Quality of life in NOVA going down... down... down! (Fairfax: for sale, neighborhood)

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by Caladium

...and yet, the people on this forum who actually live in Loudoun seem to think their quality of life is good. Also, commute times actually went down for many of us, since in the past decade a huge number of companies moved out here. In the 80s, most people who lived in Loudoun were forced to drive all the way to DC to work. Before I retired, I reached a point where I was able to walk to my job if I wanted, and there were stores along my route (as well as my gym, my bank, my dentist, etc.). So I could pick up groceries, work out, go to the bank, or do other shopping on the walk home if I wanted. IMO, those are hallmarks of an improved quality of life.

Same for me in Fairfax County! As more and more companies have transitioned to telework, it has helped improve life for so many people, including for those in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince Willliam counties. I have work colleagues that live in other states (including North Carolina!) and they work "with" me in Arlington. I did not have this in the 80s.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by JEB77

Do you want to give that a dozen or so test runs and report back? Even if you live in a mature, close-in suburb, your commute to DC, at least by car, stands to be influenced by those also commuting in from further out in Prince William, Loudoun, etc.

I have gone in or out once in awhile during rush recently and haven't noted any significant increase in traffic or delays on the GW Parkway between Mount Vernon, into Old Town and on into DC (Capitol Hill). It seems that's mostly remained out on 95. The beltway related improvements to bridges and offramps, as well as the new WW Bridge seems to have offset congestion from whatever increase there's been since I drove it starting in the early 90s.

[airjay75]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Funny, I've been hearing from a lot of folks and observe myself that that's more of a Boomer/Gen-X thing. Gen-Y is usually out the door by 5 whether you like it or not and seems to have a much better handle on work/life balance. I applaud them for that. We even have management classes at my company about how they're different than we are in this regard and we oldsters need to adjust to it. What's ironic is they're usually the ones who live closer to their jobs.

Sounds like a nice company to work for . I'm sure it depends on the company/industry, but I can say that neither myself nor my wife have experienced that type of work/life balance evolution with our previous employers (myself, a private law firm, and, my wife, a large, publicly-traded company). To the contrary, it seemed like our employers wanted nothing more than to squeeze every last minute of time out of us and, particularly for myself, there was never a time that you were really considered to be completely off of work (not even holidays or vacations were off limits). Those in the older generations would always tell me about how the legal industry never used to be this way 30+ years ago.

Somewhat contrary to what others on this board are saying, we actually left our employers in the Philadelphia area and moved to NoVA to take jobs in large part because our jobs here would provide a much better work life balance.

[Old Tired Man]

Originally Posted by OrangeFish

Same for me in Fairfax County! As more and more companies have transitioned to telework, it has helped improve life for so many people, including for those in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince Willliam counties. I have work colleagues that live in other states (including North Carolina!) and they work "with" me in Arlington. I did not have this in the 80s.

Those people who sit in their cars for two hours every morning and evening in bumper to bumper traffic on I-95 are really enjoying the fact that you are teleworking so they don't have to worry about competiting with you for a place in the concrete on the freeway.

[jillybean720]

So, when will you be changing your screen name to Old Grumpy Man? Sheesh.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Old Tired Man

Those people who sit in their cars for two hours every morning and evening in bumper to bumper traffic on I-95 are really enjoying the fact that you are teleworking so they don't have to worry about competiting with you for a place in the concrete on the freeway.

I'm sure that's true. The fewer cars the better. More employers around here should get with the program so that two hours can come down some.

[Old Tired Man]

Most jobs are service positions so working at home is not possible. They have to go to work by car because mass transit from the middle of residential hell in Annandale has no Metro.

The area has grown much too fast and the quality of life is shot.

[VAFan]

Originally Posted by OrangeFish

Same for me in Fairfax County! As more and more companies have transitioned to telework, it has helped improve life for so many people, including for those in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince Willliam counties. I have work colleagues that live in other states (including North Carolina!) and they work "with" me in Arlington. I did not have this in the 80s.

Your very, very lucky. That was not an option for me at my job nor is it for my husband's job.

[VAFan]

Originally Posted by Caladium

...and yet, the people on this forum who actually live in Loudoun seem to think their quality of life is good. Also, commute times actually went down for many of us, since in the past decade a huge number of companies moved out here. In the 80s, most people who lived in Loudoun were forced to drive all the way to DC to work. Before I retired, I reached a point where I was able to walk to my job if I wanted, and there were stores along my route (as well as my gym, my bank, my dentist, etc.). So I could pick up groceries, work out, go to the bank, or do other shopping on the walk home if I wanted. IMO, those are hallmarks of an improved quality of life.

Once again a very, very lucky person. I've lived here all of my life and I know quite a few people. I am being 100% honest when I say I don't know ANYONE who was able to walk to their job from their home plus stop by the store, dentist, etc. while all walking.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Old Tired Man

Most jobs are service positions so working at home is not possible.

My wife and I both work from home in service industries. I would think it was more often manufacturing that requires a physical presence. If the only manufacturing you're doing is of emails, powerpoint decks, spreadsheets, and hot air on conference calls, that can be done from anywhere including a mountaintop in Nepal or poolside at a beach resort if you have decent wireless connectivity. I recently did it from 30,000 feet. I think what I do isn't that different from what many others around here do but maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps you're referring to face to face customer service like at a retail store or bank?

However, this may be something an Old Tired Man may not know about.