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Originally Posted by ShiftyEyedWaterboy
Is rent/property that high out in Loudoun/Clarke?
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The further away from Wash DC you move, the lower the prices generally.
Areas like Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac MD are sky high and exclusive.
Places like McLean and many areas of Reston have sky high prices. In Reston Town Center, a BEAUTIFUL location, they have several newly built apartment complexes getting $2,500-$6,000 a month, NY style prices. I lived there for a year when I first moved to NoVA in 2007, splitting a 2 BR 2 BA luxury apt with someone for $900 each plus utilities.
Loudoun County has a big footprint and unless you want to live with 40,000 Indian developers avoid Brambleton. It's a brand new town that in the last 20 years went from around 10,000 people to 40,000. Ashburn, where I lived is great and has a good affordability.
I would be shocked if you don't have starting pay of at least $85,000 a year and possibly $100K+ if you work for someone like Orbital or Lockheed or Northrop Grumman. If you have a clean background, you should start preparing yourself for a government security clearance, which can bump your pay another $20K most times or more. I think you can go to the FBI and request one for a fee but I'm not positive.
Clarke County is much cheaper but there is a small problem: so many people have moved West from DC and places like Alexandria and Arlington plus the explosive population growth that traffic coming East every morning is ridiculous. You should see the line of cars every day coming out of Maryland across Point of Rocks bridge on Rt 15 through wine country and small towns. It takes 90 minutes to go 15-20 miles of stop and go with lights.
You have to judge for yourself your pain level of commute versus the sanctity of open space and cost of living.
In Loudoun County, the HIGHEST per capita county in the US, you pay a fee each year for your car to be in the county as a resident.
Towns like Herndon also have another fee. Herndon is a nice little town with many amenities, not too expensive but very very Hispanic with a small MS-13 factor that does not stand out too much.
Manassas is THE Hispanic capital of Northern VA along with Langley Takoma Park in MD. Both places you do not want to live in, no matter how cheap.
Another big factor is how old you are and what you like to do in your spare time. There are SO MANY things to do you will NEVER get bored, I can guarantee you that.
Hope this helps.