What Is Good and Bad About Your Town? (Arlington, Annandale: crime, house)

[phrekyos]

Alexandria City...

Pros:
-close to (my) work
-close to the metro (walking distance for me)
-close (enough) to MD, Fairfax, Arlington, DC...
-Krispy Kreme factory store
-some decent independent restaurants

Cons:
-getting around Old Town is a PITA
-no Wegmans
-no Bloom
-no Taco Bell
-no PF Changs
-no Lotte
-Comcrap, but no FiOS
-expensive
-crappy mall (Landmark )

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by normie

• You're going to get at least 50-100 trick-or-treaters at Halloween. No candy left over for you!!
  
• Way too many fun things to do here. My friends all over the country always want to visit me because there's too many fun things to do. What am I, Howard Johnsons?
  
• Too many jobs. All the new jobs seem to be right here in the Tech Corridor. How are my kids ever going to know the pleasure of an unemployment check?
  
• It's just too easy to catch a plane at Dulles to any beach in the world. My husband can get to Cayman Islands in a few hours. Lots of girls in bikinis there so why do I want to make it easy for him to get there?
  
• Too many smart, highly educated people here. How am I supposed to BS people with how much I know when they're all smarter than me?
  
• My neighbors are too nice. Last year when my snowblower broke they shovelled my driveway without asking. Ruined a perfectly good excuse to stay in and not go to visit my brother.
  
• It's way too clean here. The air is clean, there isn't much trash on the ground, and almost no grafitti. Water tastes good. People out jogging in shorts 10 months of the year. Sometimes all year long. Ruins all my good excuses to be a couch potato.
  
• Too many song birds. How am I supposed to get in an afternoon snooze when everyday some new songbird is arriving? They all want to show off all their songs. Show offs!
  
• Too many hiking trails and green spaces. I can go hiking and go for long stretches of time without seeing other people around. Oh wait, that's a good thing. Well, maybe not a good thing if you want an excuse not to go hiking.
  
• Rich people don't know how to show it. Loudoun County is the richest county in the US yet you go into Home Depot and there's your neighbor Mr. Big Bucks wearing jeans and standing in line for a $2 piece of copper pipe. Geez Louise, don't rich people known how to act around here? All this down-to-Earth nonsense. Nobody knows the art of how to be pompous anymore.
  
• We get four seasons. Damn--what good is that? Just as you're getting used to one season it goes and changes on you. In a lot of cities you get winter snows from Halloween to Easter but not here. I feel gypped.
  
• The beach is 3 hours away. Why couldn't it be 3 states away? Now the grandkids want me to drive them there at least 1-2 times a summer.
  
• Too many gorgeous autumn leaves! Sometimes it takes me all day to rake 'em up. In California the only leaf I would have to rake up would be a single palm leaf. And speaking about trees, there's too many of 'em. When I moved here I couldn't even find a lot of places because they were hidden behind trees.
  
• Cherry trees. They're way too pretty. Who do they think they are?
  
  

Oh my! Love it!!! I was just in the mood to read something like this.

Since I live in the same community, I don't have much to add. You've pretty much covered it (and then some ). But, when I first lived in Cascades I lived right next to Cascades Marketplace and I miss being able to walk there and to the community buildings and office buildings there. So if I was to redesign Lowes Island I'd move all that a mile or so closer. That seems like a pretty small complaint to me, I don't have any major ones. The 20 somethings find eastern Loudoun in general to be boring, but since I'm not in my 20s that's not a big issue for me.

[normie]

Nobody else wants to add to this thread?

[katyusha25]

Originally Posted by normie

Lowes Island






OK sorry to be getting so silly. I just had a hard time coming up with a list of faults. What can I say, Lowes Island is a great place (as long as you don't mind new architecture and a long drive to DC).

That was cute, normie

[buildinginva]

Falls Church

Pros:
- proximity to Tysons
- two metro stops
- easy access to commuting routes, shopping, etc.
- many charming neighborhoods
- great schools (for 22046 and 22043 zip codes)
- good farmers market
- kid-friendly - easy access to parks with playgrounds, cute community events (Haloween, Easter egg hunt etc.)
- lots of good restaurants, including many excellent Vietnamese ones

Cons:
- proximity to Tysons
- expensive real estate
- some parts of greater Falls Church are not that nice
- traffic congestion

[Caladium]

I would love to see some reviews like this on Springfield, Woodbridge, Burke and Lorton. Also, Manassas.

[ny2dc]

can aynone add there pro's and con's about Mclean? I am moving there in September

[JD984]

Originally Posted by ny2dc

can aynone add there pro's and con's about Mclean? I am moving there in September

Here's a stab:


Pros:

• Great commute to Arlington and DC with option to take nice roads like the GW Parkway;
• Nice neighborhoods that typically have a mix of housing styles, with new houses blending fairly harmoniously among the older properties;
• Neighborhoods tend to have range of ages (from long-time residents to newcomers), compared to brand-new subdivisions in other parts of NoVa where the vast majority of residents may be young families in their 30s;
• Traffic is not nearly as bad in the commercial area as in other parts of NoVa;
• Very good schools and youth sports leagues;
• Good access to parks (such as Clemyjontri, Lewinsville, Great Falls), libraries and community center;
• Homes have retained their values quite well during the recent downturn;
• Amoo's Kabob, Pulcinella's, Kazan's, Pasa Thai, Rocco's, Greek Taverna, and McLean Family Restaurant;
• Good supermarkets (great Giant and Harris Teeter, so-so Safeways, and a Balducci's on Old Dominion for special items);
• Well-educated population, with opportunity to run into famous types when getting a bagel or Starbucks; and
• Close to, but not in the center of, Tysons Corner

Cons

• It is expensive, and prices for area laundries and other services can be jacked up above what one would have to pay just a few miles away;
• Too many decals on car windows (don't need to read everyone's resume at a stop light);
• Many houses are on fairly small lots;
• Downtown McLean is ugly, and there aren't enough good restaurants (Boston Market and Joe's Burgers don't count);
• No ice cream parlors (instead, a few take-out places dole out ice cream from behind the counter like a controlled substance);
• Some of the strip malls can be congested and hard to navigate;
• People can be uptight and make a big deal of suggesting they are in a rush;
• No Whole Foods or Trader Joe's in the downtown area;
• Some of the residential roads are in lousy condition, and traffic can get backed up on Old Dominion between McLean and Arlington; and
• No W&O bike path through the center of town.

[momtotwoboys]

Mclean (22101)

Pros
very convenient to DC
excellent schools
several metro bus stops
close to shopping (Tysons...although it takes longer now with construction)
well educated and diverse group of residents (diplomats, CIA, FBI, etc)
good rec center/will have a nice library in a few years

CONS
Expensive!!! (Why we are moving)
lots of construction in the older neighborhoods (any house that sells for $550K is torn down to make room for a Mcmansion)
fair amount of emphasis on material haves and have nots
no real Main Street feel ( but once you live here a while, you do feel like they know you at the dry cleaners, grocery store, etc)

I can't speak for the Langley area since I currently live near Mclean HS so that area might have a different vibe than where we are. Overall, if you can afford it a very nice place to live.

[slduvall]

Kingstowne - not a town just a masterplanned neighborhood

Pros


* Good access to metro, I-95, I-495, I-395, Fairfax County Parkway
* Quick trip to Old town
* Close to Fort Belvoir
* Quiet Neighborhoods - most neighborhoods have direct access to main roads, not a lot of driving through deep subdivisions.
* Lots of woods (every house on my street backs to forest)
* No congestion to speak of. Only near the Kingstowne Shopping center (theater etc) but tons of parking in the garage
* Lot of trails
* 4 Grocery stores, Walmart, Kohls, homegoods, TJ Max, Ross, (are those pros!!!) some decent dining (chain only though)
* WEGMANS coming!
* Quick trip to Burke Lake Park
* Inova Health Plex nearby, all my dr's are in the building, good results so far.[/list]
Cons

* 5000 houses - i.e. 90% townhouses and condos, in a relatively small area * Fewer SF homes to choose from, and they are way expensive.
* Most people are there because it is close to the city, so they are busy, busy people, not alot of socializing
* I can see 17 doors from my front window...know about 3 of these families
* Schools not the greatest
* Springfield Mall..ick..though the Target is there.


[/list]