3 ms·

NIH isn't in NoVA. It's across the river in Bethesda, MD. The problem with opening remote locations is attracting people. Montgomery County, MD (where Bethes

NIH isn't in NoVA. It's across the river in Bethesda, MD. The problem with opening remote locations is attracting people. Montgomery County, MD (where Bethesda is located) and the broader DC metro region has lots of biotech, medical, and software opportunities.

ghaff 3y ago
And it's an even bigger issue once professional specialists have partners and families. Even elite schools in relatively remote from major population center areas have long had some trouble attracting faculty whose partners may well be inevitably underemployed if they move to the small town/city where the school is.
- robwwilliams 3y ago
  Disagree again. Here are some towns and smaller cities that more than rival DC. Ann Arbor, Davis, Durham, Urbana, Princeton, New Haven, Memphis, Madison, Portland, Eugene, Nashville, Kansas City…
  - svnt 3y ago
    The data for much of this list of cities has changed substantially in the past two to three years. Many of these are now unaffordable for someone on $45k/year, and they do not have the employment robustness of the larger metros.
- dekhn 3y ago
  this is called "the two body problem" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-body_problem_(career) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-body_problem_(career) in reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-body_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-body_problem and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-body_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-body_problem
  - ghaff 3y ago
    I didn't know it had a name. But having been associated with both Dartmouth and Cornell, I've definitely heard complaints about the issue.
ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
But the traffic is a nightmare (I-270 is the Tenth Circle of Hell). Like most high-density commute areas, homes close to work are pricey, so people have to live in the boondocks, and commute. I know people that live in Frederick, and commute to DC. Of course, Frederick has Ft. Detrick. That's a fun place. I think it was the model for the biolab in The Stand.
- alistairSH 3y ago
  so people have to live in the boondocks Homes are pricey, no question. But, DC is one of the more affordable top-tier cities in the US. Especially if your work is in the suburbs. For software people, you can buy a reasonable[1] TH in Reston for around $600k and have a reasonable commute to most of the NoVA tech corridor. Or Metro downtown. Or ride your bike to many employment centers. Or, if you're really lucky, you can walk to quite a few employers in Reston (Google, MS, Ellucian, Walmart Labs, various three-letter agency IT offices, etc). 1 - mid-70s build, 3-bed, 2.5 bath, 1500-1800sqft, in a good school district and with walk/bike access to schools, grocery/pharmacy, many doctors, and Metro.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
    Sigh... It's sad to see a $600K townhouse in Reston termed "reasonable." I know a lot of folks on this site are from the Bay Area, where something like that would probably be twice that, but it's actually more expensive than around here, which is considered one of the more expensive areas to live. It's astounding to see kids out of college, starting at more than I ever made, in my career, and yet, they can't afford to buy a house. But I'm not one to talk. My father never made more than $40K, and had a house in Potomac, two cars, and a stay-at-home wife.
    - alistairSH 3y ago
      I meant the house is reasonable (good condition, nice neighborhood, workable size). $600k is still a lot of money, but under the county average home price of $700k (which includes condos, THs, and SFHs).
robwwilliams 3y ago
Not relevant at all. Many locations are stronger than the DC area. Just an example of NIH inertia. There are many.

ghaff 3y ago

And it's an even bigger issue once professional specialists have partners and families. Even elite schools in relatively remote from major population center areas have long had some trouble attracting faculty whose partners may well be inevitably underemployed if they move to the small town/city where the school is.

robwwilliams 3y ago
Disagree again. Here are some towns and smaller cities that more than rival DC. Ann Arbor, Davis, Durham, Urbana, Princeton, New Haven, Memphis, Madison, Portland, Eugene, Nashville, Kansas City…
- svnt 3y ago
  The data for much of this list of cities has changed substantially in the past two to three years. Many of these are now unaffordable for someone on $45k/year, and they do not have the employment robustness of the larger metros.
dekhn 3y ago
this is called "the two body problem" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-body_problem_(career) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-body_problem_(career) in reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-body_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-body_problem and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-body_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-body_problem
- ghaff 3y ago
  I didn't know it had a name. But having been associated with both Dartmouth and Cornell, I've definitely heard complaints about the issue.

ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago

But the traffic is a nightmare (I-270 is the Tenth Circle of Hell). Like most high-density commute areas, homes close to work are pricey, so people have to live in the boondocks, and commute. I know people that live in Frederick, and commute to DC. Of course, Frederick has Ft. Detrick. That's a fun place. I think it was the model for the biolab in The Stand.

alistairSH 3y ago
so people have to live in the boondocks Homes are pricey, no question. But, DC is one of the more affordable top-tier cities in the US. Especially if your work is in the suburbs. For software people, you can buy a reasonable[1] TH in Reston for around $600k and have a reasonable commute to most of the NoVA tech corridor. Or Metro downtown. Or ride your bike to many employment centers. Or, if you're really lucky, you can walk to quite a few employers in Reston (Google, MS, Ellucian, Walmart Labs, various three-letter agency IT offices, etc). 1 - mid-70s build, 3-bed, 2.5 bath, 1500-1800sqft, in a good school district and with walk/bike access to schools, grocery/pharmacy, many doctors, and Metro.
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
  Sigh... It's sad to see a $600K townhouse in Reston termed "reasonable." I know a lot of folks on this site are from the Bay Area, where something like that would probably be twice that, but it's actually more expensive than around here, which is considered one of the more expensive areas to live. It's astounding to see kids out of college, starting at more than I ever made, in my career, and yet, they can't afford to buy a house. But I'm not one to talk. My father never made more than $40K, and had a house in Potomac, two cars, and a stay-at-home wife.
  - alistairSH 3y ago
    I meant the house is reasonable (good condition, nice neighborhood, workable size). $600k is still a lot of money, but under the county average home price of $700k (which includes condos, THs, and SFHs).

robwwilliams 3y ago

Not relevant at all. Many locations are stronger than the DC area. Just an example of NIH inertia. There are many.