Living in Tysons/Working in Tysons (questions) (Arlington, Alexandria: appointed, apartment)

[TNic79]

OK, So I'll be moving from Atlanta GA. to Tyson's Corner this weekend! Yay!
My job is a mile away from my apartment (check)

But, What time does traffic die down in Tyson's Corner area during the week?
Will driving around the Tyson's area on the weekends be a pain?
Also, is there any kind of night life in the area for a single, attractive (so I've been told ), female in her early 30's?


I guess I can't really complain being that I live so close to work.

[thenewguy2012]

Originally Posted by TNic79

Also, is there any kind of night life in the area for a single, attractive (so I've been told ), female in her early 30's?

aww bummer.. i only know night life areas for single, UNATTRACTIVE females in their early 30s..

[GustavoFring]

I just moved from Tysons/McLean after living there for 5.5 years . I also moved there because I was working in Tysons and wanted to avoid traffic. Here are my thoughts about living in Tysons:

Pros:

Reverse commute to just about anywhere except downtown DC
A bunch of Malls (if you care for that sort of thing)
Metro will be there soon

Cons:

Nightlife is not great - There's one "club", which I don't like but have been to frequently. It used to be called e-citie, but I don't know its new name. It's basically 40-60 year old dancing to house music in a warehouse that's been nicely appointed.

Dining options are limited - Don't like chains? too bad unless you want to be spending a whole lot of dough for Ruth Chris, Chima, Mortons, etc. If you want to avoid the food courts, even the chains are limited. You're welcome to try to get to downtown Falls Church, Vienna or McLean for more unique food options, but have fun with that at 6PM.

Neighborhood - Non existent, this is a business city and people come here to work and go home. It's amazing how empty the streets are on the weekends (as long as you're not on route 7 or near the mall). Walkability is not possible if it requires crossing or following route 7

Construction - hopefully this one is almost done, but they've been building the metro the entire time I've been living here. This compounds traffic and is not good for your car

localized traffic - I would get home from work but not bother to go anywhere until 7 or later due to every single access/feeder road being an endless jam. I would almost feel like I was on a flooded island for the first few hours I was home. One issue is that because there's 495, 66 and 267 all meeting around there, if something is bad on any one of those roads, it causes Tysons itself to be a mess as everyone tries to find alternative routes.

Inhabitants - Many of the people that inhabit the tysons area seem to be wealthy middle eastern or asian types who zoom around in M3's all day while taking smoke/coffee breaks at the various Starbucks or malls. I don't really care, but it sometimes got old being one of a few Americans in any of the malls, restaurants, etc to speak English. I know this is the same everywhere in Northern Virginia/ DC, but it seemed especially concentrated in the Tyson area. I attribute this to the proximity or McLean and Great Falls, and the perceived benefits for image conscious people to be seen at the Malls.


Future - Tysons will eventually resemble the Orange Line corridor in Arlington (that's the plan at least). Unfortunately, by the time that occurs, both you and I will be in our 50s and won't much care if we live in a place like that. For me, I've decided to just pack up, move to Old Town Alexandria and have that experience now while I care. I hope your move works out for you!

[TNic79]

Originally Posted by thenewguy2012

aww bummer.. i only know night life areas for single, UNATTRACTIVE females in their early 30s..

I literally, laughed out loud!

[TNic79]

Wow, Thank you for the break down!
I'm not a fan of chain restaurants, but I don't mind venturing out for great food.
However, I do love to shop.
It looks like I'll be the minority living in Tyson's Corner, but that's fine.

I was considering moving to Alexandria, but I was advised that the commute would be horrible.
Oh Well, I'll guess I'll suck it up for the first year.

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

I just moved from Tysons/McLean after living there for 5.5 years . I also moved there because I was working in Tysons and wanted to avoid traffic. Here are my thoughts about living in Tysons:

Pros:

Reverse commute to just about anywhere except downtown DC
A bunch of Malls (if you care for that sort of thing)
Metro will be there soon

Cons:

Nightlife is not great - There's one "club", which I don't like but have been to frequently. It used to be called e-citie, but I don't know its new name. It's basically 40-60 year old dancing to house music in a warehouse that's been nicely appointed.

Dining options are limited - Don't like chains? too bad unless you want to be spending a whole lot of dough for Ruth Chris, Chima, Mortons, etc. If you want to avoid the food courts, even the chains are limited. You're welcome to try to get to downtown Falls Church, Vienna or McLean for more unique food options, but have fun with that at 6PM.

Neighborhood - Non existent, this is a business city and people come here to work and go home. It's amazing how empty the streets are on the weekends (as long as you're not on route 7 or near the mall). Walkability is not possible if it requires crossing or following route 7

Construction - hopefully this one is almost done, but they've been building the metro the entire time I've been living here. This compounds traffic and is not good for your car

localized traffic - I would get home from work but not bother to go anywhere until 7 or later due to every single access/feeder road being an endless jam. I would almost feel like I was on a flooded island for the first few hours I was home. One issue is that because there's 495, 66 and 267 all meeting around there, if something is bad on any one of those roads, it causes Tysons itself to be a mess as everyone tries to find alternative routes.

Inhabitants - Many of the people that inhabit the tysons area seem to be wealthy middle eastern or asian types who zoom around in M3's all day while taking smoke/coffee breaks at the various Starbucks or malls. I don't really care, but it sometimes got old being one of a few Americans in any of the malls, restaurants, etc to speak English. I know this is the same everywhere in Northern Virginia/ DC, but it seemed especially concentrated in the Tyson area. I attribute this to the proximity or McLean and Great Falls, and the perceived benefits for image conscious people to be seen at the Malls.


Future - Tysons will eventually resemble the Orange Line corridor in Arlington (that's the plan at least). Unfortunately, by the time that occurs, both you and I will be in our 50s and won't much care if we live in a place like that. For me, I've decided to just pack up, move to Old Town Alexandria and have that experience now while I care. I hope your move works out for you!

[thenewguy2012]

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

Inhabitants - Many of the people that inhabit the tysons area seem to be wealthy middle eastern or asian types who zoom around in M3's all day while taking smoke/coffee breaks at the various Starbucks or malls. I don't really care, but it sometimes got old being one of a few Americans in any of the malls, restaurants, etc to speak English. I know this is the same everywhere in Northern Virginia/ DC, but it seemed especially concentrated in the Tyson area. I attribute this to the proximity or McLean and Great Falls, and the perceived benefits for image conscious people to be seen at the Malls.

I know right? How dare these "middle easterners" and "asians" inconvenience you just by being in the same mall as yourself? Where's the outrage over this? If I don't want to see any minority they damn better clear out of the area. Plus they all should just go back to Africa. I mean what's next, will they be allowed to vote as well?

[GustavoFring]

Originally Posted by thenewguy2012

I know right? How dare these "middle easterners" and "asians" inconvenience you just by being in the same mall as yourself? Where's the outrage over this? If I don't want to see any minority they damn better clear out of the area. Plus they all should just go back to Africa. I mean what's next, will they be allowed to vote as well?

Look buddy, I'm just giving my assessment. Simply acknowledging differences does not mean I'm disparaging anyone. If you've noticed, everyone tends to aggregate among their own kind. If you don't believe me, drive to Annandale, Herndon , etc. There's nothing wrong with middle easterners or asians being the majority, I'm just mentioning it as someone asked for opinions.

Perhaps you should go back to where ever you came from, regardless of your nationality or ethnicity since it appears as though you're the "new" troll in town.

[GustavoFring]

Originally Posted by TNic79

Wow, Thank you for the break down!
I'm not a fan of chain restaurants, but I don't mind venturing out for great food.
However, I do love to shop.
It looks like I'll be the minority living in Tyson's Corner, but that's fine.

I was considering moving to Alexandria, but I was advised that the commute would be horrible.
Oh Well, I'll guess I'll suck it up for the first year.

I decided to give up my awesome commute for a home life once I'm actually there. I'll be doing the Old Town to Tysons commute, and I anticipate it taking 30-45 minutes without incidents, which isn't bad for this area. In periods of no traffic, it's under 20. Considering 30-45 minutes in western directions would put me in Ashburn, Chantilly or other very suburbanized, cookie cutter areas, I feel as though I chose wisely.

[thenewguy2012]

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

Look buddy, I'm just giving my assessment. Simply acknowledging differences does not mean I'm disparaging anyone. If you've noticed, everyone tends to aggregate among their own kind. If you don't believe me, drive to Annandale, Herndon , etc. There's nothing wrong with middle easterners or asians being the majority, I'm just mentioning it as someone asked for opinions.

Perhaps you should go back to where ever you came from, regardless of your nationality or ethnicity since it appears as though you're the "new" troll in town.

Well you sure do seem bothered by all these middle easterners or asians "smoking" and "walking around" in the malls.

You're entitled to your opinion, even though it's bigoted. I'm actually glad you're doing that since it may keep individuals like you out of the community. So spread the word around "buddy"!

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by GustavoFring

Look buddy, I'm just giving my assessment. Simply acknowledging differences does not mean I'm disparaging anyone. If you've noticed, everyone tends to aggregate among their own kind. If you don't believe me, drive to Annandale, Herndon , etc. There's nothing wrong with middle easterners or asians being the majority, I'm just mentioning it as someone asked for opinions.

Just curious, who do you think mainly lives in Annandale?