Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm an ex- New Yorker turned Virginian and I hate NoVa. The mueseums are nice, national zoo is nice, Redskins, Ravens, Nationals, Orioles, Capitals, if your a sports fan its nice, but other then that NoVa is alot like NYC, great place to visit but you wouldn't want to live there.
Truthfully I live in central Vurginia, I live by the mountains in the Charlottesville area, its very pretty here.
Also DC commuting sucks, 95 sucks, 66 sucks, and route 29 also sucks.
DC is a careerist work culture with no sense of humor and if you don't work for the right place you may not make any new friends.
My favorites however are Richmond, Winchester, Charlottesville, Madison and Orange for small town feel.
Charlottesville is beautiful!! Such a lovely downtown area and it seems to have all of the conveniences of a larger locale, without most of the negative factors (congestion, crime, etc.).
We recently spent some time in the DC area and I have to say, I think your assessment is fairly accurate. Of course, we were only visiting and spending time with some friends, but it was enough time to get a feel for the area and the people. I can see what you mean about DC having a careerist work culture and no sense of humor.
Since you've lived in both NY and DC, would you say that something like Cold Spring would be the NY equivalent of Charlottesville? I know they are two very different places and Cold Spring is much smaller than Charlottesville, but maybe they share some common traits, such as less congestion, connected to nature, beautiful setting, etc.
Right now we're on the fence because DC culture seems to not be a great fit for us, yet NYC is such a grind, especially with kids. We're thinking a peaceful Hudson Valley town might be the best compromise, even if it means a longer commute.
DC culture is 100% career, government jobs, defense contracting jobs, DC is a power player type of place, you are judged not by the person you are but who it is you work for, Capitol Hill is a popular place and I would say DC is more yuppie and NYC is more hipster transplant type.
DC is also very transient as fed jobs tend to be so its tough to make new friends.
There are pros to the area, museums are nice, the zoo is nice, when the cherry blossoms bloom its gorgeous but DC can be hot as heck in the summer and really cold in the winter. DC is not really known for being a shopping mecca or restaurant destination like a place like Manhattan would be considered.
I absolutely love the West Point area of New York and I'm a Army veteran and have been to USMA for Army football games and such, Bear Mountain and the Military Academy, that whole area us beautiful in the fall.
If you're into yourself and your career you'll do well in DC, it is after all one of the highest educated cities on the east coast, you could have a degree in basket weaving and the US Government will hire you.
I haven't read all the comments but I've lived in Westchester for 10 years and DC for 6 before that. I'd move back to DC in a heartbeat if there were many jobs in my line of work. Wejust LOVED living in DC and miss it terribly.
Better COL, comparable schools, esp in MD and VA, just larger at the HS level, diverse, better weather, plenty of great green spaces and food options at all price points.
In parts of Maryland and Virginia yes life is wonderful I live by the mountains, vineyards, and horse country, Montpelier and Monticello, its beautiful where I live, NoVa/DC is none of that.
Hello,
I am new to Westchester (6 months).
From my experience your CONs on Westchester are accurate. I happen to love winter (being from northern Minnesota), so that is not an issue for me.
I can only speak for myself, but Westchester overall sucks.
You can find great villages or towns that will have the feel you are looking for.
If you are near the Hudson you will be one of the privileged residents that has side walks. For whatever reason, much of Westchester lacks common sense of having sidewalks. So if there are no side walks there are also very few cross walks.
Westchester is not conducive to healthy living.
Bike lanes?..... Nope
Par Courses? .... Nope
Public stairs for climbing?.... Nope
And as I already mentioned -- No side walks.
The access to so many types of stores is wonderful.
My area of Westchester Mrs. Greens, Trader Joes and H-Mart (super Asian grocery) are all free to park at.
Whole foods, (¡)Target(!) and others you pay for parking.
Almost all Malls you must pay to park at as well. I find this fact terribly crazy; parking is free at The Mall of America but not at 'The Westchester'.
I too have found this place to have an 'elitist' aires about themselves. They are needlessly horn happy. As it seems they are all keeping up with the Kardashians or whom ever.
I'm sure I have more things I could ramble on with how I dislike Westchester. But you make life happy wherever you go.
Best bets for happiness in Westchester would be along the Hudson; except Yonkers, the schools are bad (put your children in private).
Best of luck!
Quote:
Originally Posted by CT356
My spouse has the opportunity to work in either NYC or DC, so we're trying to weigh the pros and cons of the two areas. We lived in NYC years ago so the city always has a special place in our hearts. Of course, we're older now and have little ones so Westchester County is more in line with where we are today.
We've heard Northern Virginia can be a bit type-A (not our words) and mostly government workers or contractors. We're used to being around a lot of creative types, and we're guessing we might have a better chance of finding pockets of creative people in Westchester than we would in Northern Virginia. Between that and really loving NYC, we're certainly leaning toward Westchester County.
My question is that we've noticed a lot of people in the Westchester forums tend to be pretty down on the area. Why is that? I understand the insane amount of taxes, which is something we really need to consider, as I'm sure Northern Virginia would most likely have significantly lower taxes than WC. But what are some of the other aspects of Westchester that you don't find to be very appealing?
So far, this is what we've come up with in terms of pros and cons of both areas. Both of these lists are open to interpretation and I'm mainly going from word-of-mouth and forum feedback:
Westchester
Pros
— Close to NYC!!
— More diversity in terms of what people do for a living
— Mostly good schools
— Towns seem to have character and history
— Better/more frequent public transportation
— Beautiful area in the spring, summer and fall
— Houses we've seen and liked online (in areas like Croton and Irvington) tend to be in the $400-500k range (but then you're hit with significantly higher taxes)
Cons
— Extremely high taxes
— Can be a bit stuffy (again, not our words. Just comments we've heard)
— Winters can be long and dreary with much more snow than Northern Virginia, which probably only has a less than 10 inches of snow annually.
— Commute seems to be a little longer than a Northern Virginia commute into DC (but probably not by much)
Hello,
I am new to Westchester (6 months).
From my experience your CONs on Westchester are accurate. I happen to love winter (being from northern Minnesota), so that is not an issue for me.
I can only speak for myself, but Westchester overall sucks.
You can find great villages or towns that will have the feel you are looking for.
If you are near the Hudson you will be one of the privileged residents that has side walks. For whatever reason, much of Westchester lacks common sense of having sidewalks. So if there are no side walks there are also very few cross walks.
Westchester is not conducive to healthy living.
Bike lanes?..... Nope
Par Courses? .... Nope
Public stairs for climbing?.... Nope
And as I already mentioned -- No side walks.
The access to so many types of stores is wonderful.
My area of Westchester Mrs. Greens, Trader Joes and H-Mart (super Asian grocery) are all free to park at.
Whole foods, (¡)Target(!) and others you pay for parking.
Almost all Malls you must pay to park at as well. I find this fact terribly crazy; parking is free at The Mall of America but not at 'The Westchester'.
I too have found this place to have an 'elitist' aires about themselves. They are needlessly horn happy. As it seems they are all keeping up with the Kardashians or whom ever.
I'm sure I have more things I could ramble on with how I dislike Westchester. But you make life happy wherever you go.
Best bets for happiness in Westchester would be along the Hudson; except Yonkers, the schools are bad (put your children in private).
Westchester is not conducive to healthy living.
Bike lanes?..... Nope
Par Courses? .... Nope
Public stairs for climbing?.... Nope
And as I already mentioned -- No side walks.
I thought the below was one of the reasons I enjoyed living in Westchester county. All you need to do is attach your bike to the back of your car and drive to the location.
Quote:
Bicycle Sundays
In addition to these county trails, cyclists, skaters, walkers and joggers can take on the scenic Bronx River Parkway on Bicycle Sundays. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., during May, June and September, a seven-mile stretch from Yonkers to White Plains closes to vehicles. For exact dates and other information, call (914) 864-PARK.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Recent Westchester implant from Minnesota
