Reply to help this Marylander understand the "other side"

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[quote=Anonymous]Taking this post seriously rather than trying to fan the flames --

I lived in DC from 1994-1998, then the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area from 1998-2010 (in a condo on the Bethesda-Chevy Chase border, not in the super-ritzy part).  We moved to Fairfax City in 2010.  I previously felt the same way as OP about NoVa.  I found it confusing and unappealing and basically never crossed the river unless I was going to Tyson's.  Then we started looking at housing prices and schools after my daughters were born.  I really, really wanted to move to Takoma Park, but we were priced out by the extremely high property and locality taxes.  Plus a friend who is a MoCo cop warned us about MS-13 gang activity in bordering Langley Park.  My husband grew up in the Vienna-Fairfax area, so we started looking out there.  We found a house in our price range, in a good school district, with much lower property taxes.  The commute to DC is longer but not a deal breaker.

I notice several major differences.  There is diversity in Fairfax, but as PPs have noted, it tends to be Arab/Persian/Asian rather than Latino and AA.  People also generally are much nicer and do not have the B-CC snootiness we came to hate -- I grew up in the South, so this is a big plus for me.  Our neighborhood is more conservative than where we were in MoCo, with lots of Romney and Allen yard signs, and there seems to be a larger military contingent here.  And we are near St. Leo's, one of the more conservative Catholic churches, which also is a big change (my husband grew up liberal Catholic, I am Episcopalian).

I can't really speak about McLean/Arlington/Clarendon/other parts of FFX County.

Generally, I like it and think we made a good move for our family, particularly when we go to the playground and don't feel scrutinized for our clothing and stroller choices.  That said, I don't feel like we quite "fit" in Fairfax.  My husband and I haven't really clicked with any of our neighbors, which I fully admit might be due to our shared introversion.  I still suspect that we would have an easier time making friends and finding like-minded peers had we moved to Takoma Park, and I still look at real estate listings -- and then realize the same factors that led us to Fairfax still exist.[/quote]

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