Moving to Vienna or should I pick Wolf Trap?

[JfromReston]

Check out the Vienna Inn
http://www.viennainn.com/ordereze/viennainn_com.htm (broken link)

[JD984]

It wasn't a big snowstorm, just an early one for the area. The amount of snow was pretty typical for this area (a few inches), and the difference in the county's vs. the town's "speed of plow" was a non-issue.

In terms of some local attractions and programs, here are a few to consider:

Culture:

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts

jamminjava.com

http://www.viennava.gov/Town_Departments/comctr.htm (broken link)

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/LIBRARY/BRANCHES/ph/

Gardens:

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens - Main Page (http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/meadowlark/ - broken link)

Food:

The Pie Gourmet

Cenan's Bakery of Vienna Virginia Breads, Cakes, Pastries, Sanwiches, Baked Goods

AMMA VEGETARIAN KITCHEN (http://www.image-in-asian.com/amma/ - broken link)

The Most Romantic Dinner in Fairfax, Exquisite French and Italian Faire.

http://www.bazinsonchurch.com/index.htm

Nielsen's Frozen Custard - Vienna, VA

http://www.amphorabakery.com/

Youth Sports:

http://www.vyi.org/

Probably as Close As You'll Get in DC Area to Small-Town Americana:

http://www.vivaviennava.org/

[michgc]

I wouldn't buy in the town just for their services. Truly, it doesn't snow here often enough to warrant buying within the town just for that. The county services are good enough, really. I would buy in the town if you really want to be within walking distance to amenities and live in what is probably the closest thing to a functional town in Northern Virginia (along with a few others). If you live close enough to Maple Avenue, you can walk to dozens of restaurants, the library, the Town Green, banks, drug stores, supermarkets, sports fields, the community center, the bike path, quaint Church Street, a Memorial Day Fair on Church Street, a holiday stroll on Church Street, a July 4th celebration at the Community Center, a Halloween Parade on Maple Ave, etc. But not everyone in the town limits is within walking distance to do these things. So just being in the Town doesn't guarantee that.

If you are considering buying a house that's not within walking distance, the county services are just fine. And you won't feel much of a difference between living in the county or in the Town. In the county you pay for trash and recyling yourself, the snow plows come through a bit later and don't do as good of a job, there's not two bulk pickups per year or leaf collection via a giant sucking leaf vacuum, Santa doesn't drive through your streets on a firetruck, and you have to wait a week to sign up for classes at the community center (sometimes getting shut out of them) and pay slightly more. But then again you are not paying an extra $1,000 or so in taxes either. I live in the Town limits and bought solely on the walkability factor. Because of that I love it and wouldn't live outside the limits. But if there were a house outside the town limits that was within walking distance of all of the amenities I enjoy, I wouldn't hesitate to buy there. I am part of the Vienna Moms Club and we have people from all over Vienna. I don't hear complaints from those living inside versus outside the town limits or vice versa. Mostly, people chose based on priority for them. Generally, larger houses are outside the limits - more subdivisions and newer homes. Within the town are generally smaller and not in a defined subdivision and more convenient to town amenities. Really, you won't go wrong either way. You just need to decide what's important to you.