Been in Crystal City since 1995 and love the area. Almost moved to Reston (Fairfax) during the dot com boom but am so glad I didn't....traffic would have sucked and property taxes out there were out of control. I have a 2BR condo in Arlington with a drop-dead gorgeous view of the DC skyline and National airport, and it's the best damn investment I ever made. That said, this is one of the nicer metro areas you can find, if you can deal with the traffic. I do end up timing drives to my various doctors and clients to hit the Beltway during off-peak hours, and I-66 when it's non-HOV.
I love that store, I used to work right by the one in Fairfax, man I miss having it for a lunch option. The only other one that I know of is in Reston. I agree with the other posters that old town Alexandria is a very nice place. It is self-contained and has a pretty cool historic feel with a lot of things to do. I wish I got down there more often but it's kind of far from where I live. You can always find things to do in downtown DC, I especially like the festivals and events on the mall in the summertime like the Smithsonian folk life festival. It's also fun to do some tourist watching down there. The chinatown area has been really booming the past couple of years and is quickly becoming one of the top nightlife destinations. I can't wait for the spring weather to arrive it and fall are the two best seasons in DC in my opinion, the winters can be pretty dreary (like this weekend's weather).
I live in Sterling/Potomac Falls/VA where there are a ton of IT and gov't contracting jobs. Dulles World Trade Center is planned to be built shortly (www.oneloudoun.com) where financial jobs could start coming in. DC area is one of the best places in the country for careers. Key stats are Fredrick County MD has the highest college degree/per capita in the country. Ashburn's 20148 zip code is the highest median income in the country. I've lived in NoVA for 20 years and it's amazing how much has been built here. Too lazy to find the link but the DC area's economy is actually expected to grow for the next few years. Only real downsides are traffic, corporate rat race everyday, and type A personalities are all over here. I'm still in career mode so I'm here until I can retire. Not many places with as much opportunity as there is here. Hell even Trump bought my neighborhood's country club last month for his exclusive DC/golf resort.
Truthfully, the traffic all depends on your travel area. I live in Fairfax (in the Herndon/Chantilly area) and I also work in Fairfax (in the Fair Lakes area). I RARELY hit traffic, even on the weekends. Usually, I hit traffic if I decide to go into DC on 66 on the weekend. I used to live in Fredericksburg and the traffic there was much worse. It all depends on where and when you go. There is a Wegmans, Whole Foods and Harris Teeter all within 3 miles of where I live and work. Ci-Ci
They want me to work many hours per week, and extensive travel is required. If I were overseas, as in Shanghai or Seoul, two of their still viable markets, I'd be possibly working in excess of 70 or 80 hours per week, with an unknown quantity as to the staff I'd be assigned. This is the first time I've entertained working for an entity not controlled by a non-family member. Thus far, it's not quite appealing in terms of quality of life, or the extensive travel that would be required.
I have lived in Gaithersburg my whole life, so I donât know much else. I guess itâs ok. The traffic isnât really that bad, although up until recently, I rarely travelled more than 5 miles from my house. Itâs more about what could happen. You never know when an accident is going to shut down the beltway. But pretty much if youâre not going on the beltway or I-66, you should be fine. Actually driving in DC isnât too bad either as far as city driving. I suppose you already have a job if you come here, so you donât need to know how the job market is here. I didnât go to public high school, but I hear Montgomery and Fairfax Counties are pretty good. Iâm not much of a restaurant guy, all of the national chains suit me just fine. One good thing that I have thought about if I ever move somewhere else are the concerts. You are pretty much guaranteed that all of the concert tours will stop by the DC/Baltimore area. Just went to one last week. Hope this helps. I guess I would say just to stay away from Baltimore city. That place is completely worthless in my opinion, save the few concerts that go there. Everytime I drive through the Columbia/Clarksville area, it looks really nice. Real estate might still be cheap there.