DC area members, need info

[NHCharger]

My youngest son (will be 21 next month)is thinking of moving to the Washington DC area with his best friend. They both have jobs but can't find full time jobs.

They are high school grads, no college courses. Both are real good kids, could pass a blood or piss test with no problem. I'm a bit leery about him moving there. I told him he should go to a vo-tech school for computer repairs or something similar. We have several good vo-tech colleges in this area. I told him I would help him pay for any schooling.

Is the job market any better down there? They would be looking for a place on the outskirts of DC. What's the cost of living in that area? Any info- good, bad or indifferent would be appreciated. He'll be reading these replies so don't sugar coat it.

[bakerhillpins]

My wife lived in DC for quite a few years and has the following comments:

Really high cost of living and higher unemployment rate. Tougher job market and more folks fighting for the same jobs. Need a secondary education in order to compete in the market down there (to set yourself apart). NH has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. He is going to have a tough time getting something more than "Big Box" employment, which he can do up here and it would cost less to live.

If he does go down he should go to the N. Va area and take advantage of the community college systems there.

If you have other specific questions you can PM me and I can bounce them off my wife. She worked as a career counselor at Georgetown/UVA/Dartmouth so she has lots of info...

[Wicked72]

I hate DC I work in the area but live in MD. Its a crap hole to be honest and it costs way to much for having risk of getting mugged raped and murdered. I work those those type of ppl actually.... truck loads of them come in. However if they get into corrections they will have a great paying job! And jails are hiring starting pay some where around 45k or more however it takes a particular mind set to handle such a job.
And I would say northern VA is much better. Baltimore isnt to bad either. GL