Want to relocate to NoVa - where?

[Anonymous]

Much of McLean 22101 is about same commute by car or shorter than Falls Church (22046). If proximity to Metro is key then OP might also consider WFC and parts of Vienna near Metro.

It all depends on priorities, N. Arlington is short commute but many homes there are meh even in the 900K range.

You can change your house, but you can't change your commute (and driving commutes around here ALWAYS get worse over the years). N Arlington close to Orange line is insanely great for working downtown. You have multiple options (metro, bus, driving). You never know when you'll need a non-car method of commuting. For example, none of my N Arlington friends took 4 hours to get home during the blizzard -- they were all home within an hour, even with the metro delays. My FFX county friends? All got screwed. One took 8 HOURS to get home!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hands down McLean (way better public schools)

Well, no principal in McLean resigning from the local middle school with a "scorched earth" letter as in Arlington, that's for sure.

But seriously, the notion that either N. Arlington or McLean is the "hands down" choice is that price range is very silly. There are lots of other options in the area.

Mclean and North Arlington blend along Old Dominion. Franklin Park. Chainbridge Forest has homes with county lines in the backyards. Many N. A. children play Mclean sports since Arlington might have events in S Arlington. Shop at Chesterbrook in Mclean. Used Dolly Madison Library. For those people targeting that area it's where you get a good house at the right price not which county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Much of McLean 22101 is about same commute by car or shorter than Falls Church (22046). If proximity to Metro is key then OP might also consider WFC and parts of Vienna near Metro.

It all depends on priorities, N. Arlington is short commute but many homes there are meh even in the 900K range.

You can change your house, but you can't change your commute (and driving commutes around here ALWAYS get worse over the years). N Arlington close to Orange line is insanely great for working downtown. You have multiple options (metro, bus, driving). You never know when you'll need a non-car method of commuting. For example, none of my N Arlington friends took 4 hours to get home during the blizzard -- they were all home within an hour, even with the metro delays. My FFX county friends? All got screwed. One took 8 HOURS to get home!

Ridiculous BS. People should make decisions based on the weather one day per year? You could have been stuck on the GW Parkway or Spout Run that afternoon in Arlington, or have had no issue if you were taking the subway to WFC or Vienna.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Much of McLean 22101 is about same commute by car or shorter than Falls Church (22046). If proximity to Metro is key then OP might also consider WFC and parts of Vienna near Metro.

It all depends on priorities, N. Arlington is short commute but many homes there are meh even in the 900K range.

You can change your house, but you can't change your commute (and driving commutes around here ALWAYS get worse over the years). N Arlington close to Orange line is insanely great for working downtown. You have multiple options (metro, bus, driving). You never know when you'll need a non-car method of commuting. For example, none of my N Arlington friends took 4 hours to get home during the blizzard -- they were all home within an hour, even with the metro delays. My FFX county friends? All got screwed. One took 8 HOURS to get home!

This is just ridiculous. I live right by WFC metro, took 66 home that day, and got home in about an hour DRIVING.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This is just ridiculous. I live right by WFC metro, took 66 home that day, and got home in about an hour DRIVING.

The other poster also makes Metro sound fool-proof. It has had some serious maintenance and reliability issues (though more on the Red Line to date than the Orange Line) that the construction of the Silver Line may aggravate.

[Anonymous]

OP here! Thank you everyone for great suggestions. I really appreciate it. Have a wonderful day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Much of McLean 22101 is about same commute by car or shorter than Falls Church (22046). If proximity to Metro is key then OP might also consider WFC and parts of Vienna near Metro.

It all depends on priorities, N. Arlington is short commute but many homes there are meh even in the 900K range.

You can change your house, but you can't change your commute (and driving commutes around here ALWAYS get worse over the years). N Arlington close to Orange line is insanely great for working downtown. You have multiple options (metro, bus, driving). You never know when you'll need a non-car method of commuting. For example, none of my N Arlington friends took 4 hours to get home during the blizzard -- they were all home within an hour, even with the metro delays. My FFX county friends? All got screwed. One took 8 HOURS to get home!

Ridiculous BS. People should make decisions based on the weather one day per year? You could have been stuck on the GW Parkway or Spout Run that afternoon in Arlington, or have had no issue if you were taking the subway to WFC or Vienna.

Hence the "you'll never know when you'll need a non-car method" -- it may be that there's bad weather, Hu Jin Tao visits again (boy did THAT eff up traffic), accidents, water main breaks, terrorism. I mean, hell, even just snow has become a regular traffic-ruiner here in DC on a regular basis in the winter (whereas when I first moved here, it was almost never an issue).

[Anonymous]

I'd say the best spot is Falls Church... just outside of Falls Church City, in Fairfax County. It is possible to be within walking distance of the West Falls Church metro and all of the shops/restaraunts on W. Broad St., AND be in the coveted Haycock Elementary/Longfellow Middle/McLean High School pyramid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd say the best spot is Falls Church... just outside of Falls Church City, in Fairfax County. It is possible to be within walking distance of the West Falls Church metro and all of the shops/restaraunts on W. Broad St., AND be in the coveted Haycock Elementary/Longfellow Middle/McLean High School pyramid.

"All the shops/restaurants on W. Broad St."?

You make it sound like Bethesda, but it's not.

[Anonymous]

I said "hands down" because Arlington is the only one that meets ALL of OPs criteria.

- family friendly: I would say true of many communities in NOVA, but certainly lots of resources for kids in Arlington (parks, playgrounds, kid-friendly businesses etc)
- walkable (restaurants, grocery, park, metro) --this is where McLean loses out -- no metro and a lot less walkable.
- short commute to DC: several possibilities here
- schools: lots of good choices
- budget between $900K and $1.3-$1.4 mil.: check

[Anonymous]

McLean will have metro very soon, though.

[Anonymous]

"this is where McLean loses out -- no metro and a lot less walkable."

Mclean will definitely not be confused with the inner city but as astonishingly as it might sound, some of us do take the bus to Ballston Metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I said "hands down" because Arlington is the only one that meets ALL of OPs criteria.

- family friendly: I would say true of many communities in NOVA, but certainly lots of resources for kids in Arlington (parks, playgrounds, kid-friendly businesses etc)
- walkable (restaurants, grocery, park, metro) --this is where McLean loses out -- no metro and a lot less walkable.
- short commute to DC: several possibilities here
- schools: lots of good choices
- budget between $900K and $1.3-$1.4 mil.: check

Family-friendly - edge to McLean

Walkable - depends; central McLean is as walkable as Arlington; most of Arlington is no more walkable than McLean

Commute - Arlington wins, but some McLean neighborhoods border Arlington

Schools - edge to McLean

Budget - draw


Hands down - don't think sol.

[Anonymous]

During the thundersnow event, my Ffx co commute was 15 min. However, I left at 3:00 based on the weather reports

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"this is where McLean loses out -- no metro and a lot less walkable."

Mclean will definitely not be confused with the inner city but as astonishingly as it might sound, some of us do take the bus to Ballston Metro.

And that would be where, exactly, that's relevant to this discussion?