Should I stay or should I go?

The Clash sang "Should I Stay or Should I Go," which in a recession takes on new meaning for many people. Unfortunately, this is no song. This is a profound question homeowners, and even renters, are asking themselves with greater frequency -- at least those who still have a choice.

Northern Virginia hasn't been hit quite as hard by the recession as other parts of the country. Unemployment figures are lower here. Housing prices haven't plummeted as steeply as they have in regions like South Florida or the Las Vegas area of Nevada. Northern Virginia benefits from being in the shadow of Washington D.C., where the federal government is a major employer and the private defense and technology industries keep humming along.

However, Northern Virginia has one major problem (besides traffic). The area is ridiculously expensive in terms of housing, and that is causing hardships for many more families than politicians and some business leaders around here care to admit to.

When I was laid off from USA Today last year, my immediate concern was how to pay the mortgage. My wife and I have pieced together a plan to keep us from losing our home for now, but there will come a time when we can only stretch our dollars so far and will have to move if I don't find a decent-paying, stable job. "Decent-paying" being the key phrase. The problem is, where do we move to if things do get worse?

There isn't an inexpensive town or county in this region. You can move out towards Manassas, Va., and probably pay a little less for a house or rental unit, but what you save by living that far out is wiped out by commuting costs. Most white-collar residents in Prince William County commute to D.C. or somewhere inside the beltway. The closest Metro train station to Manassas is in Vienna, Va., about 20 miles away, that often takes 90 minutes to get to because of traffic. Then it's another 45 minutes on the train to get into D.C. It doesn't make for a great quality of life.

We live close to Dulles Airport, on the border of Loudoun and Fairfax counties. There are plans to bring the Metro to this area, which will only drive up the cost of housing here.

If my wife and I are struggling to live here in recent months, in a modest townhouse, how does a young couple starting out afford a home in Northern Virginia? How do retires make ends meet in Northern Virginia? We would downsize even further, to a smaller townhouse, if we could save some money. But any townhouse or condo in this area would cost more than we currently owe on the home we bought in 2001. It doesn't make financial sense to downsize. Not here; not now.

There are good salaries to be made in Northern Virginia. That's probably why people keep coming to NoVa. Unfortunately, most of the jobs that are still paying well are in specialized fields. Lots of defense department contractors are hiring because of the now-constant threat of terrorism. Great if you have high-security clearance and a passion for that type of work. Not so great if you don't. The majority of other jobs, like school teachers, office workers, police officers and such, don't pay well enough to live comfortably in this area. Generally speaking, two incomes are required. And at least one of those incomes better be fairly high because two $30,000-a-year jobs isn't going to cut it in the Virginia suburbs.

Two doors down from us, a townhouse is in foreclosure. And another neighbor has taken in boarders to help pay the mortgage. A Realtor friend of ours has also informed us that there have been a lot of "short sales" in our area. That was news to us. Bad news. So even Northern Virginia isn't immune to this recession. And if these things are happening here, in an economically diverse area, I can only imagine how people must be suffering elsewhere.

During my job search, I have noticed a trend in which salaries seem to be going down. I have no scientific proof of this, but I believe more and more employers are paying entry-level wages to experienced people, or worse, not even hiring experienced folks. This might be OK in Detroit, where any jobs would be welcomed, but it won't suffice in Northern Virginia. In Detroit, you can buy a house for $10,000. No, I didn't leave off a zero. You can literally buy a house there for that price. In Northern Virginia, even in the worst areas, $10,000 wouldn't pay your rent for a year, let alone serve as down payment on a home.

The dilemma for anyone considering leaving Northern Virginia is that while they might be able to cut their housing costs by 75% by moving to Orlando, Fla., will they even be able to find a minimum-wage job once they get there? It seems staying or going have considerable risks, which is why many people are just trying to ride out the storm, hoping that clearer skies are approaching. I often wonder about that strategy and if it's delaying the inevitable. Just as people are leaving pricey areas in California, will Northern Virginians begin abandoning ship? Will the D.C. suburbs become nothing more than bedroom communities for federal workers?