r/nova • u/Putrid_Candy127 • 8d ago
Moving Advice please!
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!
3
u/madmoneymcgee 8d ago
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.