Priced out of McLean and Arlington

[Anonymous]

Yet another troll post extolling the wonders of McLean.

[Anonymous]

There are four areas in NoVa with a lot of high-end ($2M+) properties - McLean, Great Falls, North Arlington, and Old Town. Among those areas, McLean has the most and it's not especially close.

As long as that's the case, there will be trolling, and it starts with those taking pot shots at McLean, not those "extolling its wonders."

[Anonymous]

Well if you grew up in McLean, culturally you'd be most comfortable there. But if you did a lot of traveling I cannot imagine you would think it's all that. I get if you wanted just status quo, yeah it's got bells for that but I agree that in terms of living a little, or living it up, I cannot McLean fueling that ambition. Y'all need to get a life if you think it is the bomb place of the country! Wanting to live there is one thing, feeling that it's the best place in DMV area is another.

-DP

[Anonymous]

move to Vienna, Wolf Trap, or Oakton for bigger space and quality of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:move to Vienna, Wolf Trap, or Oakton for bigger space and quality of life.

We moved away from that area for a better commute, stronger schools, and less congestion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well if you grew up in McLean, culturally you'd be most comfortable there. But if you did a lot of traveling I cannot imagine you would think it's all that. I get if you wanted just status quo, yeah it's got bells for that but I agree that in terms of living a little, or living it up, I cannot McLean fueling that ambition. Y'all need to get a life if you think it is the bomb place of the country! Wanting to live there is one thing, feeling that it's the best place in DMV area is another.

-DP

Did anyone say it was the "bomb place of the country," whatever that means?

For us and many others, it's the best place in the DMV to live, and the prices reflect the demand. Doesn't mean you can't live somewhere else if you prefer, but the trolling is pretty obvious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody dreams of living in McLean, OP.

Many people aspire to live in McLean, but it takes money. The envy on this forum is rampant and not very attractive.

Of course, most of those priced out find another place to live without drama, which makes me think OP is a troll.

No, I grew up in McLean, and my parents owned a place there since the early 80s. It's a miserable place to live and grow up. Really, nobody desires to live in McLean for the quality of life. Maybe they aspire because they *think* it's an affluent place, but it's really just a depressing sh!thole.

I grew up in nova and yeah I don’t recall anyone ever dreaming of wanting to do anything but leave here. Most of my local friends who grew up here have moved out of this area.

I would dream of moving to Peru or Iceland or something. Not some lame DC suburb like Arlington or McLean LOL.

I grew up elsewhere in Fairfax and there are a lot of people who return to the area. There aren’t a lot of places with the same combination of good jobs, good public schools, nice houses, educated residents, and easy access to major cities and international airports.

Perhaps, but they don't return because they truly love the quality of life. There are pockets of neighborhoods that provide an agreeable living situation if you have to move back because other combinations of life factors. But not McLean. No one who's lived there, then lived elsewhere, is like "yeah I want to move back to McLean."

But people who grew up elsewhere do move to McLean. There must be something attractive about it. For us it is a decent commute to where we need to go, good public schools, and a home that we like.

It's all about jobs. Nothing attractive really in our case.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in McLean and I would love to raise a family there. Strong schools, nice neighbors, beautiful neighborhoods, close to Tysons and DC. Gorgeous parks. What's not to love?

The restaurant scene could definitely improve, but its the suburbs. What can you do?

[Anonymous]

Listen McLean boosters: Stop trying to make McLean something it is not.
You are not doing it any favors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Listen McLean boosters: Stop trying to make McLean something it is not.
You are not doing it any favors.

You'd have to come up with a straw man argument to then being able to claim people are trying to make McLean something that it isn't.

It isn't the only affluent area in the DMV or the only place where people might decide to live, regardless of their finances.

But it is the DC suburb with the largest concentration of high-end housing, and it's in a desirable location between the region's two major job centers with nice homes, top-ranked public schools, good amenities, and proximity to two airports.

If you can't deal with that without resorting to snark, that's your problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody dreams of living in McLean, OP.

Many people aspire to live in McLean, but it takes money. The envy on this forum is rampant and not very attractive.

Of course, most of those priced out find another place to live without drama, which makes me think OP is a troll.

No, I grew up in McLean, and my parents owned a place there since the early 80s. It's a miserable place to live and grow up. Really, nobody desires to live in McLean for the quality of life. Maybe they aspire because they *think* it's an affluent place, but it's really just a depressing sh!thole.

Uh, no, I haven't posted this ever before. Sorry, you may feel like you "made it" living in McLean, but many, many of us who've lived there know it's not something to covet.

And if you grew up in McLean and WANTED to live there as an adult... well you just need to get out more. Lots, lots more.

Mclean is convenient because it's in the middle of DC metro, it's well served by easy access to most amenities, job commutes to DC, VA, MD, and has decent schools. Real estate prices tend to reflect this convenience. There is nothing special and nothing terrible about the place. It's not quaint like NWDC, but you get more for your money in terms of space and larger lots if that's your thing. You also don't need to go far out, DC is close enough to visit frequently or for work commute. I don't see the controversy here, but apparently it exists?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen McLean boosters: Stop trying to make McLean something it is not.
You are not doing it any favors.

You'd have to come up with a straw man argument to then being able to claim people are trying to make McLean something that it isn't.

It isn't the only affluent area in the DMV or the only place where people might decide to live, regardless of their finances.

But it is the DC suburb with the largest concentration of high-end housing, and it's in a desirable location between the region's two major job centers with nice homes, top-ranked public schools, good amenities, and proximity to two airports.

If you can't deal with that without resorting to snark, that's your problem.

Exactly. Its popularity exploded because people were able to get more for their money than in NWDC and Arlington.. Convenience and access was about the same when you are talking about residential parts of NWDC and Arlington (away from metro stops and walkable amenities), but you could get a larger more private lot and build a nicer new home or remodel an old one that would be more comfortable than the shoebox living space you could get for the same prices in NWDC or expensive parts of Arlington. Gradually developers swooped in and cashed out on this demand for newer homes rebuilding and changing the entire neighborhoods and also driving prices and making this area unaffordable to most but high income earners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Falls Church City or Vienna. Reston if you don't need public schools.

If you're priced out of McLean/Arlington, you're priced out of FCC (sadly, for those of us who live here and would like to move "up" to a larger house but can't because the prices are INSANE). You may get a little more yard for your money here, though, so that's some good news?! Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody dreams of living in McLean, OP.

Many people aspire to live in McLean, but it takes money. The envy on this forum is rampant and not very attractive.

Of course, most of those priced out find another place to live without drama, which makes me think OP is a troll.

No, I grew up in McLean, and my parents owned a place there since the early 80s. It's a miserable place to live and grow up. Really, nobody desires to live in McLean for the quality of life. Maybe they aspire because they *think* it's an affluent place, but it's really just a depressing sh!thole.

I grew up in nova and yeah I don’t recall anyone ever dreaming of wanting to do anything but leave here. Most of my local friends who grew up here have moved out of this area.

I would dream of moving to Peru or Iceland or something. Not some lame DC suburb like Arlington or McLean LOL.

I grew up elsewhere in Fairfax and there are a lot of people who return to the area. There aren’t a lot of places with the same combination of good jobs, good public schools, nice houses, educated residents, and easy access to major cities and international airports.

Perhaps, but they don't return because they truly love the quality of life. There are pockets of neighborhoods that provide an agreeable living situation if you have to move back because other combinations of life factors. But not McLean. No one who's lived there, then lived elsewhere, is like "yeah I want to move back to McLean."

But people who grew up elsewhere do move to McLean. There must be something attractive about it. For us it is a decent commute to where we need to go, good public schools, and a home that we like.

It's all about jobs. Nothing attractive really in our case.

Well, no one exactly dreams of moving anywhere in the DC area. We're all here because of jobs (or maybe grew up here). If we have to be here, McLean is a good enough choice, although the retail options could be better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen McLean boosters: Stop trying to make McLean something it is not.
You are not doing it any favors.

You'd have to come up with a straw man argument to then being able to claim people are trying to make McLean something that it isn't.

It isn't the only affluent area in the DMV or the only place where people might decide to live, regardless of their finances.

But it is the DC suburb with the largest concentration of high-end housing, and it's in a desirable location between the region's two major job centers with nice homes, top-ranked public schools, good amenities, and proximity to two airports.

If you can't deal with that without resorting to snark, that's your problem.

Exactly. Its popularity exploded because people were able to get more for their money than in NWDC and Arlington.. Convenience and access was about the same when you are talking about residential parts of NWDC and Arlington (away from metro stops and walkable amenities), but you could get a larger more private lot and build a nicer new home or remodel an old one that would be more comfortable than the shoebox living space you could get for the same prices in NWDC or expensive parts of Arlington. Gradually developers swooped in and cashed out on this demand for newer homes rebuilding and changing the entire neighborhoods and also driving prices and making this area unaffordable to most but high income earners.

Yes, this is exactly why we ended up buying in McLean 7 years ago. We were able to find a house we could grow into, rather than an Arlington house we would have immediately grown out of. Wouldn't be able to afford it now. It's nothing special but we like our neighborhood a lot...I do wish it was more walkable.