NoVa residents - rate your metro, state, and region (Richmond: crime, neighborhoods)

[Forehead]

Originally Posted by athensvaasi

Why I am asking about DC metro: My long-pending move to either NoVa or Philly metro

Why I am asking about the state: I was recently in Calif., and it seemed like the most "complete state" in the nation. Great cities, ocean, great mountain, food, wineries. It seems like VA might be another "complete state" - seemed like when I last drove (not I-95, but the route thru VA Tech area) from NoVa to Atlanta where I live, there was a strech of wineries. Was wondering how successful they were. I had been to VA Beach a few years back, and I thought it was pretty good. As an additional question, would you guys consider living in another part of VA as an alternative to NoVa, if the opportunity arose.

Why I am asking about the region (Bos-Wash): Seems like there is no other place in the world (including in Europe) where 5 good-to-great cities are concentrated as they are in BosWash. I was wondering if you guys appreciate that. Or is the DC metro too isolated from NYC and Boston to think of it as a region.

Are you counting state debt into the equation? Because then I could see why California is so complete. Va has a ton of wineries along the western portions of 66 and down 81, but I have no idea how successful they are, I just happily drink their offerings.

If the opportunity arose, and I could make just as much money in Nova, I would consider living in Virginia Beach. Probably not Richmond, and definitely not the western areas, I don't care much for the rural feel. Charlottesville might also be a possibility.

I have never heard of Washington-Boston referred to as a region until this post. Washington-Baltimor is a region, and I've seen Philly-New York grouped together on occasion, but never with Boston unless it's in an "I hate you" sports context. I just got back from Boston, I loved it. I've been to New York and really enjoyed myself there. And of course, D.C. rules because I'm a blind homer. I have been to Philly twice and Baltimore on several occasions, and neither place really does it for me. So really, there's only three great cities in your "region", and two others that we tolerate.

[Caladium]

I'll try, although answers can vary depending on how bad traffic was today...

your metro (DC metro - raising family, activities, weekend entertainment)

We've really liked living here. Of course, this may be due to the fact that we live out in a nice suburb in Loudoun and we are the type of people who love living in a nice suburb. If we lived in a different part of Nova we might feel differently.

your state (Virginia, to include the mountains, beach, wineries, Universities, politics, etc.)

Maybe not as glamorous as California but I like it anyway. Four seasons, and none of them get too awful. The air is clean. Kayaking is good. Economy is good and taxes aren't too bad. The state regularly makes the top of lists for well managed states. Lots of interesting people.

your region (Boston-Washington corridor -- economy, entertainment/travel, etc.)

Can't answer this one, I don't spend much time in the corridor. I go to NYC quite a bit but don't really feel like I'm travelling "in the corridor", since I'm visiting family. Other than that I tend to stay off 95 and mostly enjoy life in VA.

[CaliTerp07]

your metro (DC metro - raising family, activities, weekend entertainment) It's busy busy busy! There are always 1,000 things going on...but there are 1,000,000 people trying to do those things I appreciate that I can see top concerts, theatrical productions, comedians, eat at nice restaurants, attend festivals, etc...but often times I skip out on going because the thought of fighting the crowds and the traffic is overwhelming. Or because, like today, it's 100* and humid (ughhhh I will never be used to humidity! EVER.)
your state (Virginia, to include the mountains, beach, wineries, Universities, politics, etc.) There's a bit of everything, but it's a trek to get places. Local "skiing" is all bunny slopes which is okay for a little bit, but you have to drive pretty far to find more exciting stuff. There is no shortage of hiking trails. The beaches are packed 20 people deep in the summer (once you fight 5 hours of traffic to get there!) If you have a flexible schedule and can take off time in the transition times (May, September) it's much nicer.
your region (Boston-Washington corridor -- economy, entertainment/travel, etc.) I definitely agree that Boston isn't really connected to DC. NYC is easily accessible by various buses and trains, but Boston is in another world and requires a day's travel to get there unless you want to fly. Speaking of which, flights are one of the best parts of this region, IMO. We have 3 airports (if you include BWI) within an hour's drive of the city, meaning I can almost always find decent fares to go other places.

My husband and I are here because we have job stability and growth potential in the region. We aren't thrilled with DC/NoVA (mostly for traffic/weather reasons), but it's not absolutely awful either. The financial prospects outweigh the stress and frustrations at the moment.

[michgc]

I definitely think of Bos-Wash as the Northeast corridor. I've heard it described that way many times. It's pretty much the biggest cities on the East Coast. Philly has a leg up on DC in that respect. Boston is about 6 hours away and DC 3 hours. But with DC being on the southern end of the region, it is a long trek up to Boston from there. On the other hand, people go to NY quite often, and there are many ways to get there - train, bus, car, plane.

Virginia is a beautiful state with the ocean at the east and mountains in the west. I don't drink wine, but I know we pass a few wineries when we travel south on 29. One negative about NoVA is that the beach is really quite a trek. With no traffic, it would easily be 2 1/2 hours away. Add in traffic and you're looking at well over 3 hours to get there. Again, Philly has a leg up on DC in that area. The beach is only 1 1/2 hours away and even less if you live in the Jersey suburbs.

I wouldn't necessarily consider another part of VA as an alternative to NoVA, because there's really no other part of Virginia like it. But I would consider other parts of VA for a change of pace. Charlottesville is a beautiful area, and would probably be first on my list. I like the Williamsburg area, too. I like Richmond, but it's definitely a slower pace city with more of a southern feel. Lynchburg and Roanoke are neat places, although I wouldn't want to live there - I could see why people would.

Overall, the metro area has a lot to do with a highly educated population and a decent economy. The traffic and cost of living are its downfalls. On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate it a 7.

I like the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has beautiful scenery and lots of history. Love Williamsburg and the colonial history and of course the civil war battlefields. And living outside the nation's capital has its merit. Overall, taxes are fair. Laws are a bit on the conservative side, but is more evident in other parts of Virginia. Overall, I rate the state an 8.

The region is great if you like urban, northeast US cities filled with history. You can't know the history of the formation of this nation without the Northeast's influence. Obviously, if you like huge mountains or tropical weather, it wouldn't be a good fit. I like the region overall and would give it an 8.

[smithy77]

Originally Posted by michgc

I definitely think of Bos-Wash as the Northeast corridor. I've heard it described that way many times. It's pretty much the biggest cities on the East Coast. Philly has a leg up on DC in that respect. Boston is about 6 hours away and DC 3 hours. But with DC being on the southern end of the region, it is a long trek up to Boston from there. On the other hand, people go to NY quite often, and there are many ways to get there - train, bus, car, plane.

Virginia is a beautiful state with the ocean at the east and mountains in the west. I don't drink wine, but I know we pass a few wineries when we travel south on 29. One negative about NoVA is that the beach is really quite a trek. With no traffic, it would easily be 2 1/2 hours away. Add in traffic and you're looking at well over 3 hours to get there. Again, Philly has a leg up on DC in that area. The beach is only 1 1/2 hours away and even less if you live in the Jersey suburbs.

I wouldn't necessarily consider another part of VA as an alternative to NoVA, because there's really no other part of Virginia like it. But I would consider other parts of VA for a change of pace. Charlottesville is a beautiful area, and would probably be first on my list. I like the Williamsburg area, too. I like Richmond, but it's definitely a slower pace city with more of a southern feel. Lynchburg and Roanoke are neat places, although I wouldn't want to live there - I could see why people would.

Overall, the metro area has a lot to do with a highly educated population and a decent economy. The traffic and cost of living are its downfalls. On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate it a 7.

I like the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has beautiful scenery and lots of history. Love Williamsburg and the colonial history and of course the civil war battlefields. And living outside the nation's capital has its merit. Overall, taxes are fair. Laws are a bit on the conservative side, but is more evident in other parts of Virginia. Overall, I rate the state an 8.

The region is great if you like urban, northeast US cities filled with history. You can't know the history of the formation of this nation without the Northeast's influence. Obviously, if you like huge mountains or tropical weather, it wouldn't be a good fit. I like the region overall and would give it an 8.

This is why I stay.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by michgc

I. Obviously, if you like huge mountains or tropical weather, it wouldn't be a good fit..

It gets pretty tropical about now to mid-September.

[saganista]

The two in our household are in various stages of the retirement process. Starting in the late 90's, we began to look around for spots where we thought we might like to retire when that time finally came. It was pretty plain then that financial constraints were not going to be much of a factor, so we looked at places in Europe and in the south in this country, the midwest, and the far west. In the end, the only place that was even borderline tempting was the south shore of the island of Kauai. Just delightful down there. But it's just too far away from everything and everybody. No place else made enough of an opening statement to earn as much as a second look. So instead of letting some up and coming yuppie do it, we put a bunch of money into making the house and grounds just the way we would want them with the next 25 years or so in mind, and we'll just retire to our gorgeously upgraded resort facility right here instead. Saves a bunch on moving costs. NoVa certainly isn't perfect, but it has some of almost everything, and much more of that on the plus side of the ledger than on the minus side. You certainly can find places with better and closer beaches for instance, but as we worked through the trade-offs necessary to make deals such as that, the price tag on one after another just kept getting prohibitively high in our minds. Viva NoVa and Viva Vienna/Oakton, say we.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by saganista

You certainly can find places with better and closer beaches for instance, but as we worked through the trade-offs necessary to make deals such as that, the price tag on one after another just kept getting prohibitively high in our minds. Viva NoVa and Viva Vienna/Oakton, say we.

I figure what we save by not moving will buy a lot of plane tickets. Also, this area seems to be improving. Either that or my standards are getting lower.

[saganista]

...plus who would want to give up all those thermal vents? You don't find those just anywhere...

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by saganista

...plus who would want to give up all those thermal vents? You don't find those just anywhere...

It's great having the longer growing season over here in zone 7.