Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess the one thing everyone can agree on is that Ballston sucks.

Eh, its is not that bad, and is better than it was a few years ago. But the mall in particular could be a lot better.

Again--the mall is going to be A LOT better. Look at the plans of the improvements and renovation that are coming--complete overhaul. I love the center will be open-air pedestrian.

+1 I can't wait, so long overdue. I was driving to Mosaic District to go to Mom's but now that we have one in Arlington I probably will not go out to Mosaic again.

Hah, us too. They must have been analyzing their demographics to decide where to built their next one! Hopefully they will renovate the Alexandria one sometime too.

They will not renovate the Mt Vernon Avenue MOM's. The plan is to replace it with a mixed use development (presumably including a MOMs as a tenant?) but that project is on hold for now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Mosaic District is awful. There are better versions of everything there in DC. If forced to live out there, I would be glad it's nearby, but I'm thankful that's not the case.

These areas outside of DC allow people to expderience for city life without the high crime and later go home in their nice big houses.

City life in an actual city includes some amount of ambient crime. That's how it works.

Insta-Towne Centres plunked in the middle of the suburbs with suburban people with suburban mindsets is not interchangeable with "urban" -- for better and for worse.

Yeah, different vibe. The people at Mosaic seem like a more diverse crowd compared with the endless supply of bland white people in DC and Arlington now.

I live on the Green/Yellow in an awesome area of DC. I work next to the bland me-too also-ran that is the Mosaic district. The Mosaic district is not diverse, and if you think DC is just bland white people, that suggests you're likely a bland white person who doesn't know the fun places to go.

Omg the Co-Hi poster is back. Please tell me more about how cool and sophisticated you are!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess the one thing everyone can agree on is that Ballston sucks.

Eh, its is not that bad, and is better than it was a few years ago. But the mall in particular could be a lot better.

Again--the mall is going to be A LOT better. Look at the plans of the improvements and renovation that are coming--complete overhaul. I love the center will be open-air pedestrian.

+1 I can't wait, so long overdue. I was driving to Mosaic District to go to Mom's but now that we have one in Arlington I probably will not go out to Mosaic again.

Hah, us too. They must have been analyzing their demographics to decide where to built their next one! Hopefully they will renovate the Alexandria one sometime too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Mosaic District is awful. There are better versions of everything there in DC. If forced to live out there, I would be glad it's nearby, but I'm thankful that's not the case.

These areas outside of DC allow people to expderience for city life without the high crime and later go home in their nice big houses.

City life in an actual city includes some amount of ambient crime. That's how it works.

Insta-Towne Centres plunked in the middle of the suburbs with suburban people with suburban mindsets is not interchangeable with "urban" -- for better and for worse.

Yeah, different vibe. The people at Mosaic seem like a more diverse crowd compared with the endless supply of bland white people in DC and Arlington now.

I live on the Green/Yellow in an awesome area of DC. I work next to the bland me-too also-ran that is the Mosaic district. The Mosaic district is not diverse, and if you think DC is just bland white people, that suggests you're likely a bland white person who doesn't know the fun places to go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess the one thing everyone can agree on is that Ballston sucks.

Eh, its is not that bad, and is better than it was a few years ago. But the mall in particular could be a lot better.

Again--the mall is going to be A LOT better. Look at the plans of the improvements and renovation that are coming--complete overhaul. I love the center will be open-air pedestrian.

+1 I can't wait, so long overdue. I was driving to Mosaic District to go to Mom's but now that we have one in Arlington I probably will not go out to Mosaic again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess the one thing everyone can agree on is that Ballston sucks.

Eh, its is not that bad, and is better than it was a few years ago. But the mall in particular could be a lot better.

Again--the mall is going to be A LOT better. Look at the plans of the improvements and renovation that are coming--complete overhaul. I love the center will be open-air pedestrian.

Anonymous wrote:I guess the one thing everyone can agree on is that Ballston sucks.

Eh, its is not that bad, and is better than it was a few years ago. But the mall in particular could be a lot better.

You are right Ballston sucks for now but wait in 3 yrs.

I am so happy I bought my sfh after the last peak.

Anonymous wrote:I guess the one thing everyone can agree on is that Ballston sucks.

I guess the one thing everyone can agree on is that Ballston sucks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The thing w/ Mosaic is that it's ... well ... in Merrifield, not somewhere more attractive or attractively located.

So the comparison at all but a superficial level is off the mark.

I go out there for my kid's soccer practice. Mosaic District is nice- but it's just a giant mall you have to drive too and park in a lot. There is no walkability surrounding it. It's not like a city neighborhood like the Clarendon-Ballston corridor or Betesda that have the same stuff but also single family houses all along the corridor that are walking distance and 5 Metro stops.

It certainly does not have the walkability of Rosslyn-Clarendon-Ballston (which in turn does not have the walkability of DC) but it is not true that you have to drive there. I have biked there - you can get there pretty easily from the W&OD on the one hand, or via a variety of service lanes and back roads from Annandale, City of Fairfax, etc. You can also walk it from the Dunn Loring metro and from the developments adjacent to the metro - the aesthetics of that walk have a way to go, and you still have to cross Rte 29, but it is definitely doable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Mosaic District is awful. There are better versions of everything there in DC. If forced to live out there, I would be glad it's nearby, but I'm thankful that's not the case.

These areas outside of DC allow people to expderience for city life without the high crime and later go home in their nice big houses.

City life in an actual city includes some amount of ambient crime. That's how it works.

Insta-Towne Centres plunked in the middle of the suburbs with suburban people with suburban mindsets is not interchangeable with "urban" -- for better and for worse.

Yeah, different vibe. The people at Mosaic seem like a more diverse crowd compared with the endless supply of bland white people in DC and Arlington now.

The surround apartments are full of HB visa techies who work in Reston and Dulles. It is much more diverse and interesting than pallid Clarendon with the chubby millennials in jeans tucked into brown boots and bros with frat boy style arrested development.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington just opened its own Moms grocery store so half way there.

Ballston is so depressing, no question there.

Ballston is a SHIT SHOW.

For now--thTs why they are spending millions in the next few years to make it great. Hold onto your properties they will go through roof like Clarendon and Rosslyn

Yes you're gonna live the section 8 coming in

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Mosaic District is awful. There are better versions of everything there in DC. If forced to live out there, I would be glad it's nearby, but I'm thankful that's not the case.

These areas outside of DC allow people to expderience for city life without the high crime and later go home in their nice big houses.

City life in an actual city includes some amount of ambient crime. That's how it works.

Insta-Towne Centres plunked in the middle of the suburbs with suburban people with suburban mindsets is not interchangeable with "urban" -- for better and for worse.

Yeah, different vibe. The people at Mosaic seem like a more diverse crowd compared with the endless supply of bland white people in DC and Arlington now.