Moving to DC....

[sillbeer]

Greetings all. I'm contemplating applying for a job in DC. Where are good areas to live within 30 minutes of downtown? We have two kids, ages 4 and 6 along with two larger dogs. My wife is a full time stay at home mom so we don't have to worry about child care. The starting pay will be about $103k with a raise after the first year. We currently have $50k plus in equity in our current house and shouldn't have a problem selling it.

Thanks.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Anything inside the beltway can potentially be under half an hour commute. Though around here distance is measured in time depending on what time of day it is. What are your work hours? Are you planning or driving or taking the metro? Is there parking at your new job?

Congrats by the way. Just be prepared for sticker shock.

 

[mikeasu]

Obviously, sticker shock will be an issue, but I'll give you my experience...

I spent a couple years applying to get out here from Tucson - ended up at APL three years ago, halfway between DC and Baltimore, and we live in Eldersburg/Sykesville, just up in Carroll County. With 4 kids, really wanted a 4-bed house, and are doing this on a single income (wife stays home with the kids), so this was a great solution, working out well. Originally, intended on waiting three years, then moving closer into DC, the Dulles-Langley corridor. It'll be three years at APL tomorrow, and I'm not going anywhere. Part of it is, they're a great employer, but the other part is, I like the living situation. Far enough out it's not so urban, work close enough in we deal with the defense programs closer in. Easy enough to spend a day in DC on the weekend, hit the museums with the kids, but save quite a bit on living expenses, day-to-day. I feel like we get the best of both worlds - small town day-to-day life, but reasonably close to DC/B-More when we want the big city perks. Happy to discuss more, if you want to shoot me a PM.

 

[auburntsts]

I've lived in Northern VA for 12 years now -- I was stationed at the Pentagon (now at Ft Belvoir). When we moved here in 2006 you couldn't buy anything within 30 miles of DC for less than $600K so we ended up down I-95 by Quantico in Prince William County. So I traded a higher commute time for something halfway affordable. Housing is much more affordable now, but the closer you get to DC the more expensive it will become. In addition, the Metro area has a pretty high cost of living in general so a low 6-figure income is very common and will not make you rich. So what you don't want to do is become house poor, where you get a great house but after paying the mortgage and other bills you have little left over to do much of anything else.

 

[youngdh]

I’ve lived in Leesburg, VA for over 22 years and have loved it. My wife and I have raised 2 boys here who both went through Loudoun County schools from kindergarten through High School. We now have 5 micro breweries in Leesburg town limits, the only Delerium Cafe in the US and several other micro breweries in Loudoun County. Depending on time of day, getting to downtown DC can be 35 min or an hour plus. A 4 bedroom single family house is going to run you $450-$750 depending on location and your tastes. Oh, and did I mention there’s no lack of breweries in the area and if you live near old town Leesburg like I do you can walk to 5 of them .

 

[sillbeer]

My commute right now is right at 30 minutes one way and I don't find that to be too bad. I'm not real interested in a 1 hour commute but I may have to in order to get an affordable house. We were broke when we first moved into our current house over 11 years ago. Luckily since then I was able to double our annual income and we are pretty comfortable now.

As far as hours go, I currently work 0600-1430 and have some flexibility in start time. I can work straight 8s or four 10s and have the option to telework at least one day a week. I would be transferring to a new department with a different line of work so I'm unsure if I would have the same flexibility.

 

[DrunkleJon]

My commute right now is right at 30 minutes one way and I don't find that to be too bad. I'm not real interested in a 1 hour commute but I may have to in order to get an affordable house. We were broke when we first moved into our current house over 11 years ago. Luckily since then I was able to double our annual income and we are pretty comfortable now.

As far as hours go, I currently work 0600-1430 and have some flexibility in start time. I can work straight 8s or four 10s and have the option to telework at least one day a week. I would be transferring to a new department with a different line of work so I'm unsure if I would have the same flexibility.

You should be just beating rush hour traffic at those times. I worked starting at 630 and didnt see much traffic at that time. 10 minutes late will tack on an additional 10 to 20 though. Inside the beltway housing (at least on the VA side) will be 450+ easy. I have family that is looking to buy nearby now and good places are moving fast. Not to mention the desirable locations are still expensive.

 

[brewtime]

Obviously, sticker shock will be an issue, but I'll give you my experience...

I spent a couple years applying to get out here from Tucson - ended up at APL three years ago, halfway between DC and Baltimore, and we live in Eldersburg/Sykesville, just up in Carroll County. With 4 kids, really wanted a 4-bed house, and are doing this on a single income (wife stays home with the kids), so this was a great solution, working out well. Originally, intended on waiting three years, then moving closer into DC, the Dulles-Langley corridor. It'll be three years at APL tomorrow, and I'm not going anywhere. Part of it is, they're a great employer, but the other part is, I like the living situation. Far enough out it's not so urban, work close enough in we deal with the defense programs closer in. Easy enough to spend a day in DC on the weekend, hit the museums with the kids, but save quite a bit on living expenses, day-to-day. I feel like we get the best of both worlds - small town day-to-day life, but reasonably close to DC/B-More when we want the big city perks. Happy to discuss more, if you want to shoot me a PM.

Sykesvill/eldersburg or anywhere in So Carroll County is not bad we moved here in 2006

 

[sillbeer]

The move isn't going to happen this time around. There was one question on the application I could not answer. The question asked about in depth experience and I only have knowledge of the topic through my degree. I'll keep an eye out for jobs in that area and see what happens in the future. Hopefully in the next couple years.

Thanks for all the advice.