Reston, VA Reviews

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 Read More

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 Read More

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.
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Education - 8/25/2008
Has decreased in test scores over the past four Read More

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 Read More

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 Read More

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 Read More

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 Read More

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 Read More

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 Read More