Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vienna could work too - just a bit further out, but still FCPS.
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Vienna/8320-Wolftrap-Rd-22182/home/9833777

This is not walkable and if mclean is borderline too far, Vienna is too far.

OP sure does want a lot for a small budget.

It's walkable to both the elementary and middle school for the kids. It's not far from the Greensboro metro if OP could drop spouse off there.

That's pretty close to my neighborhood - we are happy with the schools and the location.

Anonymous wrote:Not to open another can of worms and make it a 20-page thread, but I am starting to see another topic/concern emerging. Are people with our budget of 1.2m considered a "financially struggling" category? We like to live below means and could up our budget, but I don't see the necessity as I see properties meeting the needs in this budget, maybe not to everyone's standards, but ok for us. I am just looking for feedback on the feel and character of the the areas as well as schools more so than to try to find out if we are going to feel poor in one area vs. another, but maybe that's important too.

To add to this, someone posted a house in Mclean for under 900K which in my books is totally livable with some updates for which there is certainly room in the budget. Seems walkable to DT Mclean too, what am I missing? Not that we are ready to get over there now and look at this house, but if such options exist as well as others posted here, I don't necessarily feel like we are "priced out".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to open another can of worms and make it a 20-page thread, but I am starting to see another topic/concern emerging. Are people with our budget of 1.2m considered a "financially struggling" category? We like to live below means and could up our budget, but I don't see the necessity as I see properties meeting the needs in this budget, maybe not to everyone's standards, but ok for us. I am just looking for feedback on the feel and character of the the areas as well as schools more so than to try to find out if we are going to feel poor in one area vs. another, but maybe that's important too.

We bought a SFH in McLean past summer for $1.25mil, we do not consider ourselves financially struggling and neither does anyone else, lots of UMC families buying expensive properties for schools and commute. I see more Toyotas and Hondas in McLean compared to my former neighborhood in the exurbs. Have no such thoughts even for a minute, UMC families like us are the backbone of public schools in McLean.

Agreed with this poster - absolutely not. my house is worth way less than 1.2 million in Arlington and I definitely don't feel out of place in the slightest. I think the people posting that your budget is low were more commenting that for the close in suburbs you often have to give in some areas - maybe a little less walkable for a little more house, or for us it was a little smaller house to be more walkable. But it sounds like you're willing to make those adjustments and honestly I don't think you'll have to make many with your budget. Your budget is NOT small OP. DCUM can be crazy - and is not always aligned with reality. it can be helpful, but is not always realistic and DEFINITELY not a representative sample. The only place where I think there is an even higher density of kids with very, very, very high income parents (or where it's more obvious? I'm not sure) is Langley I would think. But I could be wrong, that's just my perception.

I feel like this convo has devolved to feeling like when you go into the money and finances thread here and everyone seems to be a multi millionaire when obviously that's not actually representative.

Not really. Langley HS in McLean is the wealthiest school in NoVa and the median sales price for a single-family home there over the past 12 months is $1.17 million. It’s just that houses in Arlington or McLean that ticked what posters understood to tick all of your buttons (five bedrooms, good condition, excellent schools, no further out than McLean, and some walkability) cost more. Once you accept some of the compromises, more properties become options, but $1.2M is still far more than most people spend on houses in NoVa.

Anonymous wrote:Not to open another can of worms and make it a 20-page thread, but I am starting to see another topic/concern emerging. Are people with our budget of 1.2m considered a "financially struggling" category? We like to live below means and could up our budget, but I don't see the necessity as I see properties meeting the needs in this budget, maybe not to everyone's standards, but ok for us. I am just looking for feedback on the feel and character of the the areas as well as schools more so than to try to find out if we are going to feel poor in one area vs. another, but maybe that's important too.

We bought a SFH in McLean past summer for $1.25mil, we do not consider ourselves financially struggling and neither does anyone else, lots of UMC families buying expensive properties for schools and commute. I see more Toyotas and Hondas in McLean compared to my former neighborhood in the exurbs. Have no such thoughts even for a minute, UMC families like us are the backbone of public schools in McLean.

Not to open another can of worms and make it a 20-page thread, but I am starting to see another topic/concern emerging. Are people with our budget of 1.2m considered a "financially struggling" category? We like to live below means and could up our budget, but I don't see the necessity as I see properties meeting the needs in this budget, maybe not to everyone's standards, but ok for us. I am just looking for feedback on the feel and character of the the areas as well as schools more so than to try to find out if we are going to feel poor in one area vs. another, but maybe that's important too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vienna could work too - just a bit further out, but still FCPS.
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Vienna/8320-Wolftrap-Rd-22182/home/9833777

This is not walkable and if mclean is borderline too far, Vienna is too far.

OP sure does want a lot for a small budget.

Ops budget is 1.2 million, which in no world is small. He's not asking for a 5 bedroom new build in a walkable area with a huge lot in Arlington. I feel like people are putting their own perceptions and wants about what op is looking for onto it instead of looking at what they actually want. OP specifically said it could be an older home, four bedrooms with space in the basement etc. These options may definitely have bidding wars and take some time to snag one, but are definitely possible in Arlington. I can't speak for Mclean and lots are bigger so maybe it just takes more. But don't lose hope OP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vienna could work too - just a bit further out, but still FCPS.
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Vienna/8320-Wolftrap-Rd-22182/home/9833777

This is not walkable and if mclean is borderline too far, Vienna is too far.

OP sure does want a lot for a small budget.

1.2 mil is not a small budget, are you people all jaded?

I think PP didn't mean it in a bad way, they probably meant to say that it's a low budget for all the items on OP's checklist +location. OP can have a nice house in Arlington or McLean on that budget but walkability can't be on her/his wishlist.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vienna could work too - just a bit further out, but still FCPS.
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Vienna/8320-Wolftrap-Rd-22182/home/9833777

This is not walkable and if mclean is borderline too far, Vienna is too far.

OP sure does want a lot for a small budget.

1.2 mil is not a small budget, are you people all jaded?

Anonymous wrote:Vienna could work too - just a bit further out, but still FCPS.
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Vienna/8320-Wolftrap-Rd-22182/home/9833777

This is not walkable and if mclean is borderline too far, Vienna is too far.

OP sure does want a lot for a small budget.

Hi OP - I was one of the westover Arlington posters early on. It sounds like Mclean may be a great fit for you. I agree with the other poster that clarified that I don't think any of us meant that the academics in Arlington aren't rigorous, just that the over all feel is a little more laid back, money a little less overt. It is still a highly competitive, intense academic environment for better or worse. Remember to take everything said here with a grain of salt, it is all each of our individual opinions, colored by our experiences and background, and own personal preferences. I mean that for my thoughts on Westover as well - it's the best place for me, but it may not be for you - that's normal. And there is a history here of a weird competition on DCUM about mclean vs arlington that I know the vast majority of arlington and mclean-ers do not want to participate in and never would in real life. So it will do you best to ignore some of that back and forth, as I don't think it's reflective of Arlington (or Mclean). That being said I would never want to be dismissive of the person who identified as a POC and said they had a bad experience in Arlington - it is upsetting to hear and I agree that Arlington along with many of our neighbors still have a lot of work to do to be a more integrated place. There is a lot to unpack there, more than I think is possible on dcum. It sounds like there were varying experiences and since this is an anonymous board it's hard to parse out.

I don't know Mclean real estate as well and a look on Redfin did seem to confirm what some are saying about not being able to meet your criteria near the downtown area there. I think you may be able to get what you want in Mclean, but you may have to forgo the walkability piece since it looks like the houses close to the little downtown area are very expensive.

I do think you could meet all your criteria in Arlington if you ended up considering it. Sharing these in case it's helpful as examples since so many were saying it's not possible, not in an effort to promote Arlington. Wherever you end up - Mclean or Arlington, I hope and think you will find it a more welcoming place than DCUM has made either of them seem!

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/5325-16th-Rd-N-22205/home/11237022 - not the most ideally walkable of Arlington, but your family in staying with you that doesn't drive could easily walk up to the shops at Harrison street from here and a longer walk to Westover. Also there is probably a bus easy to Ballston. Basement is perfect for guests.

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/6019-9th-Rd-N-22205/home/11241044 4 bed but plenty of nooks and looks like a bedroom and bath downstairs. Walkable to the Safeway, pupatella, a great little el salvadorian place, super pollo, and a longer walk but definitely walkable to Westover. 5 minute bus ride to Ballston.

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/5709-6th-St-N-22205/home/12027083 may be a little over budget but similar to the one above, those a little harder to walk to westover from there.

Vienna could work too - just a bit further out, but still FCPS.
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Vienna/8320-Wolftrap-Rd-22182/home/9833777

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hm. I'm not sure that walkable, 5 bedrooms, and $1.2M is going to happen in Arlington or McLean. It's a pretty hot market for those types of properties and you should expect to engage in lots of bidding wars.

I’m the pp from nyc. We had a $2-3m budget. $1.2 will not get you far in McLean. Sorry. We looked for 2 years trying to find what seems like similar to what OP wants.

I was going to suggest areas around chain bridge but these are some of the most expensive and most desired areas of McLean. Short commute to DC. Top schools. Beautiful homes. Tear downs will go for $1m. You can find a modest home but you will be competing with builders trying to buy that house to turn it into a $3m house.

I understand our budget is rather modest for the area, but we don't need a large or nice home and honestly it doesn't have to have real 5 bedrooms, it can be a 4 bedroom with a den or have 2 bedrooms in a basement with only 3 real upstairs bedrooms. We are currently in 1500 sq.ft rowhouse and make do, if we get a 2500 sq.ft home it would be a huge upgrade. One of the bedrooms is going to be home office, so it doesn't need to be a real bedroom in terms of size/closets, etc, just a space where I can close the door and preferably have a window for some daylight. We have only 2 kids, so need only 3 real bedrooms and an in-law bedroom and a den, so technically not a full fledged large 5 bedr house. We also don't care about a yard much, just want a small outdoor space. But we do not want a TH, as we really don't want to share walls or be so close to neighbors and don't want to pay fees. It's going to be tough, and we might have to settle for a 3-4 bedr and do some modification, we don't want to increase the budget as we will have to sell in 10 years, we are looking to put the kids through school and then downsize. We are going to look around some other areas suggested here as well. Thank you for the links and suggestions, I do see things that will work. Need to do some more research on schools, AAP might be a good option.

If that's the case then a split level will be ideal for you, McLean has lots of split levels and they typically have 3bedrooms on the upper floor and 2 on the main floor, it should be doable in your budget but no walkability. Good schools, 4-5 bedrooms and 20-25 min commute, you can't have it all even with a modest house.

This one could be walkable, right?

https://www.redfin.com/VA/McLean/1342-Mayflower-Dr-22101/home/9388486

^I meant 2 on the lower floor.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hm. I'm not sure that walkable, 5 bedrooms, and $1.2M is going to happen in Arlington or McLean. It's a pretty hot market for those types of properties and you should expect to engage in lots of bidding wars.

I’m the pp from nyc. We had a $2-3m budget. $1.2 will not get you far in McLean. Sorry. We looked for 2 years trying to find what seems like similar to what OP wants.

I was going to suggest areas around chain bridge but these are some of the most expensive and most desired areas of McLean. Short commute to DC. Top schools. Beautiful homes. Tear downs will go for $1m. You can find a modest home but you will be competing with builders trying to buy that house to turn it into a $3m house.

I understand our budget is rather modest for the area, but we don't need a large or nice home and honestly it doesn't have to have real 5 bedrooms, it can be a 4 bedroom with a den or have 2 bedrooms in a basement with only 3 real upstairs bedrooms. We are currently in 1500 sq.ft rowhouse and make do, if we get a 2500 sq.ft home it would be a huge upgrade. One of the bedrooms is going to be home office, so it doesn't need to be a real bedroom in terms of size/closets, etc, just a space where I can close the door and preferably have a window for some daylight. We have only 2 kids, so need only 3 real bedrooms and an in-law bedroom and a den, so technically not a full fledged large 5 bedr house. We also don't care about a yard much, just want a small outdoor space. But we do not want a TH, as we really don't want to share walls or be so close to neighbors and don't want to pay fees. It's going to be tough, and we might have to settle for a 3-4 bedr and do some modification, we don't want to increase the budget as we will have to sell in 10 years, we are looking to put the kids through school and then downsize. We are going to look around some other areas suggested here as well. Thank you for the links and suggestions, I do see things that will work. Need to do some more research on schools, AAP might be a good option.

If that's the case then a split level will be ideal for you, McLean has lots of split levels and they typically have 3bedrooms on the upper floor and 2 on the main floor, it should be doable in your budget but no walkability. Good schools, 4-5 bedrooms and 20-25 min commute, you can't have it all even with a modest house.