Vienna - What am I missing? (Arlington, Alexandria: houses, unemployment, transfer)

[brooklynborndad]

My heart and my mind
is so full of Vienna
for Vienna as it weeps, as it laughs
that's where I know my way, that's where I'm at home
at day and at night
and no one is untouched
be he young, be he old
who knows Vienna as it really is.
Would I have to leave
this beautiful place
my yearning would never end.

Refrain:

Then I would hear an imaginary, faraway song,
that sounds and sings, that entices and draws me.
Vienna, Vienna you alone
will always be the city of my dreams,
there, where the cute old houses are,
there, where the lovely girls walk.
Vienna, Vienna you alone
will always be the city of my dreams
there, where I am happy and delirious
is Vienna, is Vienna, my Vienna.

Where there is fun,
you know
I'll be there
I stay in good form
until late in the night
It's all the same to me then
and if I sit with a girl
drinking wine
and an arm holds me tight,
if discretely and quietly,
praising our home country
a waltz by Strauß resounds:

[robbobobbo]

No one would mistake Vienna, Virginia, for Wien!

The OP is right, IMO, but unfortunately Northern Virginia is mostly sprawl built out from crossroads, and Vienna may be as good as it gets for the area for someone with particular priorities (school quality, not total suburbia, proximity to jobs, etc).

[Nancy in Nokomis]

There are plenty of good schools in NOVA in nice neighborhoods. I see nothing special about Vienna except extra traffic and a couple of charming buidlings -

[pearljam_49]

OP, you are right you're not missing much with Vienna. I find downtown Herndon more pleasing than the endless strip malls of Vienna.

Like a few have stated there are PLENTY of other choices in NOVA. If you want to be near Vienna then you should look into Reston. Just a short trip along Lawyers Road, which is a beautiful drive.

Just about all of Fairfax County has excellent schools. Reston offers MUCH more than Vienna. Plus by 2013 the Metro will be out as far as Wheelie Road.

Check out Reston before settling on Vienna.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by meh1961

I would recommend that you consider the Falls Church area. The City of Falls Church has two Metro stations, is close to Tysons, I-66, I-495 (Beltway), and is closer both to Arlington and DC than Vienna is. It is at least as much of a "town" as Vienna is and has the best public high school (in terms of test scores) in the entire Washington, DC metropolitan area (George Mason HS). Home prices in the city are pretty expensive, as well, so you could look in the parts of Fairfax County on the periphery of Falls Church that have Falls Church mailing addresses, and could enjoy all of the conveniences of living in the city with the exception of sending your kids to the city schools. Just a thought. By the way, Falls Church and Vienna are right next to each other.

I don't think the Metro stations are actually in the City of Falls Church. George Mason HS is good, and unique among local HS in terms of its small size, but I've never heard anyone claim before that it's the "best" public high school in the DC metropolitan area. There are certainly other schools in both Virginia and Maryland with higher test scores.

[stpickrell]

Originally Posted by JEB77

I don't think the Metro stations are actually in the City of Falls Church. George Mason HS is good, and unique among local HS in terms of its small size, but I've never heard anyone claim before that it's the "best" public high school in the DC metropolitan area. There are certainly other schools in both Virginia and Maryland with higher test scores.

It's up there with Oakton, Madison, Woodson, and Yorktown in terms of SAT scores, though. There is some degree of overcrowding, though; when they built a bunch of 2/3BR condos they didn't think there'd be so many families moving in to get access to the city schools.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by stpickrell

It's up there with Oakton, Madison, Woodson, and Yorktown in terms of SAT scores, though. There is some degree of overcrowding, though; when they built a bunch of 2/3BR condos they didn't think there'd be so many families moving in to get access to the city schools.

True, but not up there with TJ, Langley, Whitman, Churchill, etc., in terms of scores. It's not to say Mason might not be the "best" school for a particular student, but there's no consensus that it's the best public school in the DC region.

The recent overcrowding, as I recall, was more of an issue with the City of Falls Church elementary schools than with the middle (Mary Ellen Henderson) or high (George Mason) schools.

One thing about George Mason is that, if your kids are athletes, they (and you, if you care to cheer) have to travel long distances to play teams in rural parts of Virginia that also have small schools. If your kid plays sports at Madison, it's not a big hike to travel to Marshall, McLean or Oakton for a game.

[stpickrell]

Originally Posted by JEB77

True, but not up there with TJ, Langley, Whitman, Churchill, etc., in terms of scores. It's not to say Mason might not be the "best" school for a particular student, but there's no consensus that it's the best public school in the DC region.

The recent overcrowding, as I recall, was more of an issue with the City of Falls Church elementary schools than with the middle (Mary Ellen Henderson) or high (George Mason) schools.

One thing about George Mason is that, if your kids are athletes, they (and you, if you care to cheer) have to travel long distances to play teams in rural parts of Virginia that also have small schools. If your kid plays sports at Madison, it's not a big hike to travel to Marshall, McLean or Oakton for a game.

Good recall on the crowding at the ES level, I guess young families showed up for the condos. I just assumed it was also at the MS/HS level. Whether the families crowding the ES will stay is another issue.

And yeah, GREAT catch about it being rougher on athletes than the other Northern VA schools. I know in Frederick County that is one of the main drivers behind high school building/zoning -- they even adjusted the borders of Sherando to keep Sherando in Group AA. Otherwise they'd have to travel to Ashburn or Charlottesville depending on how the VHSL felt that year.

[Movingwesttoeast]

I moved to Vienna 18 months ago. We looked at a lot of NoVa areas until Vienna became our only option (Falls Church was only ruled out because we commute to Herndon). Now that we are here, we like it a lot more than we thought. The main reason is how great the people are. Last week we had a sick kid home from school. Two neighbors found out from their kids, and both these neighbors knowing I was stuck at home, called me from the grocery store to ask if I needed anything. That is just one example. We have been amazed by kindness....that has included...returning from an out of town trip to find our drive way shoveled by neighbors; when grandparents looked after our kids while we were away they were showered with offers of help, drives to sporting events, play dates, etc.; invitations to neighborhood parties; more people to run with than anywhere I have ever lived before and I could go on. On our first Halloween here, our entire cul-de-sac ended up in our drive way for an impromptu party. The people are GREAT. When I read posts about unfriendly people in DC, I shake my head. I have lived lots of places...west coast, midwest, Canada...and Vienna is great. There are other good places to live, but we are happy here.
One other thing I have noticed regarding traffic...when I come to a 4 way stop in Vienna....usually the other person waves me through, even if they were first. I could be wrong, but I guess those are the Vienna people, just being kind...like they always seem to be....
And finally, we live walking distance from the main area of Vienna. Vienna DT is not as pretty as some, but there are some good things. We love that we can walk to something -- and there are more and more great things coming all the time. Just since we moved here we have a great new coffee shop, the new pasty place, Maple Ave. Restaurant, new gelato, new local market, and more is coming (Panera, Fresh Market).
We are glad we found Vienna.

[pvnova]

Originally Posted by theS5

The intent of this post is to get more info on Vienna and why it is a desirable place to live. The reason that I need help is because I have now made two trips to view the area and have left both unimpressed and disappointed.

A few observations about the area:
-downtown/church st. is lacking character. There is just not much to draw you there. I know that true downtown areas are hard to come by in NOVA, so I guess Vienna is the best of what is available.

The downtown is small, but it least it is there, it is walkable and it is safe. Among suburbs, Vienna has as much "small town" feel as the best of them. Some people look for that.

Originally Posted by theS5

-Housing is ridiculous. For $700-800k you are looking at a old split level that has not been updated. I know that Vienna is convenient, but there needs to be more if I am going to pay that kind of premium.

So, what am I missing? Or, am I not missing anything?

I agree, housing prices are still very high. They shot up during the bubble, and barely came down due, I guess, to low unemployment in the area and people coming for good jobs from all over the country. There was some dip in 2009, but by now it is almost gone. Yet you can find pretty good colonials on 1/2 acre in 600s if you look. Here is the example of the recent sale:
431 CENTER St NORTH, VIENNA, VA 22180 | MLS# FX7523316

Why people value Vienna?

Good, highly educated and diverse (in the good sense of the word) people, without much of old-money snobbery.

Great schools (some of the best in the country among public schools), generally better than your run-of-the-mill parochial schools (I have friends with kids attending those and good Loudoun schools, Vienna and McLean schools are well ahead even before GT). There are some better private schools in the area (Potomac, Madeira, Nysmith, Edlin come to mind), but these are very selective and expensive.

It is situated in the green belt right between two biggest (in terms of sq footage of office space) employment centers of DC area: Tysons Corner and Reston-Herndon. Just minutes by car from either of them. The same for Fairfax (smaller employment center).
For people who work in Ballston-Rosslyn corridor of Arlington or in metro-accessible places of DC, there is Vienna-Fairfax GME Metro station again just minutes away (depending on your location, for north-western parts of 22182 it could be significantly longer drive).

For bikers, two biggest trails of NoVA cross in Vienna: 45-long paved W&OD west-east trail and 40-mile (Potomac to Occoquan) mostly unpaved Cross County trail best for mountain bikes. These trails cross and connect to numerous other trails and parks, so recreation (and commuting for some) opportunities are awesome.

If you like music, there are free summer concerts in town, but also Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts is also right here.

If you like good and diverse food, there a great restaurants both in town and nearby.

All in all, I found Vienna of the best place in the US for a family with kids who have to work for living and appreciate both culture and outdoors.

If you primary destination is DC, then commute from McLean, Fall Church City and Bethesda (among the places with schools just as good) is 10-15 minutes shorter (depending on your location and your destination). But all 3 are significantly more expensive for the same quality of house.