Reston vs Alexandria

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reston has more contemporary houses and more emphasis on nature. Alexandria is more about history.

Both places have art galleries, and the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria offers art classes too through the Art League.

Both places have excellent bike paths. Both are near some type of water (river or lakes). Part of Alexandria does have flooding. That may become more concerning with global warming?

Our kids love visiting the used bookstore at Lake Anne (in Reston).

Reston has a nice indoor ice rink (plus small outdoor one in the town center). The indoor place offers figure skating classes and lessons, plus ice hockey.

Both places offer Spanish immersion if you’re in the right school boundary or lottery in.

Reston has a great location of Lifetime Fitness with indoor and outdoor pools, a yoga studio, and child care and classes for kids.

OP, what are your family values? Do you have any special interests like figure skating or language immersion? Or just want a reasonable commute and good schools?

I used to live in Alexandria but personally prefer Reston (live in Vienna). I love driving down the big wide streets and seeing names like “American Dream Way.”

This was great, thank you! We like doing things outdoors, walkable areas. My daughter is into swimming and we love traveling as well. Cute coffee shops, not too many chain stores, charm & quaint and diverse with a big sense of community would be on our list. Would love a place where kids can play together, play outside freely but also provides entertainment for adults. I love nature but I also love the city and urban areas. Good schools and commute are also important, seems like the commute would be to Arlington mostly these days

Lake Anne and Downtown Herndon are really nice places. They are compact but have pretty much all local shops, DQ stands out as one of the few larger chains in either location.

There is Japanese Immersion at Fox Mill and Spanish Immersion at Lake Anne.

Reston Town Center is fine but nothing exciting. It has changed a fair amount since the owners added paid parking. Most of the local businesses were forced out due to the hit that came from people not shopping at RTC. Why pay to park and shop when there are plenty of free places to shop that don't require paying? We do go there, we like some of the restaurants and the like but we only go there after 5 PM and on the weekends.

There are lots of parks and walking paths and neighborhood communities that are walkable.

I would look in Herndon and Vienna as well.

Herndon has, in my opinion, the benefit of being able to use pretty much all of the Reston amenities without the fees. There are solid schools and a good amount to do. It also has the benefit of new metro stops coming in so there will be an increase in commuting options for folks. Hopefully the new stops will also relieve Weihle Metro of some of the parking issues because people will be able to use the new stops in Herndon.

There is no denying that Reston has a different feel then Herndon and Arlington and Alexandria and Vienna. But they each have a good number of pros and some cons that are going to matter for different people. Take a look at each of the areas and go with what fits your budget and feels right to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reston has more contemporary houses and more emphasis on nature. Alexandria is more about history.

Both places have art galleries, and the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria offers art classes too through the Art League.

Both places have excellent bike paths. Both are near some type of water (river or lakes). Part of Alexandria does have flooding. That may become more concerning with global warming?

Our kids love visiting the used bookstore at Lake Anne (in Reston).

Reston has a nice indoor ice rink (plus small outdoor one in the town center). The indoor place offers figure skating classes and lessons, plus ice hockey.

Both places offer Spanish immersion if you’re in the right school boundary or lottery in.

Reston has a great location of Lifetime Fitness with indoor and outdoor pools, a yoga studio, and child care and classes for kids.

OP, what are your family values? Do you have any special interests like figure skating or language immersion? Or just want a reasonable commute and good schools?

I used to live in Alexandria but personally prefer Reston (live in Vienna). I love driving down the big wide streets and seeing names like “American Dream Way.”

This was great, thank you! We like doing things outdoors, walkable areas. My daughter is into swimming and we love traveling as well. Cute coffee shops, not too many chain stores, charm & quaint and diverse with a big sense of community would be on our list. Would love a place where kids can play together, play outside freely but also provides entertainment for adults. I love nature but I also love the city and urban areas. Good schools and commute are also important, seems like the commute would be to Arlington mostly these days

Lake Anne and Downtown Herndon are really nice places. They are compact but have pretty much all local shops, DQ stands out as one of the few larger chains in either location.

There is Japanese Immersion at Fox Mill and Spanish Immersion at Lake Anne.

Reston Town Center is fine but nothing exciting. It has changed a fair amount since the owners added paid parking. Most of the local businesses were forced out due to the hit that came from people not shopping at RTC. Why pay to park and shop when there are plenty of free places to shop that don't require paying? We do go there, we like some of the restaurants and the like but we only go there after 5 PM and on the weekends.

There are lots of parks and walking paths and neighborhood communities that are walkable.

I would look in Herndon and Vienna as well.

Herndon has, in my opinion, the benefit of being able to use pretty much all of the Reston amenities without the fees. There are solid schools and a good amount to do. It also has the benefit of new metro stops coming in so there will be an increase in commuting options for folks. Hopefully the new stops will also relieve Weihle Metro of some of the parking issues because people will be able to use the new stops in Herndon.

There is no denying that Reston has a different feel then Herndon and Arlington and Alexandria and Vienna. But they each have a good number of pros and some cons that are going to matter for different people. Take a look at each of the areas and go with what fits your budget and feels right to you.

DP. This is how I feel about Reston Town Center too. They took the National Harbor model of expensive parking yet, no actual real anchors to hook it in. Many places got ran out and these nice but expensive places took over that aren’t appealing to everyday folks. I too would choose Herndon over Reston just to avoid the higher property fees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does Reston offer a city vibe for 30something young adults or is it suburbia?

It’s suburbia to a tee. Don’t let the tall buildings in the town center fool you, it’s mainly families and kids. There are a few bars but it’s mainly divorced soccer moms who frequent the bars.

If you want more of a city vibe, you’d have to go with Alexandria.

Agree. Alexandria has something for everybody. Definitely more urban feel. A lot of diversity, grit & a lot of fun. Good location to DC if that matters.

Reston is just very scrubbed, boring and far away. It is safe.

The urban feel part is just for Old Town Alexandria. Most of Alexandria in Ffx County is as suburban as anything, without another center of activity. At least Reston has some stuff downtown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reston pros:
Lots and lots of walking paths and trails
hotbed for tech and jobs
Reston Town Center
many sports fields - Great Falls people come to Reston to play
Nature Center
Multiple Reston Community Centers
Central Shopping points
Lake Anne
Multiple other lakes
12 + pools and tennis courts
Reston Zoofari
Watermine and Lake Fairfax
multiple dog parks and skate parks
Farmers Market
Nice houses

Cons:
Some schools have higher than desired FARMs rates.
10-15 miles from DC
Liberal (might be a pro for some)
Multiple socioeconomic levels (again might be a pro for some)

Yikes. Reston is over 20 miles to DC. Definitely not 10 LOL.

map Hunter Mill Road to MacArthur Blvd. It's 15 miles or less. Maybe 10 is a stretch, but pp wasn't that far off.

most people don’t think of it that way.

Exactly. It’s at least 20 miles. I just looked it up on Maps and it’s 22 miles from Reston to DC. No way in hell its 10.

Being 10 miles off is a huge discrepancy. You can like Reston, but to say it’s 10 miles from DC is a lie.

it might literally be somewhat close to mark, technically. But again, nobody would ever consider it that way. It’s like saying that Ballston is “steps” from DC. Anything is “steps” from one place to another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reston has more contemporary houses and more emphasis on nature. Alexandria is more about history.

Both places have art galleries, and the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria offers art classes too through the Art League.

Both places have excellent bike paths. Both are near some type of water (river or lakes). Part of Alexandria does have flooding. That may become more concerning with global warming?

Our kids love visiting the used bookstore at Lake Anne (in Reston).

Reston has a nice indoor ice rink (plus small outdoor one in the town center). The indoor place offers figure skating classes and lessons, plus ice hockey.

Both places offer Spanish immersion if you’re in the right school boundary or lottery in.

Reston has a great location of Lifetime Fitness with indoor and outdoor pools, a yoga studio, and child care and classes for kids.

OP, what are your family values? Do you have any special interests like figure skating or language immersion? Or just want a reasonable commute and good schools?

I used to live in Alexandria but personally prefer Reston (live in Vienna). I love driving down the big wide streets and seeing names like “American Dream Way.”

This was great, thank you! We like doing things outdoors, walkable areas. My daughter is into swimming and we love traveling as well. Cute coffee shops, not too many chain stores, charm & quaint and diverse with a big sense of community would be on our list. Would love a place where kids can play together, play outside freely but also provides entertainment for adults. I love nature but I also love the city and urban areas. Good schools and commute are also important, seems like the commute would be to Arlington mostly these days

You’re trying to find that bubble in Reston? I mean, I really don’t get why you’re focused on these two places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does Reston offer a city vibe for 30something young adults or is it suburbia?

It’s suburbia to a tee. Don’t let the tall buildings in the town center fool you, it’s mainly families and kids. There are a few bars but it’s mainly divorced soccer moms who frequent the bars.

If you want more of a city vibe, you’d have to go with Alexandria.

Agree. Alexandria has something for everybody. Definitely more urban feel. A lot of diversity, grit & a lot of fun. Good location to DC if that matters.

Reston is just very scrubbed, boring and far away. It is safe.

The urban feel part is just for Old Town Alexandria. Most of Alexandria in Ffx County is as suburban as anything, without another center of activity. At least Reston has some stuff downtown.

Old town Alexandria is is part of the “City of Alexandria” not Fairfax County. The other “Alexandria” is Fairfax County. These are two different areas.
The entire “city of Alexandria” is packed and is urban, thus “city.” The Fairfax County Alexandria is also more packed as it is older than Reston and the route 1 corridor is being revitalized over the next 10 yrs up to Fort Belvoir adding another 18k housing and 1m + in commercial space. This area will become even more dense. Just in time amazon and the ever expanding employment at Fort Belvoir.

Reston has the opposite feel from these areas as it is very different. Very safe & calm if you lead the childed lifestyle. If not, go for Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reston has more contemporary houses and more emphasis on nature. Alexandria is more about history.

Both places have art galleries, and the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria offers art classes too through the Art League.

Both places have excellent bike paths. Both are near some type of water (river or lakes). Part of Alexandria does have flooding. That may become more concerning with global warming?

Our kids love visiting the used bookstore at Lake Anne (in Reston).

Reston has a nice indoor ice rink (plus small outdoor one in the town center). The indoor place offers figure skating classes and lessons, plus ice hockey.

Both places offer Spanish immersion if you’re in the right school boundary or lottery in.

Reston has a great location of Lifetime Fitness with indoor and outdoor pools, a yoga studio, and child care and classes for kids.

OP, what are your family values? Do you have any special interests like figure skating or language immersion? Or just want a reasonable commute and good schools?

I used to live in Alexandria but personally prefer Reston (live in Vienna). I love driving down the big wide streets and seeing names like “American Dream Way.”

This was great, thank you! We like doing things outdoors, walkable areas. My daughter is into swimming and we love traveling as well. Cute coffee shops, not too many chain stores, charm & quaint and diverse with a big sense of community would be on our list. Would love a place where kids can play together, play outside freely but also provides entertainment for adults. I love nature but I also love the city and urban areas. Good schools and commute are also important, seems like the commute would be to Arlington mostly these days

You’re trying to find that bubble in Reston? I mean, I really don’t get why you’re focused on these two places.

What would you recommend instead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And the GW Parkway is such a mess these days

What do you mean? The section between Old Town and Mt. Vernon is fine. It’s never backed up, not even in rush hour. It doesn’t get bad until the very north part of old town.

What? That's not what my kids say. They're commuting into DC in 2 different cars (2 different schools). The delays start at Belle Haven. They've tried the GW Parkway, Rt1, what have you. They said it has gotten appreciably worse since the changes on Seminary.

And don't get me started on their commute getting home. The back-up on the GW Parkway starts BEFORE National Airport and it is bumper-to-bumper the whole way through Old Town. Huge problems with cars blocking the box, the HOV lanes not being cleared. I don't remember what day it was last week but one of my kids came back and said they counted 8 cars in the HOV lanes at 4:55 pm. We live in Rosemont. Our kids pick up and drop off kids just down the Parkway.

The idiocy of our Mayor and City Hall is negatively impacting residents on a daily basis. Traffic in Alexandria is a nightmare and getting worse.

A few minutes (at most) delay on Seminary is causing backups on GWParkway to get worse?

Did you know that the coup in Bolivia and the Chinese crackdown on Hong Kong protesters was also caused by the reconfiguration on Seminary? When will City Hall be held to account?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reston pros:
Lots and lots of walking paths and trails
hotbed for tech and jobs
Reston Town Center
many sports fields - Great Falls people come to Reston to play
Nature Center
Multiple Reston Community Centers
Central Shopping points
Lake Anne
Multiple other lakes
12 + pools and tennis courts
Reston Zoofari
Watermine and Lake Fairfax
multiple dog parks and skate parks
Farmers Market
Nice houses

Cons:
Some schools have higher than desired FARMs rates.
10-15 miles from DC
Liberal (might be a pro for some)
Multiple socioeconomic levels (again might be a pro for some)

Yikes. Reston is over 20 miles to DC. Definitely not 10 LOL.

it's actually 17.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does Reston offer a city vibe for 30something young adults or is it suburbia?

It’s suburbia to a tee. Don’t let the tall buildings in the town center fool you, it’s mainly families and kids. There are a few bars but it’s mainly divorced soccer moms who frequent the bars.

If you want more of a city vibe, you’d have to go with Alexandria.

Agree. Alexandria has something for everybody. Definitely more urban feel. A lot of diversity, grit & a lot of fun. Good location to DC if that matters.

Reston is just very scrubbed, boring and far away. It is safe.

The urban feel part is just for Old Town Alexandria. Most of Alexandria in Ffx County is as suburban as anything, without another center of activity. At least Reston has some stuff downtown.

Old town Alexandria is is part of the “City of Alexandria” not Fairfax County. The other “Alexandria” is Fairfax County. These are two different areas.
The entire “city of Alexandria” is packed and is urban, thus “city.” The Fairfax County Alexandria is also more packed as it is older than Reston and the route 1 corridor is being revitalized over the next 10 yrs up to Fort Belvoir adding another 18k housing and 1m + in commercial space. This area will become even more dense. Just in time amazon and the ever expanding employment at Fort Belvoir.

Reston has the opposite feel from these areas as it is very different. Very safe & calm if you lead the childed lifestyle. If not, go for Alexandria.

That's what I meant. I meant the urban comments about Alexandria apply only to Old Town. The rest of Alexandria, which sits in Ffx County, is in my opinion as suburban and free of character as any other suburb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Beyond commute & schools, it also matters how much you want to spend. Your money will go a lot farther in Reston, especially in light of HQ2. But Alexandria is more immune to downturns, and will probably hold or increase its value far more consistently than Reston. If I had to choose, I'd go with Alexandria. There's just no far Fairfax County equivalent to Old Town and the river.

As for the complaint that Reston Town Center is mostly boring chain stores... well, so is Old Town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reston Cons:
Some schools have higher than desired FARMs rates.
10-15 miles from DC
Liberal (might be a pro for some)
Multiple socioeconomic levels (again might be a pro for some)

Those "cons" are also true of Alexandria though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reston pros:
Lots and lots of walking paths and trails
hotbed for tech and jobs
Reston Town Center
many sports fields - Great Falls people come to Reston to play
Nature Center
Multiple Reston Community Centers
Central Shopping points
Lake Anne
Multiple other lakes
12 + pools and tennis courts
Reston Zoofari
Watermine and Lake Fairfax
multiple dog parks and skate parks
Farmers Market
Nice houses

Cons:
Some schools have higher than desired FARMs rates.
10-15 miles from DC
Liberal (might be a pro for some)
Multiple socioeconomic levels (again might be a pro for some)

Yikes. Reston is over 20 miles to DC. Definitely not 10 LOL.

map Hunter Mill Road to MacArthur Blvd. It's 15 miles or less. Maybe 10 is a stretch, but pp wasn't that far off.

most people don’t think of it that way.

Exactly. It’s at least 20 miles. I just looked it up on Maps and it’s 22 miles from Reston to DC. No way in hell its 10.

Being 10 miles off is a huge discrepancy. You can like Reston, but to say it’s 10 miles from DC is a lie.

it might literally be somewhat close to mark, technically. But again, nobody would ever consider it that way. It’s like saying that Ballston is “steps” from DC. Anything is “steps” from one place to another.

DP here who lives in Reston. Sorry but Reston isn’t anywhere near “steps” away from DC. Even 1 mile can make a huge difference in this region if it’s a heavily traffic area. 15 miles in traffic can easily translate to over an hour in this area, especially during rush hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does Reston offer a city vibe for 30something young adults or is it suburbia?

It’s suburbia to a tee. Don’t let the tall buildings in the town center fool you, it’s mainly families and kids. There are a few bars but it’s mainly divorced soccer moms who frequent the bars.

If you want more of a city vibe, you’d have to go with Alexandria.

Agree. Alexandria has something for everybody. Definitely more urban feel. A lot of diversity, grit & a lot of fun. Good location to DC if that matters.

Reston is just very scrubbed, boring and far away. It is safe.

The urban feel part is just for Old Town Alexandria. Most of Alexandria in Ffx County is as suburban as anything, without another center of activity. At least Reston has some stuff downtown.

Old town Alexandria is is part of the “City of Alexandria” not Fairfax County. The other “Alexandria” is Fairfax County. These are two different areas.
The entire “city of Alexandria” is packed and is urban, thus “city.” The Fairfax County Alexandria is also more packed as it is older than Reston and the route 1 corridor is being revitalized over the next 10 yrs up to Fort Belvoir adding another 18k housing and 1m + in commercial space. This area will become even more dense. Just in time amazon and the ever expanding employment at Fort Belvoir.

Reston has the opposite feel from these areas as it is very different. Very safe & calm if you lead the childed lifestyle. If not, go for Alexandria.

That's what I meant. I meant the urban comments about Alexandria apply only to Old Town. The rest of Alexandria, which sits in Ffx County, is in my opinion as suburban and free of character as any other suburb.

There are large areas of the City of Alexandria that are not Old Town. Some are single family home suburbia. Some have a small town or urban feel. Some are 1970s hi rises among parking lots. Some are brand new neo urbanist developments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beyond commute & schools, it also matters how much you want to spend. Your money will go a lot farther in Reston, especially in light of HQ2. But Alexandria is more immune to downturns, and will probably hold or increase its value far more consistently than Reston. If I had to choose, I'd go with Alexandria. There's just no far Fairfax County equivalent to Old Town and the river.

As for the complaint that Reston Town Center is mostly boring chain stores... well, so is Old Town.

Old town keeps out the chain stores. Though that may be changing now since commercial rents are sky high and the independent stores and restaurants can’t keep up.