Sterling Park Photos (low income, apartments, high crime)

[normie]

ok, since i can't type well with my arm in a sling, thought i'd take photos today. as requested, this is sterling park. since there's been some controversy about how 'ugly' and 'scary' the area near the dmv is, i decided to go there. figured if it was really scary i wouldn't get out of the car. but imo, it was perfectly fine.

i parked at big lots at 10 a.m., started walking around the circle behind the shopping plaza. walked as far as forest ridge elementary school. here are the photos from that part of this project. everything was shot this morning, thursday juine 23 from 10-noon.



these flags are across sterling blvd from the dmv. i hear some petty crime takes place here, although it looked ok to me. no graffiti or people hanging out there today.


this is the scary shopping plaza where all the crimes take place. again, no graffiti or people hanging out there today, no boarded up windows, no trash in the street. i would feel fine getting something at subway during the day. but i hear people hang out there at night, and some fights have happened.


took this at 10 and it was pretty quiet. by the time i got back here around noon the community center and library were hopping today, looks like a fun place to me.

this is big lots, where i parked. sterling park is the low income part of loudoun relatively speaking of course. so sterling is where you will find big lots, dollar stores, and other discount stores.

this is the apartment building directly across from the dmv. scranny called them "distressed-looking townhomes/apartments" so thought i'd check 'em out. seemed attractive enough to me. no graffiti, no trasgh, nice plantings, not bad for affordable housing. i've lived in affordable housing that looked a lot worse than this.

The elderly man sitting on the bench outside this building doesn't seem to be scared about all 'gangs' bothering him. if even half the things people say on this forum were true he would be terrified to sit outside.

lots of townhomes. modest, but clean and appear to be well cared for. little girl putting something in the trash can also seems well cared for. by the way it was trash day today, that's why many photos have bags at the curb.

more townhouses. median appears to be mown, landscaping appears to be cared for.

water tower on circle drive is a local landmark.

seniors were sitting on these benches waiting for a ride. after they were picked up i looked at the benches. no graffiti, no vandalism. i thought people said graffiti was everywhere?

[normie]

more townhouses along the circle.
i guess some people might complain that the median is unkempt here. but imo this neighborhood looks really nice. so what if the grass isn't always golf course perfect, it just means it's a family neighborhood and children like to play there.

the next several shots are typical houses near fillmore drive and forest ridge area. most of them are well cared for. lots of flowers and landscaping. people seem ok to have yard ornaments, toys, and baby strollers outside unattended. cars parked outside seem nice and well cared for. it looked like a nice neighborhood to me, not look like a slum or anything at all like the description from a recent poster who said

I did NOT like the atmosphere of the Sterling Boulevard corridor, especially next to the DMV, very much at all. I hate to sound like a racist, but if I see a group of minority males walking down the sidewalk with bandanas on and staring at passing vehicles I immediately worry about the possibility of them being a "gang." Couple that with the unkempt median grass, the distressed-looking townhomes/apartments, and the single-family homes that seemed just a bit spooky and I really could stand to avoid photographing that neighborhood (is all of Sterling like that?)

this last photo is forest ridge elementary school. school's out for the year, but there were no scary people hanging out there. this was the end of my walk, i turned around at this point.

by the way, once you get off sterling blvd the street are shady and winding. there are a lot of big trees. fillmore street has a whole block that is nothing but trees. i would describe it as a very pretty area in a brady bunch sort of way. which is not bad at all, considering it is where people go for starter homes or if they want a place that's relatively inexpensive.

[cdmurphy]

Thanks for posting these, normie! I go to Sterling Park frequently - we attend Christ the Redeemer Church, and I love shopping at Big Lots and Goodwill. I have lived in some real ghetto places in my lifetime, and Sterling Park doesn't even compare. It's an older neighborhood, and it's shabby compared to Ashburn and other parts of eastern Loudoun, but that doesn't mean it's dangerous. I have friends that grew up there and chose to buy homes there as adults.

[VRE332]

how come people call Sterling ->>Potomic Falls? I dont see no falls there!

[terrence81]

Nice pics. The place across from the DMV? Well I'll admit I'd rather live in the apartments below the DMV apartments. Nice and newer more my tastes. The DMV just look old but some people like that though. So not my taste but if someone wants to live in a place that has character as long as the neighbors are nice and not noisy and one's car doesnt' get broken into that's what counts. So I'm not being a hater.

[normie]

there's some petty crime in sterling park, but it can;t be too bad if people are willing to park a nice car like this outside.

cute kid outside a townhouse. notice she is riding on a sidewalk. sterling park has plenty of sidewalks, although many neighbrhoods have them only on one side of the street. Still every street has a sidewalk.

a church on circle drive.

since there was a complaint about the unmowed grass on sterling blvd, thought i'd take a picture of it. yes it is indeed unmown. but you know, does it really look that bad? i mean c'mon it's not 4 feet high, and there's no trash. if you saw grass like this along the road while driving in the country you'd say it was charming. so this is sterling blvd, arguably the least desirable street to live on. but still, when you look at the house across the street you see the neighborhood looks inexpensive but clean and cared for.

[normie]

this next set of photos is from the neighborhood near briar park. i drove there and then walked around the park and down charlotte street. this park is full of all sorts of fun and imaginative play equipment, it's a neat little place imo.


gazebo and train rae part of a "kiddy" area. The ranch house across the street is typical of the homes nearby.
one of several play areas. there must be at least 20 different kinds of slides in this park.

i never did see gangs hanging out on the street... unless you count this bunch of kids. i guess you could say they're wearing their colors, lol. of course to be fair it was about noon when i shot this. maybe all those people who "hang out in gangs" were still asleep.

i also didn't see that much graffiti, unless you want to count chalk drawings and hopscotch squares. of course, i'm sure there's graffiti around. but to be honest, not nearly as much as i expected to see.


typical house on charlotte street.

another typical house on charlotte street.

another typical house on charlotte street.

[JD984]

OK, Normie. I hope you paid at least union wage to all the extras you paid to ride their bikes and walk their strollers in the "nice" neighborhoods as part of your "documentary." We all know that, in reality, everyone in these parts either drives a Hummer or, if they walk, does so in the median strip.

What will you possibly claim happens in Loudoun next? Children playing soccer on fields in Cascades or Ashburn Village? We won't be fooled this easily!

[normie]

this house is on church street. i was trying to find the knights of columbus barn, thought it would be fun to show that. it's an old farm that was bought by koc and used for weddings, etc. but i didn't find it. anyone know if it's still around? anyway, when i realized i wasn't going to find it i stopped anyway to get some photos of the homes in that neighborhood.

typical strip mall. boring maybe but not scary, not trashy. no gang members hanging out. looks ok to me

i have some more photos i wanted to share but i'm having trouble resizing with my arm in a sling. maybe i'll post some more tomorrow.

in case i haven't said this enough times, here's one last thing to chew on. i'm an old lady in my 70's walking around taking photos with somewhat expensive camera. my arm is in a sling and i have to walk slowly, if anyone looks weak and vulnerable it's me. but i did not feel unsafe at any time this morning. i might not feel like taking long walks outside at night, but sterling park does not deserve the reputation for being 'unsafe' or 'trashy' that some people on this forum want to give it.

[fdeitz]

Just goes to show there's a lot of exaggeration on this forum. Then again, some things have been judged just by looking at satellite photos! Good pictures though. I've seen lots worse places than those above, that's for sure. At night, some places might be more scary and probably one might want to avoid the shopping center if it is indeed considered to be a high crime area, especially if there are places people can hide about in there at night.