COMMENT BY
Harold from Fair Oaks, VA
COMMENT ABOUT PLACE
Fairfax, VA
COMMENT
Mixed Bag
Fairfax, Virginia, offers the best and worst of everything. It provides some of the best schools, best libraries, and best shopping centers in the country. It is a hop, skip, and a jump to Washington, DC, the nation's capital and the home of the world-renowned Smithsonian Institution, the Kennedy Center, and a slew of upscale restaurants.
What more could you ask for, right? Unfortunately, access to such amenities comes at a heavy price, in particular, costly housing, high taxes, and seemingly costly everything else. If you list among the town's many well-paid professionals, you might not notice the ever-increasing property taxes, mass transportation costs, and home-owner association fees. If, on the other hand, you fall at the lower end of the financial spectrum, the continually changing living costs might be enough to drive you out of town.
Oh, yes! If you do decide to settle down in northern Virginia, you must learn to confront its maddening rush-hour traffic stoically. If you fall afoul of the state's notorious Division of Motor Vehicles, you will face heavy fines and assorted other stiff penalties.