I'm a GF resident, and here are my pros and cons:

Pros: relatively more house for your money. Any 4+ bedroom under $1 mil in McLean or Arlington is a shitshack or teardown; in GF, you can get a pretty decent home for under $1 mil.

Pros: while my neighborhood has half-acre lots, we've got a great neighborhood vibe. We do happy hours every Friday in the summer, and there are a ton of kids in the neighborhood.

Pros: where I live in GF (near Rt 7), I think we are within striking distance of a variety of stores. I shop in GF Village, Tysons, Reston, and even Vienna if there is something I can't get elsewhere. My primary grocery is the Safeway in GF, followed by Harris Teeter in Tysons. I can get to most places pretty quickly. When I lived in McLean, I found it took me just as long to get to the Giant (and park in that crazy lot) than it does for me to get to my Safeway now.

Pros: schools are great. My kids are happy, they are learning, everyone seems friendly, my kids have friends. Yes, there are some wealthy people, but my kids don't run around in those circles.

Cons: the commute is longer if you work downtown. That said, there are a lot of Feds in my neighborhood who use the Silver Line or carpool.

Someone mentioned that there are a lot of "old people" in GF. I think that's changing. Several retirees in my neighborhood have sold their homes this last year, with young families moving in. That said, I love my elderly neighbors!

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
[b]Only one grocery store that is hands down the worst store in America[/b].

This is nothing like my experience living in GF - I love it here (and we're just Feds). It is clearly not the right neighborhood for you!

Ah, the Soviet Safeway. [/quote]

It's got the same food in it as every other grocery store. I guess the precious snowflakes of Great Falls need a better ambiance when they buy their bread and milk.[/quote]c
Hhm. The only people I see shopping in the "Soviet Safeway" are GF residents. I love the Safeway in GF - it's quiet and friendly. Not a madhouse like Wegmans!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great Falls has a generational problem. Younger home buyers do not want to live on 2 acres in the woods. This is why home values have stagnated in 22066.

They can want it all they like -- the problem is they can't afford it.

x10000

Why would you go out of your way to applaud a post that implies Great Falls is beyond the reach of most people? Seems both snobby and inaccurate, given how affordable Great Falls is becoming compared to other, closer-in places in NoVa, not to mention D.C.?

It seems unnecessarily defensive.

Ah yes... affordable great falls. So cheap.

Anonymous wrote:I don't live in Great Falls, but I think it's beautiful and can completely understand why people select it for their homes. It is so different than all of the other communities around here- beautiful rolling hills, elegant country homes, quiet and spacious. I go to the park on weekends and it's so peaceful driving through Great Falls. Not all people want to be close to the city because a very large percentage of people work outside of the city.

+1

It's no mystery - it's beautiful there! Peaceful too!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great Falls has a generational problem. Younger home buyers do not want to live on 2 acres in the woods. This is why home values have stagnated in 22066.

They can want it all they like -- the problem is they can't afford it.

x10000

Why would you go out of your way to applaud a post that implies Great Falls is beyond the reach of most people? Seems both snobby and inaccurate, given how affordable Great Falls is becoming compared to other, closer-in places in NoVa, not to mention D.C.?

It seems unnecessarily defensive.

Here is the problem with great falls, regular folks couldn't afford to live there, not because of house price but the commute time and upkeep of the large home

Great falls is becoming more and more the area of executives and wealthy folks who don't need to work, therefore demands for great falls drop

You can buy a beautiful lot for 1M in great falls that's probably 10 times larger than what you get in Arlington, but then you still need to spend couple millions to turn that big lot into a beautiful home and landscape, it's simply not for the regular high income working couple anymore

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great Falls has a generational problem. Younger home buyers do not want to live on 2 acres in the woods. This is why home values have stagnated in 22066.

They can want it all they like -- the problem is they can't afford it.

x10000

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Power out all the time due to storms or weather. Internet out all the time due to location/weather. Power out in summer, power out in winter. A lot of times due to falling trees.

Gigantic 10 bedroom homes with 2-3 people living in them. Very creepy and weird in my opinion but since having to tolerate living out here means you get a ton for your money I guess people figure why not. Conspicuous consumption is alive and well here.

Mostly people who live there fight horribly with each other over things like passing two at a time over bridges, people going 5mph over the speed limit, deer eating their flowers, etc. A lot of people with too much time on their hands equals bitter, nosy, finger waving busy bodies that one cannot help but roll eyes at. Some really great people live here too, just haven't met many yet.

Beautiful area, but traffic constantly backed up on the pike due to park visitors and dck heads from Maryland cutting through. Also, during the rains the 2 bridges flood.

Don't count on your child having friends here, nor yourself. Nice if you like privacy. Most people here are old retirees.

[b]Only one grocery store that is hands down the worst store in America[/b].[/quote]

This is nothing like my experience living in GF - I love it here (and we're just Feds). It is clearly not the right neighborhood for you![/quote]

Ah, the Soviet Safeway. [/quote]

I thought most people who move to Great Falls want privacy and want to avoid (what you mentioned) the McLean- like places and attitude.

[quote=Anonymous]
[b]Only one grocery store that is hands down the worst store in America[/b].

This is nothing like my experience living in GF - I love it here (and we're just Feds). It is clearly not the right neighborhood for you!

Ah, the Soviet Safeway. [/quote]

It's got the same food in it as every other grocery store. I guess the precious snowflakes of Great Falls need a better ambiance when they buy their bread and milk.

Anonymous wrote:Great Falls has a generational problem. Younger home buyers do not want to live on 2 acres in the woods. This is why home values have stagnated in 22066.

They can want it all they like -- the problem is they can't afford it.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Power out all the time due to storms or weather. Internet out all the time due to location/weather. Power out in summer, power out in winter. A lot of times due to falling trees.

Gigantic 10 bedroom homes with 2-3 people living in them. Very creepy and weird in my opinion but since having to tolerate living out here means you get a ton for your money I guess people figure why not. Conspicuous consumption is alive and well here.

Mostly people who live there fight horribly with each other over things like passing two at a time over bridges, people going 5mph over the speed limit, deer eating their flowers, etc. A lot of people with too much time on their hands equals bitter, nosy, finger waving busy bodies that one cannot help but roll eyes at. Some really great people live here too, just haven't met many yet.

Beautiful area, but traffic constantly backed up on the pike due to park visitors and dck heads from Maryland cutting through. Also, during the rains the 2 bridges flood.

Don't count on your child having friends here, nor yourself. Nice if you like privacy. Most people here are old retirees.

[b]Only one grocery store that is hands down the worst store in America[/b].[/quote]

This is nothing like my experience living in GF - I love it here (and we're just Feds). It is clearly not the right neighborhood for you![/quote]

Ah, the Soviet Safeway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are parts of Great Falls that I would take over parts of 22101 and there are parts of 22101 that I would take over Great Falls. There are no absolutes.

But I agree with the poster that, generally, Great Falls gets nicer the closer in you get while McLean gets nicer the further out you get.

I rarely use the terms Upper McLean or Lower McLean, but I have heard them used. Not as widely used as North Arlington and South Arlington though.

+1

That's because N and S are part of your address in Arlington.

I don't live in Great Falls, but I think it's beautiful and can completely understand why people select it for their homes. It is so different than all of the other communities around here- beautiful rolling hills, elegant country homes, quiet and spacious. I go to the park on weekends and it's so peaceful driving through Great Falls. Not all people want to be close to the city because a very large percentage of people work outside of the city.

[quote=Anonymous]Power out all the time due to storms or weather. Internet out all the time due to location/weather. Power out in summer, power out in winter. A lot of times due to falling trees.

Gigantic 10 bedroom homes with 2-3 people living in them. Very creepy and weird in my opinion but since having to tolerate living out here means you get a ton for your money I guess people figure why not. Conspicuous consumption is alive and well here.

Mostly people who live there fight horribly with each other over things like passing two at a time over bridges, people going 5mph over the speed limit, deer eating their flowers, etc. A lot of people with too much time on their hands equals bitter, nosy, finger waving busy bodies that one cannot help but roll eyes at. Some really great people live here too, just haven't met many yet.

Beautiful area, but traffic constantly backed up on the pike due to park visitors and dck heads from Maryland cutting through. Also, during the rains the 2 bridges flood.

Don't count on your child having friends here, nor yourself. Nice if you like privacy. Most people here are old retirees.

Only one grocery store that is hands down the worst store in America.[/quote]

This is nothing like my experience living in GF - I love it here (and we're just Feds). It is clearly not the right neighborhood for you!

Power out all the time due to storms or weather. Internet out all the time due to location/weather. Power out in summer, power out in winter. A lot of times due to falling trees.

Gigantic 10 bedroom homes with 2-3 people living in them. Very creepy and weird in my opinion but since having to tolerate living out here means you get a ton for your money I guess people figure why not. Conspicuous consumption is alive and well here.

Mostly people who live there fight horribly with each other over things like passing two at a time over bridges, people going 5mph over the speed limit, deer eating their flowers, etc. A lot of people with too much time on their hands equals bitter, nosy, finger waving busy bodies that one cannot help but roll eyes at. Some really great people live here too, just haven't met many yet.

Beautiful area, but traffic constantly backed up on the pike due to park visitors and dck heads from Maryland cutting through. Also, during the rains the 2 bridges flood.

Don't count on your child having friends here, nor yourself. Nice if you like privacy. Most people here are old retirees.

Only one grocery store that is hands down the worst store in America.