TikTok

Local social media influencer Margaret Skiff hits her stride documenting life in Arlington

By Caroline Gage
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While many TikTokers share their perfect days in D.C., one recent grad has found a recipe for social media success by sticking closer to her home in Arlington.

Since graduating from Roanoke College and moving to Arlington in 2020, Maine native Margaret Skiff has accumulated more than 60,000 followers for videos inspired by this life transition, including tips on budgeting and relocating to the D.C. area.

While her account was originally geared towards caring for houseplants, Skiff found herself wanting to share more general lifestyle content. At first, she struggled with whether to lean into being across the river from D.C.

“I felt a lot of pressure at first to brand myself as a D.C. influencer because, you know, closest major city. Everyone’s like, ‘This is a day in my life in D.C.,’ and I had just seen that and I felt like that’s what resonated with people,” Skiff told ARLnow. “But I was like, ‘You know what? I don’t live in D.C. I live in Arlington. And there are plenty of people that live on this side of the river that will also relate to my content.’”

As she posted more Arlington-centric day-in-the-life videos, she watched her following, particularly among Northern Virginians, grow.

“It was very slow going at first, I was kind of just posting whatever, and then I had a couple of videos that started to do really well,” Skiff said. “Within six months I gained over 30,000 followers, and then it’s kind of been steady growth ever since.”

On her TikTok, Instagram and YouTube pages, Skiff now shares a mix of daily video blogs, budget breakdowns and fashion ideas on top of the ups and downs of working a 9-5 job in corporate America. Her TikTok page has more than 4.5 million likes, owing to her honesty about her life and work.

When it comes to Arlington-specific lifestyle tips, the local social media content creator says she typically keeps to Clarendon, Courthouse and Ballston. She enjoys Spider Kelly’s for a late-night spot, Maison Cheryl for an upscale dinner, and the Brass Rabbit for happy hour. In addition, her videos regularly feature local farmers markets and other popular spots like Brooklyn Bagel Bakery.

While not all of her followers are from Arlington, she does share tips for making friends and getting involved.

“There are so many cool and fun ways to make friends in D.C., especially right out of college,” Skiff said in a TikTok posted in July where she discusses social adult sport leagues in the area.

Skiff tells ARLnow the key to success is posting things that her audience will find relatable, whether that is lighter fare — such as finding the perfect dress for a summer wedding — or more serious topics, including mental health.

“Sometimes, you know, not everyone’s going to like everything that you post, but I try to be conscious of how other people are going to feel about it,” Skiff said.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Rain showers and thunderstorms at the Marine Corps War Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Cruel Summer in the Pool — “Arlington’s four summer swimming teams in the Northern Virginia Swimming League had a combined losing record of 9-11 this season. It was the first summer since the 2012 campaign that the four had a cumulative losing mark… This summer Overlee also was the only one of the four with a winning mark, at 3-2.” [Sun Gazette]

Arlington = Jersey City? — A TikTok creator, talking about her viral map comparing parts of the D.C. area with New York City area locales: “I completely understand that people are going to disagree with this, but it was Arlington and Jersey City — you know, being literally across the river from a big economic center that people commute into. I think the way people in DC talk about Arlington — it just sounded very familiar to some of the things that I’ve heard people in Manhattan saying about people who live just across the water in New Jersey.” [Washingtonian]

Another Gun Caught at DCA Checkpoint — “A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) prevented an Alexandria, Va., resident from bringing his loaded handgun onto his flight this morning, July 25. It was the 16th gun detected by TSA officers at the airport so far this year.” [Press Release]

Brittany O’Grady’s Latest Project — From actress and Arlington native Brittany O’Grady: “I’m filming an Amazon show called The Consultant, with Nat Wolff and Christoph Waltz. It’s about a man who takes over a company, and my character and others are challenged on their morality. I’m also excited to finally play women [rather than teenagers]. The storylines get deeper.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

A Spring and Arlington’s Oldest Home — “This land was originally patented by Thomas Owsley in 1696 with the caveat that he had to build a house on the land within a year or forfeit rights to the land. It’s believed that Owsley built the stone house that sits at Dawson Terrace Recreation Center, one street west of the Spring Site. If true, it is the oldest house in Arlington County…  The spring is located inside a spring house at the bottom of a stone stairway at the end of North Scott Street.” [Atlas Obscura]

It’s Tuesday — Cloudy, then rain starting in the afternoon. High of 80 and low of 73. Sunrise at 6:06 am and sunset at 8:27 pm. [Weather.gov]