For the fun-for-the-whole-family neighborhood traditions and excursions, Tysons pulls ahead for now:

Normandie Farm (in Potomac) when it reopens will go into the plus column for Bethesda, but it is still closed for renovations. Tysons lost its Evan’s Farm Inn, once a popular restaurant and working farm for families to enjoy. But there is still the historic Colvin Run Mill near Tysons which has weekly events for families, and sometimes the delicious johnny cakes for a fun breakfast.

In terms of cultural spaces I’d say it’s a draw between Tyson’s Wolf Trap and Capital One Hall vs Bethesda’s Strathmore Hall.

Tysons has the historic Washington Golf and Country Club with popular swim team in nearby N Arlington near McLean while Bethesda has Congressional and Kenwood.

While there is no family friendly Bethesda Row in Tysons, the Boro is a new walkable neighborhood with shops and cafes. The Mosaic in Merrifield, and The Crossing in Clarendon are both Bethesda Row like neighborhoods with Apple stores, Barnes and Nobles and Lululemons a very short drive or Metro ride away.

Tysons is also closer to Front Royal for fun family hiking excursions to Skyline Drive.

So in terms of places for families, Tysons wins by a hair due to the higher number of family friendly options in proximity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you had the option of working/living in Tysons area or Bethesda area with 2 elementary age children in public schools, which would you choose? We would be renting the first year and our budget would go up to 5k/month.

This is easy. Bethesda.

Bethesda all day for me. Tysons has all the charm of a parking lot

The VA ppl on this thread are making a strong case for Bethesda IMO

Anonymous wrote:I drive over the American Legion Bridge and see all those EZPASS/EXPRESS/LEFT signs looming over the road and am glad I live in MD

When is MD going to man up and expand the highway to ease traffic??

I drive over the American Legion Bridge and see all those EZPASS/EXPRESS/LEFT signs looming over the road and am glad I live in MD

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:a lot of people live in NOVA because of the politics, even though we are blue as a region we do not like the extreme blueness of MD. There's a new term for this but rather end it here.

I’d hardly say MD is extreme blue. MD just had a popular two term republican governor, elected by democrats.

Also Montgomery County is no more progressive than Fairfax County. Damascus in Montgomery County is more conservative than probably any area in Fairfax County.

Are you kidding me? MD is up there as one of the most blue states right there with CA and NY. You are delusional.

Anonymous wrote:a lot of people live in NOVA because of the politics, even though we are blue as a region we do not like the extreme blueness of MD. There's a new term for this but rather end it here.

I’d hardly say MD is extreme blue. MD just had a popular two term republican governor, elected by democrats.

Also Montgomery County is no more progressive than Fairfax County. Damascus in Montgomery County is more conservative than probably any area in Fairfax County.

Anonymous wrote:If you had the option of working/living in Tysons area or Bethesda area with 2 elementary age children in public schools, which would you choose? We would be renting the first year and our budget would go up to 5k/month.

This is easy. Bethesda.

a lot of people live in NOVA because of the politics, even though we are blue as a region we do not like the extreme blueness of MD. There's a new term for this but rather end it here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. After reading through the boards, it appears MCPS, to include Bethesda elementary schools, have gone downhill in the last few years. Would that be reason alone to consider the Tysons option on the VA side? For example it seems Falls Church City public schools are smaller and have a good environment. Or are VA public schools suffering from the same issues as MCPS?

But again I have no experience, this is just what I am gathering from spending way too much time reading through these forums the last few weeks!

VA people on this board are crazy jealous of the Whitman school pyramid in Bethesda.

Is it bad that I live in north Arlington and never even heard of that school or pyramid?

The thought I give to Bethesda is about a little less than what I wonder about what the weather is like in Brazil today.

Exactly. Vienna resident here, never heard of Whitman. Never thought about living in Maryland, don't have any interest in visiting either. Please tell me one restaurant halfway decent in Maryland. There are none. How a bout a halfway decent company? Oh yeah, none again. Just a bunch of marxists over there.

Factual. We are proud virginians who hate the northerner infested Marylanders. God bless our southern state.

That’s ridiculous. Maryland and Virginia are both border southern states. And no one cares about that anymore. For excellent food near Bethesda: O’Donnell’s new location in Potomac for the best southern style seafood in town. Or Old Anglers Inn in Potomac for classic American food. It’s been a tradition since 1860. Proximity to those two establishments alone give Bethesda the edge over Tysons and the Tysons adjacent towns.

Is this a joke?? I grew up in Bethesda going to O'Donnell's with my grandmother who would be 115 if she was still alive. It was terrible even then.
I live in Arlington now, and I will never move back to MD.

My father grew up in an area where there was really fresh seafood and we tried O'Donnell's once after we moved to the DC area. It was the worst seafood he'd ever eaten. Even the touristy Hogate's near the Wharf was better than that crap.

I can't believe anyone would think its continued presence in Bethesda is anything but an abomination.

Hogates was good. Much better than Red Lobster or Chesapeake Bay Seafood House. Excellent hush puppies, rum buns, fried catfish, maryland crab cakes. Too bad Hogates didn’t survive the transition to the updated and trendy DC Wharf.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. After reading through the boards, it appears MCPS, to include Bethesda elementary schools, have gone downhill in the last few years. Would that be reason alone to consider the Tysons option on the VA side? For example it seems Falls Church City public schools are smaller and have a good environment. Or are VA public schools suffering from the same issues as MCPS?

But again I have no experience, this is just what I am gathering from spending way too much time reading through these forums the last few weeks!

VA people on this board are crazy jealous of the Whitman school pyramid in Bethesda.

Is it bad that I live in north Arlington and never even heard of that school or pyramid?

The thought I give to Bethesda is about a little less than what I wonder about what the weather is like in Brazil today.

Exactly. Vienna resident here, never heard of Whitman. Never thought about living in Maryland, don't have any interest in visiting either. Please tell me one restaurant halfway decent in Maryland. There are none. How a bout a halfway decent company? Oh yeah, none again. Just a bunch of marxists over there.

Factual. We are proud virginians who hate the northerner infested Marylanders. God bless our southern state.

That’s ridiculous. Maryland and Virginia are both border southern states. And no one cares about that anymore. For excellent food near Bethesda: O’Donnell’s new location in Potomac for the best southern style seafood in town. Or Old Anglers Inn in Potomac for classic American food. It’s been a tradition since 1860. Proximity to those two establishments alone give Bethesda the edge over Tysons and the Tysons adjacent towns.

Is this a joke?? I grew up in Bethesda going to O'Donnell's with my grandmother who would be 115 if she was still alive. It was terrible even then.
I live in Arlington now, and I will never move back to MD.

My father grew up in an area where there was really fresh seafood and we tried O'Donnell's once after we moved to the DC area. It was the worst seafood he'd ever eaten. Even the touristy Hogate's near the Wharf was better than that crap.

I can't believe anyone would think its continued presence in Bethesda is anything but an abomination.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. After reading through the boards, it appears MCPS, to include Bethesda elementary schools, have gone downhill in the last few years. Would that be reason alone to consider the Tysons option on the VA side? For example it seems Falls Church City public schools are smaller and have a good environment. Or are VA public schools suffering from the same issues as MCPS?

But again I have no experience, this is just what I am gathering from spending way too much time reading through these forums the last few weeks!

VA people on this board are crazy jealous of the Whitman school pyramid in Bethesda.

Is it bad that I live in north Arlington and never even heard of that school or pyramid?

The thought I give to Bethesda is about a little less than what I wonder about what the weather is like in Brazil today.

Exactly. Vienna resident here, never heard of Whitman. Never thought about living in Maryland, don't have any interest in visiting either. Please tell me one restaurant halfway decent in Maryland. There are none. How a bout a halfway decent company? Oh yeah, none again. Just a bunch of marxists over there.

Factual. We are proud virginians who hate the northerner infested Marylanders. God bless our southern state.

That’s ridiculous. Maryland and Virginia are both border southern states. And no one cares about that anymore. For excellent food near Bethesda: O’Donnell’s new location in Potomac for the best southern style seafood in town. Or Old Anglers Inn in Potomac for classic American food. It’s been a tradition since 1860. Proximity to those two establishments alone give Bethesda the edge over Tysons and the Tysons adjacent towns.

Is this a joke?? I grew up in Bethesda going to O'Donnell's with my grandmother who would be 115 if she was still alive. It was terrible even then.
I live in Arlington now, and I will never move back to MD.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. After reading through the boards, it appears MCPS, to include Bethesda elementary schools, have gone downhill in the last few years. Would that be reason alone to consider the Tysons option on the VA side? For example it seems Falls Church City public schools are smaller and have a good environment. Or are VA public schools suffering from the same issues as MCPS?

But again I have no experience, this is just what I am gathering from spending way too much time reading through these forums the last few weeks!

VA people on this board are crazy jealous of the Whitman school pyramid in Bethesda.

Is it bad that I live in north Arlington and never even heard of that school or pyramid?

The thought I give to Bethesda is about a little less than what I wonder about what the weather is like in Brazil today.

Exactly. Vienna resident here, never heard of Whitman. Never thought about living in Maryland, don't have any interest in visiting either. Please tell me one restaurant halfway decent in Maryland. There are none. How a bout a halfway decent company? Oh yeah, none again. Just a bunch of marxists over there.

Factual. We are proud virginians who hate the northerner infested Marylanders. God bless our southern state.

That’s ridiculous. Maryland and Virginia are both border southern states. And no one cares about that anymore. For excellent food near Bethesda: O’Donnell’s new location in Potomac for the best southern style seafood in town. Or Old Anglers Inn in Potomac for classic American food. It’s been a tradition since 1860. Proximity to those two establishments alone give Bethesda the edge over Tysons and the Tysons adjacent towns.

Uuuuhh... The O'Donnels that had 3.5 stars on yelp during its previous iteration and the Old Anglers Inn currently sitting at 3 stars? Gosh, let me rush right over there lmao

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. After reading through the boards, it appears MCPS, to include Bethesda elementary schools, have gone downhill in the last few years. Would that be reason alone to consider the Tysons option on the VA side? For example it seems Falls Church City public schools are smaller and have a good environment. Or are VA public schools suffering from the same issues as MCPS?

But again I have no experience, this is just what I am gathering from spending way too much time reading through these forums the last few weeks!

VA people on this board are crazy jealous of the Whitman school pyramid in Bethesda.

Is it bad that I live in north Arlington and never even heard of that school or pyramid?

The thought I give to Bethesda is about a little less than what I wonder about what the weather is like in Brazil today.

Exactly. Vienna resident here, never heard of Whitman. Never thought about living in Maryland, don't have any interest in visiting either. Please tell me one restaurant halfway decent in Maryland. There are none. How a bout a halfway decent company? Oh yeah, none again. Just a bunch of marxists over there.

Factual. We are proud virginians who hate the northerner infested Marylanders. God bless our southern state.

That’s ridiculous. Maryland and Virginia are both border southern states. And no one cares about that anymore. For excellent food near Bethesda: O’Donnell’s new location in Potomac for the best southern style seafood in town. Or Old Anglers Inn in Potomac for classic American food. It’s been a tradition since 1860. Proximity to those two establishments alone give Bethesda the edge over Tysons and the Tysons adjacent towns.

I like Tysons because of the shopping but Bethesda is more green and has less traffic. The schools are better and Tysons is only 20 min away if you want to go to the mall. I think commute and taxes should weigh more in your decision though. And budget. Dunn loring (near Tysons) is a lot cheaper than Bethesda, for ex.