Mclean vs. Vienna

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Preschool in Vienna is cheaper too.

I don't think people buy in McLean because their dollar won't go as far as it would in Vienna.

Well, many people do buy in McLean, but some may decide that lower housing and other costs in Vienna weigh in favor of buying there instead.

Yes, and those people aren't in McLean. Those in McLean don't care if their dollar goes father in Vienna. They'd rather drive to Vienna, but live in McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look OP (if your still even listening to all this bickering), both Mclean and Vienna are fine places to live and they both have great schools. I responded to the underlined post to show another side- that having money does not always mean one would automatically choose Mclean over Vienna. Not sure why the whole humbleness BS got thrown in after that, but this is DCUM and juvenile cattiness over rational discussion is to be expected.

If you do a search for "Mclean vs Vienna" you'll probably find more posts that turn into this same type of bickering.

My suggestion to you would be to take what you want from this post ( the mclean "voices" vs the vienna "voices) and also just go into both of the towns and walk around, have lunch somewhere and strike up a conversation with the residents. It's the best way to get non-catty advice from the locals.

Good luck with your decision!

FWIW, I'm the poster who's lived in both Vienna and McLean and thinks each has its pros and cons. I can definitely see how some people who could afford either would pick Vienna - McLean works best for us due to commutes and I do not miss the Vienna traffic, but I miss other things about it.

I did think it was silly when one or more of the Vienna posters claimed that Vienna - one of the area's wealthiest suburbs - is somehow more "down to earth" than McLean and less likely to have people who want to "keep up with the Joneses." I tend to think that's language that people use whenever they are, in fact, comparing themselves to others. But at the end of the day, I think that the efforts by a different poster to hijack the thread to try and "debunk" that notion is a colossal waste of time. Bottom line is that the OP should consider herself lucky if her family could afford either location.

The goal of this mom's 1.5 million house is akin to a wanna be big fish in a small humble Vienna pond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
metro to tysons should be a game changer for Vienna. i want dedicated bus lanes on maple/nutley, driving passengers between the two stops 14 hours a day 6 am to 8 pm. i want redvelopment on maple. i want to continue the progress on church street. i want greater density and mixed use. i want bike lanes on lawyers and hunter mill. town has a ton of potential.

I want, I want, I want. People in McLean want some of the same things insofar as incresed density/development near Chain Bridge/Old Dominion, and bike lanes and access to the new Tysons-McLean metro station, are concerned. But, sadly, it all takes time and costs $$$.

no worries - town of vienna residents LOVE paying taxes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
metro to tysons should be a game changer for Vienna. i want dedicated bus lanes on maple/nutley, driving passengers between the two stops 14 hours a day 6 am to 8 pm. i want redvelopment on maple. i want to continue the progress on church street. i want greater density and mixed use. i want bike lanes on lawyers and hunter mill. town has a ton of potential.

I want, I want, I want. People in McLean want some of the same things insofar as incresed density/development near Chain Bridge/Old Dominion, and bike lanes and access to the new Tysons-McLean metro station, are concerned. But, sadly, it all takes time and costs $$$.

no worries - town of vienna residents LOVE paying taxes

and they all know the secret back roads so time is never going to be an issue

[Anonymous]

Shark...jumped...now go back to your caves!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
metro to tysons should be a game changer for Vienna. i want dedicated bus lanes on maple/nutley, driving passengers between the two stops 14 hours a day 6 am to 8 pm. i want redvelopment on maple. i want to continue the progress on church street. i want greater density and mixed use. i want bike lanes on lawyers and hunter mill. town has a ton of potential.

I want, I want, I want. People in McLean want some of the same things insofar as incresed density/development near Chain Bridge/Old Dominion, and bike lanes and access to the new Tysons-McLean metro station, are concerned. But, sadly, it all takes time and costs $$$.

no worries - town of vienna residents LOVE paying taxes

and they all know the secret back roads so time is never going to be an issue

Don't forget the 3 wonderful days of Viva Vienna loading up on corn dogs, funnel cakes, burnt turkey legs, vendors hawking crappy jewelry, and of course, bad music on the green.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
metro to tysons should be a game changer for Vienna. i want dedicated bus lanes on maple/nutley, driving passengers between the two stops 14 hours a day 6 am to 8 pm. i want redvelopment on maple. i want to continue the progress on church street. i want greater density and mixed use. i want bike lanes on lawyers and hunter mill. town has a ton of potential.

I want, I want, I want. People in McLean want some of the same things insofar as incresed density/development near Chain Bridge/Old Dominion, and bike lanes and access to the new Tysons-McLean metro station, are concerned. But, sadly, it all takes time and costs $$$.

no worries - town of vienna residents LOVE paying taxes

and they all know the secret back roads so time is never going to be an issue

When we pay our town taxes, we get a special secret map with all of the back roads.

[Anonymous]

Don't forget the 3 wonderful days of Viva Vienna loading up on corn dogs, funnel cakes, burnt turkey legs, vendors hawking crappy jewelry, and of course, bad music on the green.

Why heck, it is practically red neck (but the kids sure seem to enjoy it) and all of those dumpy houses in Vienna are all so low class. We don't even have valet parking at the Giant like you do in McLean. We have to park our pickups and mini-vans ourselves at our Giant after spending 6 hours driving to get there on 123.

I'll try not to get too jealous this weekend when I am taking a nice ride on the bike trail this weekend which is 2 blocks from my house...

[Anonymous]

I like Viva Vienna. Great corn dogs.

Give it up on the valet parking at Giant. The only people who use it are the handicapped and the elderly from the nearby senior citizens cetner. I've used it only once - Superbowl Sunday - when there was not a spot to be had in the entire lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like Viva Vienna. Great corn dogs.

Give it up on the valet parking at Giant. The only people who use it are the handicapped and the elderly from the nearby senior citizens cetner. I've used it only once - Superbowl Sunday - when there was not a spot to be had in the entire lot.

Yeah, the corn dogs are unique to Viva Vienna and the hundreds of other venues that those food trucks visit during the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Don't forget the 3 wonderful days of Viva Vienna loading up on corn dogs, funnel cakes, burnt turkey legs, vendors hawking crappy jewelry, and of course, bad music on the green.

Why heck, it is practically red neck (but the kids sure seem to enjoy it) and all of those dumpy houses in Vienna are all so low class. We don't even have valet parking at the Giant like you do in McLean. We have to park our pickups and mini-vans ourselves at our Giant after spending 6 hours driving to get there on 123.

I'll try not to get too jealous this weekend when I am taking a nice ride on the bike trail this weekend which is 2 blocks from my house...

Bike trails are boring. Really jealous of scenery such as overgrown brush, junk trees, highways, and homeowner back yards. Especially dumb is the bike traffic jam by the whole foods waiting for the light to change.

Try great falls park.

[Anonymous]

Why do people in Vienna or McLean want much more density? Sure some growth and amenity increases are fine, but I think the growth in Tysons will be enough for both towns for a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people in Vienna or McLean want much more density? Sure some growth and amenity increases are fine, but I think the growth in Tysons will be enough for both towns for a long time.

no so much density, i just want smarter growth. more underground parking with mixed-use on top. rather have some condo projects like that and get rid of some of the sprawl.

Viva Vienna is awesome and the bike trail is awesome. I really like living in Vienna. McLean is nice too, but more suburban in feel (despite being closer in). There are neighborhoods like that in Vienna too of course- off Hunter Mill and Vale, but I prefer the town feel closer in to the town of Vienna.

[Anonymous]

"no so much density, i just want smarter growth. more underground parking with mixed-use on top. rather have some condo projects like that and get rid of some of the sprawl. "

There will be more condo projects in Tysons, Merrifield, and down in areas like Springfield than the County can handle. Not to mention the new condos being built near the Vienna metro. Underground structured parking is very expensive. You need a lot of density to support it. I'd rather retail in the front with above grade structured parking in the rear and modest buildings that do not overtax the schools and amenities in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"no so much density, i just want smarter growth. more underground parking with mixed-use on top. rather have some condo projects like that and get rid of some of the sprawl. "

There will be more condo projects in Tysons, Merrifield, and down in areas like Springfield than the County can handle. Not to mention the new condos being built near the Vienna metro. Underground structured parking is very expensive. You need a lot of density to support it. I'd rather retail in the front with above grade structured parking in the rear and modest buildings that do not overtax the schools and amenities in the area.

with the rents they can get from retail (and perhaps medical office or just office-office), they can afford underground parking. I'd like a residential component in the town of vienna, but clearly you disagree.