Bethesda or McLean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does McLean have a downtown area with shopping and restaurants like Bethesda has?

Yes, it has something better, and it easily accessible via the highway. It's called Tyson's Corner

Ha! The benefits of living in Bethesda, you don’t ever have to go on a highway unless you’re leaving town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Omg. I grew up in Bethesda. I just looked at a map and it turns out that which I always thought was McLean is actually Lyon Village and if I had tried to put Tyson’s Corner on a map I would have guessed way, way south of where it actually is. It’s wild what your brain builds when you just learn how to get places on roads but don’t ever look at a map, lol.

Anyway it’s all the same OP don’t worry about it. I like Bethesda better because that’s where I lived. Most people want to be near family or a job or a school. You can just pick a place if none of that matters. Visit both and find a house. No biggie.

You sound like a complete moron. You grew up in Bethesda and drive west on the beltway to Tyson’s and you thought it was south? Lyon village isn’t anywhere near the beltway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg. I grew up in Bethesda. I just looked at a map and it turns out that which I always thought was McLean is actually Lyon Village and if I had tried to put Tyson’s Corner on a map I would have guessed way, way south of where it actually is. It’s wild what your brain builds when you just learn how to get places on roads but don’t ever look at a map, lol.

Anyway it’s all the same OP don’t worry about it. I like Bethesda better because that’s where I lived. Most people want to be near family or a job or a school. You can just pick a place if none of that matters. Visit both and find a house. No biggie.

You sound like a complete moron. You grew up in Bethesda and drive west on the beltway to Tyson’s and you thought it was south? Lyon village isn’t anywhere near the beltway.

I don’t think I drove to Tyson’s more than three times in my life and my brain just placed it lower. Idk I think I passed it on the toll road and thought it was something else. Brains are weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg. I grew up in Bethesda. I just looked at a map and it turns out that which I always thought was McLean is actually Lyon Village and if I had tried to put Tyson’s Corner on a map I would have guessed way, way south of where it actually is. It’s wild what your brain builds when you just learn how to get places on roads but don’t ever look at a map, lol.

Anyway it’s all the same OP don’t worry about it. I like Bethesda better because that’s where I lived. Most people want to be near family or a job or a school. You can just pick a place if none of that matters. Visit both and find a house. No biggie.

You sound like a complete moron. You grew up in Bethesda and drive west on the beltway to Tyson’s and you thought it was south? Lyon village isn’t anywhere near the beltway.

I don’t think I drove to Tyson’s more than three times in my life and my brain just placed it lower. Idk I think I passed it on the toll road and thought it was something else. Brains are weird.

Oh and for McLean people always talk about it like it’s close in! I thought it was near the Italian Store. I just thought it was closer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does McLean have a downtown area with shopping and restaurants like Bethesda has?

Not sure. But McLean does not have the beggars that Bethesda has.

If McLean can finally get the Metro, they can finally build up the downtown.

Seems the older generation does not want McLean to become a "destination" (especially considering the traffic Maryland brings to Tysons), and they work hard to distinguish McLean from Tysons.

There are panhandlers in McLean now, especially near Tysons. Maybe there are more in Bethesda; I haven’t been there for years (do go to Rockville for Chinese food but it’s further north).

There are several Metro stations near McLean, including the McLean station (which is on the edge of Tysons) and West Falls Church, but neither is really walkable to the downtown area. The county has approved plans to allow greater density in the downtown McLean area but the handful of landowners who own most of the properties are in no particular rush to redevelop. In comparison, there is a lot of development now in central Tysons and more planned near the West Falls Church Metro.

As between the Bethesda and McLean downtown areas, Bethesda is the obvious winner for the “wow” factor, but it kind of screams conspicuous consumption, whereas the downtown McLean area is less congested but also dumpy. I think over time most people who live in McLean make their peace with the downtown area because it has all the basic amenities and is convenient, and the store and restaurant owners may very well know your name because the stores really are geared to serving local residents. And, if you really want high-end retail, the two Tysons malls are just 2-3 miles away and additional retail is getting added to some of the newer Tysons developments like The Boro. But if you’re looking for some pizzazz in your immediate neighborhood Bethesda is probably a better bet.

As for schools, the public secondary schools in McLean and Bethesda are comparable; the bigger differences are at the university level, where Virginia just has more to offer than Maryland. Even if you don’t have kids or your kids don’t plan to go in-state, it affects home values that Maryland has one well-known flagship (UMCP), whereas Virginia has three very well known schools (UVA, W&M, and Virginia Tech), plus at least four other quite attractive options.

[Anonymous]

If you are a minority, McLean is better. Bethesda is too white. As a minority, I researched this a lot before moving to McLean. Of course, if you are white then it doesn’t matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does McLean have a downtown area with shopping and restaurants like Bethesda has?

Yes, it has something better, and it easily accessible via the highway. It's called Tyson's Corner

Ha! The benefits of living in Bethesda, you don’t ever have to go on a highway unless you’re leaving town.

What? No one I know who lives in McLean uses the highway to get to Tysons?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm loling at all these people complaining about abortion in choosing where to live. How many abortions are you guys scheduled to get?!

It’s. Proxy for a lot of other policies and politics as well.

Like lower taxes, better infrastructure, better schools, less crime, more fortune 500 companies (like 15 times as many), better shopping, the list goes on...

Most of these aren't actually true:

crime is about the same unless you include PG county (check crimegrade.org for verification)

Moco schools are def better

Nova has 11 fortune 500 vs 2 for Moco (https://wtop.com/business-finance/2022/05/16-dc-area-companies-on-the-new-fortune-500/), but unless you're a defense contractor, this probably doesn't matter too much

I'd take a day at montgomery mall over the sprawling nightmare that is tysons

False. Crime in Bethesda is 2-3x... google is your friend

DP but who cares, they both have low crime and are perfectly safe. You’ll be fine. It’s really unhealthy to fixate on this stuff.

I’m not a criminal expert, but I do listen to a lot of murder podcasts. So I can assure you that if you live in Bethesda or McLean, what you need to look out for most is your spouse taking out life insurance policies on you. Another factor could be if you start an affair with a crazy person. But you can get dumped in the river from either side so I don’t think OP can solve this problem by choosing Bethesda or McLean, unfortunately.

+1

Plenty of that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does McLean have a downtown area with shopping and restaurants like Bethesda has?

Yes, it has something better, and it easily accessible via the highway. It's called Tyson's Corner

OP should visit Tysons Corner and downtown Bethesda and maybe they will find one is more in tune with what they are looking for

+1

Agree.

[Anonymous]

Public schools vs School Choice.

No choice MD! Only MD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are a minority, McLean is better. Bethesda is too white. As a minority, I researched this a lot before moving to McLean. Of course, if you are white then it doesn’t matter.

Not anymore Youngkin in charge no this is not true.

[Anonymous]

I think they are quite different if you take away the wealth/ professionalism which is about the same. They both have very pretty and wealthy areas.
Bethesda has more private schools and country clubs. And leans more NY and Jewish. Or both.
McLean is more Christian and Asian. Or both.
Northern Virginia is not “the old South”. Virginia has more State colleges to choose from.
Bethesda is an easier drive to DC.
Bethesda has more restaurants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean because Maryland is trash.

... and rural VA isn't? It's nearly a 3rd world country in some parts. Deliverance..

We’re talking about McLean, not rural VA…
Stupid flex

Well PP said "maryland is trash" ..not Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

I have to laugh if someone thinks Tysons is equivalent to Bethesda.

I live in Bethesda and have worked in Tysons for 15 years. Tysons is the armpit of the entire DC area. A bunch of people who think, or have a lot of money, but absolutely no class. Random buildings, massive streets, zero walkability and people who overextend themselves. It truly is a bizarre area and the major reason why I WFH most of the time.

If I never needed to step foot in Tysons ever again my life would be 100% better. Do people actually say they want to go have date night in Tysons Corner, VA?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh if someone thinks Tysons is equivalent to Bethesda.

I live in Bethesda and have worked in Tysons for 15 years. Tysons is the armpit of the entire DC area. A bunch of people who think, or have a lot of money, but absolutely no class. Random buildings, massive streets, zero walkability and people who overextend themselves. It truly is a bizarre area and the major reason why I WFH most of the time.

If I never needed to step foot in Tysons ever again my life would be 100% better. Do people actually say they want to go have date night in Tysons Corner, VA?!

If people think a date in Bethesda is a big deal, they probably don’t have end up having second dates.

That might explain some of the over-the-top, incel-level hostility in your post.