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Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

Old Nov 5th 2018, 4:22 pm
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Default Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

We (myself, my wife and 2 young children) are moving to Fairfax, Va in January to work and are getting cold feet with the amount of unknowns. Finding a house in the first couple of weeks and my family settling in(making friends and activities for the children) as initially my wife will not be working are the main concerns. If anyone has any experience of moving to fairfax your input would be greatly appreciated.
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Old Nov 5th 2018, 6:55 pm
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

Originally Posted by Ks84
We (myself, my wife and 2 young children) are moving to Fairfax, Va in January to work and are getting cold feet with the amount of unknowns. Finding a house in the first couple of weeks and my family settling in(making friends and activities for the children) as initially my wife will not be working are the main concerns. If anyone has any experience of moving to fairfax your input would be greatly appreciated.
How are you moving ? If its via an L1 visa, one would hope that your employer has a relocation consultant working for you ? And if not, can you demand one ?

Steve
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Old Nov 6th 2018, 11:44 am
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

Have you been to the area on a reconnaissance run? i would never move blind.

Last edited by civilservant; Nov 6th 2018 at 12:26 pm.
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Old Nov 6th 2018, 12:05 pm
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

Originally Posted by Ks84
We (myself, my wife and 2 young children) are moving to Fairfax, Va in January to work and are getting cold feet with the amount of unknowns. Finding a house in the first couple of weeks and my family settling in(making friends and activities for the children) as initially my wife will not be working are the main concerns. If anyone has any experience of moving to fairfax your input would be greatly appreciated.
It's totally normal to get cold feet like this. Everyone deals with it differently, as everyone's decision to go will have been based on different things. I'm presuming as it is for work that you have some exciting opportunities that you wouldn't have had in the UK? My advice would be to not cut the cord with the UK entirely (eg if you own a place in the UK, rent it out rather than sell it) and view it as a family adventure. And if it doesn't work out, well you can return back to the UK with a bunch of experiences and memories you wouldn't have had - knowing that at least you had a go at life. Don't regret the opportunities you take in life, only the opportunities missed.

I lived further south in Virginia when I was there - you're going to a nice enough place. From a British perspective its effectively suburbs of DC, so you'll have access to everything you need, plus mountains and beaches in easy drives. There are also lots of folk here who have experiences of being trailing spouses and having to manage the household/kids/schools in an unfamiliar place, so if you/your wife have more specific questions I'm sure people here will be glad to help.
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Old Nov 6th 2018, 12:11 pm
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

You'll also be close to Dulles Airport (IAD) which is a fantastic gateway to the USA and back to Europe. Mrs Q and I use it as our most convenient international airport, from 100 and odd miles north in PA.
You WILL be daunted if you don't have a plan. You have two months.
Is this a short term move, a longterm move, or a permanent move ? Your needs will be different in each case.
How old are your children ? Again, their ages will affect your needs - for example, we narrowly avoided leaving one of ours behind to do his GCSEs - he made it out with us though in the end.

Most of us here have been through The Move, and all the emotions that went with it. Its not easy or simple for many of us.
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Old Nov 7th 2018, 2:14 pm
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

Ok, you need a plan.

First, you need one to two months in a corporate apartment. You should remove the pressure of "gotta find the best house possible in six days" from your list. Contact your firm and ask for 30 days in a corporate (i.e. furnished place) or if you are moving on your own dime consider looking at AirBnB places that will rent an entire furnished apartment on a weekly basis. Get your feet on the ground first.

You will need a car, especially in Fairfax. I'd look at a rental option for the first week or so (or even month) until you have an address, drivers license and insurance setup so you can finish the paperwork on buying a new or used car.

Have you sussed out what school you want for your kids? This will make a huge impact on where you live (down to which side of the street in some cases). This might be the kind of legwork you should be doing now.

A DC area messageboard (of stark raving looney parents sometimes) is http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/forums/list.page You can ask some questions about neighborhoods or schools and get a few good replies before it turns into a slaggingfest between uptight parents.

I think you'll come to find the DC area has a large number of international expats so you will find other people like yourself pretty quickly.
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Old Nov 7th 2018, 3:21 pm
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

Do you hope you are planning on renting instead of buying for the first year at least. My nephew and his family live in Fairfax, VA and my daughter use to. Nice area. They both are attorneys and work in DC proper. Good luck and check out the BE wiki for tips on settling in.
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Old Nov 9th 2018, 10:46 am
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Thank you for your reply. Yes we will have the first month in a hotel but I am trying to get that changed to an apartment, the thoughts of having 2 kids in a hotel for maybe a month is frightening. My firm will supply a car when we get over. The main worry we will have is trying to find a house in the month, and finding a house in a nice area with lots of things to do for the kids(1 & 3 yrs). Schooling isn't an issue at the minute for us. We were over there in August and from our investigations the majority of families lived in townhouses and we felt that this would not be an option for us. We are currently living in a house in London and would like to be in the same position in the Fairfax Area.

we plan on renting, we have highlighted some areas that we would like to live but would like the opinion of other people that have lived there.

We have the bones of a plan, accommodation for the first month is organized and a car. it is a matter of finding a nice house in a nice area in this month for my family, the kids are 1 & 3. We plan on renting, we have highlighted some areas that we would like to live but would like the opinion of other people that have lived there.

Last edited by christmasoompa; Nov 9th 2018 at 11:41 am. Reason: Posts merged - there is an edit button if you think of something you want to add just after posting.
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Old Nov 9th 2018, 12:36 pm
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

Start trawiling Trulia and the like as soon as you possibly can. There is lots of information about local facilities in there. Schools are thankfully not a major issue yet.
Find a realtor, who will help you (in a way that you won't have experienced in the UK) FIND a home to suit, personally drive you to viewings and negotiate the whole deal.
Find a relocation consultant (which many employers PROVIDE for their incoming British employees)

Don't be passive about this, take the fight to get what your family want to your employer. Tell them you need relocation help. Are there other company members from the UK there already ? Can you talk to them ? A problem shared is a problem halved. I think you'll have a great time over here. Imagine yourselves here and having that great time.

Last edited by steveq; Nov 9th 2018 at 12:40 pm.
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Old Nov 9th 2018, 1:10 pm
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

Zillow.com has rentals and you can look at them for a general idea (and Trulia, mentioned above). The rental market is rather fractured--the main advertisers and listers seem to be big apartment buildings and the kind of place you want, Single Family Home (SFH) is generally listed by owner and there isn't really one platform that dominates. Realtors don't generally bother with rental property as the fees are too small.

Could you narrow down some specifics for us? Do you know exactly where your office is? Fairfax County is 400 square miles which is about 2/3rds the size of London. Needless to say, working in Tysons and living in Old Town Alexandria (or vice versa) would be a bit difficult. If you have some neighborhoods / office locations in mind we could advise a bit on the commuting situation between the two and some of the other amenities.
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Old Nov 9th 2018, 2:07 pm
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

I would be working at the junction of the I66 and route 50. neighbourhoods we looked at were Vienna, south riding and around the olde town square
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Old Nov 9th 2018, 2:59 pm
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

Did you consider Oakton? I think it is highly regarded given the schools. Vienna is also considered desirable.

I would note that there is a dearth of public transit out there. You may need to budget for two cars if you are taking one to work so your spouse and kids will options while you are away.
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Old Nov 9th 2018, 5:53 pm
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

A lot of rentals on Zillow and elsewhere are longer term, with year rental minimums. If you want a short-term rental, we did well using Airbnb to find the place we're using right now in Alaska. Try there, vrbo.com and a few other sites.
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Old Nov 9th 2018, 10:30 pm
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

I can't offer any practical advice as I'm not familiar with the area you're moving, nor have I relocated with children in tow. But I just wanted to reassure you that what you're feeling is normal, expected, and is something you will overcome pretty quickly once you're here. It can be quite overwhelming trying to juggle all of those uncertainties. You will feel so much better once you're in the area and can take practical control of these issues. Keep your eyes on the prize, as they say. It helps!
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Old Nov 22nd 2018, 11:19 pm
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Default Re: Cold feet about moving to fairfax, Va

We lived in Burke, VA for 15 years before heading down south to Atlanta 2 years ago, I know that area well. There are plenty of nice areas within Fairfax County, schools are good (depends on area, wife was a teacher in the county too) and plenty of nice pre-schools etc. Traffic can suck and Rte 50 can be bad, and I-66 was to me, the Devils Own Highway, unpredictable. Burke is reasonable from that area and is family friendly and has plenty of Single Family Homes (Detached). Search zip code 22015 etc. IAD is a great airport to be near, and DCA (National) and BWI are OK too.

As already mentioned Oakton and Vienna are good too.

Sounds like you will be working near Fair Oaks.

Last edited by Voltore; Nov 22nd 2018 at 11:24 pm.
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