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| Reston cost of living - 7/9/2012
Reston is a wonderful place to live but you pay for the amenities in HOA fees. In this economy, with gas, food, health care and taxes going up, I am trying to move from Reston so I will not have to worry about paying the next property tax bill, etc.[read more...]
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| Good and Bad - 10/19/2011
We've lived and owned a townhouse in Reston for 4 1/2 years, and lived in Chantilly for 4 years prior to that. It has good and bad points. First the good: variety of cultures represented, variety of types of families (working, stay at home,married, single families, etc), 15 nice pools to choose from in the summer (part of being part of the home owners associations), lots of kid friendly activities, relatively clean, nice parks and walking trails, driving to DC on weekends isn't bad as long as you avoid Rt66, and it is one of the few areas in Northern VA that kept trees (you'll find this in Arlington too). Now the bad: we pay two home owners association fees, one to Reston and one to our neighborhood (not worth it for what you get, especially in this economy), some public schools are okay but some are bad (recommend doing research), not many good choices for preschools that are affordable (we pay 1150 for a preschool (very reasonable for this area) and 1250 for an in-home daycare for one too young for preschool (higher end for home daycares, but low for infant/toddler care in a center), my commute to Arlington VA is 45-90 minutes each way (on the lower end in the summer, holidays, and Fridays because 1/2 of the government is off on Fridays), traffic is getting heavier even in Reston and is very unpredictable (problematic when trying to pick up kids), everyone is so busy that even those neighborhoods that try hard to have a sense of community fail compared to what a real community should be, people are not that friendly in general (if you don't have family around, it is tough). Overall, if you have to live in the DC area and you are looking to be in the suburbs, Reston is a nice place, especially if you have extra income to spend or a stay at home mom...but if you are trying to decide whether or not to move to the DC area, I wouldn't recommend it, particularly if you like or are looking for a place with a sense of community (and I think Reston has that more of a community than the majority of the areas around DC).[read more...]
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| Actually we live in Potomac Falls, but that isn't - 3/1/2011
We like it here a lot, the downfall of course is traffic. Driving 16 miles to Tysons Corner could take you 20 minutes at 6am or 1.5 hours if you leave at 7am. So be prepared for lots of time in your car is you have to commute or drive ANYWHERE.[read more...]
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| Crime - 2/11/2011
One of the safest in US[read more...]
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| Reston VA. - 10/15/2010
Ok to live if you have a six figure income (or nearly one).
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| Reston VA - 2/24/2010
Amazing Suburb of Northern VA. Great access to anything you need/want. Trails, pools, community all first class. However, very pricey as is the DC Metro Area![read more...]
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| Political Diversity - 10/14/2009
While the cost of living is high, it's wonderful to live in an area with political and ethnic diversity, unlike the small town in Washington state where we used to live that was overwhelmingly conservative. This is so much better.[read more...]
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| Reston, Sterling, Ashburn...the kid triangle - 6/24/2009
Yes, kids rule. Families rule. This area is not for singles or couple without kids. I totally agree about the endless bombardment of misbehaved kids. And it's getting worse! Reston didn't start out this way. There was suppose to be balance in this planned community. A middle class. A place for seniors and young families alike. It retains some of that, but the influx of wealthier people has made this a have and have-not place. Sterling is worse in terms of children. Ashburn might as well be one big maternity ward. Adults in quest of some quiet cafe or a place to enjoy an adult beverage or two will hate it here, unless of course they have kids. I gave up on going to a nearby sports pub because parents have turned the joint in Disney World. Why they need to invade adult bars is a mystery because there are plenty of kid and family-oriented eateries in these three towns. My feeling is that people are so wealthy here that they think they can do and have it all. That they are indeed entitled to everything this area has to offer and see nothing wrong with sitting four children down at a table at Morton's or changing a diaper at a countertop in Starbucks. I have to go into Arlington just to get away from all these howdy-doody/yuppie families.
The good news is that Reston is changing a bit. Adults are retiring here. Young professionals are buying high-rise condos. The construction of schools and ball fields for kids has subsided. Unfortunately, neighboring Sterling and Ashburn have picked up the slack and are catering to families in ways even Reston never did.
It's an astonishing area. A bit scary. Pregnancy is an epidemic. Not unusual to see a pregnant woman walking by with twins in a stroller and a five year old at her side. I don't know what's in the water, but this whole area is going to explode with teenagers one day, and be fertile for all the problems teens bring. Many of my friends are moving because they are tired of their taxes going up to build schools. And even some large employers have left the area. The promise of Northern Virginia was destroyed by growth. Too much of everything converged all at once. In some ways, I am glad there is a recession, it forced the area to slow down a bit. But still, it's a pretty overcrowded, annoying and expensive part of the state. The over abundance of large families is only one of the problems here.
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| Kids, kids and more kids - 6/16/2009
A swath of Northern Virginia suburbs running from Reston to Leesburg is the most kid-populated area I have every seen...and I have lived in several states. In fact, there was a statistic released a few years ago that said Loudoun County, Virginia, which Reston butts up against, has the second-most multi-children families in the nation. Per capita, only Salt Lake City has more. Reston has many events, parks and other functions geared towards families with children. It gets overwhelming at times. But Sterling and Ashburn in Loudoun County take the prize for catering to children. What does this mean in terms of quality of life in this area?
1. You will be unable to eat in even high-end restaurants without being seated next to screaming children.
2. Every parent in this area calls their sons "buddy." An entire generation of males is going to grow up thinking Buddy is actually their name.
3. The sense of entitlement parents have in this area is off the charts. If you're a couple without children, or a senior citizen, it's like you are invisible here.
4. You will be stuck behind minivans on a regular basis. Most travel 10 mph below the limit and like driving in the left lane. Traffic in general is a mess, even on local roads.
5. Your taxes will go up every year even though your property value goes down. Gotta build more schools for all of those "buddies."
6. You won't be able to walk through a park, a library or grocery store without witnessing a tantrum from a 2-year-old, as the pregnant mother tries to find her 5-year-old who decided it was time to go out on his own.
7. Finding adult friends is impossible if you don't have children. Parents hang with parents. The few childless couples are too busy trying to find a way out of this suburban Hell.
8. Have a hobby like golf? Forget it. You will be pressured to have children and attend soccer games 6 days a week. On the seventh day you will be expected to work on your breeding. Just having one child is not an option here.
It's too bad this has become "family land." It's actually a fairly nice area. But the out of balance number of kids is wearing the place out. As you drive beyond Leesburg, the area starts to get more rural. But the houses are still the size of small castles so that you can shelter your six children. A little farther away, and you can breathe again, go to a restaurant that doesn't have 40 high-chairs in stock, and generally act and feel like an adult. No baby talk from 35-year-olds.
A couple other things. The education of the population is high. That's a good thing. The amenities and access to D.C. are great. But the mish-mash of so-called diversity has made this a cold place to live. There is no cohesion. Sterling is known for its massive Indian and Arab populations. Reston is heavy on Asians. Hispanics from all countries are everywhere. There is virtually nothing Virginia about this section of Virginia. No one talks to each other, or can, because of language barriers. Workaholics abound. Traffic is so surreal that it's hard to explain, but all the "diverse" drivers on the roads sure make it challenging to get from point A to B.
People come here because there are jobs and because their kids can go to good and often brand new schools. If you have a good job, friends who talk to you and neighbors who speak English, and don't plan on fielding your own baseball team with your kids, I would advise not coming here. You will waste countless hours in traffic. You won't be able to do anything that is exclusively for adults (I've seen kids sitting on bar stools around here). And you will pay three times what it cost for decent housing elsewhere.
If you just have to be in the D.C. area, either move inside the beltway (if you are a city person) or move well into the more rural areas if you like peace and quiet. Unless, of course, you don't mind buddies and the self-centered, entitled parents who so arrogantly unleash them on society.
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| Reston way of life - 3/24/2009
My wife and I moved to Reston from New Orleans some 18 months ago. The amenities in Reston abound. As a planned urban development, greenspaces dominate with abundant walking trails, parks and recreational areas.
Reston is a very diverse community in both racial and philosophic qualities which makes interacting with other Restonians something of a mixed bag.
The downside of Reston is largely a result of the planning in that a vast majority of the shops (restaurants, clothing, etc) are national chains as single store businesses cannot afford the rents being charged in the area. Traffic, another by product of the planning, is significant because there are limited number of roads which traverse the entire area.
Thanks and I look forward to learning more here.
Chris[read more...]
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| Education - 8/25/2008
Has decreased in test scores over the past four years.[read more...]
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| Great hiking trails and outdoor recreation opportu - 6/9/2008
Reston has over 60 miles of paved pathways for walking or biking (plus many unpaved wooded trails), 50 tennis courts, many with lights for night play, 15 association swimming pools, a public golf course, indoor and outdoor skating rinks, over 24 baseball and soccer fields, 22 outdoor multipurpose volleyball and basketball courts, 18 picnic areas and 3 covered picnic pavilions, a 71 acre "Vernon Walker Nature Center, and a wide variety of youth sports and summer recreation programs.[read more...]
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| Run, don't walk, from Reston. - 5/4/2008
Reston was a planned community designed around quaint 1950s and 1960s ideals. The planned part has failed -- look at the deserted eyesores that Lake Anne and Tall Oaks villages have become for proof positive of those failed ideals. One village center, Hunter's Woods, had to be torn down and rebuilt before it even began to foster any growth and now it's just a typical ugly suburban strip shopping center with acres of parking lots full of over sized SUVs driven by aggressive, mean Stepford Wives. The one high school is a "ghetto" school that no one wants to attend (there are lawsuits pending over forced redistricting to get this white elephant school populated; the rich people in neighboring towns want nothing to do with South Lakes and will fight to the end -- and this is after the nearly $60 million (yes 60 million!) renovation.
Reston is full of legions of cheap, poorly maintained and ugly social / subsidized housing complexes scattered all over Reston and there are more coming. The county now sneaks in yet more low-income housing by buying cheap, low-end condos that are miles from any jobs, recreation centers, grocery stores or other needs of the poor. The tiny condos are stuffed with large families and then the inevitable problems and clashes are left to the volunteer condo boards to support. The county staff never show up or participate in board meetings or offer any support to the problems that their tenants create. Another failed Reston model.
The county supervisor has done a poor and terrible job of protecting the property values that support the schools and other so-called amenities of the community and taxes were just raised to cover more funding for yet more subsidized housing.
On top of the sky-high housing taxes, there is ANOTHER tax to be paid to the Reston Association. This non deductible tax pays for pools that no one wants, miles of poorly maintained dangerous paths and lakes and streams that are disgusting open sewers clogged with litter and trash.
I bought into this so-called ideal suburban life and was more than shocked at what ills are hidden behind all of the trees and woods. My condo has depreciated by about 50% since I bought it in 2005 and it appears that I am going to be stuck here for a good long time. It's a good thing there is no cemetery here, because I would not want to spend eternity in this failed experiment.[read more...]
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| Plenty to Offer for Healthy Lifestyles - 2/12/2008
Even though most Reston residents are still tethered to their cars, it is a very walkable place to live. There are plenty of paved paths, lots of swimming pools and tennis courts, two ice skating rinks, plenty of gyms and yoga studios and a many opportunities for team sports (soccer is still king, but ice hockey, baseball and lacrosse leagues are plentiful and active). There are also quite a few "alternative" or "complementary" health care practitioners in the area.[read more...]
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| Great Place to Raise Kids - 1/1/2008
Reston is a tremendous place to raise a family. The schools are top rated in Virginia and teachers are passionate about learning. Recreational activities abound and value is placed on teaching sportsmanship. There are a great number of things to do with young kids, from the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC to the Blue Ridge Mountain. You can't ask for more.[read more...]
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| I am only here for the check. - 7/29/2007
There are lots of jobs. It is usually pretty here. But unless you are bringing several hundred thousand from a previous home sale you will just rent and look for something better elsewhere.[read more...]
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| The quality has rapidly declined in Reston, VA - 7/12/2006
I moved to Reston 7 years ago. Some call it North Reston or New Reston. It was a mix of suburbs with small town flavor along with city sophistication. It was growing at comforatable pace. Being 1/2 hour from DC is great!
Fast forward to July 2006. The traffic is now dreadful. Apartments and condos appear daily. Businesses have now taken over every inch of land. We have no new schools, the infastructure has not grown or improved, the cost of housing has sky rocketed and the cost of living is crazy, crime is now an issue.
The planned community is not going too well. Time for a new plan. One everyone can live with.[read more...]
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| What monkey runaways? - 4/13/2006
Reston is a beautiful city feeling tucked in a suburb 45 minutes from Washington, DC. It is a community of bright, highly educated working families from diverse cultural backgrounds. There never were any Ebola contaminated monkeys here...they housed in a lab in a neighboring suburb. This community is growing rapidly and recently had $500,000 condos erected in and across from its Town Center. The residents proudly host a juried art festival every May and are known to work together for charitable causes. This is a wonderful place to live with access to the Dulles Toll Road where a Metro subway will be constructed in the next 5 years. Both suburban and urban-type living units are available within a few square miles.[read more...]
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