They knew it all along.
Residents who heard the news that Vienna had been named fourth best place to live in the country by CNN and Money Magazine were less than shocked.
"I’m not actually surprised," said Oakton resident Jennifer Seibert. "Everyone seems to like it. It’s a safe place."
The magazine had conducted a study of about 1,100 places in the United States, weighing factors such as proximity to major cities, home prices, crime and education rates, and employment. Moorestown, N.J. came in first, followed by Bainbridge Island, Wash. and Naperville, Ill.
Although they weren’t surprised, many residents were proud of Vienna’s achievement.
"I am delighted. It is well-deserved," said E. L. Brown, who lives in Hideaway Park and works in Vienna as an assistant with Redskins owner Joe Gibbs’ Youth For Tomorrow charity. "The hands-on, heart-to-heart things that go on in this town are not only encouraged, they touch you in the heart."
Brown pointed to Historic Vienna, Inc.’s used book sale and the annual Walk on the Hill in the Ayr Hill neighborhood as Vienna highlights. He admired the way the Committee for Helping Others, a group of area churches, makes free used furniture, and other items, available for people who need it.
"When someone says congratulations to me, I say, ‘Hey, congratulations to you,’" said Mayor M. Jane Seeman. "Right now everybody is just so proud and puffed up."
"As somebody who’s lived in Vienna for 20 years, I’m very excited to read that Vienna was the fourth best place to live," said Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites-Davis (R-34), speaking at the Vienna-Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce Awards luncheon. "This award goes to all of us who live and work in Vienna."
"(Vienna’s achievement) is also a reflection of what the past town councils and mayor did," said Seeman. "This isn’t something that just happened overnight. This is good planning on the part of the people that served before us."
"I like Vienna. I’ve often thought of it as Mayberry," said Mary Lou McIntire, comparing the town to the hamlet made famous on "The Andy Griffith Show" television show.
"There are just so many small-town things that, thankfully, are still surviving, even with traffic and growth," said McIntire, who has lived in the town since 1972.
McIntire particularly liked Vienna’s holiday parades, such as the one on Halloween. She described the way people came out to see the National Christmas Tree as it journeyed through the town in 2004 on its way to Washington, D.C. She said, however, that the town has changed a great deal, with more houses and more cars.
"It’s not cheap to live here," says Rhonda Roberts, who has lived in Vienna for 30 years. Her adult son, Nathan, will never be able to afford a house in Vienna, she said.
But Roberts likes what she calls the "small town flavor" of Vienna, and the number of community sports and activities that are available to children. Her husband, Reggie, still gets greeted around town by people he used to coach in sports.
"It’s a great place to raise children," she said. "When you’re in a community and actually participate in that community, you have a lot of things in common with people around you."
Not long after the Money Magazine article came out, the Vienna Parks and Recreation Department put together a banner announcing Vienna’s achievement, which now hangs above Maple Avenue at Park Street.
Seeman is also thinking of other ways to commemorate Vienna’s place in the top five areas to live, like bumper stickers, buttons, a letterhead, T-shirts for the town staff, posters delivered to Vienna businesses.
"We’re going to try to really have fun with this and make the most of it," said Seeman.