Job in Reston, what area should I move to?

Question

I am graduating college in Dec and I have a job in Reston, VA after graduation. I am looking for suggestions of areas to move to. I am looking for an area that will have alot of other young professionals and things to do. (This summer I lived within walking distance to Main St. in Royal Oak, MI and would love to find a similar area). I have several friends in the DC area so I would like easy access into the city so I can visit them.

Ideally, I need an affordable and interesting area for a young person with an easy commute to both Reston and into the city.

Answer 1

Check Reston itself, Herndon, Sterling, Leesburg, Ashburn, Chantilly and the Fair Oaks area of Fairfax. There are a lot of new apartment buildings around Fair Oaks Mall/Fairfax and it's not too far from Reston. Housing is fairly expensive in Northern Virginia so a room-mate sort of situation might be best for someonw starting out. Try calling some real estate agents who can pull listings for rentals and show you different areas. Congratulations on your new job and good luck.

Answer 2

The BIG, BIG question for the Northern Virginia area is: what can you afford?

The Northern Virginia area, in general, is known for expensive housing and, as a result of that, long, hard commutes to places that people can afford.

Reston, itself, has nice walking area with shopping and restaurants called the Reston Town Center. For commuting, Reston and Herdon would be quite close, but I think you're in for a shock at the prices. Leesburg is a very nice area, with a cute little downtown, but I can't really envision a new college grad being able to afford Leesburg, unless you're an MD with no college loans! Centreville is a cheaper option, but is a longer drive. Manassas is even cheaper, still, but I doubt you can reach Reston in rush hour traffic in less than 45 minutes. You should plan on an hour from Manassas, 35-45 minutes from Centreville. Now, I'll bet if you look on a map or www.mapquest.com, you'd be shocked at that, right? Bad traffic in the area. No kidding.

The nice thing is: the weekend traffic isn't as bad as rush hour traffic, so you can drive to quaint places!! Try Occoquan or Georgetown; the former for cute shops, the latter for shopping and a cooler, young prof. scene.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

2

Answer 4

Affordable it basically out of the question. It is super expensive there. The really trendy places are further inside the beltway as well. Get a roommate or three and get a decent townhouse in Reston, Herndon or maybe even Sterling or Ashburn. The closer to work the better, so you can brag about your easy commute while your coworker rot in traffic (it is very, very bad). Lived in the area for 10+ years.

Answer 5

Honestly, there is no where that is going to be affordable in this area. Northern VA is one of the most expensive areas to live, but don't worry because your pay check should make up for it. In any case, I would suggest living in Reston, Herndon or Fairfax...Sterling is also an option, but is further away from DC than I think you want.

Answer 6

Definitely try to stay as close to Reston as possible. Reston is west of DC, so traffic is primarily going east during the morning rush hour, and west during the evening rush hour. Reston used to be considered somewhat far from DC, but now that people are moving to West Virginia to find affordable housing, Reston is kind of in the middle of some commutes.
Another thing to know is that there is a spot in the McLean/Vienna area called Tysons Corner. If people west of DC are not heading to DC for their commute, they are most likely going to Tysons Corner. This commute is terrible also, and it's best to avoid that area during rush hours.
It sounds like you are planning to rent, which is probably the best idea in this area. People will disagree with that, but if I tried to buy a home right now, my mortgage would be almost double what I pay in rent. The only people doing well in real estate around here are either rich or bought their homes in the mid/late 1990s. A good website for rental apartments is www.aptratings.com. Keep in mind that most people who write reviews are unhappy, but it's still a good site, and includes mapped out apartment complexes so you can guage how far things are from your new job.
Also, in terms of traffic, Reston is a good spot because it is near Leesburg Pike (Route 7) and the Dulles Toll Road. Both roads are clogged during rush hours, but they are helpful during other times of day. There are also lots of backroads in Reston, which can usually get you around traffic if you know where you are going.
In addition to the apartment ratings website, try www.washingtonpost.com and look in their classifieds section. They have all sorts of housing options listed (rooms to rent, roommates, apartments, houses, etc.) and you can get a good feel for what you can afford from there.
Oh, and if you're wondering what traffic in the DC area looks like in the morning, just check out some of the traffic cameras on www.virginiadot.org during those hours.
Good luck!

Answer 7

Even though the town center areas mentioned by the others are expensive, if you don't own a car and plan to commute by bus or metro, that could become affordable for you since you won't have the payment, insurance, maintenance, etc. I had a job in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington and paid big money to live in the area so I could walk to work, 23rd street, Pentagon Row, etc., and I was only two blocks from a Metro stop so it was easy to go to D.C.

It was worth it to me not to have to deal with commuter hell. I heard all the horror stories from co-workers about slugging, 7 hour traffic jams, trains stopped underground for hours, and so on. Luckily we had a reorganization and my division was moved to Texas.

Answer 8

There are quite a few stable places to stay in VA/MD (fairfax county is likely one in all the perfect ten maximum suitable places to stay interior the U. S.). One certainty: the nearer you're of DC, the greater amenities you will get (transportation, paying for, entertainment, and so on.), yet in addition the dearer it gets. in case you will hire a place via your self, enable's say an performance, you will would desire to pay greater advantageous than one thousand in hire in case you're in Arlington or DC itself. The plus is which you will possibly no longer want a motor vehicle, because you have buses or metro to virtually everywhere. some areas of Alexandria are additionally very handy to the two Arlington and DC, and in easy terms somewhat decrease priced. So, in the experience that your budget isn't so tight, Arlington ordinarily is in all probability the main suitable place for a young person. Now, in the experience that your budget is plenty smaller, then i could in all probability advise you to bypass nearer to Reston. it is going to be greater removed from DC (approximately 40 minutes), and hence no longer so costly, yet there continues to be a particularly great quantity of amenities (paying for, eating places, and so on.). you will would desire to apply your motor vehicle plenty, nevertheless. however the situation is extremely advantageous, there are quite some new homes happening good now, and quite some agencies are moving to that section. (in case you artwork in Reston, you may additionally stay in Herndon or Fairfax, and force approximately quarter-hour to artwork). some thing interior the middle must be Mclean, close to Tyson's corner (you could map your region in any of the online mapping kit, like yahoo! maps, and Tyson's corner ought to seem there. in case you artwork there, you could stay in Mclean itself, or Vienna). you could have a metro somewhat close, even though it relatively is in all probability which you will would desire to force very usually. there is optimal entertainment, quite some eating places, quite some paying for, and the charges are below in Arlington yet larger than in Reston. desire this facilitates.

Answer 9

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