We're a mixed family (not Asian). Pick McLean side that feeds into McLean HS. City of Falls Church is very white.

PP, she did say Mclean and Falls Church, and Falls Church (City) just screams granola to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I'm just going to put this out there and I'm sure I'll be flamed, but I can't figure out another way to get a feel for this.

We're a mixed race immigrant family with two kids, have been living EOTP in the District but now it's time to move for middle school. All the people we know who live outside DC live in Takoma Park, Silver Spring, Kensington, a few in the Rockville area. Every time I do kid activities in MoCo I run into friends. It's definitely more our vibe BUT the commute sucks from there and would be way better for us from NoVa. Inner Arlington seems expensive for the space and the schools don't seem as good as Fairfax. So we're thinking-gasp-McLean or Falls Church, the more walkable parts (I know those are pretty few and far between). I have heard some neighborhoods are friendly but I'm afraid that everyone will be a moneyed Republican lobbyist and I won't fit in. I know I probably have inaccurate stereotypes, but are there down to earth, crunchy, immigrant, mixed race, LGBTQ families out there?

TIA.. I tried to ask my real estate agent these questions and couldn't really get answers. I think she thinks I'm crazy.

I find it a bit ironic that you are picking some of the most expensive suburbs yet are scared of the moneyed. Who do you think lives there? There will absolutely be down to earth, crunchy, immigrant, mixed race, lbgtq families in McLean and Falls Church. Most, though, will be at least somewhat moneyed. There are very few low-income families there, and if you've been looking there, you know why. Own this.

PP, I think you're massively overstating your case. People make a lot of RE decisions based upon publicly available metrics like price, schools, commute, etc., but there are important non-obvious characteristics. McLean, IME, has even for a monied part of this area, an especially high % of people whose plush lives are a function of cooperation with America's empire and this includes many of the immigrant and non-white families. People will in the main be quite polite, but you might have to be somewhat creative in finding people who are truly crunchy and into your way of seeing things. But that might not be a bad thing...

This is a cool map. Maybe you'll find it helpful, OP.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/upshot/election-2016-voting-precinct-maps.html#10.44/38.937/-76.994

Anonymous wrote:So I'm just going to put this out there and I'm sure I'll be flamed, but I can't figure out another way to get a feel for this.

We're a mixed race immigrant family with two kids, have been living EOTP in the District but now it's time to move for middle school. All the people we know who live outside DC live in Takoma Park, Silver Spring, Kensington, a few in the Rockville area. Every time I do kid activities in MoCo I run into friends. It's definitely more our vibe BUT the commute sucks from there and would be way better for us from NoVa. Inner Arlington seems expensive for the space and the schools don't seem as good as Fairfax. So we're thinking-gasp-McLean or Falls Church, the more walkable parts (I know those are pretty few and far between). I have heard some neighborhoods are friendly but I'm afraid that everyone will be a moneyed Republican lobbyist and I won't fit in. I know I probably have inaccurate stereotypes, but are there down to earth, crunchy, immigrant, mixed race, LGBTQ families out there?

TIA.. I tried to ask my real estate agent these questions and couldn't really get answers. I think she thinks I'm crazy.

I find it a bit ironic that you are picking some of the most expensive suburbs yet are scared of the moneyed. Who do you think lives there? There will absolutely be down to earth, crunchy, immigrant, mixed race, lbgtq families in McLean and Falls Church. Most, though, will be at least somewhat moneyed. There are very few low-income families there, and if you've been looking there, you know why. Own this.

Anonymous wrote:Virginia is not the place for you. Decide if you want to be comfortable when you get home or if you want to get to work faster. But you know VA isn't the place you want it to be socially which is why you started this thread.

Why do you say that? Their politics would fit in just fine in South Arlington, Alexandria (not ONLY Del Ray) Reston, Vienna. It just seems that for commute reasons they are limiting to Falls Church, North Arlington, and McLean. And don't want to spend what North Arlington would cost (though they would fit in there too, I think).

Anonymous wrote:We are an affluent two-immigrant household in McLean. I am from Eastern Europe and DH is Arab and very brown. No issues and everyone has been welcoming. I think that NOVA suburbs are more Democratic and liberal than not, and even when Republican, it's generally more liberal. McLean in particular has many residents who settled there when it wasn't prohibitively expensive.

One thing I wanted to add that often gets lost in these discussions is that McLean is genuinely a very nice place to live. It's green, clean and quite diverse. There are great parks, libraries and many rec centers close to you with all kinds of offerings. You will never be short of a pool or a class for your kids. Schools are great. It's close to DC. It is honestly a great place to settle. It's not very walkable and restaurants are limited but no one moves here for the dining scene you know. On the plus side, you are close to scores of ethnic food stores.

Anonymous wrote:So the thing is.. those places are more republican than liberal... and more white not ...and do have tons of immigrants but there is a HUGE caveat.

The type of immigrant you are matters. A Hispanic immigrant will be treated a lot different than an European immigrant. For example, if you are Hispanic, it's automatically assumed you are poor, household help, or that you dont live in the more affluent areas. I am not sure of your ethnicity, but keep that in mind.

The more affluent the place is, and the further you are away from white and wealthy appearing, the less people will treat you like you belong. I am an Arlington resident and frequently disgusted at how people move to the other side of the street when a hispanic person is approaching them, or how people dont stop at a crosswalk for anyone of color but will stop for someone who is white (there's actually been studies on this, but I see it first hand daily). This gets worse the whiter/conservative/wealthier you go in VA. I could go on and on, but I am a minority in an affluent area and can promise you that if you are the "wrong" ethnicity, it wont be a cake walk. However, dont let this deter you from living where you want. You will be able to find like-minded friends wherever you go, you just have to deal with the bullshit that might surround you. If you and your kids have tough skin and can ignore ignorance and rise above it, you'll be just fine.

Exactly. OP if you're Asian you'll be fine.

Virginia is not the place for you. Decide if you want to be comfortable when you get home or if you want to get to work faster. But you know VA isn't the place you want it to be socially which is why you started this thread.

We are an affluent two-immigrant household in McLean. I am from Eastern Europe and DH is Arab and very brown. No issues and everyone has been welcoming. I think that NOVA suburbs are more Democratic and liberal than not, and even when Republican, it's generally more liberal. McLean in particular has many residents who settled there when it wasn't prohibitively expensive.

Anonymous wrote:So I'm just going to put this out there and I'm sure I'll be flamed, but I can't figure out another way to get a feel for this.

We're a mixed race immigrant family with two kids, have been living EOTP in the District but now it's time to move for middle school. All the people we know who live outside DC live in Takoma Park, Silver Spring, Kensington, a few in the Rockville area. Every time I do kid activities in MoCo I run into friends. It's definitely more our vibe BUT the commute sucks from there and would be way better for us from NoVa. Inner Arlington seems expensive for the space and the schools don't seem as good as Fairfax. So we're thinking-gasp-McLean or Falls Church, the more walkable parts (I know those are pretty few and far between). I have heard some neighborhoods are friendly but I'm afraid that everyone will be a moneyed Republican lobbyist and I won't fit in. I know I probably have inaccurate stereotypes, but are there down to earth, crunchy, immigrant, mixed race, LGBTQ families out there?

TIA.. I tried to ask my real estate agent these questions and couldn't really get answers. I think she thinks I'm crazy.

Are you okay with moneyed democratic lobbyists (like our lovable ex-governor, Terry McAuliffe?) If so, you will likely be okay with McLean. As others have pointed out, while its more GOP than almost any other close in place in NoVa, it votes slightly blue these days (not sure if that would hold if you looked only at SFH owners, but it might). But lefties these ain't, mostly. Kind of people who voted for Hillary in the primary, and probably a lot of them felt she leaned a bit too far left "if only Bloomberg would run". They vote blue in large part because both the national and Va GOP have gone so far right.

You also mentioned walkable. There are places in McLean where you can be close enough to downtown McLean to walk there - there is plenty of retail, restaurants, etc there (including quite a few indie places) but they are almost all in typical suburban shopping centers. Not really where I enjoy walking, but yes, you can get some errands done on foot. If by walkability you are envisioning something more"urban" City of Falls Church would be a much better choice.

I also think City of Falls Church would be somewhat 'crunchier' though still its going to be nothing like Takoma Park. City of Falls Church is probably somewhats whiter than McLean but it does have POCs. Someone is likely going to mention that in 1947 the then village of Falls Church became an independent City to preserve in anticipation of integration, in an attempt to seperate from nearby black areas. While that is true, it really does not speak to the City today, which is encouraging more racial and SES diversity (and frankly all of Va had segregation in those days, there are no historically "innocent" jurisdictions here)

BTW, I am not at all sure the schools in Arlington are not as good as in Fairfax. Arlington faces some issues with capacity, but it has a generally well run and sought after school system.

So the thing is.. those places are more republican than liberal... and more white not ...and do have tons of immigrants but there is a HUGE caveat.

The type of immigrant you are matters. A Hispanic immigrant will be treated a lot different than an European immigrant. For example, if you are Hispanic, it's automatically assumed you are poor, household help, or that you dont live in the more affluent areas. I am not sure of your ethnicity, but keep that in mind.

The more affluent the place is, and the further you are away from white and wealthy appearing, the less people will treat you like you belong. I am an Arlington resident and frequently disgusted at how people move to the other side of the street when a hispanic person is approaching them, or how people dont stop at a crosswalk for anyone of color but will stop for someone who is white (there's actually been studies on this, but I see it first hand daily). This gets worse the whiter/conservative/wealthier you go in VA. I could go on and on, but I am a minority in an affluent area and can promise you that if you are the "wrong" ethnicity, it wont be a cake walk. However, dont let this deter you from living where you want. You will be able to find like-minded friends wherever you go, you just have to deal with the bullshit that might surround you. If you and your kids have tough skin and can ignore ignorance and rise above it, you'll be just fine.

Anonymous wrote:Might be time for a new agent. Is she a minority?

Agents can't really talk about who lives where. OP, MHS has more of a mix than LHS, since you asked.

Anonymous wrote:in McLean the only thing people care is money
If you are loaded, then McLean is perfect for you, none else matters

haters gonna hate

in McLean the only thing people care is money
If you are loaded, then McLean is perfect for you, none else matters