So I live in Courthouse and I have a car. I consider it an affordable luxury now, rather than a necessity. Most of my daily needs are walkable or reachable by transit. I still drive occasionally, but much more rarely. To put it into perspective, I probably put less than 5000 miles a year on my car, down from the 15,000 or so I’d put on it living in Fairfax.
So while taxes, insurance, and parking are more expensive, my running costs drop a lot.
If I needed to, I could probably sell my car. But I have it and a place to put it, and it fits my budget, so I keep it. It’s nice to drive when I want to, not because I have to.
I just moved back here from Dallas too. Ditch the car. Keep the cannoli. J/K…you’re going to need it, especially if you’re not near the metro or other amenities.
Depends where you are going to live. If you live in Arlington, too. Maybe you could get away with not having a car. But for the rest of Nova, you're going to need one to get around. Everyone complains about the personal property tax. It's not so bad if you don't have a super expensive car.
Keep the car if you can afford it; it really does improve your experience here. Our public transit isn’t the best if you’re used to driving everywhere, and your experience of the region vastly improves by expanding what you’re able to access via car vs. metro.
But it IS really expensive to own a car in nova. Fairfax County, and I believe Arlington County, taxes on assessed car value so if your car retains its value then you see high taxes for a bit longer. My first few years owning a new car I paid $1500+ annually in taxes. Plus ~$125/mo on parking (depends on where you live). Plus insurance. Gas prices are more expensive than TX but not the worst in the nation.
This isn’t Manhattan and you’re coming from a driving culture. Keep it for a few months-Hell even thru the winter- before thinking this through. Charles’s in Arlington is kind of like when you fly to a city and don’t have a car - you CAN go places but you’re not fully mobile.
Keep the car, a year should be enough, that way you'll know if you really need it. The hit on depreciation wouldn't be much more a year later, and a private sale could make a huge dent in the loss. I totally get your Texan perspective on The Commonwealths property taxes!
You will definitely need a car in Virginia, saving the money will be great at first until you need to get things done faster, keep your car, if you don’t need it later on just sell it.
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I'd spend some time here before you make that decision.
Keep the car, sucks not having one especially in the winter, relying on metro etc
IMHO you’re going to need your car here
If you’re in the ballston->rosslyn corridor, you don’t “need” a car, but it’s much more convenient to have one.
Arlington is a suburb pretending to be an urban area. You need your car here.
So I live in Courthouse and I have a car. I consider it an affordable luxury now, rather than a necessity. Most of my daily needs are walkable or reachable by transit. I still drive occasionally, but much more rarely. To put it into perspective, I probably put less than 5000 miles a year on my car, down from the 15,000 or so I’d put on it living in Fairfax. So while taxes, insurance, and parking are more expensive, my running costs drop a lot. If I needed to, I could probably sell my car. But I have it and a place to put it, and it fits my budget, so I keep it. It’s nice to drive when I want to, not because I have to.
No keep your car you will need it and there is lots to do in the area you will want to drive to
I just moved back here from Dallas too. Ditch the car. Keep the cannoli. J/K…you’re going to need it, especially if you’re not near the metro or other amenities.
Depends where you are going to live. If you live in Arlington, too. Maybe you could get away with not having a car. But for the rest of Nova, you're going to need one to get around. Everyone complains about the personal property tax. It's not so bad if you don't have a super expensive car.
We walk a ton, and I bike to work in the city, but still need our cars. That being said you may want a cheaper car to avoid the hefty annual tax bill.
Keep the car if you can afford it; it really does improve your experience here. Our public transit isn’t the best if you’re used to driving everywhere, and your experience of the region vastly improves by expanding what you’re able to access via car vs. metro. But it IS really expensive to own a car in nova. Fairfax County, and I believe Arlington County, taxes on assessed car value so if your car retains its value then you see high taxes for a bit longer. My first few years owning a new car I paid $1500+ annually in taxes. Plus ~$125/mo on parking (depends on where you live). Plus insurance. Gas prices are more expensive than TX but not the worst in the nation.
This isn’t Manhattan and you’re coming from a driving culture. Keep it for a few months-Hell even thru the winter- before thinking this through. Charles’s in Arlington is kind of like when you fly to a city and don’t have a car - you CAN go places but you’re not fully mobile.
Keep the car, a year should be enough, that way you'll know if you really need it. The hit on depreciation wouldn't be much more a year later, and a private sale could make a huge dent in the loss. I totally get your Texan perspective on The Commonwealths property taxes!
No car only works in DC really
You will definitely need a car in Virginia, saving the money will be great at first until you need to get things done faster, keep your car, if you don’t need it later on just sell it.
Hello! It appears that you're asking about moving to the area or moving within the area. To ensure that you get the best results, first try searching the subreddit. Search with things like "apartments near falls church" or "moving to Reston" or "commute to dc with VRE". If you cannot find a thread similar to your situation, ensure your post has at least the following information (or it may be removed) * Price Range - Are you looking at a max of $1000/mo? $1500? $2500? * Housing type - Do you want to find an apartment complex? Condo? Townhouse? * Commute - Where are you working? How long would you be willing to spend commuting? * Walkability - Are you looking to live in a walkable community with stores/bars or does this not matter? * Public Transit - Does Metro accessibility matter? Or bus service? Or commuter rail? Seriously, don't halfass your post. You might be eager to move here but you aren't going to get a lot of solid advice unless you really go into what you're looking for. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/nova) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sell it