NoVA is weird. . . (Richmond, Arlington, Alexandria: countertops, houses, landscaping)

[FootballDadandSoccerMom]

Northern Virginia, more specifically Fairfax / Alexandria / Arlington has to be the weirdest place in the United States. According to pretty much every forum, we make the most money. . . but you could barely tell. If you looked at most of the houses (not including the ones that were rebuilt in places where ranchers previously were) you would think we were in a blue collar town in any town USA. You have to go out into Loudoun or Prince William to get true suburbs. Not to be ranty, because quite frankly, I could never live anywhere but Mclean, but NoVA is hella weird. Just look at Falls Church, super rich, half the town looks bummy, and the zoning is really random. What are you guys thoughts on this? How a place can be so rich, yet not compare to most suburbs (for instance Ashburn, Short Pump in Richmond, or even any of the ATL, DFW, or CLT burbs)

Basically what I am saying is why does the “second richest county in america” look like much less desirable areas in places like Richmond or Philadelphia? Not trying to start any arguments by the way.

[r small]

I think it's a good thing that NoVa has blue collar and lower income neighborhoods. Immigrant neighborhoods like Arlandria and parts of South Arlington. Working class neighborhoods like Pimmit Hills in Falls Church, Bucknell and Jefferson Manor in the Mt. Vernon area, etc. Gives NoVa a bit of an urban vibe instead of being all white bread suburban.

[Bigfoot424]

Hard to take anyone seriously when they use "hella" in a conversation. You really think everyone in those areas are in the upper salary category?

[LynchburgLover]

Troll.

[dkf747]

I don't think it's a troll. I kind of noticed the same thing. Some areas don't look the way you would expect. However, I'm not in love with the kinds of houses he or she seems to interpret as being of the wealthy type.

[ChristineVA]

The areas that you describe were built forever ago. They are old and no amount of lipstick is going to make them look better except to knock them down. Yet they are still expensive due to location to DC.

My cousin bought a very normal-sized colonial in Arlington with a shared driveway and very little yard. $1.2M. She can get to work in about 8 minutes.

OP, do you suggest that all these areas just be levelled so that tons of 4,000 sq ft. "tract" homes can be built so we can look like Short Pump? What do you think the solution is here? Also, contrary to what's popular, a lot of wealthy people don't want a huge house.

[cwitty]

The NoVa version of the "why is Maryland so expensive and Ghetto" thread.

[r small]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

The areas that you describe were built forever ago. They are old and no amount of lipstick is going to make them look better except to knock them down. Yet they are still expensive due to location to DC.

My cousin bought a very normal-sized colonial in Arlington with a shared driveway and very little yard. $1.2M. She can get to work in about 8 minutes.

OP, do you suggest that all these areas just be levelled so that tons of 4,000 sq ft. "tract" homes can be built so we can look like Short Pump? What do you think the solution is here? Also, contrary to what's popular, a lot of wealthy people don't want a huge house.

My old neighborhood in Arlington where I lived for many years, Alcova Heights off Columbia Pike, is seeing a lot of this. Small two story colonials and one story ramblers torn down and replaced with monstrous three and four story mega McMansions. It's destroying the character of some of these older inner ring neighborhoods.

[Fallout Zone]

The majority of housing stock in this area is post-WWII to the 1960s. A lot of brick ramblers, cape cods, and colonials. Many with additions that don't always blend in well. And a lot of people don't seem to care as much about the meticulous landscaping. So, I can see what the OP is saying in that regard, however tactfully it was written. However, that would be about the same as brushing off parts of NYC as scummy because there are just a bunch of brownstones. A lot of people around here prefer to spend their housing dollars on location, and secondarily, on interior finishes. That's the way a big metro area works.

[Hal Roach]

My brother said Berkeley, California reminded him of Arlington. Kind of run down and even older. Quite a few with a lot of money, that are anything but flashy. Both are good places for pedestrians, except much nicer weather in Berkeley. And while housing prices are crazy high in most of Arlington, they are close to double that in Berkeley. I think in both cases, you could drive another 45 minutes away from the city, and see more HOAs, quartz countertops, and BMWs. 120,000 in 1984, Lyon Park sold for 1000000 four years as go. I just zillowed a friends 1898 Victorian in Berkeley, she bought for 50,000 in 1980....now 1690000. You could find identical matches to both of them for under 60,000 today, in Pittsburgh.