How I Feel About Northern Virginia

[mankie]

Originally posted by brennser:
 

....now of course if your wife knows someone with a nice site with a view your all set [/b]

[Metal Meltdown]

I move to the San Diego area in two weeks. my four year sentence in NOVA is up  

[kosmo vinyl]

I notice that whenever there is talk of suburban resturant it always centers around Montgomery county, so at least you have optons.  I think traffic is so bad in these parts because everyone in PG county has to go west or south to find good food.  As I tell everyone there are as many resturanted reviewed in the Post for PG county as in Bethesda alone.  And thinking about it some of those listed as PG county ones are actually in Montgomery county.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Hey Kosmo, know any good restuarants in the College Park area?
 
 

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  I notice that whenever there is talk of suburban resturant it always centers around Montgomery county, so at least you have optons.  I think traffic is so bad in these parts because everyone in PG county has to go west or south to find good food.  As I tell everyone there are as many resturanted reviewed in the Post for PG county as in Bethesda alone.  And thinking about it some of those listed as PG county ones are actually in Montgomery county.

[Bombay Chutney]

Originally posted by brennser:
  god I hate the burbs (although I won't be 35 for a few years so maybe I'll change my mind then)...everyone driving around in their little steel cages, stressed out even on weekend coz theres a trafic jam to get to the shops, cookie cutter, shoddily built homes, 2 hours commuting a day....but to each his own
 
 will take my house in the district any day over that

well...I'll take my solid-brick, detached house with a nice yard, swimming pool, off-street parking in a nice tree-lined neighborhood, 20-minute commute and 5 minute drive to the metro  over the cramped 2-bedroom condo I could get downtown for the same price.  I'm not gonna give up all that just so I can have the convenience of walking everywhere.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

I'll bet you can go for nice walks when you get home.
 
 

Originally posted by Skeeter:
   

Originally posted by brennser:
  god I hate the burbs (although I won't be 35 for a few years so maybe I'll change my mind then)...everyone driving around in their little steel cages, stressed out even on weekend coz theres a trafic jam to get to the shops, cookie cutter, shoddily built homes, 2 hours commuting a day....but to each his own
 
 will take my house in the district any day over that

well...I'll take my solid-brick, detached house with a nice yard, swimming pool, off-street parking in a nice tree-lined neighborhood, 20-minute commute and 5 minute drive to the metro  over the cramped 2-bedroom condo I could get downtown for the same price.  I'm not gonna give up all that just so I can have the convenience of walking everywhere. [/b]

[jkeisenh]

Originally posted by Skeeter:
   

Originally posted by brennser:
  god I hate the burbs (although I won't be 35 for a few years so maybe I'll change my mind then)...everyone driving around in their little steel cages, stressed out even on weekend coz theres a trafic jam to get to the shops, cookie cutter, shoddily built homes, 2 hours commuting a day....but to each his own
 
 will take my house in the district any day over that

well...I'll take my solid-brick, detached house with a nice yard, swimming pool, off-street parking in a nice tree-lined neighborhood, 20-minute commute and 5 minute drive to the metro  over the cramped 2-bedroom condo I could get downtown for the same price.  I'm not gonna give up all that just so I can have the convenience of walking everywhere. [/b]

Are you sure you're calculating the cost right?  I mean, sure, you could get a 2BR in town for the cost of your suburban home, but have you considered...
 The cost of your car? (Conservatively, $200/mo)
 The cost of gas, insurance, parking, mainenance? (again, about $200/mo for most folks I know)
 The cost of the time you spend commuting and the sanity you lose in traffic?
 
 So, let's see...  Add $400+ to your rent and that's what you could afford in the city, really.  
 Sure, my rent's high, but my commute is free, short, and makes it so I don't own a car.
 That's priceless.
 
 Oh, and did I mention that I can bike to 9:30?  Again, free parking, no DUI concerns, no traffic issues....

[mankie]

Originally posted by chimblysweep:
   

Originally posted by Skeeter:
   

Originally posted by brennser:
  god I hate the burbs (although I won't be 35 for a few years so maybe I'll change my mind then)...everyone driving around in their little steel cages, stressed out even on weekend coz theres a trafic jam to get to the shops, cookie cutter, shoddily built homes, 2 hours commuting a day....but to each his own
 
 will take my house in the district any day over that

well...I'll take my solid-brick, detached house with a nice yard, swimming pool, off-street parking in a nice tree-lined neighborhood, 20-minute commute and 5 minute drive to the metro  over the cramped 2-bedroom condo I could get downtown for the same price.  I'm not gonna give up all that just so I can have the convenience of walking everywhere. [/b]

Are you sure you're calculating the cost right?  I mean, sure, you could get a 2BR in town for the cost of your suburban home, but have you considered...
 The cost of your car? (Conservatively, $200/mo)
 The cost of gas, insurance, parking, mainenance? (again, about $200/mo for most folks I know)
 The cost of the time you spend commuting and the sanity you lose in traffic?
 
 So, let's see...  Add $400+ to your rent and that's what you could afford in the city, really.  
 Sure, my rent's high, but my commute is free, short, and makes it so I don't own a car.
 That's priceless.
 
 Oh, and did I mention that I can bike to 9:30?  Again, free parking, no DUI concerns, no traffic issues.... [/b]

So you NEVER leave the city then seeing as you don't have a car...well no further than the end of the metro lines anyway.

[kosmo vinyl]

Originally posted by Rutherford J. Balls:
  Hey Kosmo, know any good restuarants in the College Park area?
 
 

Of course I do... Mandalay is the best resturant, it has Burmese veggie fare.  The other one that might interest you is Udupi Palace which is a Southern Indian Veggie only place.  It's actually in Langley Park closer to Takoma Park.  Franklin's in Hyattsville is better than most chain resturants.

[jkeisenh]

[/qb][/QUOTE]So you NEVER leave the city then seeing as you don't have a car...well no further than the end of the metro lines anyway. [/QB][/QUOTE]
 
 Umm... hello?  Car rental, flex car, airport, amtrak, greyhound... what more does a person need?  There is absolutely no reason to own a car in such walkable, bikable, Metroable, transit hub of a city!

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Yes, but if you're paying rent, you're not gaining any equity, you're simply throwing money out the window. But I think (s)he was comparing the cost of a condo (not an apartment) to the cost of a detached suburban home.
 
    And by living in the burbs, (s)he also saves 3% on lower income taxes, meaning $1800 (or $150 per month), even if he makes a modest 60K a year.
 
    Plus, he said he only takes 5 mins to drive to the metro. Doesn't sound like insanity or lost time to me.
 
    And if you're the type of person who likes to go to the beach, mountains, etc frequently, you're going to need a car anyway. By choosing to live in a city without a car, you're choosing to cut yourself off from many lovely things in life, thereby cutting into your quality of life.
 
 
 

Originally posted by chimblysweep:
   

Originally posted by Skeeter:
   

Originally posted by brennser:
  god I hate the burbs (although I won't be 35 for a few years so maybe I'll change my mind then)...everyone driving around in their little steel cages, stressed out even on weekend coz theres a trafic jam to get to the shops, cookie cutter, shoddily built homes, 2 hours commuting a day....but to each his own
 
 will take my house in the district any day over that

well...I'll take my solid-brick, detached house with a nice yard, swimming pool, off-street parking in a nice tree-lined neighborhood, 20-minute commute and 5 minute drive to the metro  over the cramped 2-bedroom condo I could get downtown for the same price.  I'm not gonna give up all that just so I can have the convenience of walking everywhere. [/b]

Are you sure you're calculating the cost right?  I mean, sure, you could get a 2BR in town for the cost of your suburban home, but have you considered...
 The cost of your car? (Conservatively, $200/mo)
 The cost of gas, insurance, parking, mainenance? (again, about $200/mo for most folks I know)
 The cost of the time you spend commuting and the sanity you lose in traffic?
 
 So, let's see...  Add $400+ to your rent and that's what you could afford in the city, really.  
 Sure, my rent's high, but my commute is free, short, and makes it so I don't own a car.
 That's priceless.
 
 Oh, and did I mention that I can bike to 9:30?  Again, free parking, no DUI concerns, no traffic issues.... [/b]

[mankie]

Originally posted by chimblysweep:
 

So you NEVER leave the city then seeing as you don't have a car...well no further than the end of the metro lines anyway. [/QB][/QUOTE]
 
 Umm... hello?  Car rental, flex car, airport, amtrak, greyhound... what more does a person need?  There is absolutely no reason to own a car in such walkable, bikable, Metroable, transit hub of a city! [/QB][/QUOTE]
 
 Then why not include all your rental, flex car, airport, amtrak, greyhound expenses into you city living if we are supposed to include our cars into burb-life.
 
 Did I mention my house has appreciated $50k this year and I got $4k back in taxes because of my mortgage...lets take that off my burb expenses while we're at it.

[jkeisenh]

Originally posted by Rutherford J. Balls:
  Yes, but if you're paying rent, you're not gaining any equity, you're simply throwing money out the window. But I think (s)he was comparing the cost of a condo (not an apartment) to the cost of a detached suburban home.
 
    And by living in the burbs, (s)he also saves 3% on lower income taxes, meaning $1800 (or $150 per month), even if he makes a modest 60K a year.
 
    Plus, he said he only takes 5 mins to drive to the metro. Doesn't sound like insanity or lost time to me.
 
    And if you're the type of person who likes to go to the beach, mountains, etc frequently, you're going to need a car anyway. By choosing to live in a city without a car, you're choosing to cut yourself off from many lovely things in life, thereby cutting into your quality of life.
 
 

Ummm... y'all are just not very creative, are you?
 For one, I am a condo owner.  Yes indeedy, and I even got a $5000 tax credit (that's right, credit) for buying it.  Rock.  And if I want to go somewhere, I rent.  Even two weekends a month of $25/day rentals is faaaaaar cheaper than owning a car.  I go wherever I want whenever I want, only I do it cheaper.
 
 Besides, if you want to talk about investments, let's talk about real estate returns on burbs vs. city.  There will always be demand for places in decent neighborhoods of the city.  This is not the case for the burbs (look at the inner burbs!) and will be even more not the case when gas prices shoot up in the next 5-10 years.  (As gas gets more expensive, farther out properties will get less desirable).
 
 Alas, I rest my case.  I'll be home from work by 5:15 today, in time to bike wherever I want for happy hour, and be at the bar by 5:30.  Try saying that about suburban living...

[mankie]

Seems you live in the city so you can be in walking/cycling distance to a bar.....one day at a time, one day at a time.
 
 If it's so great to live in the city why is DC losing residents at such an alarming rate?

[ratioci nation]

Originally posted by mankie:
 
 If it's so great to live in the city why is DC losing residents at such an alarming rate?

making room for starbucks