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okay sure, you could compare winters from Boston and Canada to here and say they are "mild", but in reality there is nothing really mild about them. its all relative to where you lived before
Wow. To those of you who kvetch about the lack of arts/music scene/things to do------you really need to get out more. Granted, you ain't gonna find it in Ashburn or deep suburbia. Use that thing in your driveway on the weekends. Are you all from NYC and Paris or something?
Wow. To those of you who kvetch about the lack of arts/music scene/things to do------you really need to get out more. Granted, you ain't gonna find it in Ashburn or deep suburbia. Use that thing in your driveway on the weekends. Are you all from NYC and Paris or something?
Ha! Good one. Use that thing in my driveway? I'm not sure what's it called. I'm so confused. Yeah just head into DC to get your culture that's what its there for.
I'm one of the rare folks around here who's actually from NoVa. I've lived in both SWFL and NorCal but I keep getting sucked back to NoVa due to the readily available job market.
I get so bummed and bored living here that I came here to try and find some silver linings to this area that I've grown to loath. I'll speak about what I indeed do enjoy about this area first then I'll get down to the brass tax of my loathing...
I really like how we get all of the 4 seasons here in NoVa. I don't think I could live in a place that was 1 type of weather year-round. I like how it's a melting pot comprised of people from all over the world. I also like that there are many jobs to be had here. If you can't find a job you're really not looking hard enough. Finding a job that'll pay you enough to live here is a different story...
I think the coolest aspect of the area is if you drive 30-40 miles east you're in the city and if you drive 30-40 west you're in the country. The blue ridge mountains are some of the old mountains in the country and they're beautiful. Skyline drive is a must do for anyone who comes here. The caverns we have here are also pretty awesome. You can go tubing down the Shenandoah river during the summer also which is a lot of fun. Lots of music festivals and acts come around too and play at small clubs to big stadiums to local farms and in the hills. There's also the Occoquan river if you're into boating. I suggest checking out Tim's river-shore and their annual aquaplooza festival.
The Civil war history is pretty cool here too. There's bull run battle field and lots of other place to hike where lots of battles took place during the civil ware; like the unfinished railroad.
There's also a lot of parks you can check out.
The things I cannot stand about this area: To expand on my 'like' about all the jobs around... if you do not make a certain amount per hour/year, or don't have roommates, you're pretty much screwed out of living in NoVa. This is a very expensive place to live. If you can't live right in NoVa you're forced to live either out west or down south just outside of the NoVa area. The downside of this is all the traffic that goes in those directions during the rush hours. There's only so many different routes you can take and most of them, if not all, are backed up beyond belief. Day after day of sitting in traffic wears on my nerves to the point where I wonder why the hell I'm living here.
I've read a lot on here about all the things there are to do but no one ever mentions the crowds. Yes, there are a lot of things to do but the crowds totally kill the fun for me. Parking at these events is a pain, standing in lines is a pain, dealing with trying to find your spot in the grass, or a table to sit at, or whatever, is always a pain unless you get there super early and claim your spot. Trying to get a drink at the bar can be a pain... Pretty much anything you do, especially during the summer, is a pain because everyone else wants to do the same thing and there's a TON of people that live here.
TRAFFIC. Did I mention traffic?? All the time. Every day. Traffic is a way of life here and it's only getting worse. Get a car you love because you're going to be spending a lot of time in it.
Work, work work. That's the main thing people around here do. That's why people come here; because there's lot of jobs. Lots of money to be made and lots of competition out there doing the same thing. People come here to work so that's a huge part of the culture here. I'd like to say there's a work hard play hard mentality but I just don't see it. Even while playing people are still able to work due to all the electronic toys everyone has around here.
NoVa is 3 hours from the DE beaches/ocean city and 4 hours from VA beach. It can easily take you double that amount of time to get there unless you leave a midnight. Then, once you get there, the place is so crowded it's hard to really relax. Crowds. Again.
The cops here are a pain in the butt too. I call the fun 'controlled fun' because that's what it is. In CA you can pull off on the side of the road if you see a swimming hole and go for a dip. You do that here and you're going to jail for trespassing. That being said, the natural water here I wouldn't want to swim in anyway. It's dirty and uninviting.
To conclude I think NoVa is a cool place to live if you're from somewhere else. I've lived here for 32 years and I have grown to hate it. I got tired of the City thing early on and now I'm tired of the country thing. The main issue with being from here is everything is nice and new, people are educated and it's progressive for the most part. Everywhere else I've been hasn't been like that so it's hard to find a better place to live. With that said, every place has is pros and cons.
I'm one of the rare folks around here who's actually from NoVa. I've lived in both SWFL and NorCal but I keep getting sucked back to NoVa due to the readily available job market.
I get so bummed and bored living here that I came here to try and find some silver linings to this area that I've grown to loath. I'll speak about what I indeed do enjoy about this area first then I'll get down to the brass tax of my loathing...
I really like how we get all of the 4 seasons here in NoVa. I don't think I could live in a place that was 1 type of weather year-round. I like how it's a melting pot comprised of people from all over the world. I also like that there are many jobs to be had here. If you can't find a job you're really not looking hard enough. Finding a job that'll pay you enough to live here is a different story...
I think the coolest aspect of the area is if you drive 30-40 miles east you're in the city and if you drive 30-40 west you're in the country. The blue ridge mountains are some of the old mountains in the country and they're beautiful. Skyline drive is a must do for anyone who comes here. The caverns we have here are also pretty awesome. You can go tubing down the Shenandoah river during the summer also which is a lot of fun. Lots of music festivals and acts come around too and play at small clubs to big stadiums to local farms and in the hills. There's also the Occoquan river if you're into boating. I suggest checking out Tim's river-shore and their annual aquaplooza festival.
The Civil war history is pretty cool here too. There's bull run battle field and lots of other place to hike where lots of battles took place during the civil ware; like the unfinished railroad.
There's also a lot of parks you can check out.
The things I cannot stand about this area: To expand on my 'like' about all the jobs around... if you do not make a certain amount per hour/year, or don't have roommates, you're pretty much screwed out of living in NoVa. This is a very expensive place to live. If you can't live right in NoVa you're forced to live either out west or down south just outside of the NoVa area. The downside of this is all the traffic that goes in those directions during the rush hours. There's only so many different routes you can take and most of them, if not all, are backed up beyond belief. Day after day of sitting in traffic wears on my nerves to the point where I wonder why the hell I'm living here.
I've read a lot on here about all the things there are to do but no one ever mentions the crowds. Yes, there are a lot of things to do but the crowds totally kill the fun for me. Parking at these events is a pain, standing in lines is a pain, dealing with trying to find your spot in the grass, or a table to sit at, or whatever, is always a pain unless you get there super early and claim your spot. Trying to get a drink at the bar can be a pain... Pretty much anything you do, especially during the summer, is a pain because everyone else wants to do the same thing and there's a TON of people that live here.
TRAFFIC. Did I mention traffic?? All the time. Every day. Traffic is a way of life here and it's only getting worse. Get a car you love because you're going to be spending a lot of time in it.
Work, work work. That's the main thing people around here do. That's why people come here; because there's lot of jobs. Lots of money to be made and lots of competition out there doing the same thing. People come here to work so that's a huge part of the culture here. I'd like to say there's a work hard play hard mentality but I just don't see it. Even while playing people are still able to work due to all the electronic toys everyone has around here.
NoVa is 3 hours from the DE beaches/ocean city and 4 hours from VA beach. It can easily take you double that amount of time to get there unless you leave a midnight. Then, once you get there, the place is so crowded it's hard to really relax. Crowds. Again.
The cops here are a pain in the butt too. I call the fun 'controlled fun' because that's what it is. In CA you can pull off on the side of the road if you see a swimming hole and go for a dip. You do that here and you're going to jail for trespassing. That being said, the natural water here I wouldn't want to swim in anyway. It's dirty and uninviting.
To conclude I think NoVa is a cool place to live if you're from somewhere else. I've lived here for 32 years and I have grown to hate it. I got tired of the City thing early on and now I'm tired of the country thing. The main issue with being from here is everything is nice and new, people are educated and it's progressive for the most part. Everywhere else I've been hasn't been like that so it's hard to find a better place to live. With that said, every place has is pros and cons.
Where in Northern California? Can you contrast your experiences there?
....The cops here are a pain in the butt too. I call the fun 'controlled fun' because that's what it is. In CA you can pull off on the side of the road if you see a swimming hole and go for a dip. You do that here and you're going to jail for trespassing...
So, property rights have been abolished in California?
If you happen to have a "swimming hole" or some other amenity on your property, it is open to any passers-by to use as they see fit?
Man, I've heard things are getting crazy out there, but I had no idea!
I just spent 4 days in Philly. I am a Washington native; however, I have lived in Maine and overseas for a bit, but mainly here and in Maryland.
Philly was interesting. I will say that there was much better Italian food there than I *ever* had in the NoVA DC area. The people, when I was out and about, were much friendlier with just saying "hi" when you were walking around so that was kind of nice.
The drivers in Philly were absolutely rude. If you had the least little bit of lag time (yes, I was trying to figure out where I was going), man did they lay on their horns and were extremely aggressive. I see aggressive here too but I have to say people are a tad more patient. That kind of shocked me.
The roads in Philly looked like they haven't been repaired in years. Our road infrastructure here is in much better shape.
Philly (not the main part of the city, but the outskirts) was a complete eyesore. I know we have there here but the extent seemed much greater there, so I think it "looks" nicer there.
Overall, I say I still prefer NoVA to at least that area. But I think they have better food.
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Yeah just head into DC to get your culture that's what its there for.
