There are many cities in the United States where residents' lifestyles
are completely interchangeable with the lifestyles of residents in other cities
of similar size. This is not the case with Arlington, Virginia. Arlington's
history and its location next to Washington, D.C., the nation's capitol,
give it a unique flavor that any Brampton real estate agent would be jealous
of because of its ability to draw in prospective homeowners. If you're
planning on moving to Arlington, Virginia, this article will help you become
familiar with what you can expect from living next door to the nation's
capitol.
The first and most obvious thing you will notice upon becoming an Arlington
resident is how much the city revolves around government. Though Washington
D.C. is home to the capitol building, the White House, and the primary federal
government offices, many satellite offices and government departments have their
homes in Arlington, including the Department of National Defense. As a result,
you'll see a lot of people in dark suits or military uniforms rushing
to and fro with briefcases and PDAs in Motorola leather cases. The ranks of
government workers are also supplemented by scores of students studying science,
politics, and arts who will eventually graduate and join the government ranks.
All this government activity naturally makes it necessary for Arlington to
have a higher degree of security than any other city of its size. It won't
be unusual for you to see details of metro police guarding public buildings
and transit locations as a response to the 9/11 attacks. It's also not
outside the realm of possibility that you might be living in a place like Toronto Lofts and accidentally run into some Secret Service snipers who
have taken up position on the roof of the building to protect the travel route
of a foreign or domestic dignitary.
The fact that so many foreign dignitaries and tourists visit Arlington each
year to tour places like the National Cemetery and the Pentagon make it in the
best interest of the city to present the cleanest and most appealing possible
face. Things like grass cutting, stone cleaning, cleanup of old industrial sites,
and waste water grit removal are all high priorities for civic and federal
governments in areas likely to be visited by dignitaries. Because of this you'll
find Arlington to be very clean in the more heavily visited areas, while the
more downtrodden areas are hidden off to the side out of general view.
All this activity, of course, makes for a very busy city, so you should be
prepared for a very urban environment. The population density tends to be high,
especially in the neighborhoods around the transit stops. These areas have an
abundance of skyscrapers, condo towers, and office buildings. Shops and restaurants,
instead of being relaxing eateries, are wi-fi equipped meeting places for the
technology set where they can hook up laptops and PDAs and work on a web collaboration tool
project over lunch.
|