What do you like or dislike about Northern Virginia ? (Chesapeake: real estate, condos)

[french paris]

Thoughts ?

[Novadhd5150]

Likes-Nature,parks,culture,schools,most people,amenities
Dislikes-high COL,rude drivers,traffic,people that cant/dont speak english

[scottfs]

Likes are great job market, four seasons, great schools, great restaurants, reasonable access to beaches/bay/rivers/mountains, etc for outdoor fun.

Dislikes are traffic, expense, and most stores have generally terrible customer service.

[ShoreGuy89]

I only dislike the nightmare traffic congestion in Northern Virginia.

[Kembek]

After growing up in MD I like that VA is newer and "sparklier". For me, the quality of life is just better in VA.

I don't like the traffic, the real estate (I'd love a brand new rambler or Cape Cod that isn't in a 55+ neighborhood), and the diverse population annoys me.

[Teebyrd86]

Likes:
Job market, selection of stores, Vicinity to D.C., the awesome friends I have met here, the fact that there is so much to do and see within a reasonable drive, the expensive cars in my neighborhood (make me feel rich even though I am FAR from it lol) and the fact that I am still only two hours away from my family.
Dislikes:
There do tend to be some rude inconsiderate people although for the most part their rudeness is due to the fact that they are just not very socialable around here, lack of small town feel, cookie cutter houses/condos (I live in one lol), High cost of living and of course the freaking traffic.

[The Dissenter]

From a former resident:

Liked: Activities/events, historical attractions, quality of K-12 schools, different cultures, Ballston, good local resturants, shopping options

Hated: stuck-up rude people, traffic outside of rush hour and during rush hour, number of illegals and attitude towards them, high COL, downtalking of certain people based on their economic status educational background or where they are from, segregation of immigrant groups, Fairfax County PD...

[Teebyrd86]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

downtalking of certain people based on their economic status educational background or where they are from

I actually have found quite the opposite around here, people seem to not really pay attention the other peoples views/backgrounds.. go with the flow and are quite acceptable towards others. Its a melting pot!

[arielmina]

Likes: the mild winters compared to where I came from in CT; the beautiful scenery out in Western Loudoun and surrounding countryside; that fact that there still IS some countryside; close proximity to historic sites and a major city; very diverse population; generally friendly people; great schools; proximity to Dulles airport; real estate prices (compared where I came from); jobs; small towns.

Dislikes: too many people from Leesburg east; lots of traffic at all times of the day; the fact that the Greenway is so expensive; lack of good mom and pop restaurants; bad Italian food; no bagels; very few actual bakeries; lots of state troopers around waiting to catch me speeding

[smithy77]

Likes:
The world lives here---have friends and co-workers from every corner of the globe.

Friendly, smart, funny, literate population.

Basically civil attitude.

Local politics relatively clean (compared to everywhere else I've lived).

Good music scene.

Great arts community.

Good schools (from K thru college)

Good place to live and work for gay folks like myself----tolerant/liberal

Amazing cheap restaurants/ethnic cusine.

Cultural opportunities abound.

Close to beautiful countryside (just got back from Charlottesville today).

Close to the beach/Chesapeake Bay.


Dislikes:

Traffic, of course.

Cost of housing.

Cost of alcohol/beer/wine in restaurants.

The job-title fetish among the newbies.