My main office is over at IAD, but I’ll share some info about nova in general. You already got answers to 1&2 so I’ll share on 3&4 also. It depends on your budget, optimal commute time, and if you’re comfortable with roommates. I think the closest metro stop is about a 10 minute walk (crystal city). Popular places a lot of the younger people I know are Clarendon or Ballston (metro stops close by too) Or you can go further into the suburbs. If you’re set on metro, I would look up the DC metro map and try to scout apartments within walking distance to a stop. I personally would recommend staying in VA vs going to MD/DC. You’ll see some cheaper places in MD but your commute life becomes hell if you ever have to drive to work. r/nova is the subreddit for northern VA specifically (you can see how boring and sheltered we are). If you’re interested in museums, they’re all pretty cool. But check out the Udvar Hazy (aerospace) in VA off route 28. Depending on where you’re relocating from, NOVA could be a big change from what you’re used to. Lots of traffic, crazy high housing market, and learning to hate Maryland drivers if you live in VA. Because you mentioned safe, I would look up crime statistics of the neighborhoods you look at. NOVA is a very safe place overall with pockets of not great areas that I would avoid living in (still relatively safe/ low crime). More on reddit.com

Frugality is an LP for a reason. No such thing as a free lunch especially at Amazon but you can badge in for a free coffee once a day at the cafe. The food is really good fwiw you just have to pay for it. More on reddit.com

After a dramatic competition that pitted US cities against one another, years of contested planning, and claims of unwavering commitment despite the pandemic, Amazon now says its plan for a second headquarters, aka HQ2, is on pause. The company said today that it will delay construction of more than half of the millions of square feet of space in a campus planned for Arlington, Virginia, including a twisting tower meant to become a signature landmark for the city. Amazon, which is still in the process of laying off more than 18,000 corporate workers, did not set a new date for construction to resume in Arlington, across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. Arlington County board chair Christian Dorsey says the county learned “recently” of the planned pause and does not know when construction will resume. Amazon also declined to provide any timeline for construction to resume. “Our second headquarters has always been a multiyear project, and we remain committed to Arlington, Virginia, and the greater Capital Region,” says John Schoettler, Amazon’s vice president of global real estate and facilities. Amazon has pledged to use the project, the first phase of which already dominates the Crystal City neighborhood in which it is located, to eventually bring at least 25,000 high-paid workers to Virginia. Arlington and other cities, including Atlanta, Georgia, and Austin, Texas, competed to win the project in part to secure a tranche of elite workers and associated tax revenue. How many people or new tax dollars Amazon will bring to Arlington, and on what timeline, is now unclear. The original 'competition' for HQ2 cities was already deeply problematic and showed how many cities were only more than willing to engage in a race to the bottom in trying to attract a company's to the city. That Amazon has not delivered on their boosterish rhetoric is not entirely surprising, given the pattern of tech companies overpromising and underdelivering in a multitude of of other projects related to cities and communities. Ultimately, Amazon is just another company, amongst many others, that used their financial and cultural clout to try to squeeze advantages for themselves from their communities. Communities should be avoiding these kinds of scenarios, and plan and budget professionally and rationally according to what the community is lacking and will need in the future. Private organizations will ultimately go where their people (customers, employees) want to be. More on reddit.com

Looks like every other Amazon building inside. Soulless and cold. I’m just salty that I have to go in 3x per week and pay $23/day to park. More on reddit.com