Are there other benefits to living in McLean besides the excellent schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I commute to dc once a week and live in central mclean. It’s still 50 minutes each way leaving at 8am taking GW parkway. 35 with no traffic.

I guess that’s better than what it would be from outside the beltway.

I was wondering why people are claiming a short commute.

People who can afford nice houses in Mclean do not "commute" They don't care what it takes during the rush hour. They go to DC for leisure mostly, or if they go there for business, they have flexibility to travel outside of rush hour, which is 20 min

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you have the wealth to afford McLean you’re not stuck with in state schools like UVA. You apply to other, better located schools that aren’t in middle of nowhere Charlottesville.

Yeah Amherst, Williams, Hamilton, Colgate, Notre Dame and Grinnell are terrible because they’re in the middle of nowhere

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I commute to dc once a week and live in central mclean. It’s still 50 minutes each way leaving at 8am taking GW parkway. 35 with no traffic.

I guess that’s better than what it would be from outside the beltway.

I was wondering why people are claiming a short commute.

People who can afford nice houses in Mclean do not "commute" They don't care what it takes during the rush hour. They go to DC for leisure mostly, or if they go there for business, they have flexibility to travel outside of rush hour, which is 20 min

Stop trying to "out-McLean" McLean. It just makes you look pretentious when you don't really have a clue.

There are plenty of people in McLean with nice houses who do commute because the high-paying jobs that allowed them to buy a nice house in McLean are elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I commute to dc once a week and live in central mclean. It’s still 50 minutes each way leaving at 8am taking GW parkway. 35 with no traffic.

I guess that’s better than what it would be from outside the beltway.

I was wondering why people are claiming a short commute.

we get to DC jobs in 17 minutes.

Where in McLean to where in dc and time of day determines the time it takes.

Chain bridge forest to Georgetown is 15 min right now.

If you’re driving over from Spring Hill to u st, it’s going to take a bit longer.

That's DC traffic. Gtown is the closest part of DC, so it can take 10-20 min depending on where in Mclean. If you want to go deeper into DC you have to deal with slower moving traffic, speed limits and street lights. It's fast taking GW Parkway when it's not crowded because you can go highway speed, and usually it's not crowded outside of rush hour or construction times. You could also take other streets to get there taking you through more residential parts of Mclean and Arlington. It's fairly close for traditional suburbia with bigger lots and good schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in a 1.5mn house community in McLean, quite a few kids go to Catholic and posh private schools, with the majority go public. The parents are doctors and CEOs etc. neighbors next to our community, who live in 4-5 million homes, and we know the parents are business people and elite athletes . Their kids go to our local public. So it really depends.

North ARL, Mclean, to Great Falls have majority public school students. These threads get rather silly since there are not enough spots in privates to hold the volume.

[Anonymous]

Would a high-earning, early 20s couple be welcome in McLean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I commute to dc once a week and live in central mclean. It’s still 50 minutes each way leaving at 8am taking GW parkway. 35 with no traffic.

I guess that’s better than what it would be from outside the beltway.

I was wondering why people are claiming a short commute.

People who can afford nice houses in Mclean do not "commute" They don't care what it takes during the rush hour. They go to DC for leisure mostly, or if they go there for business, they have flexibility to travel outside of rush hour, which is 20 min

Stop trying to "out-McLean" McLean. It just makes you look pretentious when you don't really have a clue.

There are plenty of people in McLean with nice houses who do commute because the high-paying jobs that allowed them to buy a nice house in McLean are elsewhere.

Commute and rush hour commute are different things. Not everyone commutes every day these days, especially if you are a professional earning high income, unless you are a medical professional who has to work in person. And even then you set your hours and medical profession isn't 9-5 always. People who buy 3-4m houses do not work 9-5 jobs every day. I am not one of those people, but from what I see not many commute around where I am, or I wouldn't be able to go for a walk with all the cars coming in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would a high-earning, early 20s couple be welcome in McLean?

Of course. Anyone with money would love it here. If you can afford a nice house, or even an older well maintained home, and outsource your outdoor maintenance to keep it perfect you will love it here. If you love gardening you also will love it as lots in some parts are larger. But early 20s.. you might find it boring unless you hang out with college kids who stay home attending school or those who room with their parents after graduation. Tysons is where more young professionals tend to hang out, which is close by.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in north Arlington in a 2m dollar home. Our kids go to private- but really APS sucks so there is no real option.

I would move to McLean for public schools and in the 3m-4m home range if we could. But we cannot afford that.

Arlington works for an urban feel and best Virginia commute. Houses are expensive and you cannot have the land you get in McLean- but the trade offs are really at the upper end for a really nice house to live in a boring suburb with good public schools or live in a more modest house in more fun area and pay for private.

2m home in mclean, public schools and super boring area do not add up for us.
3-4m home in mclean, public schools and super boring place are more appealing.

are you saying 2m home in Mclean is too crappy to compare to your 2m in Arlington? I am confused. Are you going to be happy to forgo access to your favorite urban amenities as long as you can afford a big resort-like luxury mcMansion?

Yes. If we could have land and a pool in McLean we would readily leave north Arlington and suffer the suburbs. But that bill is 2x our home (4m) for us to leave the energy of walking to every l thing.

We are not poor, but 2m in McLean does not go very far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I commute to dc once a week and live in central mclean. It’s still 50 minutes each way leaving at 8am taking GW parkway. 35 with no traffic.

I guess that’s better than what it would be from outside the beltway.

I was wondering why people are claiming a short commute.

People who can afford nice houses in Mclean do not "commute" They don't care what it takes during the rush hour. They go to DC for leisure mostly, or if they go there for business, they have flexibility to travel outside of rush hour, which is 20 min

This is probably the weirdest thing I have seen on this thread. I can think of 15 big law partners off the top of my head that live in Mclean and commute into dc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in north Arlington in a 2m dollar home. Our kids go to private- but really APS sucks so there is no real option.

I would move to McLean for public schools and in the 3m-4m home range if we could. But we cannot afford that.

Arlington works for an urban feel and best Virginia commute. Houses are expensive and you cannot have the land you get in McLean- but the trade offs are really at the upper end for a really nice house to live in a boring suburb with good public schools or live in a more modest house in more fun area and pay for private.

2m home in mclean, public schools and super boring area do not add up for us.
3-4m home in mclean, public schools and super boring place are more appealing.

are you saying 2m home in Mclean is too crappy to compare to your 2m in Arlington? I am confused. Are you going to be happy to forgo access to your favorite urban amenities as long as you can afford a big resort-like luxury mcMansion?

Yes. If we could have land and a pool in McLean we would readily leave north Arlington and suffer the suburbs. But that bill is 2x our home (4m) for us to leave the energy of walking to every l thing.

We are not poor, but 2m in McLean does not go very far.

I’m not sure if that’s a word salad but it’s at least a brain salad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I commute to dc once a week and live in central mclean. It’s still 50 minutes each way leaving at 8am taking GW parkway. 35 with no traffic.

I guess that’s better than what it would be from outside the beltway.

I was wondering why people are claiming a short commute.

People who can afford nice houses in Mclean do not "commute" They don't care what it takes during the rush hour. They go to DC for leisure mostly, or if they go there for business, they have flexibility to travel outside of rush hour, which is 20 min

This is probably the weirdest thing I have seen on this thread. I can think of 15 big law partners off the top of my head that live in Mclean and commute into dc.

The troll thinks the one guy he knows that visits dc for “leisurely” business meetings applies to everyone in McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I commute to dc once a week and live in central mclean. It’s still 50 minutes each way leaving at 8am taking GW parkway. 35 with no traffic.

I guess that’s better than what it would be from outside the beltway.

I was wondering why people are claiming a short commute.

People who can afford nice houses in Mclean do not "commute" They don't care what it takes during the rush hour. They go to DC for leisure mostly, or if they go there for business, they have flexibility to travel outside of rush hour, which is 20 min

This is probably the weirdest thing I have seen on this thread. I can think of 15 big law partners off the top of my head that live in Mclean and commute into dc.

The troll thinks the one guy he knows that visits dc for “leisurely” business meetings applies to everyone in McLean.

IDK, I always assume people who live in huge mcMansions costing multiple millions must be rich, e.g. not high income only, but also having significant NW. There are less expensive parts of Mclean, and townhome apartment communities as well. I was making a point that there are many affluent people who don't necessarily work regular business hours jobs. And many people these days work remotely anyway regardless of income at least part time, it's become more of a norm.

Also, Didn't say "leisurely meetings", I referred to 2 reasons people drive to DC: work, e.g bus meetings and leisure (dining, entertainment, shopping, visiting others)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in north Arlington in a 2m dollar home. Our kids go to private- but really APS sucks so there is no real option.

I would move to McLean for public schools and in the 3m-4m home range if we could. But we cannot afford that.

Arlington works for an urban feel and best Virginia commute. Houses are expensive and you cannot have the land you get in McLean- but the trade offs are really at the upper end for a really nice house to live in a boring suburb with good public schools or live in a more modest house in more fun area and pay for private.

2m home in mclean, public schools and super boring area do not add up for us.
3-4m home in mclean, public schools and super boring place are more appealing.

are you saying 2m home in Mclean is too crappy to compare to your 2m in Arlington? I am confused. Are you going to be happy to forgo access to your favorite urban amenities as long as you can afford a big resort-like luxury mcMansion?

Yes. If we could have land and a pool in McLean we would readily leave north Arlington and suffer the suburbs. But that bill is 2x our home (4m) for us to leave the energy of walking to every l thing.

We are not poor, but 2m in McLean does not go very far.

I want to see this N.Arlington 2 mil house that's supposedly way better than a 2m house in Mclean.. Maybe by "better" you mean having denser urban vibe and every amenity and transit nearby? The house itself cannot possibly be nicer, N.Arlington is more expensive per sq.ft than Mclean as are premium areas of DC. And if your goal is to have a larger lot and a pool, you can get it in Mclean for your price, but this won't be a 10K sq.ft brand new mcMansion. I doubt your current home in N.Arlington that's worth 2m is any better and more spacious than the 2m 30-year old home with a bigger lot and a pool in Mclean. Seems like you just love where you live, and nothing suburbia is going to offer to you is going to matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in north Arlington in a 2m dollar home. Our kids go to private- but really APS sucks so there is no real option.

I would move to McLean for public schools and in the 3m-4m home range if we could. But we cannot afford that.

Arlington works for an urban feel and best Virginia commute. Houses are expensive and you cannot have the land you get in McLean- but the trade offs are really at the upper end for a really nice house to live in a boring suburb with good public schools or live in a more modest house in more fun area and pay for private.

2m home in mclean, public schools and super boring area do not add up for us.
3-4m home in mclean, public schools and super boring place are more appealing.

are you saying 2m home in Mclean is too crappy to compare to your 2m in Arlington? I am confused. Are you going to be happy to forgo access to your favorite urban amenities as long as you can afford a big resort-like luxury mcMansion?

Yes. If we could have land and a pool in McLean we would readily leave north Arlington and suffer the suburbs. But that bill is 2x our home (4m) for us to leave the energy of walking to every l thing.

We are not poor, but 2m in McLean does not go very far.

I want to see this N.Arlington 2 mil house that's supposedly way better than a 2m house in Mclean.. Maybe by "better" you mean having denser urban vibe and every amenity and transit nearby? The house itself cannot possibly be nicer, N.Arlington is more expensive per sq.ft than Mclean as are premium areas of DC. And if your goal is to have a larger lot and a pool, you can get it in Mclean for your price, but this won't be a 10K sq.ft brand new mcMansion. I doubt your current home in N.Arlington that's worth 2m is any better and more spacious than the 2m 30-year old home with a bigger lot and a pool in Mclean. Seems like you just love where you live, and nothing suburbia is going to offer to you is going to matter.

I could just as easily say “I live in McLean and you’d have to pay me $2M to move to Arlington to compensate for then having to send my kids to private schools, losing the extra green space, and having to put up with all the low-brow white neighbors.” This forum is a total crock.