s/o -- which parts of McClean have the "community feeling"?

[Anonymous]

PP here. Forgot to mention that there are small sections of Vienna that feed to the McLean schools. That would be the best of both worlds in my opinion. We looks in a couple of those neighborhoods but at the time we bought nothing was available that we liked and could afford. Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Forgot to mention that there are small sections of Vienna that feed to the McLean schools. That would be the best of both worlds in my opinion. We looks in a couple of those neighborhoods but at the time we bought nothing was available that we liked and could afford. Best of luck.

Can't count on those neighborhoods staying in McLean schools in the long term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Forgot to mention that there are small sections of Vienna that feed to the McLean schools. That would be the best of both worlds in my opinion. We looks in a couple of those neighborhoods but at the time we bought nothing was available that we liked and could afford. Best of luck.

Can't count on those neighborhoods staying in McLean schools in the long term.

You can't count on anything with school boundaries in FCPS, but the only change in that area that FCPS has suggested to date that it might consider would move those areas from the McLean HS pyramid to the Langley HS pyramid - but keeping them in the McLean schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Forgot to mention that there are small sections of Vienna that feed to the McLean schools. That would be the best of both worlds in my opinion. We looks in a couple of those neighborhoods but at the time we bought nothing was available that we liked and could afford. Best of luck.

Oh noes having to go from 1% FARMS to 5%

[Anonymous]

I think a sense of community derives not just from exactly which block you live on, but also the nearby institutions and amenities. McLean has a community center, a community library, good youth sports leagues, and public schools that get a lot of local support and community involvement. And while the retail variety in the center of McLean is not stellar, it's somewhat off the beaten path and there are a lot of locally owned businesses, so you definitely get to know the local merchants, who may charge "McLean prices" but are friendly enough while doing so.

Here, as in many places, kids and dogs also seem to help people become more neighborly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I will probably get flamed for this, but if you are looking for community feeling and aren't super wealthy, you may want to consider the next town over - Vienna. I wanted to live in McLean but our $800k budget wouldn't go very far in McLean. The public schools in Vienna do not have test scores as high as McLean or Langley HS, but they are close behind. And if your child is very bright they can go to the STEM high school (Thomas Jefferson).

We have been in Vienna for a little over two years and really like it. There is a great Moms group that always has something going on and the town has loads of holiday events (a little carnival on Memorial Day weekend, a Halloween parade, Santa Claus driving through the neighborhoods on a fire truck in Decembet, etc.). There are cracker-box old houses, 1970s colonials and brand new houses that are selling for $1.3 mil. The W&OD trail runs through several neighborhoods an depending where you live, you could walk to a grocery store and the post office.

Like I said, we didn't set out to live in Vienna. But I am really happy we ended up here. Check us out, we'd love to have you in the 'hood.

vienna is far as shit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Forgot to mention that there are small sections of Vienna that feed to the McLean schools. That would be the best of both worlds in my opinion. We looks in a couple of those neighborhoods but at the time we bought nothing was available that we liked and could afford. Best of luck.

Oh noes having to go from 1% FARMS to 5%

McLean HS has 10%, so I don't know what you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Depending on your budget, West McLean also has a great community feel. Neighbors all get together for drinks on their driveways in the summers, lots of kids from Franklin Sherman, families are members at McLean pool and is one of the few really walkable neighborhoods in McLean. Downside is that the older (i.e., more affordable) houses tend to be bought up very quickly by builders (often before they hit the market).

McLean Hamlet also has a great community. We often go to the pool there with friends who live there and it is all young kids who know each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some neighborhoods in the brown bag part. It really is the luck of the draw. Two street over has a great neighborhood connections, ours not so much.


(by 'brown bag part', I mean the area of McLean where we brown bag it to lunch.)


(PS, I think McClean is in McDonaldland.)

The house poor part?

Not always house poor. Just not in the new McMansions. The ones that live in the older ramblers and split levels/foyers.

Yeah, but these homes are fugly. I just drove around there to look at a home in the 900 range and could not believe how hideous the neighborhood was. All of the houses were 80s- either split-levels with distressed siding or those awful huge ones with the columns out front. Totally dated. Then down the street there were a bunch of 50s bungalow types with tiny footprints. About every 10th house was a McMansion, which was so over the top, they really effed up the neighborhood. What do neighbors think about this? I want up buy a house and update it, but not for it to look completely different than everyone else's.

[Anonymous]

BTDT. West McLean and Hamlet are spot on. The best communities with true community feel (not just "on paper", so to speak).

There are other communities that are thought strongly to be most desirable, but when you actually live there, they are least desirable. You really need to ask friends who actually reside there.

DO NOT rely on walking to school as your only criteria. You have been warned.

Come to think of it, if we had to do it all over again, we would drive the extra ten minutes and choose Vienna, hands down. For what you get for your money, Vienna has a LOT more to offer, and all of my friends in Vienna are consistently happy with their choice. Unlike our McLean friends. Seriously, OP. I wish someone had told us sooner. Its an expensive mistake to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BTDT. West McLean and Hamlet are spot on. The best communities with true community feel (not just "on paper", so to speak).

There are other communities that are thought strongly to be most desirable, but when you actually live there, they are least desirable. You really need to ask friends who actually reside there.

DO NOT rely on walking to school as your only criteria. You have been warned.

Come to think of it, if we had to do it all over again, we would drive the extra ten minutes and choose Vienna, hands down. For what you get for your money, Vienna has a LOT more to offer, and all of my friends in Vienna are consistently happy with their choice. Unlike our McLean friends. Seriously, OP. I wish someone had told us sooner. Its an expensive mistake to make.

I've lived in both Vienna and McLean, and think they are both great places to live. Vienna is less expensive, it has better restaurants, and the population is younger. The Town of Vienna activities like Viva Vienna are really nice, and Church Street has some great shops. We also liked being near the W&OD trail, which is great for biking. However, McLean is a much better commute to DC, there's less traffic congestion and, without deliberately attempting to offend the usual suspects, we think the schools are a notch above the schools in our prior pyramid. And, perhaps surprisingly, we find our McLean neighborhood to have less of a "keeping up with the Jones vibe," if only because most people in our Vienna neighborhood were roughly the same age, which seems to encourage that type of behavior. I'm sorry you've had a bad experience, and Vienna might be more up your alley, but I don't think you'll find large numbers of people in McLean wishing they'd picked Vienna, instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some neighborhoods in the brown bag part. It really is the luck of the draw. Two street over has a great neighborhood connections, ours not so much.


(by 'brown bag part', I mean the area of McLean where we brown bag it to lunch.)


(PS, I think McClean is in McDonaldland.)

The house poor part?

Not always house poor. Just not in the new McMansions. The ones that live in the older ramblers and split levels/foyers.

Yeah, but these homes are fugly. I just drove around there to look at a home in the 900 range and could not believe how hideous the neighborhood was. All of the houses were 80s- either split-levels with distressed siding or those awful huge ones with the columns out front. Totally dated. Then down the street there were a bunch of 50s bungalow types with tiny footprints. About every 10th house was a McMansion, which was so over the top, they really effed up the neighborhood. What do neighbors think about this? I want up buy a house and update it, but not for it to look completely different than everyone else's.

These areas are similar to parts of North Arlington and upper NW neighborhoods like North Cleveland Park, but it doesn't sound like you'd be happy or, for that matter, fit in. Sounds like you should be looking at HOA neighborhoods in Oakton or Burke, perhaps.

[Anonymous]

OP, don't forget to look into the Falls Church area that feeds into McLean HS. Lots of good down-to-earth neighborhood communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some neighborhoods in the brown bag part. It really is the luck of the draw. Two street over has a great neighborhood connections, ours not so much.


(by 'brown bag part', I mean the area of McLean where we brown bag it to lunch.)


(PS, I think McClean is in McDonaldland.)

The house poor part?

Not always house poor. Just not in the new McMansions. The ones that live in the older ramblers and split levels/foyers.

Yeah, but these homes are fugly. I just drove around there to look at a home in the 900 range and could not believe how hideous the neighborhood was. All of the houses were 80s- either split-levels with distressed siding or those awful huge ones with the columns out front. Totally dated. Then down the street there were a bunch of 50s bungalow types with tiny footprints. About every 10th house was a McMansion, which was so over the top, they really effed up the neighborhood. What do neighbors think about this? I want up buy a house and update it, but not for it to look completely different than everyone else's.

These areas are similar to parts of North Arlington and upper NW neighborhoods like North Cleveland Park, but it doesn't sound like you'd be happy or, for that matter, fit in. Sounds like you should be looking at HOA neighborhoods in Oakton or Burke, perhaps.

Way way off! I currently live in North Cleveland Park and we don't have split foyers, fugly etc... I more than fit it. Don't get snarky because someone is expressing an opinion of the housing stock. It's butt ugly. PERIOD. The people might be great and have a high opinion of their homes. Wonderful and God bless them. IMO and I'm speaking for no one else or really trying to offend someone (but since you wear your emotions on your sleeve I could avoid it with you), the houses are dated. That's the trouble with timestamped architecture. Victorians, Wardman's etc... and even some 70s homes hold their charm and are timeless. The 80s is not a part of this group. My question (to less sensitive people and more people with a backbone and don't give a darn about a DCUM poster's opinion) is do the neighbors care? Are people planning on renovating and remodeling? Will people pay in the 900s and be okay or are more people looking for prices in the 700 with the ability to reface their 1980s home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some neighborhoods in the brown bag part. It really is the luck of the draw. Two street over has a great neighborhood connections, ours not so much.


(by 'brown bag part', I mean the area of McLean where we brown bag it to lunch.)


(PS, I think McClean is in McDonaldland.)

The house poor part?

Not always house poor. Just not in the new McMansions. The ones that live in the older ramblers and split levels/foyers.

Yeah, but these homes are fugly. I just drove around there to look at a home in the 900 range and could not believe how hideous the neighborhood was. All of the houses were 80s- either split-levels with distressed siding or those awful huge ones with the columns out front. Totally dated. Then down the street there were a bunch of 50s bungalow types with tiny footprints. About every 10th house was a McMansion, which was so over the top, they really effed up the neighborhood. What do neighbors think about this? I want up buy a house and update it, but not for it to look completely different than everyone else's.

These areas are similar to parts of North Arlington and upper NW neighborhoods like North Cleveland Park, but it doesn't sound like you'd be happy or, for that matter, fit in. Sounds like you should be looking at HOA neighborhoods in Oakton or Burke, perhaps.

Way way off! I currently live in North Cleveland Park and we don't have split foyers, fugly etc... I more than fit it. Don't get snarky because someone is expressing an opinion of the housing stock. It's butt ugly. PERIOD. The people might be great and have a high opinion of their homes. Wonderful and God bless them. IMO and I'm speaking for no one else or really trying to offend someone (but since you wear your emotions on your sleeve I could avoid it with you), the houses are dated. That's the trouble with timestamped architecture. Victorians, Wardman's etc... and even some 70s homes hold their charm and are timeless. The 80s is not a part of this group. My question (to less sensitive people and more people with a backbone and don't give a darn about a DCUM poster's opinion) is do the neighbors care? Are people planning on renovating and remodeling? Will people pay in the 900s and be okay or are more people looking for prices in the 700 with the ability to reface their 1980s home.

I used to live near Van Ness, and am familiar with North Cleveland Park, and there are plenty of older homes there on streets like Veazey, Warren, Alton, etc. similar to some of the less expensive houses in McLean. It's not a question of being snarky. It's a matter of fact, and some people like the mid-century houses.

If your beef is with 1980s architecture specifically, I'm sure McLean has more of it than NW DC, and less of it than much of suburban Maryland or Virginia. People who buy 1980s homes in McLean in the $900K range are far more likely to do some interior remodeling than change the exterior. That would be equally true in places like Vienna and Rockville, where there are even more 1980s homes, but available at lower price points.