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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I moved from DC to Vienna three years ago for more space (and also because my work moved completely remote). I thought that the tight-knit sense of community would appeal to me and my two kids (late elementary school), but that hasn’t really been the case.

I feel like a fish out of water. I’m a single mom, and already I feel like that separates me from the family-oriented nature of Vienna. I also don’t really fit into the suburban soccer mom stereotype that Vienna is known for. I’m not super interested in playing politics with my neighbors. I’m pretty vocal about social injustice and I curse a lot — I don’t really buy into the “don’t rock the boat” ethos around me.

The competitive nature of the other parents and the Type A pressure cooker of the schools also concern me. I’m a psychologist and I’ve seen WAY too many teens in this area break down because of the intense pressure, and I sometimes feel like I should’ve chosen a “lower performing” school that doesn’t have the relentless pressure to succeed.

The tightly-wound nature of the other parents bother me, and sometimes they make comments about how I’m not “pushing” my kids by putting them in travel sports or extra academic enrichment. It just seems like most of the people around me are Type A rule-following lawyers, which feels really weird as someone who spent my teens and twenties going to punk shows and making lots of (bad) art…

And the conservatism of the area is unsettling. I don’t really find any Trump supporters/far-right people in the area, but there is a general social conservatism and intense conformity that feels uncomfortable.

[b]Is this just what living in the suburbs is like?[/b] Or is it intensified in Vienna? Is there another NoVa/Moco/DC neighborhood where parents like me congregate? [/quote]

OP, this is Vienna. We live in the Va suburbs and specifically did not look in Vienna because we were already familiar with the politics and feel of the city. It has a type. Yes, it's full of the new construction homes, good schools, and other amenities, but it is a notably conservative red dot in an otherwise blue sea. I mean, Comstock!

We opted for one of the more liberal/mixed suburbs (FFX) and have quite enjoyed it, so it is not what the suburbs are like. FFX, Burke, ARL, etc. do not feel like Vienna. And you don't have to settle for "Lower performing" schools. Woodson, Lake Braddock, Robinson are great, and don't feel like Madison.

Anyway, if you can move, do it. I'd not want to live in Vienna. If you can't, find your tribe. They are there, though a small minority[/quote]

Nah.  Comstock did not represent most of Vienna when she was in Congress.  Her district was mostly further north and further west.  Vienna was mostly represented then, and now, by Gerry Connolly.

And Vienna is not a "notably conservative red dot in an otherwise blue sea."  It's part of the blue sea where people generally are politically liberal, but socially conservative and rather conformist when it comes to interacting with others in social settings.

And if you want to say that your neighbors are friendlier, or more open, or less reserved and judgmental than people in Vienna, please go ahead, but it sounds like you're just resurrecting the whole "Goldilocks" thing - "my slightly less affluent area is just the right temperature, but your slightly more affluent area is too hot/too cold." [/quote]

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