You Know You Have Been in NoVA Too Long When ... (Dale City: house, to buy)

[yamota]

when you picked up your prescription at People's Drug, then you went shopping for clothes at Bradlees and electronics at Luskins, then you went to rent a video at Erol's

[michgc]

-you shop in another city on Black Friday and don't think the crowds are that bad
-you remember when Reston was a far-out suburb
-you talk in acronyms - HOV, IAD, NOVA
-you think that a 1-hour commute is great
-you think that a house under $1/2 mil. is a steal
-you're not impressed by people who work for the CIA/ FBI/at the White House/on the Hill
-you don't bother to turn and stare anymore when the Presidential cavalcade goes by
-you remember when the Redskins were a winning team
-you don't particularly notice the tall, pointy obelisk when you drive into the city
-you remember when people didn't pay to live in Lorton
-you have hundreds of thousands of dollars of equity in your home
-you remember when residents had southern accents
-you think that driving 5 miles in 30 minutes is normal

[Yankeesfan]

You shopped at Landmark when it was a strip mall, and went to its grand opening as an enclosed mall.

And your favorite stores there were Hecht's and Woodies.

You had one kind of "charge plate" that you could use at Hecht's, Woodies, Garfinckels, and ??? -- someone remind me what was the fourth store? (I never had one of these but some of my friends and relatives did.)

You had to transfer from the Metro to a bus at the Pentagon because that's where the Metro ended in Virginia. Yellow Line? Green Line? What are they?

Springfield Mall was THE place to go.

You dialed the area codes for Maryland and DC (which were local, not long distance), but not if you were calling within Virginia. The only area codes in Virginia were 703 and 804.

[snowdenscold]

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

You dialed the area codes for Maryland and DC (which were local, not long distance), but not if you were calling within Virginia. The only area codes in Virginia were 703 and 804.

And you used to get service from C&P Telephone.

[michgc]

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

You shopped at Landmark when it was a strip mall, and went to its grand opening as an enclosed mall.

And your favorite stores there were Hecht's and Woodies.

You had one kind of "charge plate" that you could use at Hecht's, Woodies, Garfinckels, and ??? -- someone remind me what was the fourth store? (I never had one of these but some of my friends and relatives did.) i. magnin?

You had to transfer from the Metro to a bus at the Pentagon because that's where the Metro ended in Virginia. Yellow Line? Green Line? What are they?

Springfield Mall was THE place to go.

You dialed the area codes for Maryland and DC (which were local, not long distance), but not if you were calling within Virginia. The only area codes in Virginia were 703 and 804. Good one! I forgot about that!

Comments in red above.

Just looked it up - 2nd paragraph - it was Lansburgh's and Raleigh's: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/raw...s_last_ho.html

[hilsmom]

It really wasn't all that long ago that the movie theater at Springfield Mall was OK. My husband and I went on many date nights there. Now, I can't remember exactly when the last time was that we went to Springfield, but it couldn't have been more than 10 years ago. In tech time, yeah, that's forever, but it isn't really THAT long in the grand scheme of things.

As for Lorton, weren't they just closing down the prison in the late 90s? Now there is a Town Center and all those new neighborhoods. Pretty crazy.

I also lived in Shirlington before it was redeveloped. The indie movies they played in the theater there were awesome.

And is there still a theater at Pentagon City, or is that gone?

Keep in mind, I'm only in my mid-30s and have only lived here since graduating college.

[themommy]

Originally Posted by yamota

when you picked up your prescription at People's Drug, then you went shopping for clothes at Bradlees and electronics at Luskins, then you went to rent a video at Erol's

Yup.

And Woodies... Oh, I still miss Woodies. Also, the Cabin John Bridge will always live in my heart and, apparently, on my tongue. It's like my brain refuses to accept the American Legion thing. Same with Reagan National. The "Reagan" part never comes out when I say it.

More contributions

...you remember when the Sears in Seven Corners was still a Lord and Taylor.

...you remember when Spokes in Vienna was still a movie theater.

...you remember when the Waterford at Fair Oaks was still a movie theater. (I see a theme...)

...you used to eat at the Hot Shoppes at Tysons Corner Center, back when it was still the skeevy mall in town.

...you remember when the Flint Hill School was only that one old house.

I've gotta say, though, from my perspective, there's no such thing as being in NoVA too long. NoVA is home, and I love home.

[khuntrevor]

You look up where and when the Super Bowl will be played as if you might go to see the Redskins.

You long for the days of going to beautiful RFK stadium to watch the Skins.

You think you can actually get a good pizza and fresh salad and beer from Pizza Hut.

You think it might be fun to go play Putt-Putt.

You actually assume that your son/daughter will have no trouble finding Summer or permanent employment.

The George Allen you know, was the coach of the Redskins.

Fairfax City and Vienna were absolutely the places not to drink and drive...everyplace else was OK.

The water at Brookfield Park was your biggest environmental concern.

You actually loved to go Baltimore, because they had something we didn't (besides baseball) but it was hard to pinpoint.

You still call it National Airport.

You waited in line to see the moon rock.

You think you can just cruise up to Maine Ave. and buy a bushel of live crabs for a couple of twenties.

You think 10 Dollars is a fair price for someone mowing your lawn.

Using IAD was a big inconvenience.

[Margery]

You remember the Milt Grant Show (going back to the late 50"s, early 60"s on this one, it was an American Bandstand rival).

You remember the commercial "Don't say drug store, say Drug Fair, there's a big difference".

When the guys went to Baltimore they went to "the block".

[Lehuster]

You remember the Sears in Clarendon... and when there was no Whole Foods or all the glitzy chain stores and condos.