Commute from Ashburn to Reston?

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by tarp

I would avoid Loudoun County at all costs. It's just too far out.

I agree that it's too far out and I personally can't stand Loudoun County, one reason being the distance, but I wouldn't necessarily tell others to avoid it. Some people love it here and it's a great fit for them. Yes, getting into DC from out here is an incredible pain in the butt, but quite a few people nowadays live their lives, both professional and social, contained in their immediate suburban area. They rarely feel the need to go to DC minus a handful of times a year for a Nationals game or a concert or something of the like. Many people will live in Sterling, go shopping at Dulles or Tysons Corner, work in Reston and socialize in the same areas and don't really see any need to go further in towards DC so for them, the perceived benefits of living so far out (low crime, good schools, quiet neighborhoods, etc.) are worth the somewhat minor inconvenience to them of being further away from DC, Arlington and Alexandria, places they don't really have any interest in going.

[tarp]

You just described my sister inlaw, who lives out in Brambleton (Ashburn outskirts).

My father calls Brambleton a "high-class ghetto".

I don't find it to be a good place to raise kids. I would rather raise kids in an established neighborhood with tree-lined streets, closer to a more progressive urban center.

[jmarkd]

Yes, getting into DC from out here is an incredible pain in the butt, but quite a few people nowadays live their lives, both professional and social, contained in their immediate suburban area. They rarely feel the need to go to DC minus a handful of times a year for a Nationals game or a concert or something of the like.

Count me in that crowd, and kudos to you for recognizing that different people have different priorities around here.
DC may as well be 2000 miles away--ok, except for the 2 Skins games me and my mom are going to this year, but I would take a flight to see the Skins, even with this year's unimpressive-thus-far performance.
I live here because I got a job here and it's close to our folks. I got to see all the Smithsonians and monuments as a schoolkid, my kids will do the same, and other than that there is nothing there worth seeing to me.
Besides, all I see on the news is murders and Mall muggings...and if it's on hthe news, it must be that way every day

[KatOne]

Ok, so I have to weigh in on the comment about living in an established neighborhood. I live in one now in Fairfax County/Falls Church and there are some aspects of it that are great. The location is fantastic and the traffic is usually easy to manage once you learn the back ways. The parks are gorgeous and the bike trail is great.

But now I have two kids and I've noticed that for as beautiful as those tree-lined streets are, they are also painfully empty during the day when my children are out playing. There are mostly retired folks or working professionals who live in my neighborhood. Those who have children have them in daycare during the day and for some reason don't let them out of the house on the weekends. I guess everyone is catching up on errands they can't get done during the week.

I'm heavily involved with a play group and Sunday school at our church, but just once I would love to be able to open my front door and see my kids play with kids their age w/o having to drive them all over Falls Church.

For this reason my husband and I would like to move to a 'family-friendly' neighborhood with other children playing in their front yards. Oh, and another stay-at-home mom to talk to at the local park would be a definite plus. I get sick of talking to babysitters and nannies who act like they could care less about the kids they are tending.

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by jmarkd

Count me in that crowd, and kudos to you for recognizing that different people have different priorities around here.
DC may as well be 2000 miles away--ok, except for the 2 Skins games me and my mom are going to this year, but I would take a flight to see the Skins, even with this year's unimpressive-thus-far performance.
I live here because I got a job here and it's close to our folks. I got to see all the Smithsonians and monuments as a schoolkid, my kids will do the same, and other than that there is nothing there worth seeing to me.
Besides, all I see on the news is murders and Mall muggings...and if it's on hthe news, it must be that way every day

Even though I prefer DC to pretty much any of the suburban areas, I rarely ever venture in because it's just such a hassle from out here. Just the stop and go drive in or having to find parking or paying for Metro, blah, blah, blah, it makes me tired just thinking about it. I've been in Ashburn for some 10 months and I would say in that time period, absolute max, I'm been to DC three times. I would like to go more but laziness and cheapness wins out nearly every time.

In a strange way, I enjoy it when friends from out of town visit as it requires me to do the obligatory monument/museum DC tour which are things that I rarely ever do or see seeing as how I live "here" and take those things for granted. Funny little story to go even further off-topic: I didn't realize until I was way older than I should've been, that most museums, zoos and things of that nature actually charge admission, seeing as how all of those things are free in DC. Then one day when I was I believe 17, I was in New York and just waltzed right into a museum past the ticket booth thinking nothing of it when a guard yelled at me and told me I had to pay, and I just thought "Pay?! But...this is a museum! They're free!"

[tarp]

LOL, Yeah, I didn't realize that too. When I grew up and found out that museums, zoos, etc. typically cost money, I was astonished!

I think it's sad that KatOne only runs into nannies and babysitters. This is a symptom of the high cost of living in this area that requires two paychecks, causing a destruction of the family life.

I too want to someday search for a very family oriented area in which my future kids can go outside and play with other kids and there is a real sense of community.

I have found it in the suburban communities of Toronto, Canada more so than anywhere else I have spent much time in. The people seemed to have a greater sense of community. Even as an outsider I could go for a walk in the neighborhoods and people wave and say hello. Amazing for a large city. But I am not sure I would relocate to Canada in the future. I think some small towns and suburbs in upstate New York also had this sense of community. People always speak of the south as being slower paced and having a better sense of community but I have not seen it in the time I have spent in North Carolina, Florida, or elsewhere.