NOVA is one of the greatest places to live! (Reston: fit in, rent)

[FindingZen]

Notwithstanding my own recent comments, this is apparently meant to be a "rave" thread. "Rant" threads are started periodically and are a more appropriate venue to express criticism of the area.

[jwblue]

Born and raised in NOVA.

Moved away to San Diego after college.

A few years after moving, I had a negative opinion of NOVA.

Twenty years later, I realize it is not a bad area to grow up or live.

NOVA has a lot of good and level headed people.

[Midwest_Madame]

Someone who gets what I mean! Royal Oak is okay but Canton and Novi are very nice.
I don't think DC and the surrounding areas are for me--I'm aware of that now. I have never lived in any place besides Tokyo or Michigan so its shocking and frustrating. I'm still young and looking for what I like.

Originally Posted by Tone509

Ah! Coming from metro Detroit, I can see how NOVA and the DC region in general would be a shock to the system in many ways. I'm aware that the core of Detroit proper is on the upswing, the suburbs are generally appealing - Royal Oak sounds appealing - and that the cost of living, especially housing, is dramatically lower. NOVA/DC is not too different from other metros in the Boston-Washington corridor when it comes to "attitude", albeit perhaps a relatively extreme case.

Skim through the various threads on schools and you'll see how many people are quite content to raise their children in what are considered some of the "best" school districts in the country. The common threads of parsing the differences between schools is another story.

NOVA/DC is not for everyone. Hopefully, you and your significant other will be able to soon make your mark here so you can take those credentials somewhere more appealing.

[indiko]

We are foodies and that reason alone makes NOVA a fabulous place to live.

[Cardiff Kook]

Originally Posted by jwblue

Born and raised in NOVA.

Moved away to San Diego after college.

This is just like me. Born and raised in NoVA for 27 years. Just moved to SD last week (great timing w/the snow storms and crap weather).

NoVA is a fine place to be raised and live. But that's all I ever knew and it was time for a change. Who knows, I may wind up back there one day but I'm going to enjoy the 70 degree weather and sunshine for a while in San Diego first

[marie5v]

Originally Posted by NOVA_guy

As someone who's grown up in NOVA I can admit that like most kids in high school we all complained about how "boring" the area is and how there's never much to do (although we always found something to do on Friday or Saturday nights) but as I got older I kind of realized this is one of the greatest places in the nation to live. Going away to college was a complete culture shock for me, I was naive and sort of assumed everywhere was like NOVA or at least similar to it – but it’s not.

Not only are job opportunities endless, it's incredibly diverse, has great school systems, low crime rates, it's hard to find anywhere in NOVA with a median income under $90,000. Not that money is everything but it just goes to show the amount of opportunity and how well educated people are here.

I just thought I'd make this thread since as of late there's been an incredibly huge amount of negative threads about the area. Ultimately, I would recommend this area for pretty much anyone especially someone who is career-driven or in the early stages of starting their career. Of course there are negatives, as there are with any area, the high cost of living and endless all-times-of-the-day traffic but I feel that the positives outweigh the negatives.

Just my opinion!

I'd like to know just how many other places you have lived.

I also think that we all think the place we grew up is great, even if we didn't appreciate it when we were younger.

What you say about NoVa is true - career-wise it's a great place, maybe the best. However, most places have something good about them, and we just learn to appreciate those good things over time.

[The Dissenter]

NoVA, from a one-time hater.

Safe, lower costs for insurance and taxes (excluding car tax grrr) than DC or MD, close to DC which has an glut of nightlife options, good educational options (attending Marymount for Masters, ties me to the area for at least one more year), good restaurants (addicted to El Pollo Rico off Wilson in Arlington), surrounded by other millennials in Arlington, live and let live vibe.

Not perfect, but I cannot imagine living anywhere else better now.

[Mr. Don Draper]

Originally Posted by NOVA_guy

As someone who's grown up in NOVA I can admit that like most kids in high school we all complained about how "boring" the area is and how there's never much to do (although we always found something to do on Friday or Saturday nights) but as I got older I kind of realized this is one of the greatest places in the nation to live. Going away to college was a complete culture shock for me, I was naive and sort of assumed everywhere was like NOVA or at least similar to it – but it’s not.

Not only are job opportunities endless, it's incredibly diverse, has great school systems, low crime rates, it's hard to find anywhere in NOVA with a median income under $90,000. Not that money is everything but it just goes to show the amount of opportunity and how well educated people are here.

I just thought I'd make this thread since as of late there's been an incredibly huge amount of negative threads about the area. Ultimately, I would recommend this area for pretty much anyone especially someone who is career-driven or in the early stages of starting their career. Of course there are negatives, as there are with any area, the high cost of living and endless all-times-of-the-day traffic but I feel that the positives outweigh the negatives.

Just my opinion!

Let's be honest - if you were to run into real wealth (not puny $90k that counts as "rich" in this area) you wouldn't live in NoVa, would you? I suspect most here wouldn't either. You would be in NYC or London or Paris or Beverly Hills or Miami Beach or Hawaii, etc!

It's an industry town. Not many people choose to live in this area because it's so fabulous. It's a bland area that just works.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by Mr. Don Draper

Let's be honest - if you were to run into real wealth (not puny $90k that counts as "rich" in this area) you wouldn't live in NoVa, would you? I suspect most here wouldn't either. You would be in NYC or London or Paris or Beverly Hills or Miami Beach or Hawaii, etc!

It's an industry town. Not many people choose to live in this area because it's so fabulous. It's a bland area that just works.

You must watch too much Bravo. Some good places to live are precisely that because they are relatively free of in-your-face high-rollers. Not too many people here think the quality of their lives would improve if only we could get more hedge funds managers to live here.

[Darkseid]

Originally Posted by JEB77

You must watch too much Bravo. Some good places to live are precisely that because they are relatively free of in-your-face high-rollers. Not too many people here think the quality of their lives would improve if only we could get more hedge funds managers to live here.

In a word: Amen.