Mclean vs. Vienna

[Anonymous]

Vienna is very much residential. I wouldn't mind some more condos on top of the retail similar to the size of the condo buildings that exist now in town, but no I don't want anything like Tysons there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

There are neighborhoods in McLean that currently have density similar to that in the Town of Vienna. The "West McLean" neighborhood that is north of Chain Bridge Road between Old Dominion and Great Falls comes to mind. Most of the houses are on lots of about .25/acre and it's walkable to central McLean. However, it's more expensive - you'd be hard pressed to find a house there under $750K and the new homes are usually over $1.3 million, whereas you can find an older house in the Town of Vienna for under $600K.

[Anonymous]

We bought in 'west mclean' vs vienna. A 1950's split level. We looked at 50's splits in vienna as well, and they were about 150k less than what we paid. Noticed in both areas, that houses of that era were being 'torn down' rather quickly----so figured that we had more upside in mclean once that houses were torn down vs vienna, as the mclean rebuilds go for 250-500k more than similar houses in vienna.

On a different note, Mclean just got a chipotle. It's packed. I mean seriously packed----a 15 minute wait anytime I go in. I think that this might be a sign that Mclean doesn't have enough places to eat.

[Anonymous]

Mclean is closer to DC, that was a deciding factor for us, we have to go there frequently, because of family and also because I just love the city, not a big fan of suburban strip malls. Mclean was the farthest I was willing to go from the city in order to have great public schools. Vienna, was just in another universe altogether in terms of distance, much longer drive and we didn't even consider it. But, if you don't care about being close to DC for work or leisure, Vienna is great as you can get more for your money there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mclean is closer to DC, that was a deciding factor for us, we have to go there frequently, because of family and also because I just love the city, not a big fan of suburban strip malls. Mclean was the farthest I was willing to go from the city in order to have great public schools. Vienna, was just in another universe altogether in terms of distance, much longer drive and we didn't even consider it. But, if you don't care about being close to DC for work or leisure, Vienna is great as you can get more for your money there.

great points. where is Vienna again? is that in West Virginia?

[Anonymous]

Both have great schools. McLean can be a hyper-competitive place to live, interspersed with a large geriatric population "downtown". Vienna has more stores, useful shopping centers, restaurants, and "normal" people. I have lived in McLean, my kids have gone to Vienna and McLean schools. Langley and Cooper are social Darwinism on steroids. Better off at Marshall, Madison, Kilmer.

[Anonymous]

If you work or want to spend a fair amount of time in DC, and are concerned about the social scene at Cooper/Langley, Longfellow/McLean is better than Kilmer/Madison/Marshall. Nothing against Vienna, but many of us just consider it too far out there if you have a DC-centric life. It may not be West Virginia, but it's heading in that direction. As to the local geriatric population, there's a substantial elderly population in the Town of Vienna.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lets face it, neither area has a nice town-center area like bethesda or reston. I think Vienna has more potential though, because you already have Maple as THE road with all of the crappy strip falls. just tearing down one of those strip malls and replacing it with mixed use and underground parking would be huge.

Downtown Bethesda is a mess....yuck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mclean is closer to DC, that was a deciding factor for us, we have to go there frequently, because of family and also because I just love the city, not a big fan of suburban strip malls. Mclean was the farthest I was willing to go from the city in order to have great public schools. Vienna, was just in another universe altogether in terms of distance, much longer drive and we didn't even consider it. But, if you don't care about being close to DC for work or leisure, Vienna is great as you can get more for your money there.

great points. where is Vienna again? is that in West Virginia?

Extra 20 min drive, and that is when there is no traffic, makes a big difference. Plus I hate the congested area around Tysons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mclean is closer to DC, that was a deciding factor for us, we have to go there frequently, because of family and also because I just love the city, not a big fan of suburban strip malls. Mclean was the farthest I was willing to go from the city in order to have great public schools. Vienna, was just in another universe altogether in terms of distance, much longer drive and we didn't even consider it. But, if you don't care about being close to DC for work or leisure, Vienna is great as you can get more for your money there.

great points. where is Vienna again? is that in West Virginia?

Extra 20 min drive, and that is when there is no traffic, makes a big difference. Plus I hate the congested area around Tysons.

It really depends where in Vienna you live. I am about 1/2 mile from the Nutley 66 exit. My commute to work (near E-street exit) is 30 min. During rush hour, the commute from most places to my workplace in McLean is 25-30 min. (At some point, we were considering moving to Mclean, but decided against it because my commute was not going to be much different).

[Anonymous]

PP again. Sorry, I meant to write: "the commute from most places in Mclean to my workplace.."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mclean is closer to DC, that was a deciding factor for us, we have to go there frequently, because of family and also because I just love the city, not a big fan of suburban strip malls. Mclean was the farthest I was willing to go from the city in order to have great public schools. Vienna, was just in another universe altogether in terms of distance, much longer drive and we didn't even consider it. But, if you don't care about being close to DC for work or leisure, Vienna is great as you can get more for your money there.

great points. where is Vienna again? is that in West Virginia?

Extra 20 min drive, and that is when there is no traffic, makes a big difference. Plus I hate the congested area around Tysons.

It really depends where in Vienna you live. I am about 1/2 mile from the Nutley 66 exit. My commute to work (near E-street exit) is 30 min. During rush hour, the commute from most places to my workplace in McLean is 25-30 min. (At some point, we were considering moving to Mclean, but decided against it because my commute was not going to be much different).

Are you traveling by 66 during the early rush hour when HOV restrictions are in place? Sadly, 30-minute commutes downtown from Vienna are rare sightings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mclean is closer to DC, that was a deciding factor for us, we have to go there frequently, because of family and also because I just love the city, not a big fan of suburban strip malls. Mclean was the farthest I was willing to go from the city in order to have great public schools. Vienna, was just in another universe altogether in terms of distance, much longer drive and we didn't even consider it. But, if you don't care about being close to DC for work or leisure, Vienna is great as you can get more for your money there.

great points. where is Vienna again? is that in West Virginia?

Extra 20 min drive, and that is when there is no traffic, makes a big difference. Plus I hate the congested area around Tysons.

It really depends where in Vienna you live. I am about 1/2 mile from the Nutley 66 exit. My commute to work (near E-street exit) is 30 min. During rush hour, the commute from most places to my workplace in McLean is 25-30 min. (At some point, we were considering moving to Mclean, but decided against it because my commute was not going to be much different).

Are you traveling by 66 during the early rush hour when HOV restrictions are in place? Sadly, 30-minute commutes downtown from Vienna are rare sightings.

Yes, I leave at 8 to 8:15, when the HOV restrictions are still in place. On the way back, however, I leave around 6:45 to 7pm (the non-HoV time)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mclean is closer to DC, that was a deciding factor for us, we have to go there frequently, because of family and also because I just love the city, not a big fan of suburban strip malls. Mclean was the farthest I was willing to go from the city in order to have great public schools. Vienna, was just in another universe altogether in terms of distance, much longer drive and we didn't even consider it. But, if you don't care about being close to DC for work or leisure, Vienna is great as you can get more for your money there.

great points. where is Vienna again? is that in West Virginia?

Extra 20 min drive, and that is when there is no traffic, makes a big difference. Plus I hate the congested area around Tysons.

^This. Going to, through or around Tysons only when one wants to is a big plus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mclean is closer to DC, that was a deciding factor for us, we have to go there frequently, because of family and also because I just love the city, not a big fan of suburban strip malls. Mclean was the farthest I was willing to go from the city in order to have great public schools. Vienna, was just in another universe altogether in terms of distance, much longer drive and we didn't even consider it. But, if you don't care about being close to DC for work or leisure, Vienna is great as you can get more for your money there.

great points. where is Vienna again? is that in West Virginia?

Extra 20 min drive, and that is when there is no traffic, makes a big difference. Plus I hate the congested area around Tysons.

It really depends where in Vienna you live. I am about 1/2 mile from the Nutley 66 exit. My commute to work (near E-street exit) is 30 min. During rush hour, the commute from most places to my workplace in McLean is 25-30 min. (At some point, we were considering moving to Mclean, but decided against it because my commute was not going to be much different).

Are you comparing commute from Vienna during non-rush hour or in special lane to the worst rush hour commute from Mclean? My drive from Mclean to DC is 15 min, there is no way I would be able to drive to DC in 15 min from Vienna, no way.