Tell me about Virginia?

[5pins]

My wife will receive her Masters in special education this summer and we more then likely have to move in order for her to find a teaching job. Virginia is one of the places she feels confident she can get a job. She is looking at Fairfax County. Apparently they have a big demand for teachers. They have magnet housing, with lower rent, as an incentive to move there.

On the other hand, I’m not so sure. It looks congested and expensive.

I have noticed that a lot of members here are from Virginia so I thought I would ask what people who live there have to say.

Should I consider moving to Virginia or not?

[Buck]

All kinds of fun to be had there... Do you know how to make a bowtie???

Attachment 4865

[OPPFOR]

You will be coming to a different world my friend. There is a tax for everything in the Commonwealth. Good gun laws though. Northern VA is night and day from the rest of the state. This is where all the government, military and civilian contractors live and they all work in or close to D.C..

Northern Virginia is congested. The suburbs in Prince William, Fairfax, and Loudon Counties are where everyone commutes back and fourth to. Driving M-F from 6-9 and from 16-18:00 really sucks. Property values have taken a hit but are still ridiculously high. Highway construction is always 5-10 years behind population growth. They've been working on widening a part of 66 close to me for 3 years now. But we sure seem to have more than enough fast food restaurants.

On a brighter note, there are some good public school programs out here and from what I hear the private schools are outstanding and there are plenty of them.

[bruce_hxc]

Can't say much about NoVa, but I'm awfully fond of the Virginia Beach/Hampton Roads area.

[rifleman2000]

I wish we could build a wall around NoVa and fill it with water...

The rest of Virginia is great!

[dbrowne1]

Fairfax County is (or thinks it is) its own little fiefdom. It, and Northern VA in general, are nothing like the rest of the state. Traffic is awful there, among other problems.

Taxes here are no better or worse than elsewhere. 5% income tax (roughly), 5% sales tax, and a few localities have an additional restaurant tax.

Gun laws are very favorable. NFA is no problem, CCW is "shall issue" and there aren't too many restrictions on it aside from the usual ones (courthouses, schools).

[dbrowne1]

You will be coming to a different world my friend. There is a tax for everything in the Commonwealth.

Really? I grew up in Taxachusetts, and Virginia is actually slightly better. It has pretty much the same "types" of taxes but the rates are a bit lower. I guess it's relative to where you came from.

[vaglocker]

Take a good hard look at the Richmond Virginia area. I lived in Fairfax for more than 20 years. I made the move to Richmond about 10 years ago, and will never go back to NOVA. Hanover County (just north of the city) is very desirable as far as schools go. Hell of a lot cheaper to live than the northern part of the state, and the politics are better.

[OPPFOR]

Really? I grew up in Taxachusetts, and Virginia is actually slightly better. It has pretty much the same "types" of taxes but the rates are a bit lower. I guess it's relative to where you came from.

Yeah, when not traveling, a couple of guys I work with live in WA state. They're amazed at what we pay. I think I recall reading the OP is currently living there.

It would be nice to see if the OP could give us some kind of comparison as far as time spent in traffic and percentage of money going to taxes (income, property, sales, etc.).

I was just making a comparison between VA and WA.

[M4arc]

Fairfax Co. has the best school system in the nation and there is a lot to do up there. You're not far from the big city (DC), mountains or beaches. Housing is a little steep but it's come down over the past couple of years. There are a lot of employement opportunities, great gun laws, and despite what some people might think the taxes in VA aren't that bad.

I say do it. I live in Virginia Beach but spend 2-3 days a week in NOVA-DC and I love it up there. People that think the traffic sucks up there obviously haven't been stuck at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel before