McLean / Great Falls / Potomac are the ugliest places

[Anonymous]

New Canaan is far enough away from the city that it's like living in Middleburg, VA. It's not apples to apples whatsoever. McLean is two miles from DC..

[Anonymous]

McLean works for us, we really don't care if you call it ugly, trashy, low class, poor etc., it makes zero difference to us. You can go live in a place you like, it's a free country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugly can be a state of mind and it describes a large percentage of DCUM posters - unhappy and frequently over-educated (but low-performing) types who constantly look for excuses to vent their insecurities by looking for new opportunities to tell others "you're not all that," whether it comes to their homes, towns, colleges and universities, or other topics.

It gives them a quick dopamine hit when someone responds, but it doesn't last very long so they have to move on and find something else to complain about or attack.

The only one who really benefits is the owner of this forum, who has found a way to monetize the insecurities of area residents.

Facts, except for the low-performing part, given that many people here are actually high income or come from a wealthy lineage.

That being said, McLean and Great Falls and Potomac is still full of ugly, tasteless McMansions of questionable architectural style. Yes you can find these many places, but the three above areas are particularly concentrated with them. Why is this? Again, places like New Canaan, wealthy boston surburbs, etc don't have these houses to the same degree. Whats the deal here? It's an honest, and fair question and I frankly don't understand why it's such an offense to ask why.

It's more about demographics than anything else. DC, and McLean in particular, has a much higher percentage of its population that is Middle Eastern/Asian, and their tastes are very different than mostly-white New England.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you see Bethesda. About half of it needs to be torn down.

Bethesda is lovely. I know you're the Nova troll that can't just endlessly bashes Maryland on this board, but please try to enjoy your new McLean neighborhood and leave us alone in Bethesda. We're glad you're gone.

Half of Bethesda has been torn down, lol!

--Bethesda resident

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I moved here from the NY suburbs (New Canaan). The contrast is striking. Not that I think my former area is perfect, but architecturally it is miles ahead of the DC suburbs architecturally and aesthetically. Very rare to see these strange white brick houses with gold accented columns and other bizarre stuff that look like a McMansion architectural mishmash. Just go on Zillow for Great Falls and then look up New Canaan and look at similarly sized houses on similarly sized lots

Why are Potomac / McLean / Great falls houses so ugly? Curious to hear thoughts.

I grew up in Stamford, and agree. However, I think Fairfield county rich areas have been rich for a very long time so have long established houses that were custom designed, built, with large properties, etc. at a time when people did prettier homes with more detail in finishes and there was room to purchase a large property that allowed space between homes. Plus the landscaping and general design is older, mature privacy landscaping, hedges, etc., homes hidden from the road as that is how they were designed years ago.

There's more newer/noveau rich in the VA areas, plus people try to fit homes in wherever even when it doesn't make sense based on the geography/landscape.

[Anonymous]

I live in the DC suburbs, and don't think New Canaan is the gold standard of suburban CT architecture. Nevertheless, I thought it was well accepted that the DC suburbs are, by and large, pretty unattractive compared to comparably wealthy suburbs of Philly, NYC, and Boston. Those other cities have some really beautiful suburbs with old tasteful houses, walkable town centers, etc. Almost nothing in the DC has that, save maybe Old Town Alexandria, and parts of Del Rey, Chevy Chase, and Takoma Park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you see Bethesda. About half of it needs to be torn down.

Bethesda is lovely. I know you're the Nova troll that can't just endlessly bashes Maryland on this board, but please try to enjoy your new McLean neighborhood and leave us alone in Bethesda. We're glad you're gone.

Half of Bethesda has been torn down, lol!

--Bethesda resident

Please tear down the other half and keep building 7000+ Sq ft homes on 10,000 Sq ft lots
Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved here from the NY suburbs (New Canaan). The contrast is striking. Not that I think my former area is perfect, but architecturally it is miles ahead of the DC suburbs architecturally and aesthetically. Very rare to see these strange white brick houses with gold accented columns and other bizarre stuff that look like a McMansion architectural mishmash. Just go on Zillow for Great Falls and then look up New Canaan and look at similarly sized houses on similarly sized lots

Why are Potomac / McLean / Great falls houses so ugly? Curious to hear thoughts.

I grew up in Stamford, and agree. However, I think Fairfield county rich areas have been rich for a very long time so have long established houses that were custom designed, built, with large properties, etc. at a time when people did prettier homes with more detail in finishes and there was room to purchase a large property that allowed space between homes. Plus the landscaping and general design is older, mature privacy landscaping, hedges, etc., homes hidden from the road as that is how they were designed years ago.

There's more newer/noveau rich in the VA areas, plus people try to fit homes in wherever even when it doesn't make sense based on the geography/landscape.

It DOES make sense to fit the homes in- it makes economic sense. There are very few building/architectural standards so people build to the edge of the envelope. This is what the codes (or lack of codes) incentivize: a pure maximization of square footage.

[Anonymous]

Whenever the NoVa troll criticizes MoCo in this forum, I always think of the McMansions in Nova and how they’re inhabited by the most striver try hard new money type of person. Generally Asian but also US Southern. No taste, loud in trying to impress others they don’t know. The type of person that wants to be buddy with the Rolex AD in hopes they get a Datejust…

I will agree that the Philly and Boston suburbs are nicer, but Bethesda is the closest that this area has to old money. It’s changing into McCraftsman and it’s a shame, but still a lot of beauty close in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whenever the NoVa troll criticizes MoCo in this forum, I always think of the McMansions in Nova and how they’re inhabited by the most striver try hard new money type of person. Generally Asian but also US Southern. No taste, loud in trying to impress others they don’t know. The type of person that wants to be buddy with the Rolex AD in hopes they get a Datejust…

I will agree that the Philly and Boston suburbs are nicer, but Bethesda is the closest that this area has to old money. It’s changing into McCraftsman and it’s a shame, but still a lot of beauty close in

Bethesda? Maybe once upon a time in certain pockets, but not anymore.

DMV Old money pockets are the following:

-Chevy Chase Village
-Kenwood
-Middleburg / The Plains / Upperville / Delaplane area
-and a few select places in Alexandria (some still in Belle Haven, some old money folks still by the water, some in old town)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whenever the NoVa troll criticizes MoCo in this forum, I always think of the McMansions in Nova and how they’re inhabited by the most striver try hard new money type of person. Generally Asian but also US Southern. No taste, loud in trying to impress others they don’t know. The type of person that wants to be buddy with the Rolex AD in hopes they get a Datejust…

I will agree that the Philly and Boston suburbs are nicer, but Bethesda is the closest that this area has to old money. It’s changing into McCraftsman and it’s a shame, but still a lot of beauty close in

I’d rather live amongst strivers with tacky taste than get carjacked shopping for groceries in Bethesda or have my kid duck from bullets in BCC but your mileage may vary. Maybe 20-30 years this would be a different story, but Montgomery County is going down the drain.

[Anonymous]

A lot of people who live in those large houses with questionable taste aren't from the United States originally, and have the money to do whatever they want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I moved here from the NY suburbs (New Canaan). The contrast is striking. Not that I think my former area is perfect, but architecturally it is miles ahead of the DC suburbs architecturally and aesthetically. Very rare to see these strange white brick houses with gold accented columns and other bizarre stuff that look like a McMansion architectural mishmash. Just go on Zillow for Great Falls and then look up New Canaan and look at similarly sized houses on similarly sized lots

Why are Potomac / McLean / Great falls houses so ugly? Curious to hear thoughts.

Different buyer ethnicities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whenever the NoVa troll criticizes MoCo in this forum, I always think of the McMansions in Nova and how they’re inhabited by the most striver try hard new money type of person. Generally Asian but also US Southern. No taste, loud in trying to impress others they don’t know. The type of person that wants to be buddy with the Rolex AD in hopes they get a Datejust…

I will agree that the Philly and Boston suburbs are nicer, but Bethesda is the closest that this area has to old money. It’s changing into McCraftsman and it’s a shame, but still a lot of beauty close in

I’d rather live amongst strivers with tacky taste than get carjacked shopping for groceries in Bethesda or have my kid duck from bullets in BCC but your mileage may vary. Maybe 20-30 years this would be a different story, but Montgomery County is going down the drain.

Looks like nova troll is back

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved here from the NY suburbs (New Canaan). The contrast is striking. Not that I think my former area is perfect, but architecturally it is miles ahead of the DC suburbs architecturally and aesthetically. Very rare to see these strange white brick houses with gold accented columns and other bizarre stuff that look like a McMansion architectural mishmash. Just go on Zillow for Great Falls and then look up New Canaan and look at similarly sized houses on similarly sized lots

Why are Potomac / McLean / Great falls houses so ugly? Curious to hear thoughts.

Different buyer ethnicities

This is it. If you go to the NJ suburbs outside NYC you’ll see the same gaudy architecture PP is referencing because that’s where those ethnicities live. You also see this on the non WASP parts of LI and Westchester.

But similar to another PP - I kinda love it, it’s very much their version of the American dream and it’s awesome to see.