Want out of NY.

[HereinVA]

I live in Bristow, which, as someone earlier pointed out, is usually lumped in with Gainesville and Haymarket.

My family consists of a middle class, college educated mom and dad (mid 30's/early 40's) and elementary age children. I think we are probably a stereotypical Bristow family. Almost everyone I know around here fits this mold--though some families also have a few younger children (preschool/toddlers/infants) as well.

I know of only a few "empty nester" type households--in all of those cases, their adult children also live in Bristow with their own young families.

I agree with what Marie5v said about not really venturing into DC that often. We'll go into DC maybe 2-3 times per year at the most--maybe once a year to visit a mueum, once at Christmas time to see the National tree...and maybe one other random time each year. On weekdays, taking the metro in for sightseeing/entertainment purposes is a PITA. You have to get to the metro station early early early to get a parking spot. The one time I did it, I ended up frustrated and disappointed at the lack of parking at the Vienna lot and ended up driving over to Pentagon and parking in that mall parking lot. It was a lot of frustration and wasted time.

There are plenty of things to do around here that fill up our weekends/free time. Because we have children, most of our weekends are taken up with sports/scout activities/church activities/birthday parties/homework.

We are very lucky to have 2 National Parks in Prince William county--Prince William Forest National Park and the Manassas Battlefields. Both are excellent for a few hours/day of exploring and learning. We are also within about an hours drive of Shenandoah National Park, and the drive to there will bring you past wineries and apple orchards.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by marie5v

I just want to point out a difference between DC and NYC - it's possible it won't really be DC that anyone is commuting to for any reason. In NY the city is the center of everything - people go to "the city" for entertainment, work, etc. In Nova it isn't quite like that. Lots - maybe even most - people commute to other parts of nova rather than directly to DC. And I don't know anyone who doesn't live in DC who goes there regularly for entertainment purposes. In fact, I"ll wager most people in the area rarely if ever go into DC. If you told someone here that you were going into "the city" they wouldn't even know where you meant. So proximity to dc is not really such a big factor. Also, the metro here runs into the suburbs, and for occasional trips into the district it is usually easier to just drive to a metro. .

Im going to quibble both ways. LOTS of people work in NJ, in lower westchester, in Stamford Conn, etc. Its simply not true that suburban employment is unusual in greater NY. I dont know the exact numbers we -probably have a higher percentage of jobs in the suburbs (even if you group Pentagon, crystal city, etc in with DC as the "Core" as I do) but its not like the issue is unknown.

A for going to DC - my family and I have done so regularly since we have lived here - for the Smithsonian, for sporting events, for arts events, just for a city walk. Certainly if you go downtown when theres a big event of some kind, you will see Va (and MD) plates all over - or try riding the metro on weekends - its not all tourists or workers.

Of course folks dont say they are going into the city - around here we usually say "going into the District".

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by HereinVA

We'll go into DC maybe 2-3 times per year at the most--.

we go like 2 to 3 times at cherry blossom season alone


Its far easier going in on weekends - while the metro is less frequent, parking near it is easier - and we can usually find parking downtown on weekends, with some effort (of course if we would pay for parking it would be no effort at all)

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

we go like 2 to 3 times at cherry blossom season alone


Its far easier going in on weekends - while the metro is less frequent, parking near it is easier - and we can usually find parking downtown on weekends, with some effort (of course if we would pay for parking it would be no effort at all)

But you are heading into the District from close-in Fairfax County, not from hardly-close-in PWC (or even western Fairfax County).

I think the point PPs are trying to make is what is "central" to one resident may not be "central" to another. For our family, there are three "centrals": DC, Arlington, and Tysons area (NOT the shopping malls! ). We do head out to Shenandoah National Park regularly, but that's about it beyond our "centrals." We don't go out to PWC, Loudoun County, or even western Fairfax County because they are not part of our family's "centrals." I think we go to Maryland more frequently than PWC but that's just us.

Each resident/family is going to have differing priorities/preferences for where they want to go. It's part of the reason that commutes around here can become somewhat odd -- we all are not going to the same place using the same roadways.

So - back to the OP - I have next-to-no advice about PWC because I venture there maybe once a year. But I'm in DC at least 50 times a year and I don't work there.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by OrangeFish

So - back to the OP - I have next-to-no advice about PWC because I venture there maybe once a year. But I'm in DC at least 50 times a year and I don't work there.

This is me too.

If I lived in PWC I'd probably never go downtown, because the traffic would make me want to stab my eyes out. We specifically chose to stay closer in because there are better job opportunities for DH and I, and we don't want to give up all the things the city has to offer.

[bmwguydc]

Haymarket would be comparable with East Fishkill/Hopewell Junction in Dutchess, if you are familiar with that area, with similar production-built housing and some of the same builders in both areas.

If you want smaller town living, I would look to the SW of Haymarket/Bristow/Gainesville, on Route 29 to the Warrenton area. It is not as convenient to get to DC and other areas, but you can always take the VRE to Union Station/Arlington, after a drive to the station at Bristow. Warrenton would compare with Pawling, as both are semi-exurban communities with equestrian overtones.

ETA: Warrenton is in Faquier County, not PWC.

[GoRangers]

DCGuy,

Thanks for the comparison. I am somewhat familiar with that area. We are coming from the Westchester/Rockland County area, which I know is more comparable with the Fairfax and Loudoun County area, but we're looking to scale back somewhat to a slower pace of life, while having urban amenities and job opportunities nearby which is why I thought PWC might be a good option. I know some may not consider NoVA a slower pace of life, but I'm sure there is a big difference from NY and even when we went to DC, we found people so much more friendlier and easy going than in the suburban area we live in. So many people have relocated from the boroughs (ourselves included) to the surrounding suburbs so that city mentality and fast-pace way of life is still here.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by OrangeFish

But you are heading into the District from close-in Fairfax County, not from hardly-close-in PWC (or even western Fairfax County).

I think the point PPs are trying to make is what is "central" to one resident may not be "central" to another. For our family, there are three "centrals": DC, Arlington, and Tysons area (NOT the shopping malls! ). We do head out to Shenandoah National Park regularly, but that's about it beyond our "centrals." We don't go out to PWC, Loudoun County, or even western Fairfax County because they are not part of our family's "centrals." I think we go to Maryland more frequently than PWC but that's just us.

Each resident/family is going to have differing priorities/preferences for where they want to go. It's part of the reason that commutes around here can become somewhat odd -- we all are not going to the same place using the same roadways.

So - back to the OP - I have next-to-no advice about PWC because I venture there maybe once a year. But I'm in DC at least 50 times a year and I don't work there.

yeah, I understand there are differences between inner and outer suburbs (though in one Loudoun discussion I was told that the distance to LC was NOT a barrier to going into DC, and shame on me for implying that it was). I was just making the point that for NoVa in general, many people DO go into DC for recreation a great deal.

[ckhthankgod]

Why not split the difference and go for a community like this: Newark, DE - Official Website

Or these locales: Greater Catonsville Chamber of Commerce - Catonsville Maryland MD
Catonsville MD - Catonsville Maryland Attractions, Restaurants, Business, Shops, Community, Tourism, coupons, local events."

Towson.com