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Oakton, by Any Other Name, Defines Quaint and Quiet

According to the signs along westbound Interstate 66, there is no such place as Oakton, Va. 22124. But don't tell that to the residents of this fast-growing unincorporated Fairfax County area, home to about 35,600 people.

"I've never been happier," said Kathy Gause, who moved to the English Oaks subdivision just a few years ago. "The neighbors are wonderful."

Even though Exit 60 is marked "Fairfax/Vienna," drive north along Route 123 and it's obviously Oakton. Signs along the half-mile commercial strip mark Oakton Florist, Oakton Nails, Oakton Elementary School and Oakton United Methodist Church.

Names of housing developments also seem to have a distinct theme. Oakton is home to, among others, English Oaks, Oak Vale Manor, Oakcrest Farms, Oakton Glen, Oakton Villas, Barden Oaks Court, Wendover Oaks and Oakborough Square, where bicycles sit unlocked and unattended on front lawns.

When residents of these and the other new developments sprouting up in the area discuss their neighborhood, it's not the names they focus on. It's the peace and quiet, and the convenience.

"It's a relatively quiet neighborhood. There's minimal crime, and we want to keep it that way," said Bob Cave, a resident of Oakton's Miller Heights area and a board member of the Greater Oakton Business and Professional Association.

Though the area is quickly developing, there is still a bucolic air to it. A half mile away from Blockbuster, Starbucks and McDonald's there are quaint old farmhouses and horses grazing on fields by the side of the road.

Oakton's convenience depends largely on traffic conditions. Sprawling growth has meant frequent traffic jams that can turn thoroughfares into parking lots. But when there is no congestion, Oakton is 20 minutes to the Kennedy Center, five minutes to the Vienna Metro stop and Vienna's commercial area and an hour and a half to the majestic Shenandoah Valley. It is also 30 minutes from both Dulles and National airports, and a short drive to Fair Oaks and Tysons Corner malls.

Oakton is an amorphous area, defined by the Greater Oakton Civic Association as the area north of Route 50, south of Route 673, east of Route 243 and west of Route 608. Single-family house prices in the area average about $370,000 and town house prices about $180,000, according to real estate agent Vicki Stottlemyer. Said Cave, "Resale value has actually increased over the last year. Part of that is due to location, and part of it is because the property owners are keeping their property [well-maintained]."

Arlen Blechman, who has run the Red Apple children's clothing store in Oakton since 1977, said, "The population is very upscale and very educated. It's very easy to do business with, you don't have the problems you have in some of the other areas, like bad checks. . . . McLean is probably the only area comparable to Oakton."

From 80-year-old farmhouses to brand-new brick developments, life at Oakton has a variety of faces. One is that of English Oaks, a five-year-old, tree-studded subdivision where on a recent Saturday afternoon about 30 people were chatting and chomping on barbecued chicken and green salad at the annual community picnic.

The development is made up of 85 town houses and 27 detached houses. It is home to about 250 people, including attorneys, bureaucrats, Mobil Corp. employees, real estate agents and retired military personnel.

Patti Rico, who works for an information technology company in Tysons Corner, said she enjoys living in the neighborhood because it is attractive and friendly. "It's a very positive environment -- a well-run and well-maintained community," she said. She said the only drawbacks were congestion on Route 123, and that there was less land at her town house than at her previous home in Connecticut.

Other English Oaks residents praised the development's neighborliness. English Oaks "was the second place the real estate agent took us," said Joyce Marsh, who moved to Fairfax County from St. Louis with her husband about three years ago. "One of the neighbors was walking down the street with homemade cookies. She said, 'Are you moving into the neighborhood?' " Marsh was so impressed with that friendly attitude that she immediately answered yes.

English Oaks and the dozens of subdivisions built in Oakton in recent years have been a magnet for newcomers. Some longer-term residents are not happy with the changes the growth has brought.

"Sometimes I wish there was more of a community. It's not that people aren't friendly, it's just that they're so busy," said a woman who moved to Hunter Mill Road in 1974 and asked not to be identified.

She said, "We thought we were moving to the country, but the city caught up with us."

© Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company

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