Fair Lakes? Good or not (Reston, Fairfax: apartment complex, home, employment) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

RickZ · 07-14-2011, 02:26 PM

Hello planning a move to this area, anyone knows if Fair Lakes is a good place to live or not? Is it a safe area? the traffic? the shopping and entertainment? the schools? Thanks a lot.

saganista · 07-14-2011, 03:07 PM

It's a terrific place to live. Upscale, clean, safe, very good schools, tons of nearby amenities. Downside is it would be very difficult to commute into DC if that were to be a factor. Traffic in that area is really bad quite a bit of the time. That actually makes it one of the better areas in NoVa, where completely awful traffic most of the time is the general expectation.

FCNova · 07-14-2011, 03:20 PM

Well, I don't know what you mean by entertainment but if you want to be near a hip bar scene it's not there. But if you're into more of a suburbia type setting with lots of shopping and restaurants you'll like it. It's safe and schools are good. As previous poster said your commute will suck if you work in or near Washington DC.

saganista · 07-14-2011, 03:33 PM

Well, I don't know what you mean by hip bar scene, but there are certainly signficant numbers of bars. Perhaps they all come up short on the hipness scale somehow?

brooklynborndad · 07-14-2011, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickZ

Hello planning a move to this area, anyone knows if Fair Lakes is a good place to live or not? Is it a safe area? the traffic? the shopping and entertainment? the schools? Thanks a lot.

There are a few different parts - there is a big planned community looking section with retail tucked off the main drag, including lots of big box stores. Theres a few more recent higher density residential developments (like mid rise apts, that sort of thing) and theres a neo traditional "lifestyle center) called fairfax corner. we go there a fair amount and I would say that the places other than FFX corner dont look all that walkable/urban to me, despite the density, but TBH Ive never tried walking around there, and Im sure others would disagree. I dont go to bars, so I can speak to hipness - S's comment is the first Ive heard that there are many around Fair Oaks. Live and learn.

We once had a discussion not about commuting to DC, but about commuting to Tysons (which is a huge nearby employment center) I was told that there are much better ways to get to Tysons than the ways I would have thought of - I wonder what the usual commute in rush hour is like.

AmyinNOVA · 07-14-2011, 06:11 PM

I adore Fair Oaks and I have lived here on and off since I was a child.

For me, its the perfect suburbia. Its not too much city and its not too much boonieville. Where I'm at right now is right on the border between Fairfax and Fair Oaks in a brand new apartment complex. I work for the Gov't in DC and I drive to the Vienna metro and take that into the city.

choff5 · 07-14-2011, 07:00 PM

The bad commute has been mentioned but it's my understanding that Fair Lakes itself has a shuttle that goe to the Vienna Metro Station and back. I think it's free for those who live there or work there as long as they have a pass to prove that. Depending on work, that may be helpful. Here's a link about it, Fair Lakes Shuttle Look through the other tabs at that link for more info on the area.

saganista · 07-14-2011, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

There are a few different parts - there is a big planned community looking section with retail tucked off the main drag, including lots of big box stores. Theres a few more recent higher density residential developments (like mid rise apts, that sort of thing) and theres a neo traditional "lifestyle center) called fairfax corner. we go there a fair amount and I would say that the places other than FFX corner dont look all that walkable/urban to me, despite the density, but TBH Ive never tried walking around there, and Im sure others would disagree. I dont go to bars, so I can speak to hipness - S's comment is the first Ive heard that there are many around Fair Oaks. Live and learn.

Well, there's probably two major divisions, the western half anchored by Fair Lakes Mall itself, and the eastern half strung around the County Government Center. If you're in the eastern half over toward Route-50, you are maybe 10-12 miles from Tysons. If you're in the western half out by Stringfellow, you are maybe 15-17 miles from Tysons. Which end you start out from will make a signficant difference, but 66 to 495 won't be a good idea from either one. Fairfax Corner is an eastern half, Ballston-like, mixed-use development that has done very well. It is "urban-walkable" tucked into the middle of suburbia. There are at least four bars there (Uncle Julio's, PF Chang's, Ozzie's, and Coastal Flats), and if the weather and crowds are good, some will double-up with patio-bars outside. The rest of the eastern half (I'm not as familiar with western half) is more like Reston or Columbia, MD, in being crisscrossed with trails and dotted with ponds, parks, and shopping areas (including bars). Would every human being find that everything they needed or wanted was within walking distance there? No. But the walkers who so much value walkability would not be at all unhappy there. No less so, the bikers and the skaters.

saganista · 07-14-2011, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmyinNOVA

I adore Fair Oaks and I have lived here on and off since I was a child.

For me, its the perfect suburbia. Its not too much city and its not too much boonieville. Where I'm at right now is right on the border between Fairfax and Fair Oaks in a brand new apartment complex. I work for the Gov't in DC and I drive to the Vienna metro and take that into the city.

So you're pretty much on the eastern edge then. Assuming you head in at a sort of normal hour, how long a door-to-door trip does that end up being for you in the morning?

AmyinNOVA · 07-14-2011, 08:20 PM

Well, I work 7:30 to 3:30. It takes me about 10-15 mins to get to the metro and on a good metro day it takes about 35-40 mins to get to my stop in DC. The time of day that I leave really doesn't affect much except whether there is parking at Vienna or not ... its mostly up to the schedule of metro. If there is a delay or a broken train or something then the commute kinda sucks. But for me, sitting on the metro for 45 minutes is way better than sitting in traffic for 45 mins. I also work from home 3 days a week...