Two convertibles in what could very well be my new office garage in DC

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/06/2018 at 10:52 • Filed to: Interesting Cars At Work

I flew out to DC this week for a few job interviews. One of them was in Georgetown, where I parked in the building’s garage, and noticed some interesting cars. Those of you familiar with the area might be thinking commuting to Georgetown blows, but hark, I have news on that as well!

During my interview with this company, one of the people I met with was the CEO, and toward the end I casually asked how people tend to commute there. They mentioned that they provide free parking in the building’s garage to all employees . “It’s expensive, but we feel it’s worth it.”

Oh, and there was this Maserati in the garage too.

Now, why do I say this could very well be my new office? Because the company I interviewed with has already offered me the job. They’re ready and waiting for me to accept. Which I haven’t done yet for a couple reasons.

The other jobs in DC for which I interviewed haven’t gotten back to me with any answers yet. I don’t necessarily love those jobs and where they’re located (Tyson’s Corner, VA and Springfield, VA) but hey you never know, maybe they make some kind of attractive offer.

I’m in the running for a job here in Madison that I wasn’t expecting to be as good as it is. I wasn’t even really looking in Madison at all, we were all on board with moving to DC, but this thing came along and goddamn if it doesn’t have everything I could possibly want in a job. It might even pay more than the already-solid offer I have in Georgetown, and it’s a lot cheaper to live in Madison than DC (and its surroundings).

Now I have to keep the offer I have in Georgetown on the hook long enough to interview with the place here in Madison on Monday. If I don’t get the Madison job, then I’ll accept the offer in DC and move out there ASAP. If I do get the Madison job, that’s where shit gets complicated.

Both my wife and I felt like we were done with Madison. We live in our cheap little townhouse with thin walls and noisy kids on either side of us. Our lives are comfortable but kinda boring. Winter sucks. But one of the things we’ve both wanted for a long time is to buy a house.

To live in the DC suburbs but close enough in to the city to commute to Georgetown, renting a similar slightly larger townhouse to what we have in Madison is going to be 2.5x more expensive. We’ll be able to afford it, but buying a house in one of those close-in suburbs is kind of a stretch on what our income will be, even including my wife’s pay too. Maybe a townhouse with a garage at best. But if I got this job in Madison, shit, we could go buy a house right away.

Needless to say, while this is all a bit stressful, it’s also a pretty ok problem to have. There are no bad outcomes.

Here’s a bonus crazy Dodge Durango limo that I dangerously took a picture of on the beltway on my way from my parents’ house in Maryland down to National Airport (a.k.a. No I’m Not Calling It Motherfucking Reagan Airport).

DISCUSSION (10)

Noah - Now with more boost. > Textured Soy Protein
04/06/2018 at 10:54

> (Tyson’s Corner, VA and Springfield, VA)

I wouldn’t want to commute in VA with an out of state plate or license.

Textured Soy Protein > Noah - Now with more boost.
04/06/2018 at 10:57

People commute between MD, DC and VA all the time. If I worked in Tyson’s Corner I might consider living in MD because my family lives there, but Springfield I’d probably live in VA. Tyson’s is 13 miles from my parents in Rockville, MD, but with traffic that can take 45-60 minutes.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Textured Soy Protein
04/06/2018 at 11:08

I like Georgetown, I remember going to a bar there that had been open since 1780 or something.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Textured Soy Protein
04/06/2018 at 11:08

Well, good luck with the decision Soy! And keep it under 80 in VA haha. This sounds stressful but also very exciting.

Textured Soy Protein > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
04/06/2018 at 11:10

You’re probably thinking of 1789 .

Sovande > Textured Soy Protein
04/06/2018 at 11:21

Free parking would be amazing. I pay about $260 a month in DC. Where would you be looking to move? Arlington, Alexandria? Tysons is one of the places where, when I was job hunting, I wouldn’t even consider. It’s almost unreachable during the commuting hours unless you are willing to pay exorbitant fees to use the toll lanes. Even then, it’s a struggle.

I live in Alexandria and it’s not cheap, but the other conveniences make it worthwhile.

Textured Soy Protein > Sovande
04/06/2018 at 11:31

If I take the Georgetown job, there’s a townhouse in Potomac I looked at yesterday that we’d try to jump on. Walking distance to a shopping center with a Giant, Starbucks, etc, 10 min drive to Grosvenor metro for getting in to non-Georgetown parts of the city on weekends. There’s multiple routes to the office in Georgetown (Canal Rd, GW Pkwy, River Rd/Mass Ave). I’d rather live in MD than VA to be close to family. It’s a couple miles south of my parents in Rockville, my brother lives in NW DC and my grandma’s in a retirement community that’s a Silver Spring address but basically Calverton.

Sovande > Textured Soy Protein
04/06/2018 at 11:48

Potomac is that high rent district... Being a life long Virginian, all I know is that I am duty bound to feel that MD is the worst. I am obviously extremely biased, however, and have no actual data to back up this assertion. Rockville was another place I couldn’t have worked. That particular drive would have killed me. I actually turned down a position that would have paid me a good deal more than the position I took because it was there.

Good luck with whatever you decide, it’s a grind around here, but family and opportunities sure make it easy to justify.

Textured Soy Protein > Sovande
04/06/2018 at 11:58

At first when I told my wife (who is from WI but has lived all over) that some of the jobs in VA would be better to commute from VA than MD, she went, “Virginia? I thought we were going to live in Maryland! That’s a whole other state! I don’t know how to wrap my head around this.” Even when I told her it’s literally identical dense DC suburbia just on the other side of the river it took her a while to open up to the idea.

My parents are right on the border of Rockville and Potomac. They’re in the city limits of Rockville but have a Potomac zip code. At various times I made it from their house to Tyson’s in 27 minutes, and their house to Springfield in 45 minutes. But those were not rush hour times.

I’ve been struggling with what to do about this Madison opportunity. Personally I think DC is a gorgeous area with all the trees and parks and everything. Way more diversity, and opportunities to go to restaurants, plays, concerts, etc.

On Wednesday I had an interview in Springfield and then the one in Georgetown a few hours later, so I headed in to Georgetown for lunch where I got a vegan banh mi at a little Vietnamese place where at one point a couple guys came in and the girl behind the counter is like, “should I have a standing order from you two a couple times a week?” and one of these dudes was a black guy who sounded like Robin Leach. How cool is that?

That’s definitely not an experience I would be having in Madison.

Traffic sucks, and literally every single person I talked to there brought it up. But I drove up and down along the river a couple times while I was out there and I felt like, “man, do I really want to stay in Madison?”

If it were any other job in Madison it would be a total no-brainer to go to DC even with the negatives, but this one job, of all jobs, is worth considering.

Sovande > Textured Soy Protein
04/06/2018 at 13:18

I like it here. There is something unique about driving in to the city and seeing the capitol and monuments that you don’t get anywhere else. The Potomac is a great river too. Just rated a B on the cleanliness scale, which is a big deal. I have a boat and spend a good deal if time out on it. Plus you have areas like Great Falls where you can park, walk a 1/4 mile and feel like you are 100 miles away from the city. Or you can drive an hour west and be in the rolling hills in VA or MD. And there is work and it pays well.