Best Small Town Rural Feel in Loudoun/NOVA? (Lynchburg, Chester: 2014, crime)
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Why are there no urban growth boundaries in Northern Virginia to restrict newer development closer to the urban core and to preserve precious open space for future generations to enjoy? I'm sure the land South Riding is sited upon looked quite tranquil and was an inviting change from the rat-race closer in to Chantilly/Centreville before it was paved over for McMansions and townhouses. Urban growth boundaries would reward developers for redeveloping existing brownfield and/or underutilized parcels nearer to the Beltway while deterring developers from letting another South Riding, Broadlands, or Gainesville to occur---communities in which 100% of residents MUST drive long distances to access anything worthwhile, creating greater dependency upon fossil fuels and worsening the air quality in the process.
Denser urban infill needs to occur closer to The District before everything west of a line extending from Leesburg down to South Riding and on into Haymarket becomes overrun with cookie-cutter development in the coming years. At what point do people in NoVA decide "that's far enough" when it comes to the outer edges of urban sprawl? Who wants to live in The District and have to drive progressively deeper and deeper into the boonies of VA with each successive year to find open space to relax within? Why would anyone want to live in a place like Haymarket and commute an hour or longer each way to work just to have more unnecessary square footage for their dollar?
Us folks who live inside the beltway resist rampant and senseless development too, thank you very much. Everyone thinks that we want everything torn down and turned into condo canyons, all so the rest of NOVA can enjoy bucolic pastures - NOPE!
Live where you work, it's really that easy to say. I have no idea why people want to live further out in the exurbs besides to get the mcmasion they cannot afford closer in. These people don't factor in how long it takes to commute to these places and that you are really never there to enjoy the mcmansion you bought.
I personally believe we need to reienvent the "american dream" so that people do not have such a strong desire to live in such large homes. To the OP, why do you need land? After working full time are you going to be able to maintain it yet alone enjoy it? These are loaded questions and I'm sure the answer is no.
Live where you work, simple as that your qaulity of life will be that much better, you cannot get your wasted time commuting back. To those who still insist that living a crazy far distance out is key, have you thought about a total relocation? OR perhaps working furhter out where that new house will be and taking a pay cut, because after all you won't need all that income with less costs and cheaper taxes will you? OF course you will because you are greedy.
LOL
I do agree a larger urban housing needs to be placed closer into the city, it will be the only way to ease up traffic and give people more relief.
A second play comes into after when DINKS(Dual Income No Kid) earners start having children, they all of a sudden deicde living closer in, in that condo of townhome is no longer good enough and come out into fairfax, loudoun, prince william for that 4 bedroom colonial house on .15 arce lot because now they need a "larger" house with a "yard". These folks lack the insight of the added commute and they will never see their children and the yard is still just as small as the postage stamp.
Now lets factor in the the ones where one spouse will get to stay home if they move further out, sure you get to be home with your child at the expense of your spouses hardship, there is no winning with this.
OP you do realize WV, lucketts, lovettsville are two lane highways right? Even the greenway backs up getting off on RT 7 West which would be one of the ways to get to Round Hill. 15N to lucketss/lovettsville looks like hell even on the weekends when there isn't rush hour. During peak it is backed up into Leesburg. Getting into WV? After you sit in the greenway or RT 7 congestion this is ANOTHER two lane road while I have never driven it I can only take what my co workers have told me.
Live near your job, you will never regret that decsion, also RENT no need to buy a home unless you are certain.
Why would anyone willingly move to a new house in Haymarket when they worked in Tysons Corner or Arlington for any other reason than "cheap housing"?
Perceived race and class demographics, mostly race, though, I'd say. All couched in code words like "good schools/young families/friendly neighbors." There are threads on here every month where people want to live in Arlington, Falls Church, or Vienna, then after seeing the costs, choose Brambleton, Aldie, or South Riding. There's a thread on the front page that is looking for condos in Sterling, but specifically not Sterling Park. Come on. It's pulling teeth to get somebody to look at a house in Mount Vernon, Rose Hill, Franconia, Annandale, West Falls Church. It can't all be the size of the houses.
I have no idea why people want to live further out in the exurbs besides to get the mcmasion they cannot afford closer in. These people don't factor in how long it takes to commute to these places and that you are really never there to enjoy the mcmansion you bought.
I live 1.5 hours from my work in DC. My 2 bedroom, 85-year old home is as far from a McMansion that you can get. I certainly factored in the commute time when I moved there, and I certainly have plenty of time to enjoy the quiet, country space.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmv101010
I personally believe we need to reienvent the "american dream" so that people do not have such a strong desire to live in such large homes. To the OP, why do you need land? After working full time are you going to be able to maintain it yet alone enjoy it? These are loaded questions and I'm sure the answer is no.
Large homes are not the only reason people move into the country. I have land so my dogs can run around. While I personally choose not to maintain it myself, I could if I enjoyed such tasks. I thoroughly enjoy my land, so your "loaded" question gets a "yes" answer from me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmv101010
Live where you work, simple as that your qaulity of life will be that much better, you cannot get your wasted time commuting back. To those who still insist that living a crazy far distance out is key, have you thought about a total relocation? OR perhaps working furhter out where that new house will be and taking a pay cut, because after all you won't need all that income with less costs and cheaper taxes will you? OF course you will because you are greedy.
You assume I work for a paycheck only. I love the challenges that my particular job brings me, and am currently working on a once in a lifetime project. Please explain how this is "greedy".
Look, I have a long commute, but I wouldn't always consider it "wasted". I can have conference calls on the commute, or simply rewind and watch the beautiful land go by. I am 100% more relaxed when I get home than when I lived 45 minutes closer to work (in a bigger house there, by the way).
Weekends full of beautiful, open vistas, wineries and festivals - without strip malls, sprawl and traffic provides for a great quality of life.
Live where you work, it's really that easy to say. I have no idea why people want to live further out in the exurbs besides to get the mcmasion they cannot afford closer in.
A lot of people have the benefit of flexible scheduling, taking every Friday off, every other Friday off, etc. - I've never been so lucky, well, until now, as a partial telecommuter, but I've met boatloads of people in a variety of industries who do not do 9-5 and don't sit in a ton of traffic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ffx rez
Perceived race and class demographics, mostly race, though, I'd say. All couched in code words like "good schools/young families/friendly neighbors." There are threads on here every month where people want to live in Arlington, Falls Church, or Vienna, then after seeing the costs, choose Brambleton, Aldie, or South Riding. There's a thread on the front page that is looking for condos in Sterling, but specifically not Sterling Park. Come on. It's pulling teeth to get somebody to look at a house in Mount Vernon, Rose Hill, Franconia, Annandale, West Falls Church. It can't all be the size of the houses.
Absolutely. By this board, you would think that Northern VA consists of Brambleton, Leesburg, Aldie, and Ashburn, which are all routinely recommended as good places to commute into DC from, which is comical.
Absolutely. By this board, you would think that Northern VA consists of Brambleton, Leesburg, Aldie, and Ashburn, which are all routinely recommended as good places to commute into DC from, which is comical.
i seriously do not think you will find anyone recommending any of those as "good places to commute into DC from". You will find people who recommend them as good places to live with the trade-off being a very long commute to the city.
I am actually moving to Harpers Ferry in 2 weeks. We are in Leesburg right now and even though it's cute little town where we can walk to King St, it's just still too crowded for us. We bought a nice house (not huge and not small) with a big yard. We do have kids. My husband works in Tysons but is on off hours so he will not have to go through rush hour. I work in Lovettsville which is actually 1 mile closer to our new house. We are really happy to be away from the crazy weekend crowds and can't wait for more calm and relaxing weekends where we will garden, go to farmers markets and we also have a pass to go zip lining less than a mile away from the house. My husband also has co workers that will live near us so carpooling might even be an option. For us, living out in the peaceful country with mountain views is more than worth it.
The arrogance of assuming everyone wants to live cheek to jowl is pretty stunning. Why would you even think you know what everyone likes? Or that we should like what you think is "best?"
I cannot abide being near too many people and the overwhelming sensory stimulus inherent in living in an urban environment would render me one raw nerve.
Live where you work, it's really that easy to say. I have no idea why people want to live further out in the exurbs besides to get the mcmasion they cannot afford closer in. These people don't factor in how long it takes to commute to these places and that you are really never there to enjoy the mcmansion you bought.
I wouldn't assume people don't know what they're doing when they move further out. Most people don't have the budget to get everything they want, so it's a balance of getting more house vs keeping your commute reasonable. Reasonable means different things to different people though. Just because someone moves to Loudoun County and has a 1.5 hour commute doesn't mean they didn't completely understand what they were doing. Although some people probably do underestimate how draining a really long commute can be. A lot of people are ok with it and gladly take a longer commute to get a bigger house. This phenomenon happens in every high COL area.
I wouldn't assume people don't know what they're doing when they move further out. Most people don't have the budget to get everything they want, so it's a balance of getting more house vs keeping your commute reasonable. Reasonable means different things to different people though. Just because someone moves to Loudoun County and has a 1.5 hour commute doesn't mean they didn't completely understand what they were doing. Although some people probably do underestimate how draining a really long commute can be. A lot of people are ok with it and gladly take a longer commute to get a bigger house. This phenomenon happens in every high COL area.
Not everyone who moves far out is doing it for size of house. As mentioned in a previous post, my house size decreased when I moved to Middleburg.
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Us folks who live inside the beltway resist rampant and senseless development too, thank you very much. Everyone thinks that we want everything torn down and turned into condo canyons, all so the rest of NOVA can enjoy bucolic pastures - NOPE!
