Many prefer FCC for the schools, especially those with small children who attend elementary. I own a home I rent out there and many tell me they were only going to rent a place where they could get FCC schools. I do know some of my FCC neighbors did wish they were a few blocks over so that their kids could attend Mclean high school instead of Meridian though, but that was only because their kids had activities that they wanted to do that smaller Meridian didn't have (I think one of them was marching band but I'm not sure).

McLean for location, location and location!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much density do you enjoy?

+1 bigger, suburban type lots, car-dependent neighborhood, look in McLean. More density, walkable areas, possibility to walking to metro, Arlington along the orange line.

OP. This is helpful! I heard FCC is walkable—is that not the case?

Is the commute by car from FCC/McLean terrible? Would be commuting 3x a week, can pick which days.

I commuted from what was basically the border of FCC and Mclean to Georgetown for years until I moved about a year ago. It wasn't bad at all, but I took Kirby and then went over Chain Bridge, which is a nice drive. YMMV depending on what you mean by "downtown DC" and what you need to do to get there.

FCC is kind of "walkable" depending on where you are and what you want to walk to. If you live on Park and want to go to brunch at The Falls or Northside Social, sure, it's walkable.

McLean is central to everything in the surrounding area. Look at a map. It’s easy to get to Reston/Herndon, Alexandria, Centreville, Ashburn, Tysons, Vienna, etc. The lots are bigger and you tend to get garages. The schools are top-notch. The location can’t be beat.

The commute to some of DC may not be terrible but to downtown is terrible unless you get there at 6 am or something. But then going home would be terrible. Take Metro.

The walkable to Metro single family house parts of FCC are not significantly less dense or more suburban than Arlington walkable to Ballston, for example. OP look at satellite view maps. This assumes you are willing to walk 15-25 minutes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much density do you enjoy?

+1 bigger, suburban type lots, car-dependent neighborhood, look in McLean. More density, walkable areas, possibility to walking to metro, Arlington along the orange line.

OP. This is helpful! I heard FCC is walkable—is that not the case?

Is the commute by car from FCC/McLean terrible? Would be commuting 3x a week, can pick which days.

Anonymous wrote:How much density do you enjoy?

+1 bigger, suburban type lots, car-dependent neighborhood, look in McLean. More density, walkable areas, possibility to walking to metro, Arlington along the orange line.

How much density do you enjoy?

You want N Arlington walkable to Metro. There are lots of houses in Bluemont.

North Arlington is much more interesting, more to do, shorter commute.

Time is $

I’m sure all the replies to this thread will be totally normal and not at all unhinged.

Tough budget. I’d say wherever you find a house.

McLean blows and isn't near the metro. I'd go with N. Arlington.

Which would you choose to purchase a home in if you worked in downtown DC and had two young kids? Assuming a budget of ~$2 million.