Besides Arlington and Alexandria. What is your favorite downtown in NOVA? (Reston: home, restaurants)

[Turnerbro]

NOVA has a lot of nice downtown's for a suburban area. I'm curious which downtown area in NOVA outside of Alexandria or anything in Arlington county is your personal favorite.

[The Dissenter]

Falls Church. They have a nice cluster of restaurants at Broad and Rt 29.

[nva06]

I would chose Fredericksburg it’s part of NOVA I don’t know why it isn’t in the survey. How can Warrenton be included and not Fredericksburg?

[Vernum]

I have explored more of the lakes, streams, and trails, and of the cities mentioned since before Phase 1, and aside from the various trail walks or the dog park near my home in Arlington, I spent the most time in Fairfax, but it by no means offers the best fishing, but very nice. I've spent more time outside during the global lockdown than before.

[Novanaian]

It depends for whom and for what. Manassas and Reston are larger for walking (with less traffic). Some have more restaurants and bars, as is Fairfax (and more traffic). Falls Church is nice for that, too, but for a family with young kids, walking along W Broad St is not ideal. In that case, Vienna is the best. Some have parks and trails nearby. So it really depends. There is also artsy Del Ray, and Ballston for nightlife.

I'm a walker, so for me, only Alexandria offers enough space and sidewalks (and WW bridge) to keep my feet happy.

[MrJester]

Where's Tyson's on this list? I'm not a resident of NoVA, but coming from California I was absolutely awestruck by the sheer modernity, vast scope, and vibrancy of Tyson's. Over in the Bay Area and SoCal there are edge cities in the suburbs, but not one can even hold a candle compared to Tyson's. Not a single suburban edge city on the West Coast will ever come close to Tyson's skyline, rapid expansion, and TOD (actually, maybe Downtown Bellevue, once it gets East Link Light rail). But coming from California, where East Bay edge cities like Concord and Walnut Creek have virtually zero high rises and visiting the rapidly growing high rise jungle of Tyson's, taking the DC Metro, which is infinitely cleaner, filled with more TOD, and more frequent and newer than the BART, to Tyson's, was a world class experience. The jump from California's decrepit infrastructure and old buildings to the startlingly clean and modern DC Metro and TOD made me feel like Marco Polo, traveling from Dark Age Italy and marveling at infinitely more advanced Imperial China.

Tyson's is light years ahead of any suburban TOD project in the Bay Area or SoCal, period.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by MrJester

Where's Tyson's on this list? I'm not a resident of NoVA, but coming from California I was absolutely awestruck by the sheer modernity, vast scope, and vibrancy of Tyson's. Over in the Bay Area and SoCal there are edge cities in the suburbs, but not one can even hold a candle compared to Tyson's. Not a single suburban edge city on the West Coast will ever come close to Tyson's skyline, rapid expansion, and TOD (actually, maybe Downtown Bellevue, once it gets East Link Light rail). But coming from California, where East Bay edge cities like Concord and Walnut Creek have virtually zero high rises and visiting the rapidly growing high rise jungle of Tyson's, taking the DC Metro, which is infinitely cleaner, filled with more TOD, and more frequent and newer than the BART, to Tyson's, was a world class experience. The jump from California's decrepit infrastructure and old buildings to the startlingly clean and modern DC Metro and TOD made me feel like Marco Polo, traveling from Dark Age Italy and marveling at infinitely more advanced Imperial China.

Tyson's is light years ahead of any suburban TOD project in the Bay Area or SoCal, period.

Interesting take. I wouldn’t have thought as Tyson’s as a “downtown”, but rather more of an “area” of that makes sense. I will say the skyline is quite striking at night when you approach on 495 out of MD.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by tgbwc

Interesting take. I wouldn’t have thought as Tyson’s as a “downtown”, but rather more of an “area” of that makes sense. I will say the skyline is quite striking at night when you approach on 495 out of MD.

If Reason is on this list, then how is Tyson's not? You don't have to have history to be a Downtown. A new shiny high rise CBD is also a downtown.