Northern Virginia has very low unemployment and high paying jobs. The area also has all 4 seasons fairly balanced, zero significant natural disasters, plenty of rainfall to stay green in the summer etc. Granted, you may not like that tradeoff, but it has a lot going for it.
Sure I moved to MD due to my current job, but I am seriously considering moving back.
Even with high paying jobs (if you are fortunate to have one), NoVA also has incredibly high housing costs unless you decide to live in the less desirable locations (which come with their own problems) or move far out and give yourself a massive commute.
Depends on what your comparing it to. Northern VA has a mix of jobs and houses so it's possible to have a very short commute. It's easy to find an nice apartment around 1500$ / month just about anywhere which is not cheap, but not so crazy as NYC or SV.
A dual income professional family can generally afford a 4 bedroom home, but that's hard on a single income without a massive down payment or over sized salary.
In terms of living further out, it's frequent for people to telecommute 1-3 days a week which makes a huge difference.
Sure I moved to MD due to my current job, but I am seriously considering moving back.