Desirability, reputation and demographics of various NoVa towns/regions (Arlington: for sale, houses)

[CaptainAaamerica]

I am hoping to get local opinion on the desirability, reputation and demographics (social and racial) of each town / region in NoVa. I think it will help all newbies like myself to get a better sense of the regions/towns in NoVA.

I realize that NoVa is diverse, both socially and racially, so the opinions are understood to be generalizations. For example, I understand that Ashburn has a lot of Indians compared to the rest of its population (or compared to the rest of its immigration population), and Chevy Chase or Bethesda in Maryland have a lot of Jews and Persians/Iranians compared to the rest of its population (or compared to the rest of its immigration population). This doesn't mean that Ashburn wouldn't have any Persians or Jews, nor does it mean that Bethesda doesn't have any Indians. Its just a generalization for better understanding of the fabric of each neighborhood. I just used race as an example, but the same goes with any other opinion provided.

Here is a list of towns/regions I quickly made up for anyone to comment on:

Alexandria (I assume can be broken into regions) -
Arlington (I assume can be broken into regions) -
Ashburn -
Falls Church -
Great Falls -
Dullus -
Herndon -
Mclean (I assume can be broken into regions) -
Reston -
Oakton -
Pimmet Hills -
Potomac Falls
Shady Oaks
Vienna -
Tysons -
Wolf Trap -

Feel free to add or break down regions/towns...

[HokieFan]

Let's save some time:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Virginia.html

[CaptainAaamerica]

Originally Posted by HokieFan

Let's save some time:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Virginia.html

Thank you, but I am looking more for local opinions / experiences than run of the mill general stats. I am starting to really appreciate City-Data forum for this very reason... having a place to get opinions of people who live in towns/cities is much more valuable than having a place to get run of the mill stats like household income or demographics defined by "black, white or latino" (these stats can be found in many other places with a 20 second search, - and for the most part dont mean much on their own to most people anymore). These local opinions are not scientific but are very helpful.

[sonnymarkjiz]

I find this to be pretty accurate. (jk)

[CLfan1977]

Originally Posted by sonnymarkjiz

I find this to be pretty accurate. (jk)

Love this. I wonder if any other metro areas have a similar “guide”.

[Piney Creek]

To be honest, I don't know how helpful this would be.

Re: Desirability. We all have different ideas on what is and is not desirable. I personally think Reston and many of the neighborhoods in Eastern Loudoun are highly desirable. Others don't think so at all. There is something for everyone here, we can't tell you what you'd find desirable.

Re: Demographics. This is such a transitional area that we can't really tell you about demographics, either. They're constantly changing.

For example, if you were to ask me about my old neighborhood in Loudoun, I would tell you mostly older, empty nesters lived there, and the population had a wide variety of people from various countries (many research scientists at Janelia, among other things). We used to laugh about how my street had people from all the continents except Antarctica, including quite a few families from various Asian countries and 3 families from Germany. But in the 3 short years since we moved away, it's completely changed. A huge number of people who were waiting for housing values to hit a certain level decided it was time to retire. Most of the homes on my street went up for sale, and now it's the home of young 20-somethings with babies. The research scientists from other countries seemed to have moved and now the demographic seems to be more about kids who were born in northern VA, and are getting their first home close.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by CaptainAaamerica

Thank you, but I am looking more for local opinions / experiences than run of the mill general stats. l.

It feels to me like you are looking for stereotypes.

[Piney Creek]

Originally Posted by CLfan1977

Love this. I wonder if any other metro areas have a similar “guide”.

I've seen a few for other cities. A lot of them have the same comments like "soccer moms who can't drive". Not sure if it's because they're made by the same person or people see it, laugh, and feel compelled to create the same sort of map for their own community.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Originally Posted by Piney Creek

To be honest, I don't know how helpful this would be.

Re: Desirability. We all have different ideas on what is and is not desirable. I personally think Reston and many of the neighborhoods in Eastern Loudoun are highly desirable. Others don't think so at all. There is something for everyone here, we can't tell you what you'd find desirable.

Re: Demographics. This is such a transitional area that we can't really tell you about demographics, either. They're constantly changing.

For example, if you were to ask me about my old neighborhood in Loudoun, I would tell you mostly older, empty nesters lived there, and the population had a wide variety of people from various countries (many research scientists at Janelia, among other things). We used to laugh about how my street had people from all the continents except Antarctica, including quite a few families from various Asian countries and 3 families from Germany. But in the 3 short years since we moved away, it's completely changed. A huge number of people who were waiting for housing values to hit a certain level decided it was time to retire. Most of the homes on my street went up for sale, and now it's the home of young 20-somethings with babies. The research scientists from other countries seemed to have moved and now the demographic seems to be more about kids who were born in northern VA, and are getting their first home close.

That's what I was about to say - isn't it going to be rather subjective if anything else?

[sonnymarkjiz]

Yeah on a serious note, Piney is absolutely correct. I think it really boils down to preferences.

But from what I notice, age, the commute to your job, whether or not you have kids (schools), and affordability are the 4 main ingredients.

For example, if you're in your mid 20s, you're going to want to be in Arlington on the Orange Line corridor. That's the main place to be if you're in that age group. Why? It's right next to the city, bars/nightlife/ it's Metro friendly, and you have a good group of people who are younger and moving there.

If you're in your early 30s, you'll notice that people will either continue to stay in Arlington /DC/ Alexandria right until they get married and have kids. That's when areas like Reston and Eastern Loudoun come into play because the schools are rated highly and houses are actually affordable and many neighborhoods are geared towards kids. Everyone thinks that Reston/Ashburn is a bunch of 50 year Olds, but that demographic is significantly changing. Last time I was out there, it was all young couples with 0-3 year Olds walking around everywhere.

Now when it comes to race, this area is pretty diverse, so that won't be a thing to point out. (There are some things though, Annandale and Centerville have a high concentration of Koreans, the Dulles/Toll Road corridor has a lot of Indians, Woodbridge and Dale City is more black, Old Town Alexandria is pretty white, etc) but besides that, this is one of the most diverse areas you'll see.

This is also a very transient region. Many here are contractors and are here for a year or two then leave. I can't tell you how many people I've met 3 years ago who are now on the other side of the continent.

Besides that, it really depends. Nova is one of those weird areas in the country that because it's so transient, it's really diverse and you'll meet people from all walks of life.