How high is the snob factor/keeping up with the Joneses in NOVA? (Arlington: buy, theater)
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I'm really not alleging a thing about the area or particular price ranges. I don't know a thing about the area so I'm just asking. Again, we don't want to move into a similar situation in DC that we have here. We live in an HOA and encounter these riff raff problems daily: loud weeknight parties, loud "music", motorcycles at all hours, broken glass in the street, kids up to no good, etc. HOA says it isn't their jurisdiction, call the police. Police won't come. Some issues aren't crimes, just annoyances and they have other things to do than respond to a loud noise problem. They know us by name at the station. Same thing with drug houses. They won't come unless WE have proof that they are using or selling drugs or can catch them in the act. In these instances, I have to personally track down the owner of the house and go that route.
We need to move, DH has an opportunity in DC, and I'm tired of these headaches. I'm just looking for information, that's all.
Cagirl767, welcome to NoVA. I live in Arlington and have never run into any of those things. When a house (that happened to be on the market) was broken into some time ago, neighbors sent emails warning each other within hours of its occurrence. I'm not sure how good the police are at solving that type of crime, but they do respond quickly to calls. Drug houses? There are a few pockets of these in NoVA I'm sure, but generally people's high levels of education and good values lead them to live different styles of life from what you are describing. While we can't offer you guarantees, I would say with 90% certainty that you can easily avoid the kinds of problems you're describing if you choose your house with care.
Again, we don't want to move into a similar situation in DC that we have here. We live in an HOA and encounter these riff raff problems daily: loud weeknight parties, loud "music", motorcycles at all hours, broken glass in the street, kids up to no good, etc. HOA says it isn't their jurisdiction, call the police. Police won't come. Some issues aren't crimes, just annoyances and they have other things to do than respond to a loud noise problem. They know us by name at the station. Same thing with drug houses. They won't come unless WE have proof that they are using or selling drugs or can catch them in the act. In these instances, I have to personally track down the owner of the house and go that route.
We don't have that here, and we live in inside-the-Beltway Annandale -- a place where several on this forum have bashed time and time again. You really needn't worry about finding your current circumstances widespread in Northern Virginia.
Originally Posted by Cagirl767 Again, we don't want to move into a similar situation in DC that we have here. We live in an HOA and encounter these riff raff problems daily: loud weeknight parties, loud "music", motorcycles at all hours, broken glass in the street, kids up to no good, etc. HOA says it isn't their jurisdiction, call the police. Police won't come. Some issues aren't crimes, just annoyances and they have other things to do than respond to a loud noise problem. They know us by name at the station. Same thing with drug houses. They won't come unless WE have proof that they are using or selling drugs or can catch them in the act. In these instances, I have to personally track down the owner of the house and go that route.
I live in Burke. We've never had any of those types of problems...ever.
Ultimately I think the way one perceives this area is indeed based in large part upon from where they are derived. AlanBoy395 and myself are two of the most notorious on this sub-forum for being rather unhappy living in Northern Virginia because we don't like how "status-conscious" much of the area is or how "success" is largely tied to one's material assets, profession, or educational background.
However, while I can't personally vouch for AlanBoy395 I know from my own personal experiences having grown up in a white-collar family in a blue-collar city like Scranton, PA I feel blessed to have lived for so long in an area with a "come as you are" aura about it. I had friends from a trailer park, a housing project, and a Great Falls-like subdivision. In Northern Virginia I definitely feel more of an environment of "keep up appearances" than I ever did living in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and that's really saying something considering we were rapidly becoming exurban New York City when I left.
I have no problem with people wanting to pamper themselves with nice things (assuming they can actually AFFORD them and aren't just going to further this nation's obsession with debt). I just will never quite understand why so many people here think they need to buy status symbols like McMansions or BMWs to try to say to themselves (or others) "Hey. I'm successful. I made it in life." I don't show anyone any more respect for driving a Lexus than if they drove a Hyundai. I don't bow down before someone wearing Gucci as opposed to someone wearing clothing from TJ Maxx or Target (or "Tar-Jay" as my friends say). I guess my "roots" are just incongruent with the general mindset of a lot of parts of Northern Virginia where people do buy flashier items to get themselves noticed to stand out from the crowd.
I wouldn't call this area "pretentious", but I will say that many DO move here to try to prove to themselves that they have what it takes to be "top of the heap." A lot of people move here because they were big fish who outgrew their little ponds (I was feeling the same way admittedly to some extent). Unfortunately I really only wanted to be a little fish in this big pond now, but most of the people whom I've met and befriended want to be big fish in this big pond and have thrown me under the bus trying to chase their own dreams.
There are a few pockets of these in NoVA I'm sure, but generally people's high levels of education and good values lead them to live different styles of life from what you are describing.
Absolutely. It's not just high income and high levels of education. It's also the values -- familiy orientation, religion, etc.
Classic counter example for me is Seattle (and its suburbs). That is an affluent city with high income professionals, but that area, even the suburbs, is not particularly family-friendly (more dogs than children in City of Seattle, i.e. more dog parks than playgrounds) and has completely different vibe to NoVA. While church attendance is the lowest in the PacNW, that in NoVA is rather high. And that difference does show.
It's not that people here are somehow Bible-thumping or religiously pretentious -- it's that the prevailing dogmas (militant material secularism in Seattle; family-oriented religion in NoVA) result in different styles of life. Of course, these are generalizations, but I think they are broadly true.
As for status consciousness, I really think that given the high level of prosperity here, it's not bad at all. In the smaller towns across the country where I lived, there is a great economic disparity between small pockets of wealth and the larger lower middle class, breeding resentment toward "the rich kids" and "how they act like they own the town." There is none of that here. On the other end of the spectrum, there is little of the crazy showiness and competition I see in the high end housing areas of SoCal or NYC/Westchester.
Of course, one is bound to run into more ambitious people in areas like this over Scranton. But ambition does not necessarily equal Gucci-wearing. In fact, several of my friends live in Great Falls and they dress the standard NoVA uniform (drab collared or polo shirt, khakis and corrected-grain shoes -- I always stick out because I learned to dress in NYC). I also know quite a few people who earn high six figures and live happily in town houses and small homes next to people who earn about $100,000 a year.
Most physicians I know in this area, by the way, drive Hondas, Toyotas and Subarus.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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Originally Posted by RestonRunner86
Ultimately I think the way one perceives this area is indeed based in large part upon from where they are derived. AlanBoy395 and myself are two of the most notorious on this sub-forum for being rather unhappy living in Northern Virginia because we don't like how "status-conscious" much of the area is or how "success" is largely tied to one's material assets, profession, or educational background.
However, while I can't personally vouch for AlanBoy395 I know from my own personal experiences having grown up in a white-collar family in a blue-collar city like Scranton, PA I feel blessed to have lived for so long in an area with a "come as you are" aura about it. I had friends from a trailer park, a housing project, and a Great Falls-like subdivision. In Northern Virginia I definitely feel more of an environment of "keep up appearances" than I ever did living in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and that's really saying something considering we were rapidly becoming exurban New York City when I left.
I have no problem with people wanting to pamper themselves with nice things (assuming they can actually AFFORD them and aren't just going to further this nation's obsession with debt). I just will never quite understand why so many people here think they need to buy status symbols like McMansions or BMWs to try to say to themselves (or others) "Hey. I'm successful. I made it in life." I don't show anyone any more respect for driving a Lexus than if they drove a Hyundai. I don't bow down before someone wearing Gucci as opposed to someone wearing clothing from TJ Maxx or Target (or "Tar-Jay" as my friends say). I guess my "roots" are just incongruent with the general mindset of a lot of parts of Northern Virginia where people do buy flashier items to get themselves noticed to stand out from the crowd.
I wouldn't call this area "pretentious", but I will say that many DO move here to try to prove to themselves that they have what it takes to be "top of the heap." A lot of people move here because they were big fish who outgrew their little ponds (I was feeling the same way admittedly to some extent). Unfortunately I really only wanted to be a little fish in this big pond now, but most of the people whom I've met and befriended want to be big fish in this big pond and have thrown me under the bus trying to chase their own dreams.
It's great having you pop back in, even if it's brief.
It's great having you pop back in, even if it's brief.
I know we're briefly veering off-topic, but I'm finally realizing I just can not permanently break ties from the Internet. It's an addiction. I managed to stay away from Facebook so far for 9 days, but even there I'm getting very "edgy" to get back because the few friends I had left pretty much started ignoring me because I wasn't "visible" on there anymore.
Absolutely. It's not just high income and high levels of education. It's also the values -- familiy orientation, religion, etc.
Classic counter example for me is Seattle (and its suburbs). That is an affluent city with high income professionals, but that area, even the suburbs, is not particularly family-friendly (more dogs than children in City of Seattle, i.e. more dog parks than playgrounds) and has completely different vibe to NoVA. While church attendance is the lowest in the PacNW, that in NoVA is rather high. And that difference does show.
It's not that people here are somehow Bible-thumping or religiously pretentious -- it's that the prevailing dogmas (militant material secularism in Seattle; family-oriented religion in NoVA) result in different styles of life. Of course, these are generalizations, but I think they are broadly true.
As for status consciousness, I really think that given the high level of prosperity here, it's not bad at all. In the smaller towns across the country where I lived, there is a great economic disparity between small pockets of wealth and the larger lower middle class, breeding resentment toward "the rich kids" and "how they act like they own the town." There is none of that here. On the other end of the spectrum, there is little of the crazy showiness and competition I see in the high end housing areas of SoCal or NYC/Westchester.
Of course, one is bound to run into more ambitious people in areas like this over Scranton. But ambition does not necessarily equal Gucci-wearing. In fact, several of my friends live in Great Falls and they dress the standard NoVA uniform (drab collared or polo shirt, khakis and corrected-grain shoes -- I always stick out because I learned to dress in NYC). I also know quite a few people who earn high six figures and live happily in town houses and small homes next to people who earn about $100,000 a year.
Most physicians I know in this area, by the way, drive Hondas, Toyotas and Subarus.
Great post! One of my doctors drives a Honda and the other drives a Toyota! My friend who is a doctor drives a 15 year old pick up truck! In the staff hospital parking lots, it's the hospital administrators who driving the fancy cars because they are the ones making buckets of money. It's no longer the doctors.
People who think NOVA people put on airs haven't spent much time in other cities and their suburbs. Even Richmond has its share of old money wannabees.
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