Living happier and healthier in Reston after leaving Loudoun County behind (Arlington: apartment, renting)

[VRE332]

I used to be that guy, driving a car with the Loudoun County Tax sticker on my windshield, so proud of my county. We decided that living in Loudoun County was not worth the effort. We had decided to lower our footprint and move to Reston. In Loudoun we had an awesome house, yard, neighbors, kids were great. Over the 15 years traffic got really bad, a lot of Indians moved into our neighborhood, were not socializing with us, they kept to themselves, and were peaceful and pleasant people. Our commutes went from 40 minutes to sometimes up to 2 hours each way. My wife and I were spending a lot of time away from each other adjusting to the traffic patterns, missing the morning sex, and too tired at night to spend time with each other. My cars were getting worn out, had to get tires every year. Most weekends trying to recover or clean our house, or laundry. Some weekdays we were just so tired from commuting that we would eat out on less healthy food. I started to question myself and ask whether if this lifestyle was really necessary. Oh and another terrible fact is there were a lot of families getting divorced, and houses being occupied by a single parent. I also have two kids and not exercising everyday, because I did not have the time. Once I got a spreadsheet, and looked at my daily routine, and found there was very little time to be spent on marriage maintenance.

I just want to add, once we got to Reston, we could not be happier. After the commuters leave, it's a very pleasant place to live, and has the restaurants and lakes too. My blood pressure is a lot lower than before, and my health is improving. We lowered our footprint and have free money to travel 2-3 times per year.

Make a smart decision about where to live because noone really gives a cahoot about the size of your house, and the cars you drive. It's all about being happy and healthy.

[spencgr]

Glad you have made changes that have bettered you and your family's life. I agree with most everything you say except the insinuation that the only people who live in Loudoun and commute east do it for big houses and nice cars.

That simply isn't true. I love my Loudoun location, and have been driving to DC for over 7 years. My house only has two bedrooms, and my Toyota is five years young. I live there for the peaceful and bucolic setting; which is away from the suburbia or urban scramble of traffic, big box stores and soccer field complexes. When I am home, especially on the weekends, I am at peace; I am serene.

Everyone should do what is best for their family, and I agree material things shouldn't factor much into these equations....but it is possible to choose to live further away and it actually be a good decision.

[dkf747]

I never wanted to live in Ashburn, but we have made the best of it. Someday soon we will move closer to Arlington.

[PK12]

LOL @ Indians moving into your neighborhood. What a tragedy

Reston has a sizeable Indian population too. Or do you live under a rock there?

[brooklynborndad]

I took a bike ride in Reston not long ago, went up the W&OD than over to Lake Anne (took the Green Trail out, and North Shore back). While the trails are not good for a fast rider, they look lovely for walking/running/veryslowriding, and at least some of the streets are pretty rideable (more so than what I have experienced in Loudoun). And I really like Lake Anne Village Center , as well as RTC. If I worked in or near Reston, I would certainly choose to live in Reston.

[rome99]

I am sure you will re-consider when metro comes to Ashburn.

Originally Posted by VRE332

I used to be that guy, driving a car with the Loudoun County Tax sticker on my windshield, so proud of my county. We decided that living in Loudoun County was not worth the effort. We had decided to lower our footprint and move to Reston. In Loudoun we had an awesome house, yard, neighbors, kids were great. Over the 15 years traffic got really bad, a lot of Indians moved into our neighborhood, were not socializing with us, they kept to themselves, and were peaceful and pleasant people. Our commutes went from 40 minutes to sometimes up to 2 hours each way. My wife and I were spending a lot of time away from each other adjusting to the traffic patterns, missing the morning sex, and too tired at night to spend time with each other. My cars were getting worn out, had to get tires every year. Most weekends trying to recover or clean our house, or laundry. Some weekdays we were just so tired from commuting that we would eat out on less healthy food. I started to question myself and ask whether if this lifestyle was really necessary. Oh and another terrible fact is there were a lot of families getting divorced, and houses being occupied by a single parent. I also have two kids and not exercising everyday, because I did not have the time. Once I got a spreadsheet, and looked at my daily routine, and found there was very little time to be spent on marriage maintenance.

I just want to add, once we got to Reston, we could not be happier. After the commuters leave, it's a very pleasant place to live, and has the restaurants and lakes too. My blood pressure is a lot lower than before, and my health is improving. We lowered our footprint and have free money to travel 2-3 times per year.

Make a smart decision about where to live because noone really gives a cahoot about the size of your house, and the cars you drive. It's all about being happy and healthy.

[LakeLifePA]

You made a good choice OP.

Our house is in an older established neighborhood Herndon right on the Loudoun County line. I love the fact that everything Loudoun County has to offer is very convenient for us, but I am grateful that I don't have to drive from Loudoun County to Old Town Alexandria everyday. My 45 minute to 1 hour commute is very manageable, and I have a ton of options if one route is backed up. I don't know how anyone from say Purcellville can handle driving into DC. I would go bonkers.

[BOS2IAD]

OMG! I read your post with interest because we very recently sold the house in LoCo and are now renting in Reston. We started out considering this move as a temporary one with the plan to go out of state and get a condo. No sooner did we move here, we started reconsidering those plans. We really like the apartment building and really like that we don't have to always get into the car to go somewhere.

For us, it's almost like going full circle. We rented an apartment in Reston back in the 80s and took the commuter bus into DC to get to our jobs. When our daughter was 2, we hoped to get a starter home in Reston but decent ones were out of our price range, thus we ended up in LoCo.

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by spencgr

Glad you have made changes that have bettered you and your family's life. I agree with most everything you say except the insinuation that the only people who live in Loudoun and commute east do it for big houses and nice cars.

That simply isn't true. I love my Loudoun location, and have been driving to DC for over 7 years. My house only has two bedrooms, and my Toyota is five years young. I live there for the peaceful and bucolic setting; which is away from the suburbia or urban scramble of traffic, big box stores and soccer field complexes. When I am home, especially on the weekends, I am at peace; I am serene.

Everyone should do what is best for their family, and I agree material things shouldn't factor much into these equations....but it is possible to choose to live further away and it actually be a good decision.

Exactly. We moved out to Brambleton 14 years ago from Falls Church because our jobs moved from Merrifield to Ashburn and we were tired of the reverse commute. Now, several companies later, my husband works from home most days, goes into his office at Reston Town Center about once a week, and flies out of IAD when he travels for work. We couldn't be better located.

[kevinm]

Originally Posted by dkf747

I never wanted to live in Ashburn, but we have made the best of it. Someday soon we will move closer to Arlington.

We left Loudoun County back in 2011 and moved inside the beltway in Annandale. Our quality of life has increased dramatically.