As I wake up early this morning to make sure I have enough time to travel to my job and make it on time despite all of the traffic I am going to encounter sometimes I wonder if it is even worth it anymore.
I feel I might be happier somewhere else where there is not as much traffic and my expenses are much lower.
Do you think Fairfax County has become an overpriced shithole?

yes

yes it has. I don't care what anyone says. This place lacks culture, uniqueness, and is just a suburban waste land with expensive apartments and tons of traffic. When was the last time you heard of someone saying "honey let's go on vacation to Northern Virginia! I hear they have a wonderful collection of asphalt and traffic jams."

Yes, unfortunately just up and moving is not an option for a lot of people. There are no jobs to be had in small towns unless you start a business and even if you do that the people most likely won't have money to spend at your business.

The answer to your question is obvious. Yes. I'm retired and don't
have to drive in the grind anymore. No way I'll even think about
going out on the roads until after 9:30 a.m. and try and be back
home by 2:30 p.m. at the latest. We shop on weekdays and leave the
malls to the Mall Rats. The only reason we're staying here is because
our kids are finally out of college but sadly underemployed for now
but we're dealing with world of internships as best we can.
"Overpriced"? Yes. Homes in our neighborhood sell for abut three
times what they would in the midwest where I'd rather be living
but at least I'd be able to sell if I had to. (5 minutes to the Metro)

"Chexers" hits the nail on the head. There is no real sense of
community here. Sometimes politicians and do-gooders try and pretend
there is but they're full of shit.

A resounding "yes"

Yes. The only thing this area offers is low unemployment. That is what brings people here and keeps people here. If I were a fed, I'd get my inflated grade here in DC and then transfer somewhere else. A GS 13 in Anytown, USA makes plenty of money and you have federal job security. If I had any chance at getting a federal position, that would be my plan to get out of here. Either way, I think I want out when the opportunity presents itself. I certainly wouldn't retire here. Sell your overpriced house and move somewhere cheap.

Affirmative Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes. The only thing this area offers is low
> unemployment. That is what brings people here and
> keeps people here. If I were a fed, I'd get my
> inflated grade here in DC and then transfer
> somewhere else. A GS 13 in Anytown, USA makes
> plenty of money and you have federal job security.
> If I had any chance at getting a federal
> position, that would be my plan to get out of
> here. Either way, I think I want out when the
> opportunity presents itself. I certainly wouldn't
> retire here. Sell your overpriced house and move
> somewhere cheap.

Sounds good but "locality pay" will kick you in the ass if you
move to Dingle Balls, Montana. Be ready to take a hit.

Yes big time

Ok, I'll make a counter argument and say NO. Arguments;

-Jobs. This area is one of the healthiest economies thanks to the fed and tech jobs.
-Improvements. Yes traffic sucks, especially around the beltway now. But at least the state is trying to do something about it. Not ideal, but still. Also the fact there's new office buildings going up is worth noting.
-Everything else. Ok, you guys are jaded. Yes its crazy busy here. But other areas have a metro area a lot more spread out. You may sit in traffic for a 1/2 hour to go a few miles, but other areas you'll drive a 1/2 hour to go 20 miles racking up more miles on your car.
-Culture. No lack of nearby theaters, shopping, restaraunts, and other things in nearby counties like museums, mountains, along with other cities, attractions.

Yes, its congested, but move to a smaller area for a while and you'll appreciate what you have here.

FreddyTheFeddy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Affirmative Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Yes. The only thing this area offers is low
> > unemployment. That is what brings people here
> and
> > keeps people here. If I were a fed, I'd get my
> > inflated grade here in DC and then transfer
> > somewhere else. A GS 13 in Anytown, USA makes
> > plenty of money and you have federal job
> security.
> > If I had any chance at getting a federal
> > position, that would be my plan to get out of
> > here. Either way, I think I want out when the
> > opportunity presents itself. I certainly
> wouldn't
> > retire here. Sell your overpriced house and
> move
> > somewhere cheap.
>
> Sounds good but "locality pay" will kick you in
> the ass if you
> move to Dingle Balls, Montana. Be ready to take a
> hit.

Well aware of locality pay, but you don't need it. A nice house is 200k in most parts of the country. You can take a 20% pay cut and live like a king.

YES

Yes.

PS, born here in 1965 and, but for a bout in college and grad school, lived here since then.

Yes it is an overpriced shithole.

But after the coming financial trainwreck that is the bankrupt US govt, millions of carpetbagging motherfuckers will be forced back where they came from, where they can stick their IT horseshit up their asses.

Then, it will just be a shithole.

Gone and happily living away from FFX.

lLike any other metro area there are pros/cons to living here but something must be right with a population of over 1.2 million county residents-this area really has been insulated by the downfall of the economy in 2008 -if you dont believe me move your ass to Detroit / Cleaveland /Vegas/ Arizona etc etc -take a major pay cut and buy yourself a foreclosed property where you might be the only person in your entire neighborhood .I agree with Kev -every area has negatives and upsides- While your sitting in traffic next week start planning your move to Ohio - what is keeping you here? - once you get there keep in touch

kev Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ok, I'll make a counter argument and say NO.
> Arguments;
>
> -Jobs. This area is one of the healthiest
> economies thanks to the fed and tech jobs.
> -Improvements. Yes traffic sucks, especially
> around the beltway now. But at least the state is
> trying to do something about it. Not ideal, but
> still. Also the fact there's new office buildings
> going up is worth noting.
> -Everything else. Ok, you guys are jaded. Yes its
> crazy busy here. But other areas have a metro area
> a lot more spread out. You may sit in traffic for
> a 1/2 hour to go a few miles, but other areas
> you'll drive a 1/2 hour to go 20 miles racking up
> more miles on your car.
> -Culture. No lack of nearby theaters, shopping,
> restaraunts, and other things in nearby counties
> like museums, mountains, along with other cities,
> attractions.
>
> Yes, its congested, but move to a smaller area for
> a while and you'll appreciate what you have here.


You can have museums, theaters, the arts, restaurants, etc. as far as the eye can see, but as long as the people are assholes, the rest doesn't matter...And man, are the people here assholes. The medical term is "ESE" - extreme sense of entitlement. It spreads like the common cold and is impervious to common sense. It afflicts the suburan moms who, while in their 40's and 30 pounds past goal weight still try and dress like their slutty teenage daughters. Also known to suffer from ESE are the snot-nosed little brats of these hipster suburban moms and dads . These offspring have been told how special they are from the womb. So special in fact that manners and hard work are for "other people". Sadly, this afflication has also spread to the commuting "DC power-elite" who feel that because they are who they are and they drive this years BMW, Mercedes or Lexus they deserve the entire road and they are impervious to traffic laws. You'll find that ESE has managed to invade our offices as well, afflicting blowhards that couldn't manage their way out of a paper bag, but who have have had their government job since 1981, so their asses are glued to their chairs until they retire...

There is no vaccine. There is no cure. The only option is to run. Run to the smaller towns. Yes, there will be sacrifices. You won't have the amazing restaurant choices available here in Fairfax and you won't have the overpriced/undervalue theater experience offered by Fairfax Corners but know that in exchange for the empty culinary life you will lead without The Cheesecake Factory or PF Changs you will at least have your soul.

Sold a house in FFX and made over half a million profit. Faifax has been berry, berry good to me.

Of course, I'll probably die sooner than you, but most of you don't seem like you have the slightest clue how to enjoy life anyway.

Hopper Dennis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sold a house in FFX and made over half a million
> profit. Faifax has been berry, berry good to me.
>
>
> Of course, I'll probably die sooner than you, but
> most of you don't seem like you have the slightest
> clue how to enjoy life anyway.

Well put, my man!!

Hopper Dennis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sold a house in FFX and made over half a million
> profit. Faifax has been berry, berry good to me.
>
>
> Of course, I'll probably die sooner than you, but
> most of you don't seem like you have the slightest
> clue how to enjoy life anyway.


Congratulations. If I was able to buy a home in high school maybe I could have got in on the profiteering. Instead I still get the deal with the effects of the bubble.

YES

YES. I've watched the downward spiral for about 15 years now. It only gets worse. As the prices go up, the people get WORSE for some reason.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SO MANY MOFOING PPPL

Yes.

Absolutely yes

Your a buttload

you said load.

48 year resident

Went to Reston Town Center the other night what a sea of self important assholes

kev Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ok, I'll make a counter argument and say NO.
> Arguments;
>
> -Jobs. This area is one of the healthiest
> economies thanks to the fed and tech jobs.
> -Improvements. Yes traffic sucks, especially
> around the beltway now. But at least the state is
> trying to do something about it. Not ideal, but
> still. Also the fact there's new office buildings
> going up is worth noting.
> -Everything else. Ok, you guys are jaded. Yes its
> crazy busy here. But other areas have a metro area
> a lot more spread out. You may sit in traffic for
> a 1/2 hour to go a few miles, but other areas
> you'll drive a 1/2 hour to go 20 miles racking up
> more miles on your car.
> -Culture. No lack of nearby theaters, shopping,
> restaraunts, and other things in nearby counties
> like museums, mountains, along with other cities,
> attractions.
>
> Yes, its congested, but move to a smaller area for
> a while and you'll appreciate what you have here.

Ok and I will counter your counter arguement.
Jobs - Unless you have the specific education for most of those jobs listed you are shit out of luck. Even if you do competition for those jobs is still pretty high.
Improvements - Only improvement I see is the current Metro project. Although it's a great idea this is something that shouldn't have waited all of these years to complete! Also houses can be built overnight but roads aren't widened or being built to accomodate the traffic. Which is why there isn't a rush hour anymore in this county, it's just a traffic jam
Everything else - I am still trying to figure out what you were trying to prove with your whole calculation. I, for one, would enjoy driving for 20 minutes and traveling further than a mile. I'm pretty sure everyone else would too especially when you have to leave your house 2 hours early just to drive 20-25 miles to work. You also burn more gas by sitting in traffic than you do driving.
Culture - Did you notice that none of those are actually located inside Fairfax County? You actually have to leave the county in order to experience those things? When was the last time you ever heard anyone say "hey I am going to Fairfax for vacation!" "See the country's biggest traffic jam and a bunch of young shitheads with a false sense of entitlement!"

Yes, Ffx has gone to hell. Nightmarish traffic, uncontrolled development with little or no real county planning, ugly stripmalls, few decent restaurants, high property taxes, lib politicians coddling illegals and criminals, incredibly bland and boring, overpriced cookie-cutter neighborhoods, and helicopters circling the homes of (apparently) 95% of FU readers all hours of day and night.

The only things going for it are decent schools and jobs.

Yes. Right on!

But nobody here has to commute. There's beaucoup jobs. Gotta get over that fear and at least apply and interview someplace close to home.

"If you lived here, you'd be home by now." Remember those billboards? Yea, they were trying to sell you a home, but they weren't lying.

If y'all spend half a house payment and more than a workweek each month on a commute, shame on all of you. You're robbing time from your family and money from your retirement and your kids' college fund. I feel your pain. I'm shickenchit too at first, but the simple arithmetic has forced me to get a grip and job hop. 401k's roll, Thrifts you can keep, and don't jump ship for less! You've got a job. You can wait 'em out.

The complaint that Fairfax has *become* a shithole, citing the lack of good restaurants, is bogus. This area has never had good restaurants. Actually, it is very much better than it was 40 or 50 years ago.

yes...it's a shithole.

I cannot tell a lie. I spend more time driving around getting to and fro than ANYTHIGN!11!

Good jobs (and some not so good) and good schools----yes. It's not a recipe for the retired people to stay so the school population keeps going up and the county doesn't benefit from the seniors who don't use the schools (or the roads as much for that matter) and stay in their houses. Therefore this place becomes more expensive for those who do stay and it lacks community (because everyone moves out when they can to go to the cheaper places).

You don't even notice how bad Fairfax County is until you leave. Then you realize how mean, unhappy, selfish, and just pain unfriendly the majority of adults in Fairfax really are. I see more friendliness in Manhattan than here.

If all of you whiny fags would Just leave, the traffic wouldn't be half bad!

Absolutely no question at all.... Y-E-S!

496 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If all of you whiny fags would Just leave, the
> traffic wouldn't be half bad!


It was a yes, or no question fuck face.

No, it is not an overpriced shithole, it is a wonderful place to live.

I've been here almost 30 years. I have three times looked seriously at moving -- for the purpose of going TO something, not for leaving Fairfax behind. Each time I concluded this is the place to be. Shopping, education, entertainment, arts, culture, diversity, jobs, it's all here. And if you want friends and community, well you have to be friendly and build your own community.

I agree restaurants could be better.

I'm not going to tell you my secret to beating the traffic. :-)

RUN! Wrote:
> You can have museums, theaters, the arts,
> restaurants, etc. as far as the eye can see, but
> as long as the people are assholes, the rest
> doesn't matter...And man, are the people here
> assholes. The medical term is "ESE" - extreme
> sense of entitlement. It spreads like the common
> cold and is impervious to common sense. It
> afflicts the suburan moms who, while in their 40's
> and 30 pounds past goal weight still try and dress
> like their slutty teenage daughters. Also known
> to suffer from ESE are the snot-nosed little brats
> of these hipster suburban moms and dads . These
> offspring have been told how special they are from
> the womb. So special in fact that manners and
> hard work are for "other people". Sadly, this
> afflication has also spread to the commuting "DC
> power-elite" who feel that because they are who
> they are and they drive this years BMW, Mercedes
> or Lexus they deserve the entire road and they are
> impervious to traffic laws. You'll find that ESE
> has managed to invade our offices as well,
> afflicting blowhards that couldn't manage their
> way out of a paper bag, but who have have had
> their government job since 1981, so their asses
> are glued to their chairs until they retire...
>
> There is no vaccine. There is no cure. The only
> option is to run. Run to the smaller towns. Yes,
> there will be sacrifices. You won't have the
> amazing restaurant choices available here in
> Fairfax and you won't have the
> overpriced/undervalue theater experience offered
> by Fairfax Corners but know that in exchange for
> the empty culinary life you will lead without The
> Cheesecake Factory or PF Changs you will at least
> have your soul.

POST OF THE YEAR. THANKS!

Restaurants? What restaurants? Someone please tell what amazing restaurants I'm missing out on. Chain restaurants don't count. I can eat at these chain restaurants and more in any flyover state.

So please, tell me, where can I get some good Mexican food in fairfax county? How about a doughnut or kaloche? What about an awesome deli sandwich? How about a quiet mid range restaurant to have a peaceful Christmas Eve dinner?

I would really like to know what I've been missing.

Yes. I don't even think that 30% of the county is truly livable. People simply exist in this county.

Stop bitching and move then. Tissues in the back...

chexers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> yes it has. I don't care what anyone says. This
> place lacks culture, uniqueness, and is just a
> suburban waste land with expensive apartments and
> tons of traffic. When was the last time you heard
> of someone saying "honey let's go on vacation to
> Northern Virginia! I hear they have a wonderful
> collection of asphalt and traffic jams."

Huge +1

Some people are just too thin-skinned. I've lived in FFXCO for over 20 years and it's been great place to live, work and raise a family. I grew up in a very poor and rural area - I'll take FFXCO over there every time.

I just don't understand why it's so hard to ignore people who irritate you. If you go through life fretting about arrogant and/or ignorant people you are only hurting yourself. Sure the examples cited are obvious and annoying stereotypes, but if other people want to behave that way I chose to ignore it - it's their problem - don't want to make it mine. Decent hard-working folks realize they are jerks.

Now I'm off to eat another slice of that Cheesecake Factory cheesecake...

So far the majority have answered YES.

Was driving in rush hour traffic on stringfellow rd today, yup this place still sucks. I watched three near misses either on their phoen or asian. Poor cops you should have seen the porr bastard stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on a two lane road. Even if he turned on his lights/sirens he would go nowhere fast.

There are a lot of things I like about this area, but the costs and the increasingly bullshit attitudes of a lot of new residents really drags it down.

==================================================================================================
"And if any women or children get their legs torn off, or faces caved in, well, it's tough shit for them." -2LT. Bert Stiles, 505th, 339th (On Berlin Bombardier Mission, 1944).

Hell yes.

If you think this is bad...try Maryland. Just stop into any Starbucks off of 270 or head further out on the beltway. Places like Columbia, Howard county, Olney are often cited as the Fairfax equivalent. Wow - it's quite the scene. Lots of sketchy looking morons, tatoos, baseball caps, -- it's like Herndon x20.

popo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you think this is bad...try Maryland. Just stop
> into any Starbucks off of 270 or head further out
> on the beltway. Places like Columbia, Howard
> county, Olney are often cited as the Fairfax
> equivalent. Wow - it's quite the scene. Lots of
> sketchy looking morons, tatoos, baseball caps, --
> it's like Herndon x20.

Illegals?

So where exactly is a good place to move that may have some of the same conveniences of FFX CTY but less assholes? I am considering moving my family away from this shithole.

HA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So where exactly is a good place to move that may
> have some of the same conveniences of FFX CTY but
> less assholes? I am considering moving my family
> away from this shithole.

That's a tough one. I guess it depends on what you do for a living and where you can find work.

I know moving from Nova to North Carolina (Research Triangle area) is fairly popular.

geez LOUISE , y'all some sad sacks sometimes...........complaining about lack of community while YOU YOURSELF sit inside yr house online LoLz

my personal favorite head up the ass feeling though has to be the ones fortunate enough to HAVE a job yet complain about traffic.

Move to Billings. No traffic there. Hope you like handing out smiley stickers in an blue apron. LoLz

Yes it sucks, but there are jobs here thanks to the government spending more money than it can possibly pay back.

What do y'all suppose is going to happen to this shithole when the government gravy train starts to run out of sugar to hand out around here?

Maybe the illegals will move away--that will improve the looks of the place.

yes

Yes

newgatedenizen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Some people are just too thin-skinned. I've lived
> in FFXCO for over 20 years and it's been great
> place to live, work and raise a family. I grew up
> in a very poor and rural area - I'll take FFXCO
> over there every time.
>

+1. Have you really looked at other areas in the country? This place may be overpriced, but it is not a shithole (except for Herndon, of course). Try spending some time in any MidWestern state, or Florida, or Texas. Unemployment is higher, factories/jobs have left town, the education system generally sucks, the people are sad and depressing. They don't call it flyover country for nothing.

i'll stay here Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> newgatedenizen Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Some people are just too thin-skinned. I've
> lived
> > in FFXCO for over 20 years and it's been great
> > place to live, work and raise a family. I grew
> up
> > in a very poor and rural area - I'll take FFXCO
> > over there every time.
> >
>
> +1. Have you really looked at other areas in the
> country? This place may be overpriced, but it is
> not a shithole (except for Herndon, of course).
> Try spending some time in any MidWestern state, or
> Florida, or Texas. Unemployment is higher,
> factories/jobs have left town, the education
> system generally sucks, the people are sad and
> depressing. They don't call it flyover country
> for nothing.

You are generalizing. Not everyone living in other states is sad and depressed. This area is over priced and over rated. I am born and raised here too.

I have lived in flyover country. You can't generalize to entire states. It's just like here---some parts are very nice and some not so nice. It depends heavily on the community and what is there. There are some really great university areas (all of the big ten cities), resort areas, health care (like the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN), etc. etc. People will locate in those areas and not based on the state as a whole if the local economy is good, housing is good, jobs are good, education is good, and so on. I can't speak for Florida or Texas, but there are still great areas in the Midwest.

I love it here. I take six weeks vacation a year and I do not commute.

I know a few people in Texas who work in the oil industry and they are very much employed and not sad and depressed and their cost of living is half of what it is here.

Yes. The data on "richest counties in America" needs to consider the cost of living. If that were taken into account, I don't think this area would look so good. I am sure there is some kind of a "most affordable" list somewhere?