Northern Virginia is not worth it as far as a place to live. (Richmond: apartments, lease)

[Veritas Vincit]

Originally Posted by sonnymarkjiz

lol What more do you want then, exactly? Considering millennials make up most of the workforce in DC....

Theres just such a thing as a DC type. 50-60 years ago it was all grey suits and buzzcuts, now its the millennial uniform. DC attracts the conformist striver. Not my cup of tea. I moved here because my wife got a great job here, but it was never my first choice. I think in reality I like it even less than I thought I would. Once we have job exit strategies we are done here.

[BOS2IAD]

We found it wasn't easy to connect with people in this area. When we both worked in DC, some of our co-workers lived in MD, others in DC. For example someone living in VA could find that their co-worker who lives in MD actually lives about 50 miles away from you. Then, at the end of the day, people had commuter buses to catch at a certain time so no meeting up at the end of the day.

Once we became parents, we had acquaintances who had kids in school with our child. I would go out and about in the community and run into people and chat. I also had a part-time job in the community and got to know people that way. I got to know some of the supermarket cashiers and we would have nice chats while they were ringing up my groceries.

Then we became empty nesters around the same time that demographics were changing. Many of the people we knew moved out of the community once their kids finished school. Some of the cashiers retired. While we always were fortunate in that we had great neighbors, we only ran into them on the weekends. After a while we started feeling isolated.

Then we sold the house and moved to an apartment building that happened to have many retirees who, like us, sold their houses and downsized. Much to our surprise, we now have a social life --- of sorts.

[Old Guard]

Originally Posted by Veritas Vincit

I moved here because my wife got a great job here, but it was never my first choice.

It sounds like you made a choice and it did not work out for you. I hardly see how that is anyone else's fault.

[Old Guard]

Originally Posted by BOS2IAD

We found it wasn't easy to connect with people in this area. When we both worked in DC, some of our co-workers lived in MD, others in DC. For example someone living in VA could find that their co-worker who lives in MD actually lives about 50 miles away from you. Then, at the end of the day, people had commuter buses to catch at a certain time so no meeting up at the end of the day.

Take the state and district lines out of it and how is this different from a lot of places in the country? I know people in other areas that have long commutes, some even do cross state lines as well, and the situation is very similar to what is in this area. Traffic may be better but smaller towns and cities usually have traffic congestion as well because they usually have bottlenecks like big cities.



I think people fixate on the wrong things. To me it does not matter if I cross a state line. That is almost meaningless to me. It is the distance, traffic and weather that matter to me when traveling.

[Veritas Vincit]

Originally Posted by Old Guard

It sounds like you made a choice and it did not work out for you. I hardly see how that is anyone else's fault.

Yeah Im not blaming anyone, nor have I ever indicated that I do. Telling you that it sucks doesn’t imply blame, its just an opinion based on my observations.

[sonnymarkjiz]

Originally Posted by Veritas Vincit

Theres just such a thing as a DC type. 50-60 years ago it was all grey suits and buzzcuts, now its the millennial uniform. DC attracts the conformist striver. Not my cup of tea. I moved here because my wife got a great job here, but it was never my first choice. I think in reality I like it even less than I thought I would. Once we have job exit strategies we are done here.

You basically nailed it right there, I don't think it's about conformist, but since jobs are here, people are flowing here like never before. People are only moving here because of the jobs, not because of the "pleasure to live in the great areas of Northern Virginia". I grew up here and I can easily say that NOVA is pretty boring and dull.

So when you have a mix of people who aren't from here (seriously, people say it's so rare that I'm actually from this area), you have a lot of different personality types. So while yes, it's possible to meet people organically, there are a lot of social groups that do attract people for meeting up/hooking up.

What seems to bring people together here? Booze...lol

[BOS2IAD]

Originally Posted by Old Guard

Take the state and district lines out of it and how is this different from a lot of places in the country? I know people in other areas that have long commutes, some even do cross state lines as well, and the situation is very similar to what is in this area. Traffic may be better but smaller towns and cities usually have traffic congestion as well because they usually have bottlenecks like big cities.



I think people fixate on the wrong things. To me it does not matter if I cross a state line. That is almost meaningless to me. It is the distance, traffic and weather that matter to me when traveling.

I mentioned states, yes. However, the DC suburban area is very large and very spread out. While public transportation has greatly improved since we moved here in 1980, it still has a way to go. Before we moved here, we lived in an area with a more compact suburban area plus it had good transportation (still does). Staying after work to meet up with co-workers was much easier. Meeting up with my husband to go to dinner at the end of the day was simpler. One day, reflecting on our DC working days, it dawned on us that neither of us ever suggested meeting after work and eating in DC. This was in part due to having limited transportation options after a certain time.

I wasn't the only one who made such observations once in DC. My co-workers also commented with similar sentiments.

[Labonte18]

My experience.. I lived in Fairfax and Manassas as a kid. From ages 9 to 17.

Loved the area at that time. I mean, dad worked at the pentagon.. It wasn't unusual for me to hop a metrobus and ride in and have lunch with him some days.. I'd ride into DC and just go all over the place. Something new popped up at the Smithsonian that interested me.. I'd ride in and check it out.

Could get basically anywhere and everywhere either through metro or just walking.


I feel like I got a really good education from the school systems. I wound up graduating from Stonewall. Robinson was great and where I really consider that I graduated from.. even though my senior year was at Stonewall. You know, outside of the LSD ring thing, which was people in my class.. Robinson was great.



However.. I left the day after I graduated high school. I enjoy coming back for short periods of time. But I returned to the Carolinas and have zero interest in ever living in that area again.

[Flamingo13]

Okay - and the point is?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by sonnymarkjiz

But yes, most times, you will get the "what do you do for work?" question, but it shouldn't bother anyone at this day and age.

I mean some of us are embarrassed about our professions. I work in law enforcement (as an analyst---not an officer). While church-shopping we were immediately asked by one woman near us (a retired pastor) what we each did for a living. When I said I worked for the police she said "Sorry to hear that." I replied "I'm not sorry to work for them." That ended that conversation, and her presence has made me stop going to that church. If your job is stressful and/or occupies 50-60 hours per week of your life you do NOT want to talk about work in casual conversations with strangers.

This happened in Pittsburgh, by the way, so being career-obsessed isn't just exclusive to NoVA. Just as many BMW-drivers who sleep, breathe, and eat work up here these days (lots of VA and MD license plates, too).

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

LOL. I'm shocked that this post has not generated more hateful responses than it has thus far. In my observations, ANY criticism of NoVA more often than not stirs up the most vociferous and rabid defense by those who see it as an attack on their very being. And the responses usually involve ad hominems, which I guess supports one or more of your premises. Maybe things are improving.

Nope. That's just when I criticize something about NoVA.