will be starting a new job with US Gov. that said, my income is average. My wife and I are looking for an apartment or townhouse no more than 1,000 a month with 2br/2bt, we have two girls 7/9 so good school is a ++. I don't mind the commute as long as good neighborhood. All your input will be appreciated. Thanks.

mississippimagnolia · 03-25-2010, 04:29 PM

Northern Virginia! My husband works for the U.S. Gov't. We've lived up here three different times. We decided to try Maryland this time just to see what it was like. Huge Mistake! We left the day our lease was up and moved to Northern Virginia. We've lived all over this country and overseas. Germantown, Maryland is the only place we've ever lived that we truly felt like we could not stay in.

Where are you going to be working? We live in Burke (Fairfax County) and LOVE IT! Our neighborhood is pretty much all military and government.

Schools are fantastic. My elementary kids go to King's Park/King's Glen. My high school kids go to Lake Braddock. I have kids in the elementary and high schools. We couldn't be happier with the schools!

ChristineVA · 03-25-2010, 04:32 PM

I think you will have a tough time finding a rental price for $1000 in Fairfax County. You are at least going to have to go to Prince William to get that and the neighborhood at that price just won't be good at all. Not sure what the rentals are like in Stafford and points farther south. $1000 for anything is pretty cheap for rent around here and may be hard to find. I believe 2 bedroom apartments in Woodbridge are more than that. I don't know that you see any sort of improvement in Maryland.

tgbwc · 03-25-2010, 06:13 PM

$1000 a month for a 2/2 seems really low. I tried doing a search and couldn't come up with anything in Prince William or Stafford. Of course, the stock in Stafford would have fewer to choose from anyhow. Could you go up just a couple of hundred a month? I did see a few that looked nice in the Lake Ridge area of Prince William Co.

FindingZen · 03-25-2010, 06:38 PM

You will have to up your rent range to at least $1200 to get an "okay" 2BR apt in in Fairfax County. $1500-1800 would get you something above-average. I agree that you will have better luck in Prince William County or Stafford but it will test your willingness to commute; driving on I-95 is not fun...and for the cost of the Virginia Railway Express, you may as well have paid more rent further north. That said, Lake Ridge, as tgbwc suggested, does get a lot of positive press here.

The alternative would be to look for condo rentals. Those can run less than apartment complexes, but you'll have to do due diligence on the owner's situation.

EDIT: You would be better to ask the people on the MD forum but I'm fairly certain that you could find a 2BR apt in Prince Georges County. But there would be a trade-off in the perception of where that would be found (primarily inner suburbs) and the schools are generally not regarded very well.

mississippimagnolia · 03-25-2010, 09:22 PM

Yuck. I would do just about anything to avoid Maryland. But the other posters are correct. I didn't even notice your rent range when I read your post. You'll have to go higher in most of Fairfax.

DACP_BU · 03-26-2010, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mississippimagnolia

Yuck. I would do just about anything to avoid Maryland. But the other posters are correct. I didn't even notice your rent range when I read your post. You'll have to go higher in most of Fairfax.

thanks for the good information. with what you said i will be looking on the fairfax area. AGAIN thanks

DACP_BU · 03-26-2010, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tone509

You will have to up your rent range to at least $1200 to get an "okay" 2BR apt in in Fairfax County. $1500-1800 would get you something above-average. I agree that you will have better luck in Prince William County or Stafford but it will test your willingness to commute; driving on I-95 is not fun...and for the cost of the Virginia Railway Express, you may as well have paid more rent further north. That said, Lake Ridge, as tgbwc suggested, does get a lot of positive press here.

The alternative would be to look for condo rentals. Those can run less than apartment complexes, but you'll have to do due diligence on the owner's situation.

EDIT: You would be better to ask the people on the MD forum but I'm fairly certain that you could find a 2BR apt in Prince Georges County. But there would be a trade-off in the perception of where that would be found (primarily inner suburbs) and the schools are generally not regarded very well.

THANKS I will start looking for one at 1200. it sounds like Fairfax is a good county concerning school for the girls. I would love to get an above average but since I'll start with Fed Gov't begin low.

Thanks to ALL for the info, if you got any other good ones I will appreciate them.