Best McLean neighborhood

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, budget might help.

Wait, I just thought of two new build neighborhoods, my mistake. Nothing for sale in the two I can think of, Reserve of McLean and one off Georgetown Pike, Mackall Farms. They're in the $5m+ range. Is that your budget?

Sorry, should have been more clear. NOT all new build and NOT 90’s McMansions.

We’re from Conneticut where there are neighborhoods that feel more authentic. Looking for that feeling.

Budget up to $2.5 mil

We moved from the NE as well.....we looked at McLean and didn’t find the charm with the housing stock. Admittedly though, our budget was capped at 1.5, so take the comment with a grain of salt! Perhaps with a higher budget we would have found homes in that city that would have worked for us.

Good luck with the move, but from one Northeasterner to another, it’s not the same feel in any of the cities surrounding the DMV.

x100000


And if you mention that you are from the Northeast, to locals, expect resentment - not that they have ever been to the Northeast LOL. Locals are okay with transplants being from the Midwest or South, for some reason - i have some guesses - not that they would admit this, of course.

NoVa gets a lot of people who've moved from the West Coast, the South, the Midwest, and abroad - and they rarely seem to complain about what they miss compared to NoVa. But people from the Northeast and some other parts of the Mid-Atlantic tend to gripe a lot, so we're OK if they prefer suburban Maryland instead, even if only Chevy Chase comes close to where they may have lived before. I doubt people from Connecticut would want people moving to Darien and claiming somehow it's not "authentic," so we're just returning the favor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, budget might help.

Wait, I just thought of two new build neighborhoods, my mistake. Nothing for sale in the two I can think of, Reserve of McLean and one off Georgetown Pike, Mackall Farms. They're in the $5m+ range. Is that your budget?

Sorry, should have been more clear. NOT all new build and NOT 90’s McMansions.

We’re from Conneticut where there are neighborhoods that feel more authentic. Looking for that feeling.

Budget up to $2.5 mil

I’m curious about what “authentic neighborhood” means.

Spoken like someone who’s been living in DC area for too long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, budget might help.

Wait, I just thought of two new build neighborhoods, my mistake. Nothing for sale in the two I can think of, Reserve of McLean and one off Georgetown Pike, Mackall Farms. They're in the $5m+ range. Is that your budget?

It sounds like your frame of reference consists mostly of very expensive areas north of Route 123. There are a number of newer subdivisions that have been built. If they aren't big enough for you to think of them as a "neighborhood," then you should probably exclude Mackall Farms as well, as it's a small development.

If OP is looking for some more affordable, older areas that don't cost anything like $5M or more, and doesn't have a lot of new construction, Potomac Hills (off Kirby Road inside the Beltway), Langley Oaks (off Georgetown Pike inside the Beltway), Evermay (mostly south of 123 inside the Beltway), McLean Hamlet (south of Lewinsville Road outside the Beltway), and McLean Hunt (north of Lewinsville Road outside the Beltway) all come to mind.

That seems unnecessarily snarky. My frame of reference is that those are the newer ones that popped into my mind, not a comprehensive list. There's that one Toll Brothers abomination they built off Balls Hill, but hey, that's north of 123 as well. I don't live south of 123 so I have less reason to drive around and notice stuff there. It also tends to have already been built up more, so less open space for developers to slap down a bunch of new houses.

Langley Farms *is* a very expensive area. This is currently the lowest priced house on the market for the area bordered by Georgetown Pike/495/GW Parkway/CIA

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/6922-River-Oaks-Dr_MC-Lean_VA_22101_M58834-50742

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, budget might help.
Wait, I just thought of two new build neighborhoods, my mistake. Nothing for sale in the two I can think of, Reserve of McLean and one off Georgetown Pike, Mackall Farms. They're in the $5m+ range. Is that your budget?

Sorry, should have been more clear. NOT all new build and NOT 90’s McMansions.

We’re from Conneticut where there are neighborhoods that feel more authentic. Looking for that feeling.

Budget up to $2.5 mil

Sorry, that was me. You were clear, I wandered off in the middle of my post to do something else and obviously got off topic. Hey, I moved here from Connecticut too! Long time ago though. Don't look for something that feels "like home", this is VA/Metro DC. It's nice here, but it's different. McLean is a great place to live for a lot of reasons, but not because it's a town in the CT or New England sense.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/McLean_VA/type-single-family-home/price-na-2800000?view=map&pos=38.953312,-77.188949,38.931583,-77.159594,15

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/McLean_VA/type-single-family-home/price-na-2800000?view=map&pos=38.953312,-77.188949,38.931583,-77.159594,15

Those are in a nice area and are pretty walkeable (for here). If your kids are young, you're practically on top of the schools, which are excellent.

[Anonymous]

We are going to sell this spring at $2.5. OP create an email and I'll send you the specs. No agent yet. 22101, inside the beltway north of Georgetown pike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, budget might help.

Wait, I just thought of two new build neighborhoods, my mistake. Nothing for sale in the two I can think of, Reserve of McLean and one off Georgetown Pike, Mackall Farms. They're in the $5m+ range. Is that your budget?

Sorry, should have been more clear. NOT all new build and NOT 90’s McMansions.

We’re from Conneticut where there are neighborhoods that feel more authentic. Looking for that feeling.

Budget up to $2.5 mil

We moved from the NE as well.....we looked at McLean and didn’t find the charm with the housing stock. Admittedly though, our budget was capped at 1.5, so take the comment with a grain of salt! Perhaps with a higher budget we would have found homes in that city that would have worked for us.

Good luck with the move, but from one Northeasterner to another, it’s not the same feel in any of the cities surrounding the DMV.

x100000


And if you mention that you are from the Northeast, to locals, expect resentment - not that they have ever been to the Northeast LOL. Locals are okay with transplants being from the Midwest or South, for some reason - i have some guesses - not that they would admit this, of course.

NoVa gets a lot of people who've moved from the West Coast, the South, the Midwest, and abroad - and they rarely seem to complain about what they miss compared to NoVa. But people from the Northeast and some other parts of the Mid-Atlantic tend to gripe a lot, so we're OK if they prefer suburban Maryland instead, even if only Chevy Chase comes close to where they may have lived before. I doubt people from Connecticut would want people moving to Darien and claiming somehow it's not "authentic," so we're just returning the favor.

NE transplant living in CCMD. It’s only a close second in terms of “cuteness” of houses. But in terms of everything else, it’s still not a replica of the NE’er towns. It’s a nice place to live bc people are friendly, but it’s definitely the suburbs without the benefit of the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Pimmit Hills hands down is the best neighborhood in McLean.

[Anonymous]

Don't live there, but the Chesterbrook Gardens neighborhood (bounded by Kirby, Old Chesterbrook, Birch & Kent Gardens park) and the area between Great Falls St. and Westmoreland north of Kirby and south of McLean HS both seem like they fit what OP is looking for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are going to sell this spring at $2.5. OP create an email and I'll send you the specs. No agent yet. 22101, inside the beltway north of Georgetown pike.

Awesome! Let’s connect

[e-mail]

[Anonymous]

There are the most expensive neighborhoods like Langley Forest, but they generally cost more than $2.5M. Apart from that, there is no "best" neighborhood, just different ones that may or may not appeal to different people.

When we were looking in McLean, we looked at houses in three neighborhoods: Franklin Park, Old Dominion Gardens (near Churchill Road ES), and Salona Village. I liked Franklin Park the most, as the lots are large, there's plenty of privacy, and it has some beautiful (IMO) new homes. But my spouse didn't like the narrow, windy roads and thought it would be less than ideal for our kids when they were learning to drive. We also liked Old Dominion Gardens, which also has many nice houses and the extra benefit of being within walking distance of both Churchill Road ES and Cooper MS. But we both had reservations about Langley HS and the lack of socio-economic diversity there. So we went with Salona Village, which wasn't quite as upscale as Franklin Park or Old Dominion Gardens, but is convenient to the center of McLean, and within walking distance of both Franklin Sherman ES and McLean HS.

No regrets, but expect we also would have been happy had we gone with Franklin Park or Old Dominion Gardens instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, budget might help.

Wait, I just thought of two new build neighborhoods, my mistake. Nothing for sale in the two I can think of, Reserve of McLean and one off Georgetown Pike, Mackall Farms. They're in the $5m+ range. Is that your budget?

Sorry, should have been more clear. NOT all new build and NOT 90’s McMansions.

We’re from Conneticut where there are neighborhoods that feel more authentic. Looking for that feeling.

Budget up to $2.5 mil

We moved from the NE as well.....we looked at McLean and didn’t find the charm with the housing stock. Admittedly though, our budget was capped at 1.5, so take the comment with a grain of salt! Perhaps with a higher budget we would have found homes in that city that would have worked for us.

Good luck with the move, but from one Northeasterner to another, it’s not the same feel in any of the cities surrounding the DMV.

x100000


And if you mention that you are from the Northeast, to locals, expect resentment - not that they have ever been to the Northeast LOL. Locals are okay with transplants being from the Midwest or South, for some reason - i have some guesses - not that they would admit this, of course.

NoVa gets a lot of people who've moved from the West Coast, the South, the Midwest, and abroad - and they rarely seem to complain about what they miss compared to NoVa. But people from the Northeast and some other parts of the Mid-Atlantic tend to gripe a lot, so we're OK if they prefer suburban Maryland instead, even if only Chevy Chase comes close to where they may have lived before. I doubt people from Connecticut would want people moving to Darien and claiming somehow it's not "authentic," so we're just returning the favor.

Hoo boy, be glad you haven't met any Californians or Texans. If I had a nickel every time one of them complained about the lack of authentic taquerias or Tex-Mex or BBQ, I could buy that penthouse at the Ritz Carlton from that other thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pimmit Hills hands down is the best neighborhood in McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are going to sell this spring at $2.5. OP create an email and I'll send you the specs. No agent yet. 22101, inside the beltway north of Georgetown pike.

Hi Neighbor!


Lawton/Benjamin? Or further towards Mackall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are the most expensive neighborhoods like Langley Forest, but they generally cost more than $2.5M. Apart from that, there is no "best" neighborhood, just different ones that may or may not appeal to different people.

When we were looking in McLean, we looked at houses in three neighborhoods: Franklin Park, Old Dominion Gardens (near Churchill Road ES), and Salona Village. I liked Franklin Park the most, as the lots are large, there's plenty of privacy, and it has some beautiful (IMO) new homes. But my spouse didn't like the narrow, windy roads and thought it would be less than ideal for our kids when they were learning to drive. We also liked Old Dominion Gardens, which also has many nice houses and the extra benefit of being within walking distance of both Churchill Road ES and Cooper MS. But we both had reservations about Langley HS and the lack of socio-economic diversity there. So we went with Salona Village, which wasn't quite as upscale as Franklin Park or Old Dominion Gardens, but is convenient to the center of McLean, and within walking distance of both Franklin Sherman ES and McLean HS.

No regrets, but expect we also would have been happy had we gone with Franklin Park or Old Dominion Gardens instead.

If you're worried about socioeconomic diversity, McLean is hardly your best choice regardless of neighborhood. I say this a POC in a "flavor" that is underrepresented in McLean, but we didn't move here for the diversity. (If you want diversity of nationalities, you get plenty)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are the most expensive neighborhoods like Langley Forest, but they generally cost more than $2.5M. Apart from that, there is no "best" neighborhood, just different ones that may or may not appeal to different people.

When we were looking in McLean, we looked at houses in three neighborhoods: Franklin Park, Old Dominion Gardens (near Churchill Road ES), and Salona Village. I liked Franklin Park the most, as the lots are large, there's plenty of privacy, and it has some beautiful (IMO) new homes. But my spouse didn't like the narrow, windy roads and thought it would be less than ideal for our kids when they were learning to drive. We also liked Old Dominion Gardens, which also has many nice houses and the extra benefit of being within walking distance of both Churchill Road ES and Cooper MS. But we both had reservations about Langley HS and the lack of socio-economic diversity there. So we went with Salona Village, which wasn't quite as upscale as Franklin Park or Old Dominion Gardens, but is convenient to the center of McLean, and within walking distance of both Franklin Sherman ES and McLean HS.

No regrets, but expect we also would have been happy had we gone with Franklin Park or Old Dominion Gardens instead.

If you're worried about socioeconomic diversity, McLean is hardly your best choice regardless of neighborhood. I say this a POC in a "flavor" that is underrepresented in McLean, but we didn't move here for the diversity. (If you want diversity of nationalities, you get plenty)

There are kids in rental apartments and $200K condos going to McLean. There are no kids in apartments or condos going to Langley and few houses under a million. Based on what we'd heard, we understood Langley was more of a social bubble. If it had been a deal-breaker, we wouldn't have looked in the Langley district, and I expect it would have worked out OK, but as far as schools went we preferred McLean over Langley. We are also a bi-racial family.