Help! Vienna Vibes and Feel? TOV?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived there for a decade. It has its good points - people are generally friendly and it's very kid-oriented when it comes to cheap eats, youth sports, etc.

On the other hand, it has a conformist vibe and it is extremely sports-oriented. We've lived in other places in the DC area, including McLean, that felt more private with fewer neighbors keeping tabs on everyone in the neighborhood.

Agree with the PP, by the way, that Vienna generally tends to be rather apolitical. People will usually make small talk about just about anything other than politics to avoid offending anyone's contrary sensibilities, but maybe things are different when it comes to Trump (whether for or against).

The Republicans did get booed at the Halloween Parada which usually didn’t happen. But I guess this year, it’s different. OP-Vienna can be cliquey or not depending on whether you buy into the rat race. Some Vienna moms will be into AAP, which pool you belong to (get your name on a waitlist asap), sports, posting selfies in Vienna Foodies, etc. But most parents are academically focused without being extra. It’s a great place to raise a family.

That has got to be the weirdest FB page ever. And I can't even explain why. I joined it for restaurant info when I moved to Vienna, and it is just ... selfies from some clique and also marketing disguised as regular posts? Hard to describe.

And rich people. The requests they make on food for their private parties are an amusement for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PP said it very well. We like Vienna a lot but it isn’t for everyone.

Are your kids in HS already? If so, great, but I think your experience can vary a significant amount at the ES level - some very different vibes, so I wouldn’t just look at high school.

OP here- our DC is not in elementary yet. Could you elaborate more? Houses we are looking at are in Vienna Elementary and Louise Archer Elementary

Slight preference for Vienna ES.

Consider that there’s such a difference in vibe between TOV and outside of the town but with Vienna zip code. 22181 for instance.

[Anonymous]

We’ve lived in Vienna for 8 years, and love it. There are older families who have lived here for decades and newer younger families who’ve moved in recently. There are feds, business owners, teachers, doctors, and all kinds of professionals. Some of our neighbors and friends own businesses in town so we feel very connected to the community. Vienna has a small town vibe, this may be a problem for some but not us. There are so many things to do that are walkable from our house. There are the Rec Center, Waters/Caffee Fields, Farmer’s Market, Vive Vienna, Chillin on Church, Halloween Parade, Jammin Java, and so many great restaurants. The town is upgrading the sidewalks to make it even more walkable.

We don’t care what others think, so we never felt the need to join any social circles we didn’t like. Our DD attended VES and Thoreau. The parents at VES were very engaged which we loved. We didn’t volunteer for everything and never felt any pressure to do so.

My sister lives in McLean and my nieces attends Langley HS. McLean/Langley are definitely more competitive athletically and academically.

The neighbor to our left supports Trump, the one to our right supports Harris. We’re all cordial and the neighbor to the left clears the snow for all us with his snowblower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived there for a decade. It has its good points - people are generally friendly and it's very kid-oriented when it comes to cheap eats, youth sports, etc.

On the other hand, it has a conformist vibe and it is extremely sports-oriented. We've lived in other places in the DC area, including McLean, that felt more private with fewer neighbors keeping tabs on everyone in the neighborhood.

Agree with the PP, by the way, that Vienna generally tends to be rather apolitical. People will usually make small talk about just about anything other than politics to avoid offending anyone's contrary sensibilities, but maybe things are different when it comes to Trump (whether for or against).

The Republicans did get booed at the Halloween Parada which usually didn’t happen. But I guess this year, it’s different. OP-Vienna can be cliquey or not depending on whether you buy into the rat race. Some Vienna moms will be into AAP, which pool you belong to (get your name on a waitlist asap), sports, posting selfies in Vienna Foodies, etc. But most parents are academically focused without being extra. It’s a great place to raise a family.

That has got to be the weirdest FB page ever. And I can't even explain why. I joined it for restaurant info when I moved to Vienna, and it is just ... selfies from some clique and also marketing disguised as regular posts? Hard to describe.

Such a strange group. No one is allowed to post anything that isn’t over the top positive so there’s tons of glowing tributes to mostly mediocre restaurants. Like a community sanctioned advertising page.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve lived in Vienna for 8 years, and love it. There are older families who have lived here for decades and newer younger families who’ve moved in recently. There are feds, business owners, teachers, doctors, and all kinds of professionals. Some of our neighbors and friends own businesses in town so we feel very connected to the community. Vienna has a small town vibe, this may be a problem for some but not us. There are so many things to do that are walkable from our house. There are the Rec Center, Waters/Caffee Fields, Farmer’s Market, Vive Vienna, Chillin on Church, Halloween Parade, Jammin Java, and so many great restaurants. The town is upgrading the sidewalks to make it even more walkable.

We don’t care what others think, so we never felt the need to join any social circles we didn’t like. Our DD attended VES and Thoreau. The parents at VES were very engaged which we loved. We didn’t volunteer for everything and never felt any pressure to do so.

My sister lives in McLean and my nieces attends Langley HS. McLean/Langley are definitely more competitive athletically and academically.

The neighbor to our left supports Trump, the one to our right supports Harris. We’re all cordial and the neighbor to the left clears the snow for all us with his
snowblower.

McLean and Langley are not as competitive athletically as Madison. Madison has a history of actively recruiting kids for sports and the culture of Vienna is decidedly more sports-oriented.

Langley, McLean, and Oakton are all a bit more academically intense than Madison, as measured by the number of AP classes taken by the average student and the number of National Merit Semifinalists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived there for a decade. It has its good points - people are generally friendly and it's very kid-oriented when it comes to cheap eats, youth sports, etc.

On the other hand, it has a conformist vibe and it is extremely sports-oriented. We've lived in other places in the DC area, including McLean, that felt more private with fewer neighbors keeping tabs on everyone in the neighborhood.

Agree with the PP, by the way, that Vienna generally tends to be rather apolitical. People will usually make small talk about just about anything other than politics to avoid offending anyone's contrary sensibilities, but maybe things are different when it comes to Trump (whether for or against).

The Republicans did get booed at the Halloween Parada which usually didn’t happen. But I guess this year, it’s different. OP-Vienna can be cliquey or not depending on whether you buy into the rat race. Some Vienna moms will be into AAP, which pool you belong to (get your name on a waitlist asap), sports, posting selfies in Vienna Foodies, etc. But most parents are academically focused without being extra. It’s a great place to raise a family.

That has got to be the weirdest FB page ever. And I can't even explain why. I joined it for restaurant info when I moved to Vienna, and it is just ... selfies from some clique and also marketing disguised as regular posts? Hard to describe.

Such a strange group. No one is allowed to post anything that isn’t over the top positive so there’s tons of glowing tributes to mostly mediocre restaurants. Like a community sanctioned advertising page.

It’s a gross site. It’s like anyone who posts is only tolerated if they can ultimately make the administrators of the FB page look like local influencers.

[Anonymous]

If you're not sporty and anti competitive its probably not the best neighborhood for you.

[Anonymous]

I have lived in Vienna for 25 years. Raised two children who went to Vienna ES>Thoreau MS > Madison HS > Virginia public universities.

In my time the TOV has changed, lots of older homes have been torn down and the folks buying the new homes are more diverse and more well to do to the folks they replaced. The gentrification has been positive. Honestly, I thought Vienna was "red neck" when we moved here initially.

Life in the TOV revolves around school, kids activities, the pool you belong to and TOV events like Viva Vienna, Halloween parade, the list goes on.

It is a great community, it has a small town feel to it. It is up to you how much you want to invest into the community.

I do notice that when there were more small ramblers, I knew my neighbors. Now with all of the large homes, I see less of my neighbors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vienna Elementary is very community focused being in the center of town and a little more social sorority like. Louise Archer is more international and academic but not too different and they both feed to Thoreau and Jackson and then Madison.

This is where we are a little lost. How does the community and social sorority vibes coexist? We love the idea of community- social sorority not so much so we are not sure what to expect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vienna Elementary is very community focused being in the center of town and a little more social sorority like. Louise Archer is more international and academic but not too different and they both feed to Thoreau and Jackson and then Madison.

This is where we are a little lost. How does the community and social sorority vibes coexist? We love the idea of community- social sorority not so much so we are not sure what to expect.

To follow up. Maybe our lack of exposure to
sorority and fraternities is source of confusion.

[Anonymous]

As PPs have said, just choose to opt out. Vienna gives you the best of small town and community focused, just don't get lost in the weeds of rat race/Foodie FOMO/keeping up with the Joneses. That's good advice in in general for the DMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As PPs have said, just choose to opt out. Vienna gives you the best of small town and community focused, just don't get lost in the weeds of rat race/Foodie FOMO/keeping up with the Joneses. That's good advice in in general for the DMV.

If you don’t want to be in an area with a very strong “keeping up with the Joneses” vibe, opting out of Vienna entirely would be the best strategy.

[Anonymous]

Maybe move to house outside of TOV, which is where I live. Zoned for vienna schools, can bike into town, but not part of whatever social cliques are going on. Your kids are young enough that you can move in closer later if you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As PPs have said, just choose to opt out. Vienna gives you the best of small town and community focused, just don't get lost in the weeds of rat race/Foodie FOMO/keeping up with the Joneses. That's good advice in in general for the DMV.

If you don’t want to be in an area with a very strong “keeping up with the Joneses” vibe, opting out of Vienna entirely would be the best strategy.

+100

My SIL runs herself ragged trying to keep up with the Joneses in Vienna. Lots of money in TOV now with the newer homes. I know a few others who live there and it seems exhausting. Constant social media posts about kid sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As PPs have said, just choose to opt out. Vienna gives you the best of small town and community focused, just don't get lost in the weeds of rat race/Foodie FOMO/keeping up with the Joneses. That's good advice in in general for the DMV.

If you don’t want to be in an area with a very strong “keeping up with the Joneses” vibe, opting out of Vienna entirely would be the best strategy.

+100

My SIL runs herself ragged trying to keep up with the Joneses in Vienna. Lots of money in TOV now with the newer homes. I know a few others who live there and it seems exhausting. Constant social media posts about kid sports.

Oh please. I live in Vienna and there are plenty of people who don't do this. Also, one opts to post on social media. It is a choice. So what if people have money. Everywhere you go around the DMV, some have more, some have less. Most likely, there will always be people richer than you. Most of the people we've encountered here have been wonderful and generous.