Move to McLean for our kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 2 kids in DC privates, and DH works downtown. We aren't really house hunting but if we see something we like we'd be willing to make that move. We live in a part of Ward 3 that is relatively close to Virginia. Should we go ahead and make that move since McLean is a much better and safer place to raise our kids? No matter house nice and affluent it may be we're still in DC and it could change on a dime. Mclean will be a great town for the rest of our lifetimes and most of the affluent in this area live there. Do y'all agree?

You are an elitist snob. If I lived in McLean I wouldn't want you to move to where I live and I definitely wouldn't want you as my neighbor.

+1. And I do live in McLean, so I may already be in jeopardy....

[Anonymous]

to the Mclean bully. Stop picking on GP. Now let's compare McLean to Spring Valley/Kent/Wesley Heights/Foxhall area. Closer in density and housing style to Mclean (except for those god ugly 1960s apartments on Beverly). No comparison. Even Marvelous Market closed down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here, was watching this thread with great interest as we are considering Mclean as one of our choices. Reading a few posts, not just this thread, seems like Mclean has a bad rep among DCUMs. It is portrayed by some posters as a suburban wasteland with zero walkability that exists in some sort of a space/time warp that prevents its inhabitants from getting into the car and driving for 20 min into the heart of the city. Is it really that bad? we will be moving from NYC with 100% walkability and prior to this we used to live in Dupont area. Moving back for family reasons, family is in the district, so looking for the close-in suburb with excellent public schools and easy drive to the east village in Gtown. Don't want to be miserable, but cannot afford to live in any urban part of DC and at this point after living in highly urban environment with crowds and lines everywhere, we are looking for something else, more relaxing, more space and not stress about schools.

Mclean is one of the best areas to live. Ignore the DC snobs, you need to spend 3 million on a house and still pay for private schools where as mclean you can spend half as much and go to the excellent public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here, was watching this thread with great interest as we are considering Mclean as one of our choices. Reading a few posts, not just this thread, seems like Mclean has a bad rep among DCUMs. It is portrayed by some posters as a suburban wasteland with zero walkability that exists in some sort of a space/time warp that prevents its inhabitants from getting into the car and driving for 20 min into the heart of the city. Is it really that bad? we will be moving from NYC with 100% walkability and prior to this we used to live in Dupont area. Moving back for family reasons, family is in the district, so looking for the close-in suburb with excellent public schools and easy drive to the east village in Gtown. Don't want to be miserable, but cannot afford to live in any urban part of DC and at this point after living in highly urban environment with crowds and lines everywhere, we are looking for something else, more relaxing, more space and not stress about schools.

I don't know why McLean gets hammered so much here. I suspect partially because it is one of (if not the) most expensive area to live in. (According to the Washingtonian this month anyway). But that's kind of skewed by the big mansions, plenty of "normal" homes. It has its drawbacks, like the lack of walkability, which i do miss. But you can get to G-town in minutes, ditto for Tysons, etc. Very central location for driving. No great restaurants, but everything you need in McLean center. Great sports teams for kids, good schools, nice parks. Very nice for family life.

[Anonymous]

Nouveau riche x 1000. It's where all the social climbers live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nouveau riche x 1000. It's where all the social climbers live.

Driving around there and looking on RE websites, there are tons of not so glamorous homes there, I cannot imagine what you are saying is true. also, seems to be lots of old folks around. l We are interested in areas that are walkable to somewhere, at least some shopping/errands places, parks etc and there is downtown area, do people not walk there? There are lots of really nice mansions and palace looking place, but majority of housing is not really that spectacular, I mean, it didn't look to me to be a uniformly uber-wealthy area, looked pretty much down to earth. Is this just an illusion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nouveau riche x 1000. It's where all the social climbers live.

Nothing gives a DC snob away like calling others "nouveau riche," particularly those who live in VA. The social climbing in McLean, while it exists in pockets, is a small fraction of what it is DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:to the Mclean bully. Stop picking on GP. Now let's compare McLean to Spring Valley/Kent/Wesley Heights/Foxhall area. Closer in density and housing style to Mclean (except for those god ugly 1960s apartments on Beverly). No comparison. Even Marvelous Market closed down.

I live in McLean. Spring Valley and Kent do not appeal to me at all; they feel more suburban than McLean. I never see anyone outside in those neighborhoods. They just look like a stage set for "Reservation Road." The Foxhall area has many garish new developments with McMansions that are larger than anything being built in McLean these days, as well as complexes like Foxhall Crescent that look like they belong in the Middle East. No thanks. I do like Wesley Heights, and would love to own a house there, but we prefer the public schools in VA to those in DC and did not want to audition our children for DC privates like a bunch of Jon-Benet Ramseys at their first beauty contests. Talk about social climbing to the max. You can have Marvelous Market - sadly, it was not very good by the time it closed. We do still have a Balducci's, which is wonderful and walkable from many neighborhoods, as well as some other local restaurants that are tucked away and quite good.

At the end of the day, I don't really care if the OP stays put or moves here. Her decision. The amount of new construction in our neighborhood tells me that no amount of nasty posts on DCUM from those who are jealous, insecure or just prefer to live in denser neighborhoods is going to stop people from wanting to live here any time soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to the Mclean bully. Stop picking on GP. Now let's compare McLean to Spring Valley/Kent/Wesley Heights/Foxhall area. Closer in density and housing style to Mclean (except for those god ugly 1960s apartments on Beverly). No comparison. Even Marvelous Market closed down.

I live in McLean. Spring Valley and Kent do not appeal to me at all; they feel more suburban than McLean. I never see anyone outside in those neighborhoods. They just look like a stage set for "Reservation Road." The Foxhall area has many garish new developments with McMansions that are larger than anything being built in McLean these days, as well as complexes like Foxhall Crescent that look like they belong in the Middle East. No thanks. I do like Wesley Heights, and would love to own a house there, but we prefer the public schools in VA to those in DC and did not want to audition our children for DC privates like a bunch of Jon-Benet Ramseys at their first beauty contests. Talk about social climbing to the max. You can have Marvelous Market - sadly, it was not very good by the time it closed. We do still have a Balducci's, which is wonderful and walkable from many neighborhoods, as well as some other local restaurants that are tucked away and quite good.

At the end of the day, I don't really care if the OP stays put or moves here. Her decision. The amount of new construction in our neighborhood tells me that no amount of nasty posts on DCUM from those who are jealous, insecure or just prefer to live in denser neighborhoods is going to stop people from wanting to live here any time soon.

I don't think anyone is saying that McLean doesn't have nice homes. It's not that hard for a home builder to build a nice 5 bedroom. Most are a bit too new for my taste but so is Philips park. I think the issue is the people. These are people who will go to the opening of an envelope in Georgetown to be snapped in Washington Life. It's like get a life. You don't live here but I see you here every day. Personally I don't believe that the public schools are that great so we chose DC privates. Oh and I lives in McLean for 6 years before moving to ward 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to the Mclean bully. Stop picking on GP. Now let's compare McLean to Spring Valley/Kent/Wesley Heights/Foxhall area. Closer in density and housing style to Mclean (except for those god ugly 1960s apartments on Beverly). No comparison. Even Marvelous Market closed down.

I live in McLean. Spring Valley and Kent do not appeal to me at all; they feel more suburban than McLean. I never see anyone outside in those neighborhoods. They just look like a stage set for "Reservation Road." The Foxhall area has many garish new developments with McMansions that are larger than anything being built in McLean these days, as well as complexes like Foxhall Crescent that look like they belong in the Middle East. No thanks. I do like Wesley Heights, and would love to own a house there, but we prefer the public schools in VA to those in DC and did not want to audition our children for DC privates like a bunch of Jon-Benet Ramseys at their first beauty contests. Talk about social climbing to the max. You can have Marvelous Market - sadly, it was not very good by the time it closed. We do still have a Balducci's, which is wonderful and walkable from many neighborhoods, as well as some other local restaurants that are tucked away and quite good.

At the end of the day, I don't really care if the OP stays put or moves here. Her decision. The amount of new construction in our neighborhood tells me that no amount of nasty posts on DCUM from those who are jealous, insecure or just prefer to live in denser neighborhoods is going to stop people from wanting to live here any time soon.

I don't think anyone is saying that McLean doesn't have nice homes. It's not that hard for a home builder to build a nice 5 bedroom. Most are a bit too new for my taste but so is Philips park. I think the issue is the people. These are people who will go to the opening of an envelope in Georgetown to be snapped in Washington Life. It's like get a life. You don't live here but I see you here every day. Personally I don't believe that the public schools are that great so we chose DC privates. Oh and I lives in McLean for 6 years before moving to ward 3.

I've lived in McLean for 9 years. Never seen a copy of Washington Life, so I doubt I've been "snapped" in it. Perhaps it was the company you kept?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I don't think anyone is saying that McLean doesn't have nice homes. It's not that hard for a home builder to build a nice 5 bedroom. Most are a bit too new for my taste but so is Philips park. I think the issue is the people. These are people who will go to the opening of an envelope in Georgetown to be snapped in Washington Life. It's like get a life. You don't live here but I see you here every day. Personally I don't believe that the public schools are that great so we chose DC privates. Oh and I lives in McLean for 6 years before moving to ward 3.

I'll take your word about the people who want to get their pictures in Washington Life. I don't know them, but don't doubt they exist. I expect the same types can be found in NW, Bethesda, and Chevy Chase. Maybe your problem isn't that they are social climbers per se, but that they still have to cross a bridge first? OK.

Schools are personal decisions. We prefer the relative democracy of public schools, even those located in expensive areas, to the exclusivity of the DC privates. The private school graduates that attended my private university had no advantage over the public HS graduates, so that was an important factor in our thinking. But...different strokes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I don't think anyone is saying that McLean doesn't have nice homes. It's not that hard for a home builder to build a nice 5 bedroom. Most are a bit too new for my taste but so is Philips park. I think the issue is the people. These are people who will go to the opening of an envelope in Georgetown to be snapped in Washington Life. It's like get a life. You don't live here but I see you here every day. Personally I don't believe that the public schools are that great so we chose DC privates. Oh and I lives in McLean for 6 years before moving to ward 3.

I'll take your word about the people who want to get their pictures in Washington Life. I don't know them, but don't doubt they exist. I expect the same types can be found in NW, Bethesda, and Chevy Chase. Maybe your problem isn't that they are social climbers per se, but that they still have to cross a bridge first? OK.

Schools are personal decisions. We prefer the relative democracy of public schools, even those located in expensive areas, to the exclusivity of the DC privates. The private school graduates that attended my private university had no advantage over the public HS graduates, so that was an important factor in our thinking. But...different strokes.

Pp again. You're probably right. I like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to the Mclean bully. Stop picking on GP. Now let's compare McLean to Spring Valley/Kent/Wesley Heights/Foxhall area. Closer in density and housing style to Mclean (except for those god ugly 1960s apartments on Beverly). No comparison. Even Marvelous Market closed down.

I live in McLean. Spring Valley and Kent do not appeal to me at all; they feel more suburban than McLean. I never see anyone outside in those neighborhoods. They just look like a stage set for "Reservation Road." The Foxhall area has many garish new developments with McMansions that are larger than anything being built in McLean these days, as well as complexes like Foxhall Crescent that look like they belong in the Middle East. No thanks. I do like Wesley Heights, and would love to own a house there, but we prefer the public schools in VA to those in DC and did not want to audition our children for DC privates like a bunch of Jon-Benet Ramseys at their first beauty contests. Talk about social climbing to the max. You can have Marvelous Market - sadly, it was not very good by the time it closed. We do still have a Balducci's, which is wonderful and walkable from many neighborhoods, as well as some other local restaurants that are tucked away and quite good.

At the end of the day, I don't really care if the OP stays put or moves here. Her decision. The amount of new construction in our neighborhood tells me that no amount of nasty posts on DCUM from those who are jealous, insecure or just prefer to live in denser neighborhoods is going to stop people from wanting to live here any time soon.

I don't think anyone is saying that McLean doesn't have nice homes. It's not that hard for a home builder to build a nice 5 bedroom. Most are a bit too new for my taste but so is Philips park. I think the issue is the people. These are people who will go to the opening of an envelope in Georgetown to be snapped in Washington Life. It's like get a life. You don't live here but I see you here every day. Personally I don't believe that the public schools are that great so we chose DC privates. Oh and I lives in McLean for 6 years before moving to ward 3.

I've lived in McLean for 9 years. Never seen a copy of Washington Life, so I doubt I've been "snapped" in it. Perhaps it was the company you kept?

Birds of feather flock together?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here, was watching this thread with great interest as we are considering Mclean as one of our choices. Reading a few posts, not just this thread, seems like Mclean has a bad rep among DCUMs. It is portrayed by some posters as a suburban wasteland with zero walkability that exists in some sort of a space/time warp that prevents its inhabitants from getting into the car and driving for 20 min into the heart of the city. Is it really that bad? we will be moving from NYC with 100% walkability and prior to this we used to live in Dupont area. Moving back for family reasons, family is in the district, so looking for the close-in suburb with excellent public schools and easy drive to the east village in Gtown. Don't want to be miserable, but cannot afford to live in any urban part of DC and at this point after living in highly urban environment with crowds and lines everywhere, we are looking for something else, more relaxing, more space and not stress about schools.

We have plenty of new York transplants here in McLean. We moved to McLean for the same reasons you site. It is 15 minutes to key bridge from my house via 123 and gw pkwy. Great schools. And there are some great walking neighborhoods such as salona village and west McLean.