Philly to Front Royal VA....Moving information NEEDED

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Sorry to disagree with a couple of you, but I'm a "city boy" who lives in Reston, and this community is by no means affording me an "urban" vibe (even with those fancy-shmancy high-rises right next to me). I often joke that Reston is a suburb "posing" as a city, and in many senses that is accurate. We're like Pinocchio---we're trying and trying and trying to be a "real" city to be more appealing and to garner some respect and some street "cred", but it's just not happening. For crying out loud we still don't have streetlights, curbs, or sidewalks in many parts of town, and we're a community of 65,000. I may feel differently once Metrorail moves in and we see a mad rush of high-rises and yuppies all over Reston, making us "Arlington Junior", but as of right now anyways you have a much better chance of running into a soccer mom or a retired couple in most parts of Reston than a group of urban hipsters. I attend a very large Protestant church in town, and I'm probably the only one my age (22) that attends there (without his/her parents). I feel like Reston (like Old Town Alexandria) is geared towards 30-somethings while all of the 20-somethings belong in North Arlington.

Don't get me wrong. Reston is still a perfectly suitable place to live and be reasonably happy if you're in a suburban mindset, but I'm tiring of people making us sound "urban" when we're NOT! Urban compared to Ashburn, Broadlands, South Riding, Chantilly, etc.? Yes, as we serve as their regional "downtown." Urban in the true sense of the word? Not a chance. We're a sprawling suburb with a few square blocks of high-rises for a "fake" downtown that was built AFTER the town hit---not FIRST with the rest of town developing around it, as is what SHOULD have been done. I'm becoming more and more happy here (volunteering at the library book sale last night and becoming more engaged at my church are helping), but people need to stop telling others that Reston = "urban." I was MISLED into believing this too by a few people, thinking that Reston was the next best thing to Arlington or DC at a fraction of the price, and now I feel very depressed to be living in just another run-of-the-mill 'burb. I'm looking to relocate in a couple of years most likely to Falls Church.

ScranBarre,

I don't think anyone was trying to give the impression that Reston was "urban in the true sense of the word". The truth is that Front Royal is more than 60 miles away from Arlington let alone DC. Given that, the Reston Town Center area may be one of the better compromises for the OP as she would have a reasonably critical mass of people and amenities that may appeal to her. Downtown Fairfax City/George Mason area may be another consideration. Even Herndon has an interesting if small "Old Town" area. The State Theater notwithstanding, I'm not sure what Falls Church would provide for an urban-oriented 20something person except an affordable jumping-off point to Arlington and DC.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by Tone509

ScranBarre,

I don't think anyone was trying to give the impression that Reston was "urban in the true sense of the word". The truth is that Front Royal is more than 60 miles away from Arlington let alone DC. Given that, the Reston Town Center area may be one of the better compromises for the OP as she would have a reasonably critical mass of people and amenities that may appeal to her. Downtown Fairfax City/George Mason area may be another consideration. Even Herndon has an interesting if small "Old Town" area. The State Theater notwithstanding, I'm not sure what Falls Church would provide for an urban-oriented 20something person except an affordable jumping-off point to Arlington and DC.

From my perspective Downtown Falls Church offers the State Theater, independent stores and restaurants, annual festivals and parades, leafy residential neighborhoods, and is within a long walk to two Metro stations. It is still very a much a 'burb, but it feels more like a small town---the horrid congestion along Route 7 notwithstanding. It's the type of place I feel as if you'd be able to attach your identity to and want to genuinely help the place to become better. For someone like me who prefers to either have an "in-town" or an "urban" vibe over anything that reeks of suburbia this is a fair compromise. I could very easily walk to a lot of amenities, and that's something I would really appreciate. Reston might be a bit less maligned by me if it had Metrorail service (as it should have had long before it became NoVA's largest suburb). Now I'm hearing that the second phase of the Silver Line might not even happen now because the Loudoun County commuters are all whining that they don't want the Toll Road fares to increase to help pay for it. Great. Just great. So where would that leave Reston?

Reston is a great place for families (I seriously couldn't think of many more ideal places for a family to live than Reston), but for those wanting to carve out a niche in a true "community" and feel civic pride and attachment there's just nothing here. Incorporating Reston into a city, giving it its own individual elected officials to give us more influence, would be a start, but alas the people here voted that down when it did come onto the ballot in the past. Apparently Fairfax County, which won't even mow the overgrown weeds in its medians because it doesn't know how to, is "better" than letting us try our hand ourselves at governance---but what do I know?

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

From my perspective Downtown Falls Church offers the State Theater, independent stores and restaurants, annual festivals and parades, leafy residential neighborhoods, and is within a long walk to two Metro stations. It is still very a much a 'burb, but it feels more like a small town---the horrid congestion along Route 7 notwithstanding. It's the type of place I feel as if you'd be able to attach your identity to and want to genuinely help the place to become better. For someone like me who prefers to either have an "in-town" or an "urban" vibe over anything that reeks of suburbia this is a fair compromise. I could very easily walk to a lot of amenities, and that's something I would really appreciate. Reston might be a bit less maligned by me if it had Metrorail service (as it should have had long before it became NoVA's largest suburb). Now I'm hearing that the second phase of the Silver Line might not even happen now because the Loudoun County commuters are all whining that they don't want the Toll Road fares to increase to help pay for it. Great. Just great. So where would that leave Reston?

Reston is a great place for families (I seriously couldn't think of many more ideal places for a family to live than Reston), but for those wanting to carve out a niche in a true "community" and feel civic pride and attachment there's just nothing here. Incorporating Reston into a city, giving it its own individual elected officials to give us more influence, would be a start, but alas the people here voted that down when it did come onto the ballot in the past. Apparently Fairfax County, which won't even mow the overgrown weeds in its medians because it doesn't know how to, is "better" than letting us try our hand ourselves at governance---but what do I know?

I'm certainly not knocking Falls Church as a great place to live. The OP may even find that she likes it. My impression of FC just has been more of a family-friendly community rather than a first-choice of active 20somethings.

Considering the OP will certainly be driving to Front Royal, transit access isn't relevant in this case. But as a quick aside... while I'm sorry to hear that there may be complications with the Silver Line, I'll still maintain that there are a variety of reasons why Metrorail could not be established proactively in Reston. I'd respecfully refer you to the Albuquerque and Phoenix forums to explore the flipside criticism of such decisions.

[spaceman7]

As a Philly-area native, I'd say Front Royal would compare to living in Lancaster or Oxford, PA, although with Front Royal being more of a mountain area, perhaps somewhere north of Allentown/Bethlehem, PA (up towards the Poconos) would be more comparable.

Also, I'd say Herndon/Reston would be like Media, PA or maybe Paoli-Wayne, although these PA areas have more public trans options than Herndon/Reston.

I've lived in Bristow, VA, and have driven out to Front Royal before, and I think this might be a bearable compromise, if Front Royal isn't the area for you to live just yet. Thus, I'd suggest Gainesville/Centreville corridor be considered. These towns are not as young-singles-friendly as Reston Town Center area or even Arlington and inwards, but I think they are built up enough (with more to come) that a city girl wouldn't feel as shocked as she would moving to Front Royal. Especailly from Centreville, you'd be within a decent shot of the Vienna metro (which I used from Bristow on weekends to get into Arlington or DC) and all the young singles areas, and your commute to work would be opposite the congested direction. Considering many people around here get up ass-early and accept hour-plus commutes, you'd be within or below the norm by commuting to Front Royal from this area. Of course, unless you are in Old Town Manassas area (which could cause some problems getting to 66 to go West), you will be dealing with newer housing (well, a rental house in the Sudley Manor area might be the best option for Manassas for traffic and style) However, you still feel like you are in the metro DC area, here.

There isn't much of a good compromise location where you can get funky/indie/urban Philly vibe and be within a bearable commute to Front Royal.

I won't touch the buy vs. rent part of your question.