McLean Advice (Arlington, Vienna, Falls Church: live, young professionals, prices)

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by Guamanians

You will be spending most of your waking hours at work, so a lot will depend on your profession and your workplace.

Please try not to spend too much time at work... Before you come here you should watch the mivie office space. Watch it as many times as you need to so that you are in the right frame of mind.

Ehh...just know your limits. There's nothing wrong with working long hours if you're okay with it (especially if they compensate you for it!)

[alex51atlas]

I just made the same exact move as you, from Texas to McLean, except I'm coming from west Texas. I recommend going on craigslist and find a roommate or a share. I was living in an apartment in El Paso, TX, so when making the move to McLean I searched for a private basement which could house my living room, small kitchen table, desk and bed. If you are willing to downsize then you can even look to rent a room in a house, from my searching experience most people in this area (looking for roommates) are young professionals or graduate students.

[url=http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/roo/]washington, DC rooms & shares classifieds - craigslist[/url]

[LynchburgLover]

Re the roommate situation. See if your college has an alumni association in DC; lots of colleges do. They may be able to help with roommates, etc.

Good luck!

[Guamanians]

Originally Posted by normie

Wow, traffic's bad here but that's quite an exaggeration. I've never heard of an incident of road rage in Nova that was even remotely similar to what happened in "Falling Down."

Any time anything violent happens, it makes the news. I don't recall many news stories about violent road rage in Virginia, do you? I can remember some incidents in Califonia, but not here. People get annoyed at the traffic here, but usually they express their anger in a blog. Or sometimes by giving the finger. Violent road rage is rare, IMO.

But, I'm open to seeing your evidence. Do you have any links to stories showing that Virginia has lots of violent road rage?

Yes Normie, I was exaggerating I didn't recommend that he do what Michael Douglas did, only that he watch the movie.

[normie]

Originally Posted by Guamanians

Yes Normie, I was exaggerating I didn't recommend that he do what Michael Douglas did, only that he watch the movie.

OK, gotcha. You like talking about movies. It's a little misleading in a thread like this, since you're making it sound like we have a problem with road rage when in fact we do not. But I get it, you just wanted to reference a movie you like.

Tell you what, this has given me an idea for a fun thread. Every movie has some aspect that could (conceivably) remind you of northern Virginia. Let's see if we can have some fun with this.

[SouthTexKid]

Originally Posted by alex51atlas

I just made the same exact move as you, from Texas to McLean, except I'm coming from west Texas. I recommend going on craigslist and find a roommate or a share. I was living in an apartment in El Paso, TX, so when making the move to McLean I searched for a private basement which could house my living room, small kitchen table, desk and bed. If you are willing to downsize then you can even look to rent a room in a house, from my searching experience most people in this area (looking for roommates) are young professionals or graduate students.

washington, DC rooms & shares classifieds - craigslist

I've been putting some serious thought into getting a roommate but Im a little apprehensive given the one time I did move out, it was cut short due to a nightmare of a roommate. He was a raging alcoholic who punched holes in the wall . However, I know thats the exception and not the norm. I've never really considered renting a room in a house but that does sound like a good idea. Especially if I could find something under 1,000/month. I know that may be a long shot but I'm going to keep my eyes open for something on craigslist.

[Stephen 81]

Originally Posted by SouthTexKid

I've been putting some serious thought into getting a roommate but Im a little apprehensive given the one time I did move out, it was cut short due to a nightmare of a roommate. He was a raging alcoholic who punched holes in the wall . However, I know thats the exception and not the norm. I've never really considered renting a room in a house but that does sound like a good idea. Especially if I could find something under 1,000/month. I know that may be a long shot but I'm going to keep my eyes open for something on craigslist.

I hope you mean you're keeping your eyes open for a room in a house under 1,000/month. Finding an apartment of your own for under 1,000, especially one that was in a decent and interesting neighborhood, is pretty much impossible.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by SouthTexKid

I've been putting some serious thought into getting a roommate but Im a little apprehensive given the one time I did move out, it was cut short due to a nightmare of a roommate. He was a raging alcoholic who punched holes in the wall . However, I know thats the exception and not the norm. I've never really considered renting a room in a house but that does sound like a good idea. Especially if I could find something under 1,000/month. I know that may be a long shot but I'm going to keep my eyes open for something on craigslist.

I'm not sure Craigs List is the best place to look if you're looking for bargains. IMO, that might be why you got a creepy roommate. Do you belong to an alumni association, a church, or some other organization that might run a roommate board?

[Paul Edmundson]

Pretty mixed group here, and there is enough acceptance of different lifestyles to where you'll soon find your niche and your friends without too much problem.
Townhome sales have hit a really low price here, but rentals are still holding their own. You might consider buying a place within commutable distance, getting the tax write-off, and start building up your equity.

[MBaran]

Many young people just out of school rent rooms in the nice houses in McLean when they first get here for a few months, 6 months or a year, to get the lay of the land and the going rate for that is $550 - $650 month,some with utils included and some paying a percent of utils based on the no. of people in the house. I suggest you look at Craigslist. that's where I've always advertised my two rooms. Good luck! It's a very nice area with almost no crime! my friends forget to lock the door sometimes (which I hate!) but nothing bad ever happens. Very responsive local police if any problems at all... many famous people around, so very law and order type of area. But if you want a party area, look at getting an apartment nearby Clarendon, Arlington. That's where the singles go out on Friday and Sat. night, but a short drive from McLean. 20's - 40's, it gets very busy! I lived in Rosslyn for 10 years, but have totally settled into the Falls ChurchMclean area.