3 months after divorcing Northern VA, indifferent feelings about leaving. (Arlington: house, find a job)

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

It won't. Have you listed your sublet yet so you can move to Winchester?

I have to agree with you. If you can find a reason to like a place after living there for 18 months, it's time to move on. But, as friends of Dr. Bob say, No matter where you go, there you are.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86;15612662 People can say whatever they want about destitute blue-collar communities like my hometown of Scranton, PA, but people there are raised to appreciate and love [B

others[/b] more than themselves.

That's definitely not the impression you get reading the Nepa forum. There have been more than a few threads about people being harrassed or bullied, partiularly gay people or people with bumper stickers that local bullies dislike. The posters there regularly bash and trash the communities they don't live in (and it doesn't come across as affectionate teasing, it comes across as bitter people who get angry when some other part of town gets a perk that their part of town did not). In fact, the commonly repeated phrase I see is "NEPA stands for Never Ending Personal Attacks." Interestingly, the sneering about Virginia done on that forum is that people here are "too nice."

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by Denton56

We loved raising kids in Vienna. We loved the sidewalks that kids walked to school on and rode their bikes. We loved the Halloween parade and the hoards of trick or treaters on Halloween night. We loved the kids sports, home town football, swim team, soccer and basketball. We loved the services of the town of Vienna. We loved our friendly neighbors where everyone played outside and everyone knew everyone else and helped them out. We loved the neighborhood cookouts and parties. We loved it that parents looked out for each others children. We loved it that our kids could ride their bikes all over town, to their sports practices, to pools and playgrounds and friend's houses. We could go anywhere in Vienna, any playground or store or block, and know that we'd see friends. I loved it that we had 4 grocery stores within 10 minutes of our house and three malls within 15 minutes. All of the kids' lessons were in Vienna. NOVA is SOOOO convenient for raising kids. We loved it that Dad's commute was 45 minutes to do DC on a busy day and 35 minutes most days so that he could be home with us for dinner every night. He was ALWAYS home by 6:00. Thank goodness he didn't have to commute for 3+ hours a day like so many do. That would have been 3 hours a day that he didn't get to spend with his children! He would have missed so much! We felt so blessed to have been able to raise a family in Vienna and now blessed to live in the country. Everyplace has good things about it. It just depends on what you like.

Sounds like Vienna has a lot of appealing qualities...sans perhaps the ability for a household earning less than six figures to buy a detached home.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by stickonfreeze

I live in the WVa panhandle and commute to Tysons. It's 50 miles and a WORLD apart.
I don't see myself ever living in NoVa again.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

Denton56
I am glad you love Vienna - but whenever I drive trough it there is horrible traffic and a bunch of people in expensive cars cutting me off -
ugly strip malls, old dumpy supermarket, cant buy a home for less than 600k - not exactly Mayberry

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

I just "fit in" better in a place like Winchester.

RR, after being here for this amount of time, you know in your heart what you prefer and do not prefer. I strongly suggest that if you are serious about moving to Winchester, then put your plan in place and start making that move. My first suggestion would be to find employment closer in than Tysons Corner. Even the Leesburg/Landsdowne, Dulles, etc. area would mean a 40 minute-1 hr drive but at least you're driving through farmlands and mountains. The cost of living is lower here and you certainly could afford a house you desire. All the things you talked about -- the front porches, friendly people, relaxing . . . are all here. Remeber though, that this place is not utopia -- some love it and some do not. (Personally though, I love it.)

[JD984]

Originally Posted by South Jersey Styx

RR, after being here for this amount of time, you know in your heart what you prefer and do not prefer. I strongly suggest that if you are serious about moving to Winchester, then put your plan in place and start making that move. My first suggestion would be to find employment closer in than Tysons Corner. Even the Leesburg/Landsdowne, Dulles, etc. area would mean a 40 minute-1 hr drive but at least you're driving through farmlands and mountains. The cost of living is lower here and you certainly could afford a house you desire. All the things you talked about -- the front porches, friendly people, relaxing . . . are all here. Remeber though, that this place is not utopia -- some love it and some do not. (Personally though, I love it.)

Better yet, find a job with a small accounting firm or local business in Winchester, where you can really get to know the local community, and don't aggravate the region's commuting woes by clogging the roads between Winchester and Tysons.

Also, I assume the references to "Winchester" in these posts refer to the older parts of the downtown area. When I look at "Winchester" real estate, most of what I see are suburban houses that are similar to what's been built elsewhere in NoVa over the past 3-4 decades.

[stickonfreeze]

Originally Posted by Denton56

We loved raising kids in Vienna. We loved the sidewalks that kids walked to school on and rode their bikes. We loved the Halloween parade and the hoards of trick or treaters on Halloween night. We loved the kids sports, home town football, swim team, soccer and basketball. We loved the services of the town of Vienna. We loved our friendly neighbors where everyone played outside and everyone knew everyone else and helped them out. We loved the neighborhood cookouts and parties. We loved it that parents looked out for each others children. We loved it that our kids could ride their bikes all over town, to their sports practices, to pools and playgrounds and friend's houses. We could go anywhere in Vienna, any playground or store or block, and know that we'd see friends. I loved it that we had 4 grocery stores within 10 minutes of our house and three malls within 15 minutes. All of the kids' lessons were in Vienna. NOVA is SOOOO convenient for raising kids. We loved it that Dad's commute was 45 minutes to do DC on a busy day and 35 minutes most days so that he could be home with us for dinner every night. He was ALWAYS home by 6:00. Thank goodness he didn't have to commute for 3+ hours a day like so many do. That would have been 3 hours a day that he didn't get to spend with his children! He would have missed so much! We felt so blessed to have been able to raise a family in Vienna and now blessed to live in the country. Everyplace has good things about it. It just depends on what you like.

Vienna is one of the places in NOVA that has managed to hang onto some of that small-town feel. It's the exception to the rule though. I had some friends who lived there (10 years ago or so) and was impressed by the neighborhoods; tree-lined streets, parks, kids playing in yards. But any good feelings were killed off when I got out onto 123 and sat through two or three traffic signals without going through the intersection.

Glad you had good experiences there. Like you say, it's really about finding what works for you at each stage in your life.

[roanoker 4]

Originally Posted by South Jersey Styx

Doesn't matter where you live in order to post on the NoVA threads. Heck, I post in the VA, NoVA, DC, West Virginia, PA, NJ, NJ Suburbs/Phil threads and probably a few more I can't think of right now.

I have been waiting for someone to make this comment! I posted in the Hampton Roads forum and was rudely told by a local that since I didn't live there I had no business commenting on what happens in HR. I did remind him I lived in Roanoke, which at last glance was in VA!

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by Tone509

Sounds like Vienna has a lot of appealing qualities...sans perhaps the ability for a household earning less than six figures to buy a detached home.

I agree, but it's difficult for any family to do well in Nova on less than $100,000. That's a good income for single person, or even two couple, but if you have kids, it becomes difficult to live on less than $100,000. Since many people here make over $50,000, even people in their mid 20's, it's not difficult for a family to have an income over $100,000 and qualify to buy a house in Vienna.