Questions about Gainesville (Haymarket: new home, construction, living in)

[jgon]

Hello,

I will be moving to Gainesville in the next few weeks. Much to my dismay I will not have access to a car right away and I was wondering if a bus or train line exists. I recently read a gentleman's thread about something called the VRE which he hoped to take into DC. Is this a train?

Additionally, what is Gainesville like? I am currently in Chicago and would like to know what type of venues for entertainment, dining and shopping exist. Thank you!

[DavidS827]

There is an OmniRide (bus) stop at Virginia Gateway. Here is a link to their site PRTC - The Ride That's Right For You You could take the Omni to the VRE Virginia Railway Express Home Page (train), to DC, if that's where you need to commute.

Gainesville is a town that was basically in the middle of nowhere a short while ago and grew to be one of the fastest growing areas in the country. I read a statistic a year or so ago that said it was the 3rd fastest growing new homes community (Gainesville/Haymarket/Bristow) in the country. They are currently in the 3rd phase of a 4 phase project that is widening 66 and creating a massive interchange at I66 & RTE 29. If i'm not mistaken, the VRE was just given some money to research expansion that will most likely take it to Gainesville and Haymarket. However, that wont be for another 5-7 years, as they wont allow the VRE to come through until the interchange is done. Depending on what side of 29 you live on, you will either have bad traffic or very little traffic. The south side of Gainesville is road construction central, so backups are everywhere. The north side of Gainesville has substantially less traffic and easier access to 66, 29, 50 and 234 - houses also cost more on the north side as well. There are plenty of grocery stores already built and a few more that will open soon (including Wegman's). There are a few town center projects currently under construction and probably 3-5 more that are still in the design phases. The Nissan Pavilion is here, and there are plently of things to do regardless of whether you head west to see a polo match, visit a winery or east to DC. The closest mall worth going to is Fair Oaks and is about 15-20 minutes from door to door.

I really like living in Gainesville and can't see moving for a long, long time.