Some Differences

We knew when we moved from Indiana to Virginia that things would be different. Here's a list of some of the things we've found so far.

First, the obvious. There is a lot of traffic here. Four lanes of traffic, stopped, plus slow HOV lanes. There are no exit numbers on the parkways. And there are stoplights on them. Even the train during rush hour can be standing room only. And no, guys don't give up their seats to women in 3" heels carrying laptops.

But, not just interstate traffic. Everywhere traffic. As a result of increased traffic, folks drive differently. For example, if you need to change lanes, you don't turn on your blinker and wait for an opening to glide into the next lane. In one quick motion you click the blinker, check over your shoulder and zip into the next lane. It's okay. Folks expect it. No one flips you off, they just zip into the next lane and pass you.

It is against traffic regulations to pull into the intersection on a green light to make a left turn. You must wait till traffic clears to make the turn. We learned this by watching other cars and confirmed with my coworkers.

Parking spaces are smaller. I guess because there is less space to fit more people. Probably why houses are smaller too. We haven't seen housing developments. I would imagine that land is very expensive, and not many folks can afford a $1M house anyway.

Gas stations do not have convenience stores. No grabbing a coffee or gallon of milk while you are there. You can, however, get an oil change or new brakes. Convenience stores do not sell gas. Liquor sales are controlled by the state and liquor stores are not common.

There are fewer restaurants. This surprised us. We initially noticed it on our trip in November, but now that we've combed the area, we are finding very few fast food places, and hardly any buffets. One Chinese buffet we found is very expensive and placards on the table indicate that leaving food on your plate will result in an immediate 30% upcharge.

Portions are smaller. One Mexican restaurant served a saucer of chips. A saucer. They were perturbed we asked for more. And the rice is white -- not seasoned.

There are ethnic restaurants I'd never see in the midwest: Afghani, Thai, French, Greek in addition to Italian (I don't mean the Olive Garden), Chinese and Mexican.

Lots of family owned specialty stores -- furniture, art, clothing, dollar stores. Many are clearly family-run businesses. Our landlords recently sold their convenience store near Union Station.

Service is not so great. Our servers have been slow, and while not exactly rude, they aren't friendly. I read on a message board that the DC area generally isn't friendly, but it seems these folks are looking at their job like, well, a job and schmoozing the customer isn't in their job descriptions.

The cost of living is higher. Not just houses (which cost 4x the Indy price), but groceries. Even utilities. Our $46 phone bill is $60 after taxes. For one line and voicemail. Gasoline is about the same price though.

No Kroger! We've visited Giant and Safeway. There's something called Shoppers that we haven't tried yet.

Trash pickup is twice a week plus once more for yard waste. This might go back to less space in the house - no room for a week's worth of trash.

Basic cable has a lot of access channels in every language you can imagine. One add-on package includes Discovery, Nick, TLC, etc in Spanish.

Mail comes very late -- after 5 pm.

Folks didn't decorate for Christmas until last weekend. We're a little worried we might offend when we start Nov 1 next year. Mike thinks there are more folks who have lights up though. Many people hire staff to decorate their house for them. Same goes for lawn work and handyman services.

No streetlights in the neighborhoods! We're afraid we'll get really lost after the Christmas lights are down.

No billboards. I can't recall a single one, even near shopping and the interstate.

Elementary school schedules are wacky. Aly doesn't start school until 9 pm. We can't figure this out except maybe the commuter traffic starts to die down by then and there is less chance for accidents with students? School lets out on Mondays at 1:10 and the rest of the week at 3:35. Clearly, there are lots of stay at home parents and nannies in our district. But Fairfax schools are the best in the nation. I'm definitely not complaining, and there'll be a whole post for that later.

I will say this ... things are different but they are not bad/different. Just different. We are liking the newness, and the discovery of these little differences. If only there was a Kroger!