Job Offer... reservations, advice needed (lease, crime rate, homes) - Washington, DC (DC) - City-Data Forum

mikeycooper · 05-15-2012, 08:14 PM

Okay guys, long post here, I'd really appreciate some input. Also, please don't quote this post, as I plan on erasing it for privacy reasons... you'll see why.

My girlfriend was offered a position for a job in Northwest DC, close to McPherson Square. The business is HUBZone certified (Historically Underutilized Business Zone), which means that 35% of their employees have to live in a qualified physical area.

The job offer is contingent upon her relocating to a HUBZone (any HUBZone, not just the one the business is located in). The problem is, after looking at the map, the choices are pretty poor. She is not a city girl and wants to avoid living in DC, but all of Montgomery County and the close parts of NOVA are not qualified. A couple pockets of PG County are available, and even then the choices are very limited, and definitely not exactly the nicest areas.

HUBZone Mapping 4.0

The map is currently down, but if I remember correctly, everything west of 14th St. NW is a no-go, and pretty much everything east is OK.

My girlfriend is very apprehensive about living in the city, due to safety. She's had a couple very scary encounters in DC and her friend was recently mugged on U St, so she's not exactly clamoring to stay there. She's okay with commuting to the area. Also, living in DC is very expensive, definitely a stretch with her entry level salary.

If you're still with me, thanks- here's the question. Is there any way that she could get around this?

The government website says the following: "Reside means to live in a primary residence at a place for at least 180 days, or as a currently registered voter, and with intent to live there indefinitely." Every 3 years, the company must provide "records indicating the home address of each employee, including copies of driver’s licenses or voter registration cards showing the employee’s home address is in a HUBZone;"

By coincidence, her current residence is actually located in a HUBZone, and her lease goes until the end of the summer. However, due to a number reasons, she really wants to get out of her current area.

What if she just continued to keep her current address on her drivers' license? It would, in fact, be her address, and her actual place of residence... for a few more months. Could she submit this information and get away with moving into a different area? Her driver's license would keep the qualified address.

I know that this sounds childish, and to be honest, ethically wrong. When she moved out after 3 months, she would be lying to her employer. But when it comes to her safety and peace of mind, I understand why she is considering this.

She is waiting to hear back from other jobs, so this may become a non-issue. But in the meantime, how stupid of a plan would this be? She does not plan to stay with this company for several years- maybe 2- so it's not like she will be lying over and over again. It seems like a copy of a driver's license with a qualified address is all she needs.

For the record, this is by no means her first choice of action. It's more like:
1. Get an offer somewhere else
2. Ask the company if she can live somewhere else (requirement is only 35% of employees, can she be part of the 65%?)
3. Ask the company if she can move out after a year (she can stomach another year in her current area)
4. Try to get away with the above mentioned plan.

stateofnature · 05-15-2012, 08:40 PM

It's hard to give you advice with the map being down. You say everything east of 14th St is included in the zone, but I really doubt the zone would not include Dupont (west of 14th St) but include neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill (east of 14th St) which has some million-dollar homes. So it's really hard to judge how safe or unsafe the allowed HUBzone areas are without the map.

I will say this though: if you and your girlfriend think U St is too unsafe to live near, then you need to get some serious perspective. I'm sorry if your friend was mugged there but if that is the case the friend was just extremely unlucky. U St has been a major yuppie hangout for quite some time now. The thug days are long gone. The crime rate is not noticeable at all for 99% of the thousands of people that go out there every night. I'm a skinny, completely unintimidating white guy and I've been out on U St late into the night and early morning dozens of time. Never once had a problem. I know dozens of people, including many single females, who can say the same thing.

Put it this way: is your girlfriend willing to get into a car despite the risk of a car accident? If so, then she is putting her safety much more at risk than she would be if she lived in U St or many other parts of DC east of 14th St. Statistically, you are much more likely to get into a car accident than you are to get mugged in DC, as long as you use common sense and don't venture out alone at night into some of the truly dangerous neighborhoods in DC, which for the most part are east of the Anacostia River and far from U St.

spencgr · 05-16-2012, 06:44 AM

You stated the plan as childish and ethically wrong. While that is true, it also might be criminal, as it is fraud concerning a government program. Have her think about jail time, if caught.

chicagotodc · 05-16-2012, 06:58 AM

Just ask to be part of the 65%, see what happens.

Cochrynn · 05-16-2012, 12:25 PM

Uh yeah...unless a job is gonna pay my rent they don't get to decide where I live. I know it's hard out there but she should really keep looking- that is ridiculous. At the very least they should subsidize her housing if they want to hold onto their precious certification that bad.

Cochrynn · 05-16-2012, 12:28 PM

Oh and I mean they should cover her housing ON TOP OF her normal salary. Obviously the salary would go towards paying her rent, but she should receive something over and above the 'normal' salary. Many jobs do this when they require people to move abroad- they will put you up in free or subsidized housing and you still receive your entire salary.

chicagotodc · 05-16-2012, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochrynn

Oh and I mean they should cover her housing ON TOP OF her normal salary. Obviously the salary would go towards paying her rent, but she should receive something over and above the 'normal' salary. Many jobs do this when they require people to move abroad- they will put you up in free or subsidized housing and you still receive your entire salary.

Yea, but this doesnt sound like that kind of job at all. It sounds like a small business and an entry level position. You and I might get $100,000 relocation packages, or ex-pat housing allowances, but thats not really the norm.

Cochrynn · 05-16-2012, 12:54 PM

I work in a small business in what was an entry-level position (I've since been promoted) and I still managed to negotiate to get what I wanted before I started here. I'm not some in-demand profession, either. OP, what your girlfriend has here is a MAJOR bargaining chip. Obviously they are asking her to do this because none of their permanent employees want to put up with it, and for good reason. I participate in hiring and if a potential employee was willing to acquiesce to such a huge imposition without squeezing at least an extra 15% salary increase out of my company then I would think they were kind of stupid, honestly. They are expecting this, trust me. It never hurts to establish yourself as smart and assertive right off the bat.

jokerstars · 05-17-2012, 01:56 PM

Dude, Navy Yard qualifies. Super safe and tons of amenities coming.

confusedasusual · 05-17-2012, 06:57 PM

I don't mean to be rude, but let's get real for a moment.

If your girlfriend is scared out of her wits to be in the city after dark, and some really yuppie ass part of the city to boot, she has no business taking this job, period. I would like to believe that it could open her mind, make her more flexible, aware and tolerant, but if Bethesda or Clarendon are as close as she wants to get to living in a city, she should stop pretending and do her job search THERE. Lots of businesses are located in these close in 'burbs. The last two jobs I had in "DC" turned out to be in Bethesda. Increasingly, businesses are moving out of the city due to high rent and overhead costs.

The "plan" stated is assinine. Someone will find out. She will make a friend, they will come over, get pissed off when she scores some perk at work they wanted and didn't get, and go straight to her boss. Bye bye job. And yes, hello possible criminal charge.

Both of you need to get a grip. Its okay to be suburbs people. Just freaking admit that you like the burbs. I know its hard-- they are often not "cool" and full of other people who are equally so steeped in suburban denial that they try to convince all the city dwellers its better in the land of kids and money. I appreciate that you are asking for her, but you make her sound like a little girl who can't figure this out on her own.

Frankly, desperate as I have ever been for a job, I agree with the PPs that there is NO WAY my job could ever convince me which neighborhood I had to live in. Is your girl in the military? A police officer? Didn't think so. They are treating her like a simpering ******* who will acquiese to their weird demands for an entry level opportunity. It ain't that bad out there. I am guessing there are other offers in the pipeline. If you don't go with your gut, you will stay lost. Tell her to nut up and make some adult decisions.