Really depends on your spending habits. I made less than 45 when I moved here, paid $1400 in rent for a one bedroom, cooked most of my meals, and was quite happy. For fun, I mostly enjoyed my own hobbies like biking and woodworking, etc, which can all be done on the cheap if you are dedicated.

Definitely not a pipe dream if you prioritize walkability and access to interesting things to do over lots of living space and eating out/going out a ton.

What kinda mustard we talm bout?

You can do it on 50 but depending on your other expenses (car payment/insurance,etc) you’ll likely have to do a two bedroom with a roommate. No shame in that game! It’ll be a little tight but you’ll still be able to have fun.

I've budgeted an annual income of 300K to be comfortable in Arlington.

I was paying $1800 pre-Covid all utilities included except internet. It’ll be tight but doable if you can budget and stick to it

Alexandria is just Arlington with a slightly longer metro ride, less walkability, and fewer office buildings. It’s slightly more affordable

I moved here on 62500 and had enough leftover each month for fun. Make a budget and overestimate to see if you can do it. Lived solo btw

It all depends on your rent and how many bills you currently have. It is doable in the short term if you're considering doing it as a stepping stone to more money longer term, but you won't have a lot of fun

Maybe in some parts of south Arlington and/or if you are willing to have roommates.

May want to look into Annandale or Springfield.

Mind roommates? Cos that’s the only way 50k will work anywhere near the Beltway.

That’s a tight budget for arlington IMO

The biggest factor is whether you are ok with living with roommates. If you are, you should be fine. If not, it's going to be tough.

Do you have a car or need to be near public transit? Costs definitely go down if you are out of the metro corridor in Virginia. Also parts of DC are cheaper and roommates are an option.

60K won't be a happy life in Arlington.

Yep. I made around 60k back in 2011 or so and lived in a cheap apartment. I was doing OK while putting some money away in a 401k, but it wasn't amazing. I also had no major debt, which made things easier. But, 12 years later on that salary, that's going to be rough unless you live with multiple roommates or can find a cheap place to live.

You're going to be spending like 50% of your take home pay on a non-great apartment ($1700-$1800 rent) at that income. It's doable, but it's going to be tough to get ahead and save unless you have really low expenses.

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I moved to Arlington in my early 20’s while single and two decades later I’m now married raising my kids here. Living here is a privilege in so many ways and while it’s easy to get cynical we really do have access to the best of nearly everything.

From South Arlington you’re a short metro, bike, or car ride away from walking the monuments or world class museums. The parks in Arlington are well maintained and there are a surprising number of long walks through forested valleys. With a car, the Virginia countryside is breathtaking and within an hour’s drive. Shenandoah National Park is about an hours drive and tens of thousands of acres of national forest are accessible within two hours. There are a number of weekly farmers’ markets throughout the county - some year round.

I’m no longer a single 20-something, but what I most love about this area is the number of fascinating people with varied backgrounds and interests that congregate here. A lot of smart, down-to-earth people congregate here and a lot of creative people. A lot of people come here because they want to make the world a better place.

We do have a high cost of living, but not so high that a single person cannot make ends meet on a six-figure salary. I would avoid long commutes by car. Traffic is an issue if you live further out but is much less of a problem if you live in Arlington or Falls Church.

Europe is a big place. It is filled with some amazing cultures and cities and people. Depending on the specifics of where you’d be and the opportunities in the area it could be a tough decision.

Within the Ballston-to-Rosslyn corridor, you will not need a car. If you expect to be traveling by air or train (either for business or pleasure) the Metro now connects to both major airports and the main intercity train station. So connectivity is actually pretty good--it's hilariously easier to get to, say, Paris from Arlington than it is to get to Leesburg.

The problem is that public transport quality decays VERY quickly as you get away from that Ballston to Rosslyn corridor. Buses on some of the suburban routes are scheduled for every 30 minutes--and cannot be relied upon to arrive at any given stop on time. If your bus journey requires a transfer, you can just forget about it--you're not going to get where you're going in anything like a reasonable time period.

Along the Ballston-to-Rosslyn corridor, especially moving east/west, there are multiple overlapping bus lines that add up to pretty good frequency. Of course there is also the Metro, which runs underground in this stretch. Headways/frequencies are down from where they used to be, but they're at about every six minutes during the morning and afternoon rush and every 12 minutes or so off-peak. That's acceptable as far as public transport. On the extremely rare occasions where the region gets crippling snow (more than a foot of snow), the Metro will sometimes restrict its operations to only the underground lines, and all of the Arlington stations remain operational.

A lot of the corridor is easily walkable/cyclable too. I live nearest to Courthouse Metro; but I routinely walk down to Rosslyn or up to Clarendon to run errands or just hang out. If I'm feeling lazy and I happen to catch it, I'll grab the 38B bus or the ART 55.

Transport north or south of the main Fairfax Drive/Wilson Blvd/Clarendon Blvd. corridor gets a little less good. Metro's Blue Line runs south to Pentagon and down towards Alexandria. I haven't really tried the north/south bus lines in the area, so I'll defer to folks with more familiarity, especially along Glebe Road (which will connect Ballston Metro to points South).

I have a car here in Courthouse. It is very much a nice-to-have, but not a must-have; I could do without it if I really had to. So my total miles driven per year is really really low.

Even though the salaries are lower so is the cost of living, but the quality of life is higher (depends on where in Europe but almost always true).

My best friend lives in London and I literally earn 90% more than she does but our quality of life is the same. I know how much she spends for things and we think in terms of purchasing power we make about the same.

For example, when I lived in Madrid in 2015 my salary was 1,350 a month and locals thought it was really good even though it sounded like peanuts in American terms. My rent was 350, my groceries were like 100, cell phone was only 20. I had plenty of left over money a month and traveled internationally at least once a month. I never had healthcare costs because I had Spanish insurance. There is way more sane work/life balance, they have vacation/sick leave and just in general more workers rights. The food systems there are wayyy better and I always unintentionally lose weight while abroad. Our food is full of junk.

The place where it will ding you is if you plan to retire to the US then you won't be contributing as much to a 401k so you'd need to figure out what you need to save for retirement to stay on track.

I would have lived there forever if I could but it's super hard to get a permanent visa over there! Living abroad will really open your mind, let you meet types of people you've never met, and help you really grow as a person. It's truly an adventure and makes life so much richer to live abroad for a bit. I would do it in a heart beat if I were you! I plan to move abroad again the second I get another chance.

Depending on where you live in Arlington, a car can be it's own hassle. I would think coming without a car and getting one if you find getting to the outdoors too difficult without and you have a plan on where to park.

First of all, congrats on the offer! I used to live in Arlington a year ago, and I loved it. Just driving down the highway with the DC skyline and the monuments, it feels like history of right in your back yard!

Thank you! This was a really nice post :)

1. which places? I am making a list of all the trails to explore when I get there
2. This is very kind! I am a girl and will definitely pm you if I accept the arlington offer
3. I'm glad it's not super confrontational ... my perception of American politics is that the different sides REALLY dislike each other and are always fighting ... would make for an unpleasant environment with them both squished together in DC hahaha

The Europe job is in the same industry, so I could theoretically transition back to the States. But the Arlington offer I have now is pretty good for a new grad so I am hesitant to give it up if my plan is not to stay in Europe long term. A bird in the hand and all that ...

Good advice :) ... thank you for the trail reccs!

> but I’m mid-thirties, married, and have a good group of local friends.

hahahha i am jealous of you :,,,)

I don't even have a driver's license right now so your advice on public transport is very helpful!!

Overall this was a really kind and helpful reply. I am a woman also and if I accept the Arlington offer I will totally dm you about the book club :).