Offered a job in Herndon, VA. Where? School me...UPDATE 1st Post: I took the position. Now what....

[xPowdrdToastMan]

I work for Time Warner Cable and was offered a position down in the Headquarters. Havent accepted it yet since I know nothing about the area.

The only thing I know about Herndon is that its about 30 minutes outside of DC. I'm coming from Buffalo, NY so it's not like I'll be leaving a NYClife.

Looking at Craigslist, it looks like Apartments are pretty steep. I'm seeing around $1,000 for a 1 bed.

So my question to you locals to the area are the following

• Cost of living (Rent & Utilities)
• Commute: Is it pretty easy to get from place to place? Are areas centralized so that I dont have to drive really far to get to a destination?
• Daily Activities: Coming from Buffalo, there is really nothing to do during the day around here. Our attraction is the night life which consists of 3 blocks of clubs..thats it.
• Night Life: I really dont go out, but its cool to know that if I wanted to theres plenty of spots or just a main spot
• The Authorities:
  
  How are they? Do they hassle people for little stuff? Alot of profiling going on?
• Community: Is there alot of segregation of race? In Buffalo there are definitely 4 corners to the city with each having it's own dominate ethnic group. I'm comfortable being around everyone, but I want to know if areas over there aren't. I'm Hispanic.
• Ladies: Every place has them, its just a matter of finding them. How hard of a search is it to find the dimes of the area?

Any help is appreciated. No smart person wants to know just the Good of an area. So please make sure you throw out not only Pros but Cons.

Thanks NT..


EDIT: So after a few months of back and forth, I settled on taking the position. I will be heading down to take a Salary position for 60K, with a 5K signingbonus. Should be enough to get going.

Some challenges Im facing..I have to get down their in 3 weeks

Luckily, one of my co-workers here in Buffalo, also accepted a position in Herndon, so we will be rooming together. That should alleviate some of the problemswith cost of living.

We decided we're gonna live right in Herndon. I took what you guys said in regards to traffic into consideration and decided I didnt need the headache.Shopping should be cool, seems like everything is less than 20min away.

So with that said..now we actually need to find an Apartment, in 3 weeks. Craigslist seems to have nice spots, but if anyone knows anything else I may be ableto look @, that would be appreciated.

 

[im not you]

Northern Virginia is one of the most affluent areas in the entire country. Cost of living is definitely up there.

Commute wise I don't know where'd you'd be traveling to so I can't really answer that. Traffic in the DC Metro Area is one of the worstthough...

DC Nightlife will keep you entertained.

Expect VA police to bother you every chance you get.

You're going to find that Herndon and it's surrounding areas are pretty much populated by White/Hispanics.

NOVA girls are pretty decent. This area in general has a good quality of women.

 

[doublejs07]

Looking at Craigslist, it looks like Apartments are pretty steep. I'm seeing around $1,000 for a 1 bed.


Not to burst your bubble, but $1,000 for a 1 bedroom apt is a bargain for NoVA....

 

[gmills23]

Might want to check out places on the other side of 66 to live, like Fairfax or Annandale. I know someone who found an affordable spot in that area.

 

[neukicks]

Originally Posted by RickyBattalion

I work for Time Warner Cable and was offered a position down in the Headquarters. Havent accepted it yet since I know nothing about the area.

The only thing I know about Herndon is that its about 30 minutes outside of DC. I'm coming from Buffalo, NY so it's not like I'll be leaving a NYC life.

Looking at Craigslist, it looks like Apartments are pretty steep. I'm seeing around $1,000 for a 1 bed.

So my question to you locals to the area are the following

• Cost of living (Rent & Utilities) - super expensive, everything is.
• Commute: Is it pretty easy to get from place to place? Are areas centralized so that I dont have to drive really far to get to a destination? - yes, there are several different places that are easily accessible.
• Daily Activities: Coming from Buffalo, there is really nothing to do during the day around here. Our attraction is the night life which consists of 3 blocks of clubs..thats it. - gotta find something to do for yourself, lots to do, just gotta find it.
• Night Life: I really dont go out, but its cool to know that if I wanted to theres plenty of spots or just a main spot - there is N-O-T-H-I-N-G to do in herndon, there is reston town center which has like 20 bars, fairfax town center also has some decent places.
• The Authorities:
  
  How are they? Do they hassle people for little stuff? Alot of profiling going on? - Herndon is the ONLY town in the state of VA with its OWN police force, not to mention they are backed by the county, they are good people, be honest, they will be real with you. #@@* around, and they make your life a living hell.
• Community: Is there alot of segregation of race? In Buffalo there are definitely 4 corners to the city with each having it's own dominate ethnic group. I'm comfortable being around everyone, but I want to know if areas over there aren't. I'm Hispanic. - no. blacks, whites, hispanics, they all pretty much live together, now there is a certain area where the majority of the hispanics are, but they are the "day laborers"
• Ladies: Every place has them, its just a matter of finding them. How hard of a search is it to find the dimes of the area? - not to hard, go out to reston or fairfax, put some work in and you should be fine

Any help is appreciated. No smart person wants to know just the Good of an area. So please make sure you throw out not only Pros but Cons.

Thanks NT..

see my comments above in red EDIT: DC is also VERY close, so its always fun to go there. what will you be doing for TW?

 

[datdudefromva]

Originally Posted by DoubleJs07

Looking at Craigslist, it looks like Apartments are pretty steep. I'm seeing around $1,000 for a 1 bed.

Not to burst your bubble, but $1,000 for a 1 bedroom apt is a bargain for NoVA....

$1,000 is a great deal.. im paying out the @ss for my one bedroom.. but i have a one bedroom + loft...

 

[xPowdrdToastMan]

Originally Posted by neukicks

see my comments above in red EDIT: DC is also VERY close, so its always fun to go there. what will you be doing for TW?

Thanks for the response's. I'll be the Lead Resolution Specialist for National Account Tech Support. Still on the fence about it. Mightjust take a weekend and roam around there to get a feel for the city.

 

[xPowdrdToastMan]

Originally Posted by DATDUDEFROMVA

Originally Posted by DoubleJs07

Looking at Craigslist, it looks like Apartments are pretty steep. I'm seeing around $1,000 for a 1 bed.

Not to burst your bubble, but $1,000 for a 1 bedroom apt is a bargain for NoVA....

$1,000 is a great deal.. im paying out the @ss for my one bedroom.. but i have a one bedroom + loft...


That's the type of the Apt. I want to get into. I live in a Loft now..

 

[the badgeman]

Driving around for a weekend is a good idea to get a feel for everything but something you need to take heed to is that morning rush hour traffic in NorthernVirginia SUCKS. So if you're just getting an apartment I would strongly suggest trying to find something within 5 miles of where you work so that your dayto day commute doesn't have you wanting to kill someone by the time you get to work. You may look at a map and see that 15 miles south down Rt 28 inManassas may offer you cheaper rent but trust me DON'T DO IT, 15 miles can be a friggin eternity to get to work if the traffic is bad, bottom line try tofind something in Herndon or Reston.

 

[xPowdrdToastMan]

Bumpy Johnson

 

[that kid daniel]

If I were you i'd look for a place in Reston/Sterling/Chantilly. I use to live in Herndon & that town is trash.

 

[solewoman]

Lead Resolution Specialist for National Account Tech Support.

what the hell does that do?

 

[xPowdrdToastMan]

Originally Posted by SoleWoman

Lead Resolution Specialist for National Account Tech Support.

what the hell does that do?

Im the Lead Tech for Companies who have multiple business class sites across the country with TWC. Also handle all the Fiber Accounts for Business Class TWC.

 

[the badgeman]

See if someone in NoVA can get you an apartment guide and make a LOT of phone calls. I've been out of the loop but my guess is that finding vacanies for a2 bedroom won't be a problem, you can probably even find some that are willing to give you a months free rent or some other promotional deal. It'sgood that you have a roommate, that'll cut your costs by almost 40-50% since two bedroom spots usually aren't much more expensive than one. Sign a 6month lease and then you can get a feel for the area and get an idea of how stable your job is going to be, good luck!

 

[the badgeman]

Here's a few links that came up when I googled Northern Virginia apartments:

http://www.apartmentshowcase.com/

http://www.apartments.com.../VirginiaMetroDCVicinity

http://apartments.rentals.com/

 

[xPowdrdToastMan]

Originally Posted by The Badgeman

Here's a few links that came up when I googled Northern Virginia apartments:

http://www.apartmentshowcase.com/

http://www.apartments.com.../VirginiaMetroDCVicinity

http://apartments.rentals.com/

Thanks for this man