I'm considering a job near Fairfax Virginia. Anyone there, pros, cons? Cost of living, quality of life, living expenses, gun control?

11/17/2006 12:50:25 AM

grew up there (until I was 14) then moved to Raleigh, in '99. I lived in Vienna, VA specifically, and lived about 15 minutes from Tyson's Corner.

Traffic was bad then and it's even more horrible now. It's really expensive to live there. Most of the people you find are upper middle class and white, or hispanic. Gun control... I dunno about that, but I don't think it's a big deal since you aren't actually in DC.

There's a lot of high tech stuff around there. There's access to all the nightlife and stuff in DC, and the rail/subway system is well done. It's really fucking expensive to live there. I would never go back. You'll never find an affordable house--$250-300k for an older house like the one what I grew up in (which we sold for like $200k back in '99)

11/17/2006 2:10:59 AM

When you flew (or drove) in for the interview ... what did you think of the area? Some people enjoy living in an area where everything is accessible and options for things to do are seemingly endless. I turned down any offers I got near D.C. because I didn't want to live in a place like that.

Next question ... what is the long-term potential of living there? Probably wouldn't be a bad thing short-term ... but would you be comfortable raising a family there?

11/17/2006 7:48:17 AM

^except that all of DC isn't really accessible b/c of the traffic. You'd have to live on a Metro line to really take advantage of living near DC - major $ for the areas where you'd want to raise a family.

Otherwise Fairfax:Cary::SuperWalmart:Ashworth's Drug Store
just 1200% more of the same cookie cutterness

I'd feel totally safe raising a family in Fairfax...but I wouldn't do it. The kids can't get to anything on their own - you have to cross a 2-6 lane road from most subdivisions to get to the store/library/ice cream shop...if you're lucky there's a park or soccer field in your subdivision. I'd get frustrated by always having to be in the car to take the kids anywhere.

11/17/2006 8:28:00 AM

^What the fuck are you talking about? Fairfax is a great place to live, I lived their my whole life.

Pros:

But to clarify, Fairfax can mean a couple of things. There is the city of Fairfax, Fairfax County and then the unincorporated part of Fairfax/Burke. I lived in Burke and Fairfax Station. Both places have really grown up and have some wonderful neighborhoods. While the city of Fairfax can be pretty congested, its fine. The Fairfax/Burke area is a family community, full of parks, trails, neighborhoods w/ sidewalks and smaller road, contrary to what has been posted. Other parts of Fairfax have really developed, almost to the point I don't recognize it any more, with more shops, malls and places like South Point popping up. There isn't a lack of things to do.

Cons:
Traffic is an issue, but who cares, you live in a metro area, its not Raleigh. The cost of living is pretty damn high, but if you have a well paying job it isn't that bad.

Quality of Life:
Excellent, low-crime in most areas and the schools are top notch unless you go to the devils training ground known as Robinson High .

Gun Control:
No Problem.

PM any questions.

11/17/2006 9:36:59 AM

Quote :

"Traffic is an issue, but who cares"

lots of people, myself included.

11/17/2006 9:38:25 AM

Very expensive!

I grew up in the area...graduated from Oakton HS and lived in Herndon. I really like the area and if I could afford to live there again I probably would...not sure if my wife would though.

We are actually trying to move back to Raleigh to be closer to Family and a cheaper cost of living...we are currently in Hampton Roads.

If I was you if the pay was similar, I'd stay in Raleigh.

[Edited on November 17, 2006 at 9:54 AM. Reason : .]

11/17/2006 9:53:27 AM

Fairfax is like cary just with more people and more strip malls.

if you like that then you will love it there

there is a Jewish cafe/bakery called Chutzpah which has some killer bagels and I recomend you go.

11/17/2006 10:22:37 AM

the only issue with gun control is you're not supposed to own a pistol in DC...so if you were concealed carrying in your car and got stopped, that could be an issue.

but in VA its no problem...

11/17/2006 10:23:59 AM

^^Chutzpah is the bomb!

^You can't have a gun in D.C. period. You will mostly likely go to jail.

11/17/2006 10:59:31 AM

you can have a rifle or shotgun provided it's single shot and must be re-cocked to fire, just no pistols

11/17/2006 11:03:47 AM

Generally its just not a good idea in D.C. Fairfax County is fine.

In other news, I find it funny that your sn is Bob Ryan and this is a thread about NoVa/Washington D.C.

11/17/2006 11:06:59 AM

Cold and snowy in Fairax, warm and sunny in NC

11/17/2006 11:19:23 AM

^ DC and the surrounding area is pretty much a swamp and has the hottest most humid weather ive experienced outside of savannah.

so lets not be silly

11/17/2006 11:20:58 AM

^this is damn true. hot as fuck in the summer, but will can get colder in the winter.

as for the cost of living just adjust and compare.

11/17/2006 11:58:48 AM

I'm actually moving within my company. Anyone have experience asking for a cost of living increase? I'm thinking a 15k-20k increase just for cost of living would be required to live, but that seems rather excessive to go ask an employeer for.

11/18/2006 8:29:08 AM

11/18/2006 8:41:37 AM

THe fact that your username says "redneck" i think i'd stick to NC.

11/18/2006 8:56:54 AM

Pros:
A lot of young people, a lot of different ethnicities, lot of things to do. Good weather. I've known a good number of people to live in the Fairfield/Alexandria/DC area throughout my life.

Cons:
Real Estate is booming, so cost is a little high. You're also in the blast radius when DC gets nuked by <insert country of your choice>

11/18/2006 9:06:38 AM

[Edited on November 18, 2006 at 9:20 AM. Reason : ]

11/18/2006 9:18:23 AM

Quote :

"THe fact that your username says "redneck" i think i'd stick to NC."

Got to admit, that is a legitimate concern. But I'd be spending most of my time in a datacenter working with hardware and what-not so I guess it would be ok. If I can find a Bojangles I'll be fine.

11/18/2006 9:48:20 AM

nearest bojangles is probably going to be in maryland, down branch ave (anacostia) or in new carrellton (however the fuck you spell that)

it sucks but you get used to it

11/18/2006 9:51:21 AM

yeah those bojangles up there suck

there's at least one in the PGC and I think a couple more

you have to get used to popeye's

11/18/2006 10:04:43 AM

my gf's family lives there and we visit pretty often. traffic sucks! it really does. i've spent an hour and a half sitting on an exit ramp on a saturday!

its also pretty freaking expensive. everytime i go i peruse the house market and its rediculous. for the rent of the 2200sqft house in a nice neighborhood in Cary i'm in now, id honestly be living in a small 2bedroom apartment in an 'meh' area outside of fairfax.

her family is looking to move away and looking closely at the raleigh/cary/rtp area.

11/18/2006 10:51:05 AM

if you're considering a job near fairfax, and want a smaller, less traffic area, BUT are willing to deal with a commute, let me suggest Woodbridge, Dumfries, Stafford, or Manassas.

11/18/2006 11:12:11 AM

manassas is the freakin ghetto

11/18/2006 11:22:06 AM

threads like this make me realize how much i like raleigh

11/18/2006 11:43:55 AM

Quote :

"threads like this make me realize how much i like raleigh"

there are definite upsides to the area

its not all bad

11/18/2006 11:46:56 AM

oh Raleigh is no sugar cookie thats for damn sure.

11/18/2006 11:47:41 AM

any talk of raleigh>fairfax based solely on house prices need to temper with what industry you'll be working in, whether you want to escape the brand of being "southern", whether you enjoy 2 major us cities within an hour with teams in almost all major professional sports, and the culture that goes along with it

i mean there's a reason for the housing price disparity, it should be fairly obvious why.

it's simply a matter of personal motives

11/18/2006 11:54:01 AM

also, you wont get alot of state games up here unless BC/UVA/MD aren't playing

FTL

11/18/2006 12:02:55 PM

Quote :

"'m actually moving within my company"

I would find another company. Your data center will probably be in India in 5 years anyway.

11/18/2006 12:03:09 PM

^ oh, I'm having a clause put in my contract that will allow me to return to my current position, or a positon of comperable compensation in the event that the customer housed in the datacenter leaves us.

11/18/2006 2:06:11 PM

hope you like spending half your life in american traffic

11/18/2006 2:06:55 PM

Quote :

"you can have a rifle or shotgun provided it's single shot and must be re-cocked to fire"

well, if it's single shot, it by its very nature has to be recocked to fire. hell, it has to be reloaded.

i'm not sure that's correct, though. i've never heard of a law like that.

Quote :

"if you're considering a job near fairfax, and want a smaller, less traffic area, BUT are willing to deal with a commute, let me suggest Woodbridge, Dumfries, Stafford, or Manassas. "

I spent 6 months in Stafford...no way I'd pick any of those places over Raleigh.

11/18/2006 2:53:53 PM

http://www.nraila.org/statelawpdfs/VASL.pdf

[Edited on November 18, 2006 at 3:04 PM. Reason : answered my own question]

11/18/2006 2:58:07 PM

Quote :

" i'm not sure that's correct, though. i've never heard of a law like that."

came straight from the office of the district's non-voting delegate...

i was just overexplaining, what i said is redundant

basically you can have any shotgun or rifle, provided its not semi-auto, and provided its not a pistol

11/18/2006 9:58:44 PM

Quote :

"or in new carrellton (however the fuck you spell that) "

Carrollton, and yes that Bos sucks balls. there is also one in Landover by FedEx field. I havent eaten at that one. I just reserve the bos for when I go home

11/19/2006 12:04:20 AM

^^ ah, ok...you were just using incorrect terminology. single-shot means it only holds one round. you fire, then you manually reload a single round...fire, then manually reload a single round, and so on.

11/19/2006 2:46:03 AM

I think i meant to use the operative "or" instead of "and"

i.e.

you can have a shotgun that you load shells into, but you have to pump it each time before shooting

similarly with a rifle



to keep it simple redneck bob,

just dont drive into dc with a gun. it's easy enough to avoid if you're going over to maryland to hunt down by the shore or something

11/19/2006 11:47:04 AM

Have to agree w/ everything Restricted wrote. I grew up near Burke in the Clifton area and still love to go back to visit. Traffic is really only bad (real bad) during the week and at times of rush hour.

11/19/2006 7:44:25 PM

nova is awesome, minus the traffic. colorado is way better than both

11/19/2006 8:07:19 PM

I have friends and a sorta boyfriend up in the alexandria/manassas/woodbridge area.

Traffic is a fucking bitch and you have to drive forever to get anywhere. That and the cost of a house in alexandria was enough to floor me. I'm staying the hell down here.

If i want to pay $texas to live somewhere, I'm going to boston where at least the city is compact and the public transit isn't shit.

11/19/2006 10:05:31 PM

Quote :

"alexandria/manassas/woodbridge"

.

Those cities aren't close together.

Quote :

"public transit isn't shit."

I ride the metro all the time. Its pretty damn efficient. The buses run pretty far into NoVa and Maryland and so does the Metro.

11/19/2006 10:32:41 PM

Manassas - Where the Men are Men and the Women are too.

11/20/2006 10:29:44 AM

Quote :

"I'm staying the hell down here. "

Quote :

"I'm going to boston where at least the city is compact and the public transit isn't shit. "

yeah boston is muuuuuch cheaper

11/20/2006 11:48:05 AM

^ i love how that guy said something about money and nothing about boston being compact or the state of the public transit system

11/20/2006 1:09:27 PM

thats because its' ridiculous to compare boston public transit to dc

11/20/2006 1:36:16 PM

^^
manassas/woodbridge != DC

just like Newton/Watertown is not boston.
The statement was dumb on so many levels.


[Edited on November 20, 2006 at 1:51 PM. Reason : comparing inner-city Boston to manassas---- yeah that works]

11/20/2006 1:46:50 PM

i've lived in raleigh and fairfax both. Raleigh is far better. The drive into DC to do anything is usually hell, and the metro system there really sucks. i.e. it closes at 1am on the weekends and bars close at 2am. There is a little more to do there than here, yes, but if you actually like to do anything outdoorsy such as hike, mountain climb, canoe, etc.. this is a much better area for you. I found, through my experience, that the pluses of the DC metro area in no way compensated for the increase in living costs, traffic, and overall shitty attitude of the people there. Kennedy said it best when he said DC had the efficiency of a southern town and the overall warmth of a northern city.

my 1br apartment cost me 1240 a month. The three bedroom house i was living in before I move dup there was 950 a month. The difference in salaries when i switched from DC to Raleigh, was -1k a year.

Quote :

"Very expensive!"

please tell me you were quoting the tv show doug!

[Edited on November 20, 2006 at 3:10 PM. Reason : x]

11/20/2006 3:08:48 PM