Possible relocation to Alexandria or Arlington, VA (HOA fees, condo)

[TunnellRatt]

To any and all who take their time to read this, I say thank you in advance for your time. I have a few questions and hope any one out here can help me. My wife and I presently live and work in NYC & reside in Staten Island(borough of NYC). I am looking at retiring in a few years from NYC, with a pension of about $ 85,000 per year(law enforcement)+$25,000 per year( income from property).My education is a Masters of science in Homeland Security(John Jay College) and working on my second Masters of science in Nursing (Nurse practitioner). I presently work full time in NYC& part time as an RN, in a hospital 2 days per week. My wife works in the NYS Court System as a staff analyst teaching statistics, earning about$80,000 per year. She holds a Master in Mathmatics and teaches part time, on weekends. If we did purchase property we are looking at selling a house we have already, and looking at a down payment of about$250,000. We are looking at many areas across the US, and Alexandria & Arlington, Virginia caught our eyes, when we have visited. Nice people, quaint streets, little pricey(like NYC). My questions are as follows
1) With our education and experience can we find work in our fields? I as a Nurse Practitioner and my wife as a teacher/ assistant professor.
2) Noticed Crime In D.C. is very high, but how safe is Alexandria & Arlington, since they are close to D.C.?
3) How is the state of Virginia on taxing my pension, earned in another state? In NYS I do not pay taxes(except federal) on my pension since it was already paid, while earning pension.
4) Looking into living in the city area(close to everything) and purchasing if desired a condo, noticed some HOA fees are high, what is the average and what can we expect it to include( heat, water, snow removal, etc)
5)Understand traffic in and around D.C. area is bad, how dependable is the Metro( bus and train) and hours of operation?
6)(Very Important) Has anyone moved from the NYC to the D.C. area, how was it different, better or worse?
7) We are still young(early 40's for wife and I)How is the nightlife in the D.C area clubs, restaurants, bars,etc
8) If we did purchase property, we would be looking in and around the $600,000-$850,000 after getting employment, in the area and living there to see if we like it. What areas should we check in Arlington & Alexandria?
I thank any & all who read this book() and welcome your responses.

[brooklynborndad]

With our education and experience can we find work in our fields? I as a Nurse Practitioner and my wife as a teacher/ assistant professor.


I dont know about nursing, but generally the job market is good here. If your wife cant find a teaching position, credentials in math/statistics can get her a job with the govt, a contractor, or an NGO. if she wants to do that AND teach, she could probably get an adjunct teaching gig. Really, statistician is one of the hot skills now, esp in the fed govt. if you wanted go go back to homeland sec work, that would be another option.


2) Noticed Crime In D.C. is very high, but how safe is Alexandria & Arlington, since they are close to D.C.?

A few parts of Alex and south arlington are a bit sketchy, but mostly they are safe.


3) How is the state of Virginia on taxing my pension, earned in another state? In NYS I do not pay taxes(except federal) on my pension since it was already paid, while earning pension.
4) Looking into living in the city area(close to everything) and purchasing if desired a condo, noticed some HOA fees are high, what is the average and what can we expect it to include( heat, water, snow removal, etc)
5)Understand traffic in and around D.C. area is bad, how dependable is the Metro( bus and train) and hours of operation?

Trains are mostly dependable, though people here complain. Buses less so. metro, unlike NYC subway, closes from 2am ( to 5 am. buses depends on the route - many express buses are rush hour only.


6)(Very Important) Has anyone moved from the NYC to the D.C. area, how was it different, better or worse?


I havent lived in NYC for many years, so didnt move directly, but I do go back there a lot. DC is a bit less diverse in some ways (i am thinking not so much ethnically as in terms of professional org) and DC does not have the liveliness of NY, esp its street life. Its generally easier and cheaper to live here, and the museums are free.

7) We are still young(early 40's for wife and I)How is the nightlife in the D.C area clubs, restaurants, bars,etc

Loads of great restaurants of every kind. My wife and dont do bars or clubs much, so I can't comment.


8) If we did purchase property, we would be looking in and around the $600,000-$850,000 after getting employment, in the area and living there to see if we like it. What areas should we check in Arlington & Alexandria?
I thank any & all who read this book() and welcome your responses.


In that range you can afford the best AND most convenient parts of Arlington and Alex - a big townhouse, or a small single family, I think. North Arlington, Old town alex, the nicer parts of North Alex. If you are just looking for a condo, you will have a wide range of choices.

[robbobobbo]

There is a Northern Virginia forum that may garner more replies. I'm an Alexandria resident and will answer what I can.

1. With your education and experience, you should be able to find jobs. I don't know the nursing market here, but you and your wife sound like you have the background for government (or contracting with government) jobs, if you didn't pursue nursing (I'm going by your use of words "statistics", "analyst", "homeland security", "law enforcement"). Obviously our area is well-populated and I would assume a good market for health care jobs, but I'm assuming!

2. Crime is much lower in Arlington and Alexandria than in DC. Crime stats for DC of course take into account all the worst areas along with the good. Arlington and Alexandria are smaller and don't have very sizable "bad" areas. Property crimes are much more common than assaults, rape, murder, etc. See the City Data profiles for numbers.

5. Yes, traffic is very bad, but living in Alexandria doesn't expose you to our area's traffic woes the way it does to people commuting to DC through Loudoun, Fairfax, or Prince William counties. Arlington can be a bit worse than Alexandria, in my opinion, on certain roads. The only times I really feel a lot of traffic frustration is when I have to go into Fairfax County around rush hour (or weekends - depending on where I'm going).

7. There is MUCH to do here especially if you include DC, Alexandria, and Arlington. It's not "on" 24 hours like NYC, though. If you want to go grab some interesting food at 3 in the morning, you'll probably be out of luck. But other than that, there is a lot of variety, but again I doubt on the scale that NYC offers.

8. With an upper limit of $850,000 for a condo (2 or 3BR?) you can look in Old Town Alexandria and the popular section of north Arlington along Wilson Blvd - the neighborhoods of Ballston, Virginia Square, Clarendon, Courthouse, and (not as interesting) Rosslyn.

[TunnellRatt]

to Brooklynborndad and robbobobbo, thank you so much for your help and taking your time. I did re post in the Northern Virginia forum, thanks for that. And thank you both for the valuable info.