OK, I’m checking in on the side of the “don’t live in MD if you’re gonna work in Arlington”. I live in ARL and work in DC - take the bus and the Metro every day. The system here has recently renovated the passes so you can get a monthly bus pass (good thruout the Metro area) for $40 a month, and the SmartTrip cards (rechargeable subway farecards) will run you about the same in fares. Considering the amount of gas you’ll eat up waiting in traffic jams, $80 is a real deal.
Having said that, the market for housing is definitely a seller’s. I can’t vouch for the apartment rentals but buying a house here is a nightmare. Mrs. O and I are going to ride this crest out, see if it calms down in a year or so.
Phil, best of luck to you ! The weather is really great in DC compared to Cleveland. I’d gladly trade traffic jams for a glimpse of the sun in February. I’ll send ya some Great Lakes Dortmunder sometime !
Well, y’all are certainly giving us lots to chew on! :eek:
John C, is that right, that the No.Va. taxes are lower? My understanding is that it was the other way around.
I had already planned on getting to work via Metro, or bus and Metro. My company has a subsidy for employees who use public transportation, so that was my plan from the get-go. So, wherever we live, be it southern Montgomery County, or VA, I’ll be on the train. No big deal for me–I did it for several years here in Cleveland.
Accommodations-wise, it’s definitely going to be rental. We are in no position to buy a house, nor do we want to, and I think we prefer to get a short-term lease in an apartment right now while we get accustomed to the area and the changes. The places we’re looking at, whether MD or VA, all offer six-month leases, so we’re cool with that.
Doctordec, I may just stock up on Dortmunder and Elliott Ness before I leave, a couple cases each!!
pl- As with all things, YMMV.
Maryland has a slightly higher personal income tax. In addition, there’s a county income tax in Maryland (don’t know if Virginia has one as well).
Virginia has a car tax, which in theory ends up making VA taxes equal to or higher than the average MD tax- however, VA is phasing out the car tax (Hell, Governor Gilmore was elected mostly on the promise of removing the car tax), and Montgomery County (which would be Germantown or Rockville, etc.) has one of the highest county taxes combined with various small taxes (a bottle tax, higher cigarette taxes, a gasoline tax, etc.), on top of a Maryland 5% sales tax compared to a Virginia 4.5% tax (yeah, not much of a difference, but $300 in groceries a month adds up to $24 a year more just for MD tax).
It’s more of a quibbling difference than, say, living in New York City vs. living in rural New Hampshire, but there is still a difference.
Phil, you’d better be a quick drinker because (IIRC) GLBC beer is unpasteurized. I never had it around long enough to find out what happens if you let it sit though…
Basically the whole commute issue boils down to the fact that if you want to get from MD to VA, there’s only one possible bridge you can cross if you’re driving and No.VA has really terrible planning- that’s why the taxes are lower. There is no good route from 495 in VA into Arlington, period.
If you’re planning on taking the train, here’s your best resource: http://www.wmata.com/USINGMET/newmap.gif . I assume you’re talking about working in the Ballston to Rosslyn area. Germantown is about a 15 minute drive from the Shady Grove station. My rule of thumb for the 'tro is 2 minutes between stops (3 for long stretches), 5-10 mins for a transfer. So for the metro you’re looking at 50 minutes ride time + 15 minute drive + time spent waiting for the train minimum if you’re in Germantown. I’d stronly suggest looking in the Rosslyn/Ballston area- it’s convenient to metro, reasonably crime free, and has some city-like features- sidewalks, breweries, etc…
This probably more than you cared to know.
Mojo, actually, according to my soon-to-be-boss, the office is mere moments from the Courthouse Metro stop (the actual address of the office building is 2300 Clarendon). Leigh-Anne and I have decided that our first round of apartment hunting will concentrate on Alexandria and Arlington in VA, and the Silver Spring area in MD.
If we find something we like there that’s affordable, either is close enough to not make the commute horrendous. If not, we’ll expand our circle a little.
BTW, “fast drinker” doesn’t even begin to cover it. 
We’re planning on moving to whereever it ends up being the weekend of 6/10-6/11. Once I have an address, I’ll let y’all know and any Dopers who show up to help me unpack get free beer. 
Cool, Phil! I know exactly where your office building is, then…our competitor is right off the Courthouse metro. (Yes, they’re our competitor, but I have to go down there sometimes because they also work with us on contracts. Welcome to the wonderful world of EPA contracting.)
As for Silver Spring…I live in the apartment capital of Silver Spring. I’m serious - there’s at least 8 apartment complexes by me. So if you move in up here, I’ds be happy to help ya unpack. Actually, I’d help regardless…unless you freaking move into a third floor apartment like my friends just did…
OK, I called a bunch of places today, mostly in Alexandria. A few don’t have anything available right now. One place (Cherry Arms, 7131 Richmond Hwy) is faxing me floor plans and a rental app. Another (Meadow Woods, 3308 Lockheed Blvd.) I have an appointment with on 6/13 at 2:00 p.m. I left messages at 2 others, and talked to another way out in Manassas, which would be a long commute, but they have good places at good prices.
Anyone know anything about those 2 Alexandria neighborhoods mentioned above?
I hate to sound like a broken record but the places in Falls Church and Tysons I mentioned earlier to you are just two or three metro stops from CourtHouse. I’m going to go for a drive at lunch and write down a few numbers for you for some reasonable looking apt and townhouse complexes right in the area.
Sorry, don’t know much about the places you mentioned. I’m a relative new transplant here as well.
Stay tuned.
I grew up off Rt.1 south of Alexandria, which is where Cherry Arms and Lockheed Blvd. both are. We’re talking a short walk from one to the other. A friend of mine lived in Cherry Arms, but that was 20 years ago.
I’m not sure what they’re like these days. 20 years ago, it was a rednecky part of the area, but in that much time, anything could’ve happened: coulda gone downhill, or coulda gentrified. When will you be down here to look at places?
QuickSilver, you rule! We have a pretty extensive list of places to look at, but we’re hitting them a few at a time. The key is availability; since this all happened so suddenly, we need to find a place with units available within the next 6 weeks. Any help is much appreciated, though. Thanks!
RTF: We’re definitely going to be there on 5/13 and 5/14, and, if I can swing it here at work, 5/12 as well. A couple places don’t have leasing offices that are open on the weekends, so we’d need to see them on a weekday.
Man, I’ll be glad when this part of it is settled. We started packing last night, and making a checklist/schedule of when to get the mail forwarded, cancel the utilities, look for a new bank, etc. Leigh-Anne is starting to send out resumes; I don’t think she’ll have any trouble landing a job. It’ll just be nice to find a place and get an address so we can stop worrying about it.
Ok, so does this mean we’ll get to fight for real blood, face to face?
Btw, you’re invited to fart around at the 3FMB if you so desire…
Only if it’s a naked cage match, no holds barred! :eek:
I did register at the 3FMB, thanks to an invite from Melin, but haven’t had an opportunity to post yet. I’m reading it when I can, though!
Here’s the dealio -
All these places are within 1/4 to 1/2 mile of eachother. All are just inside the beltway. All are about a 15 to 25 min walk to the subway or a 5 min bus ride.
In the order of closest to subway:
Fairfax Towers - (703)893-0001
Features - pool, security, quiet, 1 min walk to GREAT grocery store with Organic everything (FreshFields), nice little restaurants another minute or two by foot.
PeachTree of Mclean - (703)893-1415
Advantages - Just as close to stores and restaurants but does not look as spacious. Townhome style living. Very clean and right next door to a very nice library (Fairfax Community Library)
Rennaisance - didn’t get the number, sorry
Features - apt living. Looks pretty nice but not as convenient as the other two.
Tyson’s Glen - no number either sorry (hard to drive and write!)
Features - town house living. About a mile west of the first place but about a mile closer to Tyson’s Shopping Center. Two HUGE malls. Everything you can think of is there. Great way to kill a hot muggy DC afternoon.
All these places are situated along the #7 highway (AKA Leesberg Pike) but they are far enough back from it so that you won’t have traffic buzzing in your ears all day and night.
Another good resource is a Realtor I happened to find by accident when I first looked at moving here. Look up Annie Lauler in McLean, VA. She is an old souther bell (in her 80’s) but sharp as … well sharp enough. She knows the area very well and will help you find something nice. Her idiot son (also in the business) may take you up to his sailboat moored at the marina right next to the Reagan National airport and buy you a drink at the club while you sign all the rental papers.
good luck.
Today’s update: I’ve been on the phone the last two days with leasing agents at about a dozen places, having rental applications faxed to me, and getting specifics about deposits, availability, etc. We’ve got four or five really solid places in Alexandria picked out, and I’m sending them the applications pending visits next weekend. If we see them and hate them, we’ll withdraw the application, no harm done. All of them are a quick trot from either the Huntington or King St. Metro stations, so we’ll be in good shape. I did find out from my boss, however, that there are parking spaces available at the office–and they’re less than I pay in Cleveland!
I checked out the places QuickSilver mentioned (and thanks very much for all your legwork–I will buy you a round or two when we’re in town), but unfortunately the affordable ones didn’t take pets and the ones that take pets aren’t affordable. :mad:
We started really packing last night, and we’ve gotten two rooms almost completely finished. Between books and A/V equipment, we may need two trucks! I dread moving the 32" TV and the entertainment center; we’ll probably get them in fairly early along with the bedroom furniture and things, then fill in with boxes and smaller items.
Must keep stress level down . . . must keep stress level down . . . I’ll just feel a lot better when we’ve got the apartment situation finalized.
My only comment on the Richmond Hwy address (I don’t know the other one) is that Alexandria is a big area, the Rt. 1 commute is nasty during rush hour, and Arlington is on the other side. Just ask my friend who moved here from out of the country how she likes the commute from her son’s Alexandria daycare to her job in Arlington (and her job is in S. Arlington!)
Speaking of South Arlington, it’s more affordable than N. Arlington and might be worth checking out. Also, have you looked into Falls Church? It’s next door to Arlington along the I-66 corridor (a phrase you’ll get to know once you live here!). Its Metro stations are also on the Orange line so you wouldn’t have to transfer. I’m a bit prejudiced in its favor because I couldn’t find affordable housing in Arlington, but could in FC (granted, I was buying, so that’s always a different story.)
You’ve undoubtedly looked at the housing listings in washingtonpost.com and washingtoncitypaper.com but I thought I’d mention them anyway.
Good Luck!
I think you are getting some good advice, Phil. I wish I had done more homework before I moved out here. I got a good job in DC and decided to rent an apartment in Montgomery County; the Aspen Hill area north of Silver Spring.
Let me tell you, I’m moving to Virginia as soon as it is possible for me to get a house. Maryland is the most highly-regulated place I’ve ever lived, and I’ve lived a lot of places. It’s also highly taxed. I think this comes from Maryland being run by a legislature (and governor) that lean much to the liberal Democratic side. That being said, you’d probably love it! 
I look over to Virginia wistfully and see the way that state is run. Cut taxes; go easy on the businesses without over-regulating them. Maybe this is old news to you, but I had never had to pay a county income tax before. In fact, I never even heard of a county assessing its own income tax. And, as I’ve said, I’ve lived in a lot of places all around this country. Imagine my surprise when my tax refund (so I thought) was eaten up by a county income tax. I could understand if the buses were free, but no such luck there.
Getting your car inspected will cost you $55. If it passes. And it won’t pass the first time.
I’ve also been broken into twice since I’ve moved here. Might as well be in PG County.
And I don’t know about the rest of Maryland, but you can’t even buy beer or wine at a convenience store. If you want to go grocery shopping, pick up a six-pack of beer, and maybe a fifth of Jack D., you’ve got to go to three different stores.
Can’t comment about the traffic personally. I sold my car and now rely on Metro.
Sorry for the bitter tone. I’ve seen a lot of my friends’ places out in VA. The promised land beckons!