I did the long-distance commute from the exurbs of DC and I probably lost a year's time on I-95. I now have a 30 second walking commute in Arlington Virginia. We're empty nesters and the long-distance commute was ostensibly done our children, though I'm not sure that was really ideal for all of us. (My adult children now claim they would have flourished much more by living in an inner suburb or urban environment in contrast to the rural, exurb area they spent most of their childhood, but I think it safe to say that it's hard to argue against our initial decision to provide what we thought was the safest environment for our children. And they grew up fine.)
I believe I'm in an ideal area; I'm 100 yards from the Metro; I walk to work; I can walk to grocery shopping (Giants, Wholefoods and Traders), the library, my doctors and dentist are a 2 minute walk away from me, and I rarely have to use the car to get around unless I want to go to a different Starbucks or Movie theatre than the ones within 15 minutes walking time from me. However, I miss the privacy afforded by living in a single family house with ample space between neighbors. And I miss the ability to sit out on a big porch to take in fresh air and I miss doing a little gardening on a decent sized lot. The available housing stock for SFHs with ample space and room in Arlington is just too prohibitive for us.
I think the article comports with my understanding of how things will play out in the future. The current economic situation is killing housing in my exurb; and I don't believe housing has hit rock bottom yet; unemployment is very high in local economy in the exurbs and not many people want to do the long-distance commute unless affordable housing is lacking in the closer-in suburbs. It's funny but I think this recession has made housing more affordable to middle-income wage earners than prior private sector and governmental policies, if you have stable employment.
I think the wave of the future lies in smart growth development like the Rosyln-Ballston corridor in Arlington and the new development taking place in Tysons Corner, where multiple work-life high density residential and commercial projects will converge with good mass transit. I suspect we'll see more of this type of smart growth.
I believe I'm in an ideal area; I'm 100 yards from the Metro; I walk to work; I can walk to grocery shopping (Giants, Wholefoods and Traders), the library, my doctors and dentist are a 2 minute walk away from me, and I rarely have to use the car to get around unless I want to go to a different Starbucks or Movie theatre than the ones within 15 minutes walking time from me. However, I miss the privacy afforded by living in a single family house with ample space between neighbors. And I miss the ability to sit out on a big porch to take in fresh air and I miss doing a little gardening on a decent sized lot. The available housing stock for SFHs with ample space and room in Arlington is just too prohibitive for us.
I think the article comports with my understanding of how things will play out in the future. The current economic situation is killing housing in my exurb; and I don't believe housing has hit rock bottom yet; unemployment is very high in local economy in the exurbs and not many people want to do the long-distance commute unless affordable housing is lacking in the closer-in suburbs. It's funny but I think this recession has made housing more affordable to middle-income wage earners than prior private sector and governmental policies, if you have stable employment.
I think the wave of the future lies in smart growth development like the Rosyln-Ballston corridor in Arlington and the new development taking place in Tysons Corner, where multiple work-life high density residential and commercial projects will converge with good mass transit. I suspect we'll see more of this type of smart growth.
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