Moving to Vienna, Va/Fairfax VA area

[Koda1021]

I, unfortunately, have to mirror all the negative sentiment about this area. I moved here from Detroit over ten years ago, and fell in love with it. Trees everywhere, polite people, a sense of community while still having the city nearby.

Not anymore! I live a half mile from Fair Oaks Mall. I went there on Saturday night to pick something up. The drive home should have taken two minutes, just come out of the mall and turn left. Nope...couldn't be done. Evidently an ice cream truck had exploded on 66, so they closed off Momentum Drive to get rescue crews in. Problem is, they closed off the street halfway up Momentum instead of at the traffic light. So, people were turning into the street and not having anyplace to go! Many just turned into the small strip mall alongside the road, and that soon got backed up. Long story short, it took me TWO hours to get home!

I just find myself disliking this area more and more as the days go by. In the wintertime, they do not properly handle the roads, so you risk your life getting in your car and trying to go to work.

While it helps to live close to work, it doesn't always do the trick. For me, I live two mile from work. You would think I'd have the BEST commute imaginable. Nope..No such luck. I, unfortunately, live near Fairfax Corner. Momentum Drive is now open through to Lee Highway. That has increased the traffic tenfold..and with Fairfax Corner open now...Well, let's put it this way, I get onto Momentum and get right into the left hand lane. I know where I am going, and I know my turn is a left turn a short ways up the road. Every single afternoon on my way home, I am nearly hit by someone in the right lane, who is obviously looking for Fairfax Corner, and suddenly sees it at the last minute and just comes into my lane to get over! Don't get me started about the mall traffic around the holidays! Whoever thought that one main traffic light for getting into and out of the mall was a good idea, well, they obviously didn't consider the traffic.

I have the opportunity to relocate to Abingdon for my job, and I am pushing beyond belief to go. It would be nice, for a change, to live in a community that feels a little more like the state I originally moved to.

[dullnboring]

I have to echo what so many others have said. Commute is a BIG deal here. Try to live as close to work as possible. In spite of our reputation as the 3rd (or is it 2nd now?) worst traffic congestion in the nation, I've found that outside of the rush (three) hour window, things aren't THAT bad, although maybe they would be to someone who's moved here from a lesser populated area. But DURING that rush (three) hour(s) is when things are really horrible so you need to minimize the amount of time on the road then, hence why it's best to work closer to home.

Cost of living here IS absolutely ridiculous, but you can get "okay" deals if you are willing to share a place, or rent a room in someone's home. I highly recommend that anyone moving to the area do this first for several months, in the area of their workplace, because it will give them a few months to get accustomed to the area, size up traffic patterns and such and look around for a place, and will enable you to save up a few bucks and maybe (depending on how long you're willing to rent out a room) even give you enough of a head-start to help you to afford a more desirable place than you would have otherwise.

Good things about Northern Virginia: Good schools, low crime, diverse population, a great diverse economy (government, defense, construction, real estate, IT....and in every strip mall you pass, there are at least five or six stores with HELP WANTED signs out front) with extremely low unemployment.

Bad things about Northern Virginia: TRAFFIC! Cost of living, little character (largely suburban homogeneity of strip malls, big box stores and subdivisions), rude people.

A lot of people would cite the weather as being another bad thing. I personally don't find it to be that bad. It rains a bit more than I'd like and I wish we had more pleasant sunny days (seems to be hot and cloudy, or sunny and cool/cold), but otherwise I don't find it THAT bad. A lot of people find our hot and humid and buggy summers to be oppressive. I don't mind them, minus a handful of really awful days.

[digger666]

How is noice of Dulles airport? In other words, what areas in Herndon and possibly Reston are totally unusable for living? I am considering relocation, my company office is just at Wood Oak Drive.

[arabellava]

Originally Posted by stevenlear

My son fell on the field at school during gym class and opened up his hand on a broken beer bottle. He sat in the nurses office for an hour bleeding heavily while my wife and I were commuting to work. Despite having completed reams of paperwork giving the school permission to get him ermegency care if necessary. During this hour, the school "nurse" did nothing for my son other than run his hand under the water and give him a piece of cotton, or something, to place on the wound himself. Once I got to work I returned their message and instructed them to get him to the ER (two blocks from the school) and I met him there. After being examined and stitched up (just missed an important nerve and shaved of part of his knuckle) I took my son home. Two days later.... no call from anyone at the school to see how my son was doing!!!! I didn't expect them to say sorry... let alone accept any responsibility... I just thought maybe they would call to see how he was. Never happened. Damage control. Same reaction from the school when a woman who had taught my son was arrested for molesting a classmate of my son... never heard a peep from the school.. I had to learn about it from my child. This is Fairfax County and their wonderful school system. Parents, you are on your own!

At which school did this happen?

[novanative75]

Originally Posted by stevenlear

My son fell on the field at school during gym class and opened up his hand on a broken beer bottle. He sat in the nurses office for an hour bleeding heavily while my wife and I were commuting to work. Despite having completed reams of paperwork giving the school permission to get him ermegency care if necessary. During this hour, the school "nurse" did nothing for my son other than run his hand under the water and give him a piece of cotton, or something, to place on the wound himself. Once I got to work I returned their message and instructed them to get him to the ER (two blocks from the school) and I met him there. After being examined and stitched up (just missed an important nerve and shaved of part of his knuckle) I took my son home. Two days later.... no call from anyone at the school to see how my son was doing!!!! I didn't expect them to say sorry... let alone accept any responsibility... I just thought maybe they would call to see how he was. Never happened. Damage control. Same reaction from the school when a woman who had taught my son was arrested for molesting a classmate of my son... never heard a peep from the school.. I had to learn about it from my child. This is Fairfax County and their wonderful school system. Parents, you are on your own!

Fairfax County is a wonderful school system, one bad experience does not say anything about the school district as a whole and I am sure you know this. It is like going to a five star restaurant and having a bad waiter, you do not, then, say that all five star restaurants suck.
I was born and raised in Fairfax County and it is an excellent school system, one of the best in the country. So, they have one crappy nurse, oh well. I have had the unfortunate pleasure of working in other school districts in the country and the parents in Fairfax County should be very thankful for what they have. My husband and I will move back when we have children in school, it is one of the best districts in the country.

[tarp]

Reston and Herndon do not get any airplane noise. I work in Herndon and almost never hear an airplane.

Chantilly/South Riding and parts of Sterling get more airplane noise.

[movingfromUK]

Someone just told me about a site called Just Settling - Home, I have only had a quick look but its all about moving to and living in Fairfax County and looks really good.