Would you move to McLean from Alexandria if your kids are thriving?

[Anonymous]

OP,

You are either going to get "yes move!" advice from people who live in McLean and would never think of setting foot in Alexandria (Ffx Cnty), or you get "no, don't move" from people who have lived in Alexandria and never lived in McLEan.


People root for their own areas. Most people do not have the background knowledge you have about your area. So, any comparison they make is based on incomplete information. They can only say whether they like the area they already know. They cannot accurately compare your area to their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,

You are either going to get "yes move!" advice from people who live in McLean and would never think of setting foot in Alexandria (Ffx Cnty), or you get "no, don't move" from people who have lived in Alexandria and never lived in McLEan.


People root for their own areas. Most people do not have the background knowledge you have about your area. So, any comparison they make is based on incomplete information. They can only say whether they like the area they already know. They cannot accurately compare your area to their own.

I've lived in both and already responded. Yo couldn't pay me to live in Mclean over Old Town. For one, you're married to your car and surrounede by horrific traffic and two, McLean is full of people who think (erroneously) that theyre better than others. Classic new money, classless, tasteless braggarts. But hey, if they like their Tuscan villa off 123, more power to them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could not pay me to live out in McLean.

And we're supposed to think you could afford it? LOL.

McLean is the best area in NoVa, hands down.

Really? It's nicer than Old Town? Nicer than Rosemont? Nicer than Great Falls?

Put down your crack pipe, lady. Mclean sucks.

Yes, Mclean is much nicer than rat and crime infested Alexandria. It's also better than Great Falls, unless you crave the isolation of Great Falls, like living the woods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could not pay me to live out in McLean.

And we're supposed to think you could afford it? LOL.

McLean is the best area in NoVa, hands down.

Really? It's nicer than Old Town? Nicer than Rosemont? Nicer than Great Falls?

Put down your crack pipe, lady. Mclean sucks.

Yes, Mclean is much nicer than rat and crime infested Alexandria. It's also better than Great Falls, unless you crave the isolation of Great Falls, like living the woods.

Op here. This “McLean is the best” attitude really turns me off. DH has a friend who is always pressuring us to move to McLean with a similar attitude but then the McLean schools weren’t good enough so his kids go to private schools in DC. He can’t understand why we still live in Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

I would stay in Alexandria. If you like Alexandria I'm pretty sure you would hate McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could not pay me to live out in McLean.

And we're supposed to think you could afford it? LOL.

McLean is the best area in NoVa, hands down.

Could totally afford it but don't understand the appeal. We have an awesome historic home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could not pay me to live out in McLean.

And we're supposed to think you could afford it? LOL.

McLean is the best area in NoVa, hands down.

Could totally afford it but don't understand the appeal. We have an awesome historic home.

Most people in McLean don't see the appeal in living in a tiny old house in Old Town waiting for the next flood.

[Anonymous]

Mclean is just cookie cutter blah with zero history and even less culture. We live in Old Town and belong to several private social groups whose charters predate the Civil War. We attend annual black tie functions at historic homes and buildings. These are frequented by former presidents and other contemporary men and women of distinction. these are people whose ancestors shaped this country and often can be traced to the founders.

Anyone that finds Mclean attractive simply wouldn't understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could not pay me to live out in McLean.

And we're supposed to think you could afford it? LOL.

McLean is the best area in NoVa, hands down.

Really? It's nicer than Old Town? Nicer than Rosemont? Nicer than Great Falls?

Put down your crack pipe, lady. Mclean sucks.

Yes, Mclean is much nicer than rat and crime infested Alexandria. It's also better than Great Falls, unless you crave the isolation of Great Falls, like living the woods.

Op here. This “McLean is the best” attitude really turns me off. DH has a friend who is always pressuring us to move to McLean with a similar attitude but then the McLean schools weren’t good enough so his kids go to private schools in DC. He can’t understand why we still live in Alexandria.

You started the thread, so don't be surprised when people respond with the facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't move just to move. Talk to your neighbors if any of them have kids in the MS and HS your kids would go to. Are they happy with the schools? We are in a supposedly less than desirable FCPS school and are very happy. Are the stats for the school as high as the "better" HS's? No. But our kids are thriving and succeeding. Our kids' stats are just fine. They're happy and I see no reason to "fix what ain't broke."

OP here. We don't know many families with older kids in our neighborhood. We have co-workers who live Mclean, Oakton, Vienna and DC. Half went to public. Half went to private. Strangely the better the private school, the worse college the kids attended. This is based on a very small sample of people that we personally know. We know a lot of younger kids and many seem extremely bright. We know kids from City of Alexandria, FCPS Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Ashburn, City of Falls Church, Mclean, Bethesda as well as DC privates.

I wonder if it doesn't really matter where you live or what school you attend. I feel like the bright ones would do well anywhere.

Ding, ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We bought our home in Alexandria when we just finished graduate school. We cleaned out our savings to purchase our single family home in Alexandria. At the time, we had massive student loans and I worried about paying our mortgage, childcare and student loans. Fast forward to now, our income has gone up significantly, we have no debt besides the mortgage, have two kids in elementary and have enough savings to pay off our mortgage if we wanted. Older child is in AAP and younger child should also get into AAP in the future. Kids are thriving, play sports and have lots of friends. Neighbors are great. Life is good. We have seen many people move to better school districts. We like our house. Never thought it would be our forever home. It isn’t perfect but good enough. Kitchen, bathrooms and deck could use a renovation.

We work in DC so commute time could decrease if we move to McLean or Arlington. Places like Bethesda would also decrease commute time. These areas are also more expensive. Instead of being debt free, we would have to start over and get a new bigger mortgage. We would want a better home, not a worse home for the same price.

Would you move or stay put?

I'd try to do this while your kids are still in elementary school. It's easy for them to make new friends in middle school when the kids are arriving from different elementary schools. After that, it gets harder.

Since you mentioned AAP, I assume you're in Fairfax. If you're zoned for Hayfield, I'd probably stay put. If you're zoned for Mount Vernon, I'd get out. West Potomac is a tougher call. As some have noted, Sandburg MS is rough. In addition, because Mount Vernon has such a bad reputation, FCPS has basically punted and decided to expand West Potomac, which means it could easily have over 2700 kids by the time your kids are in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

You are either going to get "yes move!" advice from people who live in McLean and would never think of setting foot in Alexandria (Ffx Cnty), or you get "no, don't move" from people who have lived in Alexandria and never lived in McLEan.


People root for their own areas. Most people do not have the background knowledge you have about your area. So, any comparison they make is based on incomplete information. They can only say whether they like the area they already know. They cannot accurately compare your area to their own.

I've lived in both and already responded. Yo couldn't pay me to live in Mclean over Old Town. For one, you're married to your car and surrounede by horrific traffic and two, McLean is full of people who think (erroneously) that theyre better than others. Classic new money, classless, tasteless braggarts. But hey, if they like their Tuscan villa off 123, more power to them!

I've lived in both. Here's my response.

I'm sure if you actually live in Old Town, the walkability is great. But for getting to most things in the area, it's hard to beat the McLean location--but you won't be walking. Traffic is horrific everywhere in the Metro area, you won't escape that.

There is new money everywhere, I'd suggest you just make friends with people you like, obviously. Personally I've found it to be worse in Potomac, but that's obviously a matter of opinion. Most people aren't going to be moving next door to Colin Powell, Grant Reid, Wes Bush, etc. Oh, but wait--new money.

You should probably just look at some houses you like in the area, maybe check out the schools, and talk to people IRL. This board has a weird hatred for McLean I've never encountered elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could not pay me to live out in McLean.

And we're supposed to think you could afford it? LOL.

McLean is the best area in NoVa, hands down.

Really? It's nicer than Old Town? Nicer than Rosemont? Nicer than Great Falls?

Put down your crack pipe, lady. Mclean sucks.

It's definitely better than Great Falls--who the hell wants to live all the way out there, driving those awful roads, for some McMansion on 2 acres that overlooks some ramshackle cabins?

[Anonymous]

No one forces anyone to spend over a million to live in McLean. They do it for the space, the schools, and the proximity to both DC and Tysons (and the airports). There is no other place in NoVa with the same combination of amenities, and you have to pay more to live there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

You are either going to get "yes move!" advice from people who live in McLean and would never think of setting foot in Alexandria (Ffx Cnty), or you get "no, don't move" from people who have lived in Alexandria and never lived in McLEan.


People root for their own areas. Most people do not have the background knowledge you have about your area. So, any comparison they make is based on incomplete information. They can only say whether they like the area they already know. They cannot accurately compare your area to their own.

I've lived in both and already responded. Yo couldn't pay me to live in Mclean over Old Town. For one, you're married to your car and surrounede by horrific traffic and two, McLean is full of people who think (erroneously) that theyre better than others. Classic new money, classless, tasteless braggarts. But hey, if they like their Tuscan villa off 123, more power to them!

I've lived in both. Here's my response.

I'm sure if you actually live in Old Town, the walkability is great. But for getting to most things in the area, it's hard to beat the McLean location--but you won't be walking. Traffic is horrific everywhere in the Metro area, you won't escape that.

There is new money everywhere, I'd suggest you just make friends with people you like, obviously. Personally I've found it to be worse in Potomac, but that's obviously a matter of opinion. Most people aren't going to be moving next door to Colin Powell, Grant Reid, Wes Bush, etc. Oh, but wait--new money.

You should probably just look at some houses you like in the area, maybe check out the schools, and talk to people IRL. This board has a weird hatred for McLean I've never encountered elsewhere.

OP has made it clear that she does NOT live in Old Town Alexandria or the City of Alexandria. She lives in FAIRFAX COUNTY ALEXANDRIA (which, contrary to some assertions, IS "Alexandria" just as much as "Burke" is "Burke", as much as "Springfield" is "Springfield" and "Oakton" is really "Oakton" and not simply some part of Fairfax County which shall not be given a name).

Yes, it is true that Alexandria IN FAIRFAX COUNTY is not the same as the incorporated City of Alexandria. That does not make it "some random part of Fairfax County." All parts of Fairfax county have regional -- unincorporated -- names. The fact that there is overlap in the name of an incorporated City and a region of FFx Cnty does not make that latter cease to exist.

Anyway -- OP lives in Fairfax County (Alexandria) --- which is not Old Town.