RESTON, VA

work retire -- but very uptight about image Reston VA is a \planned community\ built over the past 40 years near Washington D.C.'s Dulles Airport. It is a mix of moderate and high priced/rental single family townhouse and apartment homes. It is a safe and recreationally rich area to raise children walk or run paths enjoy indoor or outdoor lakeside dining. A \town center\ of high rise offices city streets with shops and restaurants has spring up in recent years. If there is a \problem\ with Reston it is that it is very very uptight about its image. Original home owners cling rigidly to 40 year old concepts that long ago needed to be flexible to accommodate multi-cultural and shifting economic realities. People want to maintain amenities but fight increased density that would bring increased revenue to pay for community pools recreation centers paths tennis courts and lakes. Maybe that is the eternal struggle of modern suburbs -- quality of life versus population growth and density. At least in Reston the fight has been going on since the community's founding and we are all getting more savvy about the balances as we all grow older. All in all I can't think of a better location in the DC area that would meet all my family and personal needs. Maybe a good deli will someday open in or close to Reston to make everything seem complete!!