The Leesburg, VA Thread: What I Love/Hate/Like/Dislike about the town ranked 4th best place to live in the U.S. (Arlington: sale, lawyers)

[United_Caps_Skins_Fan]

So I have been doing "Leesburg" searches on here lately, and not a whole lot has come up honestly. There are some threads, but nothing really comprehensive. So, I thought I would start a thread specifically about Leesburg, Virginia.

Also, Leesburg was recently (August, 2011) ranked #4 on the top 100 best places to live in the United States by CNN Money. : Best Places to Live 2011 - Top 100: 1-25 - from MONEY Magazine

A bit more about Leesburg from it's Wikipedia entry:
"
Leesburg is a historic town in, and county seat of, Loudoun County, Virginia, United States of America. Leesburg is located 33 miles (53 km) west-northwest of Washington, D.C. along the base of the Catoctin Mountain and adjacent to the Potomac River.[3] It's population according the the 2010 Census is 42,616. The town is also the northwestern terminus of the Dulles Greenway, a private toll road that connects to the Dulles Toll Road at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Leesburg, like the rest of Loudoun, has undergone considerable growth and development over the last 30 years, transforming from a small, rural, piedmont town to a suburban bedroom community for commuters to the national capital. Current growth in the town and its immediate area to the east (Lansdowne/Ashburn) concentrates along the Dulles Greenway and State Route 7, which roughly parallels the Potomac River between Winchester to the west and Alexandria to the east." ... To continue reading the Wikipedia article you can go here: Leesbrug, Virginia.


So, This is your chance to give your opinions about Leesburg, VA. Hopefully we will get mainly people who have lived for a substantial amount of time there, and / or currently live there. If you post to this thread, please indicate weather you: Currently reside in Leesburg, Used to reside in Leesburg, have visited Leesburg regulary, have been there a few times.

This is meant to be a comprehensive thread about one of Washington D.C.'s larger, and farther out suburbs, that is still distinctly its own city/ town. I thought if those of us here who have good experience with it could all come together and share what we know, right down to the smallest detail, that this could turn into a very useful thread.

[peanutrach]

Great thread - hoping to learn a lot since my husband and I recently bought a home in Leesburg. We've lived here for about 5 months now and really love it so far.

Likes:
- Downtown (very cute shops and good restaurants...hoping to spend more time here in the fall)
- Lots of walking paths/sidewalks (I have formed a walking group with some of my neighbors and we always seem to find a new place to explore. It's nice to have all these sidewalks)
- Wegmans & Costco
- Loudoun County Commuter Bus (used to work in Rosslyn and this service was great)
- Greenway (while pricey, it's nice to have an alternate route to avoid traffic)
- Affordable housing (compared to other places in the region like most of Fairfax county)

Dislikes:
- People seem to drive VERY slow here (I understand that the Leesburg PD is everywhere but ppl tend to drive under the speed limit, which is very annoying)
- Traffic heading up to Tyson's/DC on the 7 (I think this is a common complaint across Northern VA)

[stpickrell]

I like the mix of the historic downtown, 60s/70s strip malls (East Market/Catoctin), and big box shopping all within 8-10 minutes. With the advent of Metro, it's just going to get better.

[globalburgh]

I've lived in Leesburg since earlier this summer. Overall, I think Leesburg is a relatively undiscovered gem. In a lot of ways, it compares favorably to Boulder, Colorado (where I used to live).

Like:
Walkability
Proximity to countryside and mountains
Landscape
Creeks and rivers
Parks
Schools
Downtown
History
Residential churn
Climate

Dislike:
Cost of living
Civic leadership
School administration
Traffic (though not as bad as I expected)
Ethnic cuisine offerings
Locavore scene

The town and surrounding areas (mainly to the west) are undergoing a dramatic transformation. I'm reminded of Sonoma County in California. That's where I think Leesburg and the more rural communities are headed. It's just a bit earlier in the process than I anticipated. Now is a good time to get in.

[Caladium]

I'm going to borrow a lot of globalburgh's list becuase he and I agree about a lot of things.

Like:
Walkability
Proximity to countryside and mountains
Creeks and rivers, especially the kayak launch on Goose Creek
Parks
Downtown has some nice places to eat, interesting architecture, a few interesting shops. The courthouse is cool,and I like the haunted ghost tours.
Lansdowne and the National Conference Center appeal to me. I go to a lot of events at the NCC. What a beautiful wooded campus.
I like the Leesburg libraries, and the book sale in the spring is incredible.
Al the festivals, especially the Market & Court Days, First Fridays, and Flower Festival.
Close to wineries and horse events.
It's easy to take the 15 across to MD and catch the train to DC.
A lot of meetup groups and organizations are in Leesburg
I know some great people there


Dislike:
Traffic--it's a really long drive to DC, or to most communities in Fairfax/Arlington counties. Too far to make me want to live there.
I'm not a big fan of some of the 60's split level style neighborhoods. They seem like nice places, they're just not my taste.
It's not that fun for the 20-something crowd.
The area right near the police station on Plaza Street is a little iffy.

In years past, the problem I had with Leesburg was the lack of stores. You used to have to drive in to Fairfax County to go clothes shopping. These days, it's quite a different story. I actually drive to Leesburg to go shopping because there are so many great stores there. However, a few of the older stores could use a little updating. The Leesburg Walmart is not as nice as the Sterling one, for example.

[United_Caps_Skins_Fan]

Great stuff in this thread so far! Exactly what I was hoping for. The more we can all add to it, the better! Thanks to those who have contributed so far!

[ceomom703]

Love Leesburg's size. I can get from one end to the other in about 20 minutes. Love that it has a hometown feel. Love that citizen's can still have a say and be heard by the city officials...at least from my experience. Love saying "going into town" like like in the old movies, lol.

[arielmina]

I like Leesburg, it's our "big town", we live in western Loudoun so we go there to shop and eat.

What I like:
Wegmans
the historic center with all the little shops
Outlets althought they are too crowded on the weekend
the fact that there is still some beautiful countryside and little neighborhoods

Dislike:
we chose not to move there because of the traffic, congestion, new developments etc.
the restaurant selection..better than out in western loudoun but for a town it's size, the selection of quality restaurants is sorely lacking

[EuroExpat]

I lived in Leesburg when we first moved here from California and LOVED it! Then we made the huge mistake and moved to Ashburn.. But now we're back in Leesburg, I'm our very first own house. I'm going through the honeymoon phase all over again so I really cannot come up with any negatives.. Sorry! But I like it so much because of the location I'm in, the ability to walk to downtown and to Ida Lee. I wouldn't want to live in SE Leesburg or the areas closer to Lansdowne.
I agree that the commute to DC is long (that's where I work). But I LOVE being so far away from DC! I generally dislike DC and the areas surrounding it.

What I love about Leesburg:

- HISTORY! Old buildings, ghost stories, battlefield walks.
- Historic downtown is the heart of Leesburg.. I love how it has much more than a few antiques shops - great coffee shops, more lawyers than you can count, biker bar, a few yummy restaurants, nice health food store, narrow creepy looking alleys, a movie theater, old post office..
- very little noise from airplanes
- hometown feel
- great community atmosphere and so far my new neighbors are a hundred times more interesting and friendly than anyone I met in Ashburn in my 5 years living there
- a few minute drive to the "countryside" outside of rush hour, of course
- friendly, smiling people and a nice mixture of different ethnic groups and social classes
- big box stores are close but I don't have to deal with the traffic they create in my neighborhood

[sjankis630]

I don't live in Leesburg but my travels take me through there at times.
Traffic would definitely be a big con for me. Route 7 is a joke even on Saturdays.
Plus - there definitely is more to do in Loudoun in the surrounding area now.
To the person who didn't like the commute to Tysons (made especially rotten now due to all the metro construction) Dulles ain't too shabby and you do have the outlets - and their environs of stores (and added traffic)