Vienna - Info (Arlington, Alexandria, Reston: apartments, house, college)

[JD984]

Originally Posted by neighborhoodfind

It isn't simply old or out of fashion. It is an unhealthy model that results in a lesser quality of life. Old New England towns, Georgetown, Alexandria...they don't go out of style.

Abstained from this thread for a while; a few thoughts:

1. Most of NoVa is suburban and car-centric. Vienna is no exception, except that it has a slightly more concentrated retail area along Maple Avenue and Church Streets than other suburbs, such as Fairfax or McLean. Even though there is a "town" of Vienna, only a small portion of it registers very high on the quaint/charming scale. The rest of it is "just" a nice suburb where people are generally happy to live and raise their families.

2. There are plenty of other places to live if you think Vienna and its neighbors reflect an "unhealthy model" of suburban development. Arguing for pedestrian malls in Vienna, quite honestly, strikes me as a joke, given its current configuration. You might enjoy a stroll while sipping a latte, but there'd be less business traffic overall and the local merchants would surely struggle.

3. Parts of NoVa may be ugly but they retain their economic vibrancy, which - in these times - certainly has its own appeals. Small New England towns may appeal to you aesthetically, but many have not only "gone out of style" - they have virtually disappeared from the map. Same for many small towns all over New York and Pennsylvania, not to mention large swaths of older, "walkable" urban areas such as Baltimore.

[athousandlogins]

I grew up in an old New England town, and I have to say that NoVA, including Vienna, is more walkable as a whole. I mean, sure, we had a central area in my town that was kind of nice to walk around. But once you got through walking that very small area, a couple of blocks, that was it. Most of the rest of the town's sidewalks were either neglected or didn't exist at all. And there wasn't much to see, anyway, outside of the town center except yards and houses. Nobody walked anywhere to go about their daily business, though sometimes they would drive to the town center to park there and walk around. But it was hardly the abandon-your-car model people sometimes seem to expect. As an avid walker, I'd prefer living in strip-mall-saturated NoVA and having access to the W&OD trail (which is *quite* long and accessible from the middle of Vienna) than living back in my old hometown.

Not that New England doesn't have walkable areas - when I lived in Boston, I could literally walk across the city, and I loved that. But for the most part, it was actually quite car-dependent where I lived anyway.

[michgc]

Hi,

I am new to this forum but wanted to add my 2 cents. I own a house and live in the Town of Vienna and have been here for 9 years. I used to live in Bethesda, MD which is a pretty walkable city, so when I moved across the river I was looking for something like the OP is. I wanted a walkable town that looked nice, too. My husband suggested Vienna and I poo-pooed it because it just didn't have "the look" that I had in my mind. I wanted to buy a house in a town with a central business district that was pedestrian friendly. Because of job locations, Alexandria and Arlington were not considered. It had to be Fairfax County. We looked far and wide and after a detailed search, Vienna came out on top. No it wasn't the quaint picture I originally had in my mind of a pretty town. But it was the best I could find in Northern Virginia. And it is a real town - not a fake town that developers build. What we did was make sure we bought a house in walking distance of Maple Avenue. I walk EVERYWHERE around town - not just to shops and restaurants on Maple Avenue, but to parks, the community center, preschool, the library, the bike trail, and Church Street. We walk to Viva Vienna (carnival over Memorial Day Weekend), Fourth of July Fireworks (when they were near the Community Center), the FireStation Open House, book sales at the library, and flea markets at the Community Center. There are dozens of activities throughout the year in this town. You CAN walk along Maple Avenue. I walk to Giant, Magruder's, and Whole Foods quite often as well as the library. No, it's not perfect. Sometimes you have to switch sides of the street to stay on a sidewalk. But really no place is perfect. I love living here. The Town of Vienna is among the best that Northern Virginia has to offer.

[claremarie]

I don't really understand the passion for accomplishing all of one's household/family errands on foot. It sounds like a great idea, in theory, and brings to mind delightful strolls on a lovely fall Saturday to the local independent coffee shop, then the library to pick up the poetry volume you've placed on hold, and finally the farmer's market to gather leafy greens for a dinner pary. It's not quite as appealing when it's raining/snowing/95 degrees, or when you have cranky small children in tow, or when you need to pick up six gallons of milk on the way home from dropping off a dozen heavy science fair reference books at the library and taking three down comforters to the cleaners.

[Fern435]

Originally Posted by claremarie

I don't really understand the passion for accomplishing all of one's household/family errands on foot. It sounds like a great idea, in theory, and brings to mind delightful strolls on a lovely fall Saturday to the local independent coffee shop, then the library to pick up the poetry volume you've placed on hold, and finally the farmer's market to gather leafy greens for a dinner pary. It's not quite as appealing when it's raining/snowing/95 degrees, or when you have cranky small children in tow, or when you need to pick up six gallons of milk on the way home from dropping off a dozen heavy science fair reference books at the library and taking three down comforters to the cleaners.

Thank you for this post! Very true!

[michgc]

I agree that it's not appealing in the cold weather or the rain. But I often take long walks with at least 2 of my 3 kids in tow. It's appealing to me because it gives me exercise, gives my kids an up-close look at their world rather than a DVD screen inside the car. It is also better for the environment. I rarely pick up 6 gallons of milk at a time, but I will put 1 gallon in my stroller basket. I happen to like "city" living where I am not constantly in and out of the car, but on foot. Yes, there are some errands that need to be done by car, no doubt. But if at all possible, I prefer to hoof it.

[Blanca29]

Originally Posted by neighborhoodfind

I'm considering moving to Vienna. I've driven through the area two or three times and the traffic through 123 was horrendous. Church street had a couple of blocks of nice quaint shopping, but that was it. The sidewalks end past the very small retail section on church street making it pedestrian unfriendly to walk to the shops on Church from many parts of Vienna. 123 is a series of unpleasant strip malls. Am I missing something? Is this the best that NOVA has to offer?

Anyone know if the city has plans to make the retail areas along 123 more walkable and pleasant? I see the area as having a lot of potential but I haven't seen much forward thinking in Northern Virginia in terms of city planning. They could easily rebuild some of the decaying strip malls into very nice walkable retail areas, with outdoor dining, parking in the back and so forth. Any plans in place to do this?

Traffic is pretty much horrendous in any big metropolitan area. For the experience that you're looking for - walkable, outdoor dining and independent stores - NW DC, especially Georgetown, will be a better fit.

[Movingwesttoeast]

Originally Posted by michgc

Hi,

I am new to this forum but wanted to add my 2 cents. I own a house and live in the Town of Vienna and have been here for 9 years. I used to live in Bethesda, MD which is a pretty walkable city, so when I moved across the river I was looking for something like the OP is. I wanted a walkable town that looked nice, too. My husband suggested Vienna and I poo-pooed it because it just didn't have "the look" that I had in my mind. I wanted to buy a house in a town with a central business district that was pedestrian friendly. Because of job locations, Alexandria and Arlington were not considered. It had to be Fairfax County. We looked far and wide and after a detailed search, Vienna came out on top. No it wasn't the quaint picture I originally had in my mind of a pretty town. But it was the best I could find in Northern Virginia. And it is a real town - not a fake town that developers build. What we did was make sure we bought a house in walking distance of Maple Avenue. I walk EVERYWHERE around town - not just to shops and restaurants on Maple Avenue, but to parks, the community center, preschool, the library, the bike trail, and Church Street. We walk to Viva Vienna (carnival over Memorial Day Weekend), Fourth of July Fireworks (when they were near the Community Center), the FireStation Open House, book sales at the library, and flea markets at the Community Center. There are dozens of activities throughout the year in this town. You CAN walk along Maple Avenue. I walk to Giant, Magruder's, and Whole Foods quite often as well as the library. No, it's not perfect. Sometimes you have to switch sides of the street to stay on a sidewalk. But really no place is perfect. I love living here. The Town of Vienna is among the best that Northern Virginia has to offer.

Thank you for your post. We just bought a house in Vienna -- within an easy walk to Maple. Your post made me feel even better about our decision. It has always been our dream to be able live in a area where to walk to coffee shops, the store, the library, etc. (with the option to drive if needed). With three kids, and as they get older, we look forward to them being able to walk places too. They love the idea that we do not have to get into the car every time we leave the house. Check out walkscore.com. It gives each house a "walkable rating" from 1 (not walkable) to 100 (completely walkable). Our new house scores at 84 (very walkable). I suspect the walkable trend will increase as more, but not all, will want a more walkable community for health, for the environment and for lifestyle.

[terrence81]

Originally Posted by Movingwesttoeast

Thank you for your post. We just bought a house in Vienna -- within an easy walk to Maple. Your post made me feel even better about our decision. It has always been our dream to be able live in a area where to walk to coffee shops, the store, the library, etc. (with the option to drive if needed). With three kids, and as they get older, we look forward to them being able to walk places too. They love the idea that we do not have to get into the car every time we leave the house. Check out walkscore.com. It gives each house a "walkable rating" from 1 (not walkable) to 100 (completely walkable). Our new house scores at 84 (very walkable). I suspect the walkable trend will increase as more, but not all, will want a more walkable community for health, for the environment and for lifestyle.

That's better than my place in Oakton. It scored a 49. There really isn't much you can walk to except the Bob Evans restaurant.

And I have a good number of the kids walking around Vienna. So yeah it's walkable.

[michgc]

My address got a score of 71 "very walkable," but the information seems to be pretty out of date. I never even heard of many of the places it said I could walk to. Regardless, I'm sure they were old stores that used to be here that have different ones in its place. Thanks for sharing that neat site.