relocating to northern virginia
 

I am single, 34 year old female and am looking to relocate the DC/VA/MD area. I have a job offer in Ashburn, VA but am concerned about being too far out in the suburbs to meet other singles. I have the other option of taking a job that requires me to work 3 days in Vienna, Va and 2 days in Chevy Chase, MD, but am worried that the commute would be utterly crazy. I guess I could live in Arlington or Mclean (rental market). Any suggestions on commute times for the latter and where to live to minimize my commute? My final option would be to work in DC and possibly live in Arlington. I am definitely not an urban girl - I want a suburb that still has single male professional potential!

Although I have lived in the Washington area for 47 years, I am no expert regarding Northern Virginia. That said, a good bet may be to rent an apartment in Arlington and take Route 66 west to Ashburn. I don't think 66 has HOV lanes going west in the morning-- you'll being going against the bulk of the commuter traffic. Living in Arlington makes it easier to get around on the subway to DC, much of Alexandria and ,of course, Arlington.

"I am definitely not an urban girl - I want a suburb that still has single male professional potential!"

Then move to Ashburn. There are probably more single men living in places like Reston or Ashburn or Leesburg than in Arlington or DC.

I would look for a place to live in Reston, for the job in Ashburn. For the Vienna/CC job you might look at living at Post Tyson's Corner. It is about a half mile from the intersection of the Dulles Toll Road and the Beltway. I lived there and liked it a lot. It's safe, nice, great location. The address is McLean but really the Tyson's Corner area. And your employer's address may be Vienna but quite a bit of Vienna addresses are basically at Tyson's Corner. There are also condos in the area to buy or rent (the Rotudnda, e.g.). There is a very good chance that your Vienna employer is within a mile of those apts. Maybe 2 miles.

If I take the job that requires me to work in Vienna and Chevy Chase, where would you live - isn't that a pretty bad commute?

I can't tell you which job to take, and I think you should choose based on which job is best for you.

If the jobs themselves are equal to you, then you'd balance other factors. Ashburn is full of young professionals - both singles and families, and the rental market will be cheaper. Plenty of people live, work and play in Ashburn. I don't think it would be hard to find single men there (but, yeah, you'll find MORE closer in). However, of course, Ashburn is not D.C., or Ballston or Clarendon or Bethesda - or even Reston for that matter. There are restaurants and bars and a mall in/near Ashburn, but not nearly the same level as areas closer in. It all depends on if you want to live next to all of these activities, or if you're OK driving to them. For example, I personally wouldn't rent too far from Ashburn just to take advantage of the rest of the DC Metro area. I'd live in Ashburn or maybe as far as Reston, and then I'd visit other areas on the weekends. NO WAY I'd pay Arlington rents and commute daily to Ashburn. You would hit a decent amount of traffic, despite the reverse commute, on 66 westbound inside the Beltway and on the Toll Road around Reston, and you'd have to pay the tolls every day. The commute simply isn't worth it - that's at least a 45 minute drive in the mornings, if not more.

As for the Vienna/Chevy Chase job: you could rent in Vienna or Tysons or even McLean and commute to Chevy Chase a couple times a week. Based on hearing the traffic report every morning, I think you're better coming from Maryland to Virginia in the afternoons rather than from Virginia to Maryland (and the traffic at the 270 split). Of course, both can back up, but on the whole, that's the better drive. The Vienna/Chevy Chase thing might even make a rental in Falls Church, Ballston or Clarendon a workable situation. You'd pay more for rent, but you'd be nearer to stuff you could walk to, and the Metro for weekend fun, if that mattered.

Understand that while Ballston, Clarendon and the rest of Arlington are not urban, they aren't really that suburban either. A lot of people in those areas don't have cars.

I personally would live somewhere where I could park for free (which means not Arlington or DC) and somewhere with a less than 20 minute commute (barring the Chevy Chase commute) and just catch the occasional cab if I needed it - safer than taking the Metro by yourself at a late hour, anyways, the Metro doesn't run very late.

The place that I recommended are convenient to Vienna and is convenient to the beltway for getting to CC.