Hello Guys (and Gals),

I recently was offered a job located in Fairfax County, VA and am trying to get some general information about the area before I make any final decision.

I'm headed up next weekend to check things out but I thought if any of you had lived in that area before maybe you could offer some general pointers in regard to housing, transportation, where to live, etc.

Your help will be very much apprecaited.

Thanks in advance,

High Tyde

Well Fairfax County is the burbs -- and it's a very large area. Most of my coworkers live out there and commute in. But I think most people who live there also work there. It encompasses Tysons Corner (the main shopping and office area), the Dulles Corridor (lots of hi-tech companies and defense contractors in Reston, Herndon), Fairfax City itself (the county government and George Mason U.) and stretches over to Mount Vernon along the Potomac. Tysons is the largest single concentration of retail (department stores, malls, big boxes etc) between Manhattan and Atlanta.

And it's a pretty diverse area. Annandale is "Little Korea" -- Little River Turnpike has great Korean restaurants. The Seven Corners area is the same with Vietnamese. Hispanic population scattered throughout.

Transportation: You will need a car. The Metro system goes out to Vienna and also down to Springfield in southern Fairfax, but all those lead into DC.

Housing: Take your pick: There are tons of townhouse communities, normal cul de sac type single family homes, plus, near the metro stops, apartment / condo buildings.

A good friend used to live in the District and drive out to Tysons to work everyday. Took about 1/2 hour in the reverse commute.

Sorry -- but I know nothing about GLB life out there.

I don't know about local scene, but if it's not very active he just needs to take the metro up to Dupont. Also, there are a ton of gay sports teams in the D.C. area that you can find online.

To decide which area(s) of the DC metro area you wish to consider living in, you must consider things such as the following:

1. Do you need a short commute, or can you live with a long commute? If you want a commute less than 30 minutes I suggest looking in a 5-10 mile radius of the job.
2. What are your transportation needs? Do you have a car? Do you want to use public transportation?
3. What type of housing are you interested in? Detached single family home, townhome, condo?
4. What type of lifestyle do you want? Rural, suburban, urban? Does it matter to you about living in an area with a concentration of gays?

If you are visiting the area to determine if you want to accept the job, perhaps the company can have a relocation specialist help you view the area.

Living/working in Fairfax can be like living/working in Westchester - you're near the city, but it's hard to get to, and the city is really where the GLBT action is - Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, the Shaw neighborhood and Capitol Hill. There are a couple of gay bars in the closer-in suburbs, but I don't think there are any out in Fairfax.

If you are going to be out in the burbs, you definately will need a car, but you might want to consider reverse commuting, if you want to be close in. Although I personally would never live or work in VA (known as the "Hate State" to many of us in the area), but only for political reasons (and No. VA is the only really blue part of the state), I do know that people like living in Arlington, which is much closer to the city, and has good access to Metro (in case you want to party in the city and not risk a DUI - the Metro system is open until 3AM on Fri and Sat night, midnight otherwise). The traffic in No. VA is pretty crazy, so a reverse commute might make sense, and invest in a good map (ADC has good local DC-area maps). Driving in both VA and DC - and Maryland for that matter - can be really confusing. Both Arlington and DC claim to have a grid system, for instance, but DC's numbered streets go North-South, in Arlington they go East-West - and that is just the beginning of the confusion. Once you are used to it, though, and find your way around, it isn't horrible.

As for housing, the market here has cooled, but both the rental and purchase markets are still very expensive. The house I bought in an "up-and-coming"neighborhood in 2003 has risen at least 30% in value in 3 1/2 years. VA has a lot of townhouse and condo communities, as noted above, so there are a lot of options. If you are thinking of buying, I can refer you to my agent, she was great to work with and very gay-friendly (she advertises heavily in the local gay rag - the Blade) - PM me if you want the contact info.

As for Hate State, I'm with you on that, but then he's coming from Alabama. No disrespect, but I kinda doubt that it would be any worse in NOVA -- and being the blue-est part of the Commonwealth, might even be an improvement.

If you ask me, the bigger reason not to live in NOVA (after the anti-gay politics of the Commonwealth) is the traffic. Utterly horrendous. Both in volume and in kind. If one could live in DC and metro to work in Fairfax, that might make it manageable, but short of that, coping with the cars -- and their drivers -- can be crazy-making.

Good luck to you, Tyde.

I agree with what you said.

I lived in the DC area for 3 years before moving up to the NYC area. I lived in both Arlington and Alexandra. Arlington is nice, and proximity to DC can't be beat. Alexandria is a little further away, but still a relatively quick trip to DC, and it would make your reverse commute to Fairfax a little easier. Of the two, I liked Alexandria more. However, when I worked in DC, the commute on the metro from Arlington was so quick, it was worth moving closer to the city for that. Even though I lived in Arlington, I never really hung up or did much there. I spent all of my time when I wasn't at home in DC or Alexandria (with the occassional trip to Great Falls, Baltimore, Rehobeth, Annapolis).

If you want the gay scene, you'll have to go to DC. For other nightlife, you're looking primarily at Arlington and Alexandria (with a little in Fairfax, as I recall, at the Town Center).

You'll probably want a car if you're working in Fairfax, though if you're located on a bus route or if you're lucky enough to be at a Metro stop, you can do without. But don't bother driving in DC... the Metro will take you most places you would want to go (Georgetown and Adams Morgan not withstanding). The Metro is great... one of the best systems in the world. I've ridden the subways in NYC, DC, Atlanta, Boston, Philadephia, Chicago, San Francisco, London, Paris... and while they all have their pluses and minuses, the DC Metro (and San Fran) are the two systems I ENJOY riding the most.

I really like the DC area, and sometimes I think I should move back... but NYC always has a pull on me that so far has kept me here. Have fun, and get out and see and do things. Too many people who live there don't take advantage of all there is to do in DC. Great museums, great performing arts venues, very good jazz club, better than average theater scene, the climate is conducive to lots of outdoor activities for a good part of the year. You're not far from camping in the mountains or on the shore (if you're into that), and the cities I mentioned above are great day trips. You're also close enough to hit Philly and NYC for the weekend.

That's a big place. Where in Fairfax County?

If you do end up in northern Virginia, you should know that most cars have to pass an emissions test before you can register them.

DMV: New To Virginia?



The emissions test can turn into a bottomless pit into which you throw your money.

Ahh...did your online advertisement reap results?

It did, actually. :-) NPR and The Early Show picking it up didn't hurt matters. I'm incredibly impressed that you even remembered it - that is appreciated.

Thank you all SO much for all of the help. The advice that I've gotten here has been the most useful out of any and I really and truly do appreciate you each taking the time to respond to a total stranger.

I hope to know a lot more after my visit this weekend...I'm sure I'll come back with more questions and your guidance and advice will once again be called on.

Again, thanks so much for all of the help.