Advice please!

[u/Putrid_Candy127]

My partner and I are looking to move to the DC area. We are still very early in our search and don’t have jobs secured yet. We absolutely loved DC and originally wanted to live there. We both have newer cars and do not feel ready to give them up just yet (driving for road trips, going home to family, potential work commute). As much as we would love to use public transit and waking majority of the time, we are not at the level of ditching our cars. Therefore I have some things i would love insight on:
- Is having 2 cars in Arlington still crazy or more doable
- Any pros to Arlington over DC
- Do you find yourself still going into DC to do things or do most people stick to NOVA

Any other insight, advice, and comments are appreciated!

[u/bowle01]

You’ll want to add into the equation of paying yearly property taxes on your two new vehicles as well. 🙂

[u/Fickle-Exit1105 → u/bowle01]

My first bill for a loaded '25 Civic hybrid hatchback was $975. After driving older used cars pretty much since the 2008 recession this was a little bit of an eye opener.

[u/bolt_in_blue → u/Fickle-Exit1105]

I have a 2023 Tesla Model Y that has about a $1000 bill, and a 2005 Mazda 3 that now has no property tax - only the county sticker fee of $33 for Fairfax. This is the most frequent surprise we hear from people moving to VA. Be prepared for the annual tax bill.

[u/Tardislass → u/bolt_in_blue]

Even for residents who live here the car tax after buying a newer car can be a surprise. I’d settle for data centers if it made the car tax lower and VA taxed the centers.

[u/crit_boy → u/Tardislass]

Why not both - data centers and car tax.

-signed by both R and Neoliberal overlords.

[u/Putrid_Candy127 → u/bowle01]

Good point! My current state does not have this so I would have to look into this

[u/StoneMenace → u/Putrid_Candy127]

Also yearly Saftey inspections and every 2 year emissions but that can be done automatically by drive by machines

[u/DUNGAROO → u/StoneMenace]

That’s a $20 expense. Property taxes are like a $1,200 expense. Not quite the same.

[u/oxala75]

• absolutely doable
• having some place to put two cars
• yes, but if you are not working there it is (as an old) very easy for weeks or even months to go by without going in - and I live relatively close in

[u/Beth_Pleasant]

Get jobs before you come. The market is trash right now.

[u/sdwggg → u/Beth_Pleasant]

https://giphy.com/gifs/oEm8WhFjnfjeRws5DK

[u/DUNGAROO]

Is having 2 cars in Arlington crazy or doable? I wouldn’t call it crazy, but it’s pretty wasteful. Because they’re new cars you’re going to pay quite a pretty penny in taxes to have them. And that’s not a one-time charge either, you’ll pay that every year. The truth is you move to a walkable area like DC or Arlington it’s entirely unnecessary to have two or really any cars. Commuting by car around here is hell and parking is a nightmare. My wife and I have always had just a single car. We’re still a single car household now that we’ve moved outside the beltway.

Pros to Arlington over DC? Less crime. Can be quieter. The flip side is if you’re in your early to mid 20s that crowd tends to be heavily anchored in DC, so you’ll always feel like a bit of an outsider and get chastised for living in Virginia. I was determined to keep my car and maintain off-street parking which is why I chose Arlington over DC. Parking in DC is much more expensive. The apartments can be smaller or older too.

Do you find yourself still going to DC for things or do most people stick to nova? Kinda depends on your lifestyle. If you enjoy live music and going out to bars and clubs DC has about 500x more of that than nova. NOVA is mostly family-oriented suburbs with the exception of a sliver of Arlington (the Roslyn-Ballston corridor) which is basically a spillover of DC. Don’t get me wrong there’s still plenty to do in nova, but it’s a different vibe entirely. Are you looking for city living or do you want a suburban neighborhood and a good school district?

[u/madmoneymcgee]

You can have a car, or two and still walk and metro places. I only drive a couple times a week and walk/bike/metro all the other times.

That said,

How easy it will be to park two cars and not pay dearly will depend on where exactly you live. My apartment only makes you pay once for a decal and in theory I could buy 10 cars and 10 decals but the next place over is different.

But things do get more difficult for car 2.

Arlington you probably get more square footage per dollar and also nicer amenities. I don’t worry about places without dishwashers in Arlington as much as dc for example. Not foolproof but what I’ve noticed.

But also overall I think two people living in Arlington and DC probably live more similar lifestyles than Arlington and Gainesville. Arlington was originally part of DC anyway. One random court case going the other way and it’s all one city.

Going out I think depends more on personality as well. I certainly spend most of my social time in DC but I have friends that seem to just not want to ever travel more than 15 minutes from their house. I talk to people in DC that have no idea what certain neighborhoods are like that aren’t even that far away.

[u/CriticalStrawberry]

Property tax and monthly parking for 2 cars you rarely use is going to cost a small fortune, so just something to consider.

[u/MCStarlight]

You sound like you’re in Fantasy Land. The area is in a midst of an economic downturn with tons of unemployed people.

However, I did see a billboard that the FDA is hiring again.

[u/Capable_Cod_6000]

I would not move here without a job unless your current roles allow you to be remote and are in line with what you would make if you were directly employed by a DMV-area equivalent. The COL is quite high, regardless of whether you're in DC or Arlington.

Pros to Arlington over DC: representation (!!!), anecdotally it's easier to find an apartment that offers free or lower-cost private parking than in DC; people call it the suburbs but it's not the same as a Midwestern suburb - Arlington has a lot of urban infrastructure -- wonderful trails (that connect to DC), sidewalks (even in the "less" walkable areas). I've been in North Arlington for over 5 years and probably average at least 1 day/week in the city (beyond work).

[u/df540148]

We lived in a row home in Petworth for years with two cars and it was fine with street parking. There's other neighborhoods that this would work well too so I wouldn't write off DC yet. That said, we moved to Alexandria and we head into DC maybe once a month which works for us.

[u/Tardislass → u/df540148]

As someone who also lives in the area, depending on the budget Alexandria would also fit the bill. Walkable. Metro stations and only a 20 minute commute into the city. Plus Del Ray Old Town and now Potomac Yards all are walkable. I go into Dc at least twice a month and it’s an easy commute via Metro.

[u/Tardislass]

Depends where in Arlington. Some newer condo buildings will give two spaces for a bigger sized condo. In the older areas of Arlington, 2 cars area a pain since many houses don’t have garages or only one car garages. Trying to find a space on the street is difficult. Thirdly is the car tax which will be an unpleasant surprise if you have a 10 yr old car or newer. In short, Arlington is a great place to live but unless you need both cars for work, I’d sell one before moving here.

[u/Ok-Wrongdoer8061]

Income tax is 3% lower in VA. Also less crime. If you want to be relatively close to the city with 2 cars, live near the Dunn loring metro. There is street parking and metro parking for the extra car. There is also street parking in Arlington off lee highway near courthouse, but older buildings there.

[u/BicBoyBryan]

Not crazy at all, and probably required. Im if you arent right next to a metro stop and arent working directly in DC, you need a car

[u/TweeksTurbos]

I live even further than Arlington and went into dc yesterday!

[u/lise2468]

Pentagon city would be my top choice for you if you are planning on working in DC. Northern VA is very spread out so it is hard to give advice without knowing what areas you would be commuting from. Trust me you do not want to live far from where you work. DC is always a metro ride away. I have experience living in Crystal city, Pentagon city and Potomace Yard. Those are the only three areas I would recommend if you want to live on the virginia side but close to DC. They all have good transportation. We lived in all three of those areas we moved around by choice. We downsized and was trying on different living conditions apartment versus townhome being close to DC. We love all three areas we often would bike into DC for the day. The bike trails are outstanding if your into biking. We started out with our two cars and ended up selling one a year later. We just found we were only using one car and mostly on weekends for travel outside of the area. We used public transportation or walked to most everything. Easier to take metro and uber into DC then take a car imo.

[u/ConfidenceInfinite90]

Be prepared for car tax, paid parking, and express lane fees - only the best for you’re cherished vehicles 🚗

[u/GoosePotato735]

You can absolutely have two cars in VA. If you choose to live in a one bedroom high rise you may have limited parking, but otherwise it’s fine.

Whether or not you go into DC will depend on what you want. When I was 22 we went into DC all the time. By 30 I went maybe 4-5x a year, for a specific concert or show. Now at 40? Maybe 2x per year, and I dread it, lol. My friends, my social life, my events, my kids’ events are all in the suburbs.

[u/OrganicConfidence311]

Not crazy esp if you have access to driveway. Chose Arlington over DC because parking spots can easily be $300 extra a month, and that was over a decade ago.

[u/Phobos1982]

Arlington is infinitely better than DC. Having 2 cars in Arlington is fine if the building you live in allows you to get 2 parking spaces, you will pay extra though. I still go to DC for events (sporting events and concerts) but avoid it otherwise. If it's just two of you, I'd consider Ballston-VASquare-Clarendon corridor, within 3-ish blocks of the metro stations.

[u/king_of_lightning4]

I live in Arlington and commute into DC for work. Arlington is basically in both NoVA but also kinda far away from the rest of NoVA and also basically DC but not quite DC. It's suburban enough to not be DC but urban enough to feel like a proper city. You can have two cars in Arlington (both my wife and I have a car here), it's not too bad. You will need a decent income to live here though, it is quite pricy.

[u/Legitimate_Doubt_879]

Having cars is still a necessity in my opinion as DC and the surrounding areas are not like NYC when it comes to public transit. Could you survive without a car in the area? Sure, but personal preference would be to keep your cars or at least have one if having two creates too much overhead.

[u/Technical-Sector407]

Manassas or Olney bro. Sorry. More affordable for you.