Moving to NOVA in need of advice (Reston, McLean: sale, rentals) - Northern Virginia - Virginia - City-Data Forum

wxman1 · 11-18-2011, 09:58 PM

Hello all,

Hope this finds you well. I'm from the NE (Long Island) and lived there for 23 years before moving to Texas and New Mexico where I have lived nearly 10 years. My wife is from Texas.

I work for the federal government and just received a promotion. We will be moving early 2012 to northern Virginia. MY base office will be in Sterling, VA but I will be required to travel to anther location either in VA, D.C or Maryland (hasn't been determined yet).

I have read through the forums on NOVA but am looking for specific advice for us as a couple. MY wife works in the ballet as a dancer, teacher and assistant director. We are Christian and enjoy church related, family oriented activities. We enjoy spending time out with friends, playing in sports/recreational leagues, outdoors stuff and travels. My salary will be over 100k per year and my wife will have to find work.

Based on all this, our age (mid 30's) and interests, (and we don't have kids yet), where would you recommend living out of Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Reston and Herndon. I would even throw Falls Church in there. I've heard nightmarish stories about traffic and cost of living as well.

We don't mind having to rent for a while due to a pending house sell here in New mexico and cost of living adjustment up there.

Any thoughts? We appreciate the feedback.

Ken W

wxman1 · 11-18-2011, 10:03 PM

To be more specific, my base salary will be 98k and with overtime and other entities it will likely be in the low 100's.

JfromReston · 11-19-2011, 04:31 AM

saganista · 11-19-2011, 05:36 AM

First, congrats on the promotion, and second, I'd say take advantage of the rental situation to get some real sea-legs in the area. As you'll be at least based in Sterling, save yourself potential commuting hassles by getting a rental that's close by. Reston is one option. There are others. But the second location may change things drastically. Getting from the Sterling area into DC or the not-just-across-the-river parts of MD could be a nightmare. You might want to end up living a lot closer to some sort of bridge.

There are certainly local ballet companies and academies in the area. Many but not all are focused on young children. This is obviously a niche sort of career to be in, so your wife would have to come and put a toe in to find out what the local scene here is looking like at the moment. Anecdotally, a coming up on elderly sister much into adult dance and ballet was recently in town for a family wedding, and through some considerable driving around in the Vienna-Oakton area, her sharp eye on the matter led to the apparently valid conclusion that there are in fact more ballet schools in Vienna than there are McDonald's. I don't think it's everywhere that can say that.

Anyway, the rental period should give you a great chance to start fitting in and figuring things out, and as the variables resolve themselves, you'll be much better able to make choices that you can have some confidence in. Good luck with all that.

Caladium · 11-19-2011, 05:47 AM

Reston, Sterling, Herndon, and Ashburn would all work for you. I would pick the one the "feels" right to you or has a house you like. In Reston you're more likely to have neighbors who are active in the arts, but it's not really a big enough difference to keep you from looking at the other areas.

There are lots of ballet academies in eastern Loudoun/western Fairfax, as well as a Ballet Theater in Herndon (not sure what that is, but you might check into it). Reston has a fairly strong dance community, I hear.

There are several popular Christian churches in the area. Reston Bible Church is frequently praised. McLean Bible Church is a mega church that a lot people really like. These tend to be more conservative churches. St. Anne's in the Lake Anne area is popular with a lot of people looking for a more liberal Christian church. I went to a service at St. David's in Ashburn once and was very impressed.

jarednova · 11-19-2011, 09:50 AM

If you're going to be traveling a lot, you may want to consider something west like Ashburn, Brambleton, Leesburg, as those would give you easy access to Sterling but also easy access to Route 15 to get north (MD)/south (VA) while avoiding the Beltway chaos. You'll probably get a little more bang for your rental buck going west too, though the rental difference doesn't seem to be as pronounced as the home sale price difference. But if you want to be closer to the city, and in a more 'city-accessible' area, Reston would be a good choice, and will be right by Metro within a year and a half or so.

wxman1 · 11-20-2011, 07:29 AM

This is all great feedback, thank you!!

What would you estimate to be the morning and evening commute times from say Sterling to Leesburg, Sterling to Reston, to Ashburn etc?

wxman1 · 11-20-2011, 07:31 AM

How do you think we will do on the salaries we listed? I'm real curious. Looking for honest feedback on that.

saganista · 11-20-2011, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wxman1

This is all great feedback, thank you!! What would you estimate to be the morning and evening commute times from say Sterling to Leesburg, Sterling to Reston, to Ashburn etc?

Starting from Sterling in the morning, none of those is going to be bad. The places that would kill you are the Navy Yard, College Park, Suitland, and the like.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wxman1

How do you think we will do on the salaries we listed? I'm real curious. Looking for honest feedback on that.

You should do fine. The median Fairfax/Loudoun household income is around $105K. Half make more, half make less, they all live here.

jarednova · 11-20-2011, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wxman1

This is all great feedback, thank you!!

What would you estimate to be the morning and evening commute times from say Sterling to Leesburg, Sterling to Reston, to Ashburn etc?

Based on what you said earlier, you'd be reversing those in the mornings? Leesburg to Sterling is about 15 minutes on the (toll) greenway (but it's expen$ive) or 20 to 30 on surface streets. Reston or Ashburn to Sterling is about 15 minutes on the toll road/greenway, 20 to 30 on surface streets. At absolute rush hour you can probably add a little more time to those surface street numbers. One plus: if you're living in Reston, you're reverse commuting compared to the rest of the flow of traffic.

Agree w/the previous poster - you'd likely be okay even on just your salary. With two incomes you should have no issues at all. Just expect more money going to rent/house payment and less available for truly disposable income. When I moved here I found some things, like cable TV/internet and insurance, were substantially cheaper here, and made up for part of the shock of the housing cost.