News and notes from Reston (tm).

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Reston's Most Selfish Cluster, Redeemed

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Secret Restonian operative "Sean" sent us this exciting photographic proof that Moorings Cluster, which earned the much sought-after moniker of Reston's Most Selfish Cluster (tm) for tearing down its picturesque lakefront tot lot, has redeemed itself by installing two shiny new swing sets, though the tubercular rusted metal ducky ride seems unlikely to be replaced.

All we can say is good on them. We're officially retiring the Most Selfish Cluster designation, though we're still wondering if the metal frame has been designed to deliver 10,000 volts of electricity when an unworthy, non-Moorings child sits on a swing. But maybe that's just the generic murky black "green" tea talking.

Posted by Restonian at 9:22 AM

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14 comments:

  1. I hate clusters. They prevent me from painting my house lavender and green.
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  2. They prevented us from fencing our backyard so my wife could operate a licensed daycare facility.
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  3. thank god ...
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  4. Moving to an HOA is not like being ambushed by crazy rules from nowhere.

    They are all laid out in the covenants you signed when you bought you home.

    If you don't like HOA's don't move into one!
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  5. Broke in Charter Oak (BiCO)Mar 9, 2010 08:37 AM
    Anonymous @ 11:24 AM: I agree with you to a large extent. I whine a lot about how I resent that I may soon be paying near-Arlington prices for my apartment without any of the benefits of living in Arlington (i.e. Metrorail, bike lanes, proximity to the District, thriving nightlife, etc.), but when all is said and done when I signed my lease I knew I was moving to "The HOA of Sunshine and Puppies Candyland U.S.A." To me proximity to work in Herndon was more valuable than living in an idyllic setting, and only now am I realizing that was a foolish decision. I've come to realize in Northern Virginia most people either hate where they live or hate their commutes---most can't enjoy both. It's a shame, but it is what it is. I should have chosen to enjoy where I lived and hated the commute instead of vice-versa.
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  6. You must be a lot of laughs at Happy Hour after work.
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  7. Broke in Charter Oak (BiCO)Mar 9, 2010 08:48 AM
    I don't do Happy Hour. I rarely drink and am typically the designated driver for all of my friends. Yes, I'm a bore. I never claimed I wasn't. I do love karaoke though. :-) Part of the reason I fear leaving Reston for Arlington is that I have already established a huge network of friends in Reston/Herndon/Chantilly/Centreville/Fairfax, and I'd be the "lone wolf" inside the Beltway.
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  8. Trust me on this BiCO, there are lots of 20-somethings in Arlington. You'll find friends there. And if you want to see your friends here, you'll only be a dozen Metro stops away.
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  9. BiCO -- Reston has a ways to go to be the Arlington you prefer... but, with the new developments I believe you will be seeing the demographics changing here quickly -- younger people. Hang in there, stay where you are and be entertained by those that just can't stand it coming...
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  10. Anon 11:24, True, the HOA documents spell it all out. However, getting a copy of the HOA rules more than a few minutes before Closing on the sale is a neat trick. In my neighborhood, you have to pay $100 for a copy of the HOA Covenants. They should be available on a public website.
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  11. Anon 4:03 is absolutely correct - these are public documents and should be publicly available on public websites...saving trees and all that.

    Let's all vote for the candidates who say they'll do exactly this...and in all other respects will follow the Hippocratic Oath to "DO NO HARM."
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  12. RCIG and RTC have a long way to go to become the urban core. The rest of the urban sprawl you crave doesn't need to be here. They need to adhere to the Fairfax County TOD guidelines which call for density to taper off sharply after 1/4 mile from the platform.
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  13. 1/4 of a mile? That's about the merge lane of the toll road, no?
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  14. "I've come to realize in Northern Virginia most people either hate where they live or hate their commutes---most can't enjoy both."

    Oh, BiCO! Are you getting this opinion from just reading the comments here? I've never gotten the sense that people living near me hate living there in the 10+ years I've lived in NOVA. In fact, I've enjoyed living in both Vienna and Reston a lot. My commute has generally been around 15 minutes (by car) each way up until my current job which is more like 25 minutes, and in my previous job I even biked to work (Vienna to Reston) on a number of occasions.

    Look, it's similar with the tech lists I'm on. People come on complaining that this or that broke down or isn't working right on their phone (or whatever). But people don't generally post to say how great their phone is working. So people sometimes decide that there are lots of problems when it's not the case. People like to complain (yourself included!), and so you will tend to get many more negative posts than positive ones. In the end, it's human nature to want what you don't have, to see the grass always greener on the other side. It's an art to learn to appreciate the nice things you do have and ignore the inevitable - that some things will always be better elsewhere. There's no place that is perfect in all ways.

    I do see a lot of anger on this board about the RA for various reasons. I'm new here so I can't really know how accurate they are, especially given the fact that a lot of people posting negative comments are doing so anonymously. But if not for this site, I would still have a completely positive opinion of Reston. I knew it had an HOA when I chose to live here and so knew that I might not be able to do some things with my house and yard that I would have had the freedom to in Vienna, but chose to live here anyway for the benefits. Our first experience with the RA was positive - we had to get last-minute approval to take down a very large tree that is within several feet of part of our house because there was a possibility of it effecting the foundation according to the inspector. This approval was granted within 24 hours.

    Anyway, again, BiCO, I say please lighten up. I truly hope your demeanor in person is much less negative than it is here. Hopefully it's just the anger here that you are picking up on and channeling through your comments.
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