I was making $60k/year when I first moved to Arlington in 2015 and I lived pretty comfortably, but I was pretty good about keeping my base expenses in check. My car was fully paid off and I shared a 2br/2ba apartment with a roommate. My rent was $1,314.29/ month including parking and (some) utilities, though it was walking distance to the Orange and silver lines and in a great neighborhood. Rents have gone up since then but not as much as you would think. My wife and I share a larger 2br/2ba apartment now for $3,200/month incl. parking and you can definitely find cheaper options.

The trick is living with a roommate. 2br/2ba situations apartments are often cheaper than 3br or group house situations. If you insist on going at it alone the math goes to shit. It’s not impossible, but you’ll have much less in the way of discretionary income, live in a much older unit (probably without laundry) and live in a much worse part of town. The options get better as you get away from the city, but not enough to be recommended. You’ll also be spending considerably more in gas, mass transit fares and Ubers since everything is so spread out the further you get from the city. I probably wouldn’t recommend solo living in Arlington to anyone making less than $85k/year.

If you’re young and single you really want to be in DC or Arlington. The dating scene in the rest of nova can be pretty brutal.