What do you like most about living in Northern VA? (Arlington: job market, neighborhoods)

[Elusive Enchantment]

I love the weather the most. The summer hell in humidity almost makes winter worth waiting for. Gotta love experiencing four seasons in one week.

What do you like about NoVA? Do you ever find it boring? After living here and knowing what you know now, would you still move here or would you move elsewhere?

[oneasterisk]

Originally Posted by Elusive Enchantment

I love the weather the most. The summer hell in humidity almost makes winter worth waiting for. Gotta love experiencing four seasons in one week.

What do you like about NoVA? Do you ever find it boring? After living here and knowing what you know now, would you still move here or would you move elsewhere?

What I really appreciate is the mixing bowl of cultures here. I can eat at a different non-chain restaurant of different ethnicity every day of the week for example. I've also enjoy attending the different cultural festivals, like Greek, Laos, Thai, Chinese, Filipino and you can still make it to the pumpkin patches, Christmas trees etc!

Boring? This area always has something going on. Biggest drawbacks are the HCOL and TRAFFIC!

I'd definitely move back to the area if I had to do it all over again. My family had a lot of opportunities living in the area.

[z28lt1]

For me, the best part is location. I can go 45 minutes in 1 direction and be in the city with all its restaurants, sporting events, concerts, and all that you get with a large city environment. I can go 60 minutes the other direction and be in Shenandoah National Park/Skyline drive to enjoy some (relatively) quiet hiking, camping and the like.


It's a great combination that is hard to find elsewhere. Of course, we all know there are downsides as well, but that's another thread....

[The Dissenter]

I would say the selection of activities. If I’m ever feeling bored, I can people watch on the mall, hit up a museum, or walk around Ballston. Also, the DC nightlife has endless options. I’m more of a homebody now but nice to have.

I hated the area in my first stint here. Now 6 years after coming back, I don’t mind living here. I am looking to move out of the area to a slower paced area like Cincinnati, Louisville, or Jacksonville since I feel I’ve padded my resume enough. With the right job, I can be rented by NoVA for a little longer.

[NOVA_guy]

This sounds shallow and vapid but I'd say the money. Also the different cultures, the people, how progressive and cosmopolitan the area is, the job market is also a nice pro, etc. Sometimes I do wonder, though if the cons of living here outweigh the pros but I think that's somewhat normal for people who live in any major metropolitan area.

[Piney Creek]

FWIW I had a lot of fun during the two decades I lived there. Not ashamed to say we moved there for our careers and never regretted it. Now we have a comfortable retirement, and probably wouldn't have if we had stayed in California. The weather didn't bother me all that much. Guess I like variety. I suppose my favorite thing, though, was the number of parks. And some of the cultural events. Went to some good concerts and plays there.

[Flamingo13]

I like that everything is so close! I can't run an errand that includes 4,5,6+ stores and can get it done in no time

[Ffxdata]

I like that the city and county governments invest in making it a great place to live. There are walking and bike trails all over, playgrounds and parks, and rec centers too. That was a huge change for me coming from Texas where everything is privatized and the playgrounds are only for special neighborhoods.

I also love that it is super easy to travel from here whether by car or plane. Flights to Europe are pretty cheap, and I rarely have to pick a flight with a connection.

Lastly, I like that my child will grow up thinking that diversity is the norm and that there are lots of different cultures in this country—and that that’s part of what makes it great.

[Veritas Vincit]

Honestly, what I like best is that you got close access to big city amenities like the zoo, museums, galleries, sports venues without having to live in the big city itself and thus have a bit of separation from all of its issues including their local government. That's a pretty generic endorsement of suburbia, and it's really not meant to be much more.



I also like how close you are to so many of the sights of American history here. That's all the stuff in D.C., but also stuff like Arlington National Cemetery, Mt Vernon, the Civil War battlefields in the surrounding areas, Monticello down in Charlottesville.


Other than that, I guess the climate isn't the worst in America though it'd benefit greatly if one took 5 degrees off the summer average temps and added them to the winter average temps instead.


Beyond that I will readily admit that I'm here for career reasons and that if that wasn't a factor I probably wouldn't be here.

[skeddy]

I liked it better when Tysons Corner was 1 traffic light and the next light was in Leesburg.