Common Sense If You Are Moving to Nova (Reston, Leesburg: house, school)

[normie]

Originally Posted by Novamom06

Normie - congrats on the move! Just curious, did you sell your VA home or will you be dual residents?

Sell my properties? No way! Not in a thriving place like Nova. I'm lucky enough to have found good tenants.

[snuggarelli]

"You're in Iowaaaaay." OK - I've never heard that comparison before, but maybe it is accurate for Nova. I think further South like in F'burg, they have more of a Southern attitude towards things. But, you're right - virginians can be a little aloof. Now I've got that Music Man song in my head!!!

[Rosinante]

Is Normie short for Norman Rockwell? Thanks, Normie for your insights on living in NOVA; it all sounded so Americana-ish. I left there a few days after the famous Woodstock concert in NY... almost exactly 39 years ago this very week. That was after having grown up there — down Franconia Road about 3 miles toward Alexandria from Springfield.

My dad was career army, so like so many of the friends I made my first few weeks of high school, I was one of many transplants from somewhere else who had been pushed into something unlike what any of us had seen out there beyond the reach of the Federal government mentality that pervades everything in NOVA. For me, that meant making associations between DC and Paris, or DC and State College, PA, the two most recent predecessors in my then short life. I took a job with the Government right out of high school, but with the ever-increasing drone of the growing traffic jams on Shirley Highway, I was set to leave the security of a job for life for something a little more fulfilling. I've never looked back even though I make regular visits to family members who never left. Franconia Road isn't the quiet country lane that I grew up on almost 50 years ago, but its miasmic "mixing bowl" at the Springfield interchange was certainly something I could have predicted.

Normie, as idyllic as you make northern Virginia sound, I'm afraid it's nothing like life waaay outside the Beltway.

[Caladium]

Interesting list. I found I generally agreed. Not sure I agreed with the one about the weather changing, I can usually base my plans on the forecast. But I definitely agree with point #1. We have that problem going on with a guy who just moved into my neighborhood.

Pardon me while I vent, but since the topic came up.... This guy is always complaining about how he's not making a bunch of close friends. Well too bad, he brought this problem on himself. But it's a shame he doesn't realize this.

First of all, his idea of having close friends is he wants people who will stand around in the street on a Friday night, drinking beer and throwing the beer cans in the street. That's just not what people in my neighborhood like to do for fun, in fact seeing all these beer cans in the street is making his neighbors hate him. Maybe that's what he did in his old neighborhood but that's not what we do here. Some people tried to be friendly, but I guess he didn't think they were "cool" enough for him. So guess what now people aren't friendly anymore.

What's the story on this guy? He lived in Detroit but got into some money problems. So he came out to Nova where he is now mooching off his brother. The brother is a nice guy but Mr. Detroit seems to think the way to make friends is to endlessly yammer about how much better life was in Detroit.

He doesn't like the lack of unions in Nova. He doesn't like how girls wear pink jackets (wussy, in his opinion). He hates recycle bins and makes fun of people when they wheel them out on trash day. (In Detroit the cool people just throw things in a trash can, apparently.) He hates how people drive here (we're too slow and we stop for stop signs.)

Worst of all, he hates foreign cars and was actually caught trying to get the kids to key the foreign cars parked in the street. Apparently that's cool behavior in Detroit, but it's not cool here!

We had a block party, and he tried to start trash talking between people who live in Reston and people who live in Herndon. I guess feuding about which community is better is funny in Detroit. It did not go over well at the party.

When he first moved in we gave that guy a chance. But he didn't even try to learn about how we do things in Nova or to give the area a chance. So now we're not giving him a chance. Now all he talks about is how he hates it here and he can't wait to go back to Detroit. It was interesting at first but now I'm sick of hearing it. Frankly I hope he goes back there soon.

[athousandlogins]

He doesn't like how girls wear pink jackets (wussy, in his opinion)

Hahahahaha, what? I've never heard of someone getting his shorts in a knot over pink jackets before.

I have a friend who moved here from Michigan. She is forever complaining in the winter about how badly we handle snow/ice events around here, but at least that's a complaint the natives and longtimers often share.

Overall, Normie's advice is good. Friends and family in New England (where I grew up) often ragged on me for being so reserved. I was always the "quiet one" in any group and I took some grief for that. But I fit right in here in NoVA - I love it! This doesn't mean that I haven't made friends, I've actually made a lot of friends, but the way people approach each other is definitely different.

[normie]

Originally Posted by athousandlogins

Hahahahaha, what? I've never heard of someone getting his shorts in a knot over pink jackets before.

LOL, that one made me laugh, too. Maybe a former girlfriend wore pink and he's mad at her? Boy, I sure hope that guy avoids the cherry blossom walk around the tidal basin if he hates seeing people wear pink!

VtoN, I totally get your frustration but I kind of feel sorry for the guy. It sounds likes he's a really bad fit for your neighborhood. Hopefully as time passes he'll find a street he likes better or maybe discover some better ways to fit in with you guys.

Meanwhile, I'm glad you brought up the example of throwing beer cans in the street. That's the sort of thing I was talking about when I mentioned good manners. To me, good manners are not about hoity toity things like lifting your pinky while drinking tea, they're about showing basic respect for other people. Throwing trash in the street is an example of having bad manners.

Nobody's perfect when it comes to manners. But my point is, if you want to make new friends, show basic respect for other people. Or, in other words, have good manners. That's good advice for people moving anywhere, not just people moving to NOVA.

[MuscogeeButterfly]

Originally Posted by Fern435

Coming soon: "Common Sense If You Are Moving to Georgia."

Lol, I can't wait for this one. I'm considering Northern VA and GA.

[JakilaTheHun]

Originally Posted by normie

2. For some people, Nova will be your first experience with four seasons, and especially with hot humid summers. Prepare to feel uncomfortable the first year. It takes a while to acclimate. But... the good news is that after a few years you will love having variety in your weather.

Great post, but I'd disagree on the "four seasons" deal. This area has three seasons as far as I'm concerned: (1) Winter, (2) Summer, and (3) Autumn. There is no Spring here. Coming from the South, that is one of the odder things to me. It basically goes from being cold to being hot & humid in a short period of time. In most of the South, spring is much more drawn out and protracted.

The differences between weather here and Raleigh, NC are minute in winter, summer, and autumn, but for whatever reason, spring is very different. I miss having Spring.

Though, I would agree about unpredictable weather. That seems to be a characteristic of much of the mid-Atlantic/upper South.

[Fairfax Mom]

You are very correct in your observations - if you want to fit in here you really need to conform and leave your lively personality at the door - people here do not like people that have a "personality" - make yourself bland.

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by Fairfax Mom

You are very correct in your observations - if you want to fit in here you really need to conform and leave your lively personality at the door - people here do not like people that have a "personality" - make yourself bland.

That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. No one, NO ONE, would call me a shrinking violet, or bland, and I've never had a problem in NOVA. I've made so many friends, so easily. I've never had a problem fitting in anywhere here and having a blast doing it.

Who wants to be friends with a boring, vanilla, gal? or guy? No one. If you aren't fitting in, it's not due to a lively personality, but a lack of personality, or an off putting one.