Should I avoid the commute or not? (Arlington, Alexandria: real estate, rental)

[Middlin]

Anything that you would do to meet people living/activities in Silver Spring, Arlington, etc would not differ in Reston. Could be that I'm just too old to remember what it's like to be a recent college grad and want to be in the thick of it, but get some perspective, Reston is not the boonies.

[IsThisNameTaken]

Originally Posted by Middlin

Anything that you would do to meet people living/activities in Silver Spring, Arlington, etc would not differ in Reston. Could be that I'm just too old to remember what it's like to be a recent college grad and want to be in the thick of it, but get some perspective, Reston is not the boonies.

Maybe. Perhaps, I need to spend more time in the area. But I graduated from a school that was in the middle of nowhere and that was really rough for me so going back to a town that's anywhere near similar to my college town literally feels like a death sentence.

[gomason]

There is a huge difference between nightlife for young people in Reston and Arlington. True, Reston Town Center has some great restaurants and is a nice walkable area but it has a LOT less young people. The bar scene is definitely superior in Arlington too.


Average age in 20191 (Reston): 39.2
Average age in 22203 (Arlington): 32.2


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[dkf747]

If you have to be in Maryland for in-state tuition, which everyone seems to have forgotten, it's not impossible to live in Bethesda or N. Bethesda and commuting over the bridge sucks, but not so bad that it can't be done. Most of the traffic, once you cross the bridge, will be going the opposite way. The afternoon commute would be worse, but if you're heading to Bethesda, it's doable. However, if you can forget UMd then forget I mentioned this.

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by gomason

There is a huge difference between nightlife for young people in Reston and Arlington. True, Reston Town Center has some great restaurants and is a nice walkable area but it has a LOT less young people. The bar scene is definitely superior in Arlington too.


Average age in 20191 (Reston): 39.2
Average age in 22203 (Arlington): 32.2


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20191 is not Reston Town Center.

What is the stat for 20190? (ETA - just found it 37.7)

The point is really - and I don't think we will be able to find that stat - what is the average age for the western half of 20190? The demographics for the Reston Town Center area are substantially younger than for the rest of 20190.

[Middlin]

Given that the comparison is that the OP can't stand the idea of a town similar to his college town "in the middle of nowhere"........

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by Middlin

Given that the comparison is that the OP can't stand the idea of a town similar to his college town "in the middle of nowhere"........

It would be nice to know what is college town is - so that we can compare his "in the middle of no where" to Reston. Reston is definitely not in the middle of no where based on most peoples perception of no where!

[Ffxdata]

Originally Posted by jmking

You could move to what I call the crossroads. That is Springfield, VA. Here you have major highways--495,95,395 and not far from the Fairfax County Parkway. Want to go to DC, 395 north. Want to head straight away to Maryland 495 east or north, want to go to Reston, FC Parkway. Richmond, Va?---95 south. Other than heading towards Richmond, the other areas mentioned are not far from Springfield. As mentioned by others, try to avoid long commutes---TRAFFIC.

I'm confused by this suggestion. Springfield is not close to Reston. Springfield is the opposite of young, single professional. Springfield has no nightlife. Springfield is the burbs. So literally everything OP wants Springfield doesn't have.

I would try to find a nice place in Reston Town Center so you get the feeling of a walkable city feeling where lots of young single professionals live. Plus there would be no commute.

[IsThisNameTaken]

dkf747 - Yes in-state is still a concern. I have heard wonderful things about Bethesda, i'm not sure how different it is from Reston but I hear it is incredibly pricey. Its something I can look into if its a fun place to live.

Middlin - As I mentioned earlier I should probably spend more time visiting the town. I would guess that it isn't quite like my college town (nearest city is hours away). It might be more similar to my hometown but I don't find that anymore assuring. My hometown was a great place to grow up, a suburb outside of a major city, but as a young adult with no ties to the town I wouldn't recommend it.

JfromReston - I would love to know those stats as well.

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by IsThisNameTaken

For a young person will Reston be an exciting place to live?

Exciting? Probably not. If you want exciting(which I'm assuming you mean nightlife) then live in the orange line corridor in Arlington for a couple years in your early 20s. That area has great nightlife and is much closer to DC too. Reston is not a bad place, and Reston Town Center is really nice but it's an older crowd. Probably not a scene a recent college grad would find too exciting.

I had a friend who lived in Reston when we were in our mid-late 20s. I lived in Arlington with a buddy. He liked Reston but he was always coming to hang out with us on the weekends, if that tells you anything.