Poll: most aesthetically pleasing neighborhood in Nova

[Anonymous]

I have a nostalgic soft spot for Fairlington...but the condo association-run maintenance means the grounds and building exteriors are very well-kept and a lot of townhome owners (esp. on the Alexandria side) have gorgeous flower beds. There are always people out walking around and the pools and playgrounds are attractive.

I would also submit votes for the northwest quadrant of Falls Church City; Beverly Hills, Alexandria; and the Orchard Drive to Mosby Road corridor of Fairfax City.

[Anonymous]

Personally for cute houses, I like Alexandria especially Old Town and Del Rey (especially around Halloween/Christmas when they decorate everything), and Mt Vernon Ave has a lot of cute shops.

I'm currently in Vienna and parts of the original town off of Maple are cute with some historical stuff. For nature, you've got plenty of windy, backwoods roads and scenic trails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In NoVa, you can pick two: good schools, good commute, pretty neighborhood.

There are parts of Arlington, McLean, and Falls Church where you can get all three. Add parts of Vienna if you're talking about a commute to Tysons rather than DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In NoVa, you can pick two: good schools, good commute, pretty neighborhood.

Plus add $1.7 million to pay for said house. Which isn't really worth it in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In NoVa, you can pick two: good schools, good commute, pretty neighborhood.

There are parts of Arlington, McLean, and Falls Church where you can get all three. Add parts of Vienna if you're talking about a commute to Tysons rather than DC.

Curious which parts of Arlington/McLean you think qualify?

[Anonymous]

There is a neighborhood my daughter tutors someone, at the far western end of Fairfax county. It's a lovely to drive through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For mid century modern, people love Hollin Hills. As for my super snarky self, Pimmit Hills.

Pimmit hills is a nice hilly area, there is attractive nature there, and it's super central. But unfortunately a lot of housing stock is so fugly (up to this day) that it's hard to find streets that would be uniformly beautiful.

I assumed they were joking, lol. Pimmit Hills is the land of crumbling 1k sq ft homes surrounded by rusting chain link fence.

I was definitely joking, hence the phrase “super snarky”. I used to live by Pimmit Hills and would take walks there purely to gawk at the god awful McMansions blotting out the sunlight of the 900 sq ft bungalows. So many bad architectural choices are clustered in that place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a nostalgic soft spot for Fairlington...but the condo association-run maintenance means the grounds and building exteriors are very well-kept and a lot of townhome owners (esp. on the Alexandria side) have gorgeous flower beds. There are always people out walking around and the pools and playgrounds are attractive.

I would also submit votes for the northwest quadrant of Falls Church City; Beverly Hills, Alexandria; and the Orchard Drive to Mosby Road corridor of Fairfax City.

Agree. It’s lovely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In NoVa, you can pick two: good schools, good commute, pretty neighborhood.

There are parts of Arlington, McLean, and Falls Church where you can get all three. Add parts of Vienna if you're talking about a commute to Tysons rather than DC.

Stop buying into the nonsense.


I live in a 2.2M house in Rosemont and sent my Kids to Maury- GW- TC- UVA/Swarthmore.

ACPS does a phenomenal job getting smart, motivated kids from good families into excellent schools.

But, jealousy and racism keep the haters screaming at the top of the lungs about ACPS being bad.

I'd take TC / AC any day of the week (and twice on Sundays) over literally 75% of the FCPS HSs.

[Anonymous]

Langley Farms between 123 and Georgetown Pike is gorgeous. As it should be for an area where an acre costs $4.5M.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In NoVa, you can pick two: good schools, good commute, pretty neighborhood.

There are parts of Arlington, McLean, and Falls Church where you can get all three. Add parts of Vienna if you're talking about a commute to Tysons rather than DC.

Stop buying into the nonsense.


I live in a 2.2M house in Rosemont and sent my Kids to Maury- GW- TC- UVA/Swarthmore.

ACPS does a phenomenal job getting smart, motivated kids from good families into excellent schools.

But, jealousy and racism keep the haters screaming at the top of the lungs about ACPS being bad.

I'd take TC / AC any day of the week (and twice on Sundays) over literally 75% of the FCPS HSs.

I wasn't dissing Rosemont by not mentioning it. Not familiar with it, as I have no interest in ACHS, which at one point was labeled a "persistently lowest achieving school" by the Virginia Department of Education (as the same time as schools in FCPS and APS were top #10 in the state).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Mansion Drive in Alexandria

That is a gorgeous street. I live on an adjacent street (Argyle Drive) and one of the Mansion Drive residents hosts parties every ~3 months where they have a string quartet playing classical music out on their back lawn.

The landscaping is impeccable and the homes are all unique. Slate roofs, classic architecture, etc.

[Anonymous]

Old Town Alexandria, for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For mid century modern, people love Hollin Hills. As for my super snarky self, Pimmit Hills.

PH is definitely not aesthetically pleasing and I live here - but it is the easiest commute to McLean, Vienna, Tysons, Arlington and Falls Church.

Greasy developer men keep building gigantic black and white houses with LED Lighting and gray walls everywhere though. Such a bummer bc they could build anything they want.

[Anonymous]

North of King ST, South of Glebe, East of Cameron Mills RD and West of Richmond Highway (Rosemont, Del Ray and parts of Beverly Hills). If you're in Del Ray that would be South of where MT Vernon and Commonwealth meet UNLESS you're on Hume and Clifford AVE by the park.

This definition covers Mansion Drive, Lloyds LN, the early 20th Century SFHs in Rosemont and all the Del Ray charm without getting into Arlandria and the less aesthetically pleasing areas closer to 4 Mile and Shirlington.


I see people blanket saying OT: Not true.

In OT you want to be South of Princess and East of Washington (maybe Patrick ST if you want to stretch) and on Lee or anything West of it (up to Washington). Too close to the water is new builds north of Princess is the housing projects, apartment buildings, and newer builds (weird vibes over there). SW quadrant isn't aesthetically pleasing (save for maybe a dozen homes but that's immediately cancelled out by the busy streets) and Parker Gray was never "nice" enough to be a top contender for most aesthetically pleasing (I'd place it second or third tier).