Living options between DC and Manassas (Arlington, Centreville: neighborhood, living in, young professionals)

[barryhussein]

Originally Posted by knopfler

My tip would be to live in Old Town Manassas, and then you can catch the VRE to DC anytime you want as there's a stop right in the heart of Old Town. Virginia Railway Express Home Page. In the meantime, Old Town Manassas has several good bars, including the Philly Tavern. Philadelphia Tavern

But if you aren't going in in the morning, and coming back in the afternoon it kind of sucks. Very limited trains on weekends/holidays, and the trains must slow to a crawl, when it gets below 30 or above 90. After 9 am, there are only two trains heading into DC for the entire rest of the day. The last train leaves Union Station at 18:50.

The new Chinese trains can travel 360 Kph/226 Mph, maybe we should take a page from their playbook, as opposed to traveling like it's 1933.

[HEATHER72]

Originally Posted by barryhussein

Very limited trains on weekends/holidays, and the trains must slow to a crawl, when it gets below 30 or above 90.

Hmm... they are beyond limited on weekends/holidays... the VRE trains do not run on weekends or Federal holidays.

[ateo]

Manassas won't give you what you're looking for.

Sounds like you want an extension of your college days, bar hopping and a... woman every night.

Try Arlington near the metro stops if that's what you're looking for. Or as close to the George Mason University main campus as possible. Actually, go with the latter. Dumb college girls are more fun than snooty yuppy office princesses.

Manassas is an awesome place to work, especially for a big company like Lockheed. Cheaper standard of living, more trees, get to see some wildlife now and then. Everything from Fairfax in towards D.C. is a giant parking lot packed full of yuppies with giant egos.

[barryhussein]

Originally Posted by HEATHER72

Hmm... they are beyond limited on weekends/holidays... the VRE trains do not run on weekends or Federal holidays.

There is the "S" schedule on holidays. I think we know what the "S" stands for (slow, sucks,....). You can use Amtrack on a holiday, if that holiday is a weekday.

[HEATHER72]

Originally Posted by barryhussein

There is the "S" schedule on holidays. I think we know what the "S" stands for (slow, sucks,....). You can use Amtrack on a holiday, if that holiday is a weekday.

I am talking about the VRE trains. Again as quoted from the VRE website...
"VRE does not operate service on weekends or Federal holidays."

"S" Schedule

On selected holidays, VRE will run on our "S" schedule. Only trains in our normal schedule marked with an "S" will operate. See our calendar for operating dates. In addition, the mid-day trains on the Manassas and Fredericksburg Lines will operate on days when the "S" schedule is operating.

"S" schedule days planned at this time:
The Day After Thanksgiving - Friday, November 28, 2008
Christmas Eve - Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday - Wednesday, December 29 - 31, 2008
The Day After New Year's - Friday, January 2, 2009

Look at those days closely, they are not holidays. Just days after or before holidays.

So like I said... the VRE does NOT run on weekends or holidays.

[barryhussein]

Same track, same station, same pass, same destination, same stops--but it's Amtrack, which is a part of the normal VRE schedule anyway.

"Amtrack provides service on holidays. The Amtrack trains listed on our schedule will continue to honor VRE multi-ride tickets and Step-Up tickets on any holiday which falls on a weekday."

So there is service on Holidays, which fall on a weekday; but never service on weekends. And limited service ("S") on days like Christmas Eve.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by ateo

Manassas won't give you what you're looking for.

Sounds like you want an extension of your college days, bar hopping and a... woman every night.

Try Arlington near the metro stops if that's what you're looking for. Or as close to the George Mason University main campus as possible. Actually, go with the latter. Dumb college girls are more fun than snooty yuppy office princesses.

Manassas is an awesome place to work, especially for a big company like Lockheed. Cheaper standard of living, more trees, get to see some wildlife now and then. Everything from Fairfax in towards D.C. is a giant parking lot packed full of yuppies with giant egos.

The ride home from Manassas to Arlington would be so long that the OP may be ready to call it a night after dinner, especially since an 8-hour day would probably be rare at Lockheed, I'd imagine.

I agree with you and a previous poster that Manassas would be good idea at least to start out. I wasn't aware that Old Town Manassas had a lot of options. The OP could probably splurge on a nice apt there for less than they'd pay for a dingy place further north.

[Azmordean]

Originally Posted by ateo

Manassas won't give you what you're looking for.

Sounds like you want an extension of your college days, bar hopping and a... woman every night.

Try Arlington near the metro stops if that's what you're looking for. Or as close to the George Mason University main campus as possible. Actually, go with the latter. Dumb college girls are more fun than snooty yuppy office princesses.

Manassas is an awesome place to work, especially for a big company like Lockheed. Cheaper standard of living, more trees, get to see some wildlife now and then. Everything from Fairfax in towards D.C. is a giant parking lot packed full of yuppies with giant egos.

Bitter at all? You do realize some people prefer an urban lifestyle to a whitebread suburb, right? You seem to be getting awful personal in your post.

[VEIK]

Support wild life of Manassas! Throw a party!

[Azmordean]

To the OP - if Vienna itself is too far a commute for you, you may consider somewhere in between, like Centreville (just an example). Vienna Metro has a lot of parking, so its an easy shot if you want to go into Arlington or DC on a weekend (or week night for that matter). And you'd still have a reverse commute to work.

I am a bit surprised at all the people suggesting living in Manassas though, given the preferences you indicated. I don't know a whole lot about the area, but I was under the impression it was more a "family oriented" suburban type area than a place with a lot of young professionals. And its way out there in terms of distance from the city.