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!

There are also plenty of people on the FCPS forums who claim schools there are going downhill, they aren’t what they were a few years ago etc. The current complaints appear to center around the current focus on equity issues like skills based grading. A poster on skills based grading in an Arlington Public Schools thread talked about the disastrous rollout in Falls Church City Schools. Do note that forums like this breed negativity. Positive news just isn’t as interesting for an online forum.

The public schools in both communities, Tysons (ie McLean, Falls Church, Vienna) and Bethesda are in wealthy areas and thus are often considered among the most “desirable” in the DC area.

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!

Hi OP - despite the discussion on the MCPS boards, MCPS schools are not a monolith and the schools in Bethesda are still great. We go to one and friends in several others and all are very happy. If you have specific questions happy to answer but I would still put Bethesda schools above most others, including those near Tysons.

I live in Bethesda near the river and work in Tyson’s. My commute is 15 minutes in the morning and about 30-40 minutes on the way home.

Hardly soul sucking.

I wouldn’t live in Tysons for any amount of money. It is a horrible place..Strip malls, loud cars, zero walkability and chain restaurants galore. . It’s my personal hell on earth, but my business is there and it’s fine to spend a few hours a day. Good spot for offices and that’s about it.

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!

What are the issues you are concerned about?

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!

I work by Tysons but live in Maryland. Funny part I have coworkers in Ashburn and even Culpepper in VA who are like you commute from Maryland?

Meanwhile I live 14 miles from office. Takes me like 23 minutes in morning and like 40 minutes on way home if rush hour.

My office is in a soul sucking office complex wedged off 95 so not like you want to live next to it.

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Anonymous wrote:I was born in Maryland but have lived in Virginia for years. In general, NoVa is more dynamic and less stuck-up than the nicer parts of Montgomery County, and it has fewer run-down areas. There's more new construction, you're closer to the airports, and the public education system is better. It also seems to skew more Asian in terms of the minority population, which is a plus for our family (we are part Asian). If we were Jewish, we would probably live in Bethesda. And if we'd gone into journalism rather than law and consulting, we might have looked at Chevy Chase.

I was born in Nova but have lived in MD for five years. In general, Nova is more hillbilly... Moco people seem more educated and reasonable. They don't have a crazy MAGA governor.

This is a stupid take. NoVa is not hillbilly. And you've obviously have never been to Upper MoCo or Frederick Co if you think NoVa is hillbilly.

Once again you're comparing NoVa to the entire state of Maryland.

Once again, you can't read. No one compared Nova to all of Maryland. You do realize that upper MoCo is part of Loco, right?

Once again, you're arguing in bad faith. You clearly mentioned Frederick County, as anybody can scroll up to see.

OP, this is the type of person you'd be living near in Tyson's.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was born in Maryland but have lived in Virginia for years. In general, NoVa is more dynamic and less stuck-up than the nicer parts of Montgomery County, and it has fewer run-down areas. There's more new construction, you're closer to the airports, and the public education system is better. It also seems to skew more Asian in terms of the minority population, which is a plus for our family (we are part Asian). If we were Jewish, we would probably live in Bethesda. And if we'd gone into journalism rather than law and consulting, we might have looked at Chevy Chase.

I was born in Nova but have lived in MD for five years. In general, Nova is more hillbilly... Moco people seem more educated and reasonable. They don't have a crazy MAGA governor.

This is a stupid take. NoVa is not hillbilly. And you've obviously have never been to Upper MoCo or Frederick Co if you think NoVa is hillbilly.

Once again you're comparing NoVa to the entire state of Maryland.

Once again, you can't read. No one compared Nova to all of Maryland. You do realize that upper MoCo is part of Loco, right?

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Anonymous wrote:depends a lot on how much money you're making. 300K+??? 3% county tax over 20 years adds up.

This is OP. Yes the higher income tax in MD is pointing us towards Tysons for financial reasons, but I do like the feel in Bethesda/Chevy Chase for a family with little kids. It has been a while since I have been in Tysons Corner, but it just looks like a bigger, more congested version of what I saw over 5 years ago.

Seems there are more 3 bedroom apartments available for rent in the newer complexes in Tysons at a cheaper rate than the 3 bedrooms in Bethesda. So again, financially VA makes more sense, but for non-tangibles of raising a family I prefer Bethesda/Chevy Chase area.

Maybe it comes down to a coin flip unless there is something else I am missing.

OP, I think both locations are fine and each have lots to recommend them. I’m a little stuck on why you are limiting yourself to apartment complexes in Tysons (or perhaps I am misunderstanding?). In your position I would be comparing life in Bethesda against life in Falls Church City, Mclean or Vienna (each a pretty easy commute to Tysons). Good luck!

+1. You wouldn’t want to live in Tysons directly.

There’s a lot of new development in Tysons and it’s fine to live there now. For example, some of the new areas around The Mile are quite nice.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was born in Maryland but have lived in Virginia for years. In general, NoVa is more dynamic and less stuck-up than the nicer parts of Montgomery County, and it has fewer run-down areas. There's more new construction, you're closer to the airports, and the public education system is better. It also seems to skew more Asian in terms of the minority population, which is a plus for our family (we are part Asian). If we were Jewish, we would probably live in Bethesda. And if we'd gone into journalism rather than law and consulting, we might have looked at Chevy Chase.

I was born in Nova but have lived in MD for five years. In general, Nova is more hillbilly... Moco people seem more educated and reasonable. They don't have a crazy MAGA governor.

This is a stupid take. NoVa is not hillbilly. And you've obviously have never been to Upper MoCo or Frederick Co if you think NoVa is hillbilly.

Once again you're comparing NoVa to the entire state of Maryland.

I wouldn’t want to live in any county where Marc Elrich was the county executive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:depends a lot on how much money you're making. 300K+??? 3% county tax over 20 years adds up.

This is OP. Yes the higher income tax in MD is pointing us towards Tysons for financial reasons, but I do like the feel in Bethesda/Chevy Chase for a family with little kids. It has been a while since I have been in Tysons Corner, but it just looks like a bigger, more congested version of what I saw over 5 years ago.

Seems there are more 3 bedroom apartments available for rent in the newer complexes in Tysons at a cheaper rate than the 3 bedrooms in Bethesda. So again, financially VA makes more sense, but for non-tangibles of raising a family I prefer Bethesda/Chevy Chase area.

Maybe it comes down to a coin flip unless there is something else I am missing.

OP, I think both locations are fine and each have lots to recommend them. I’m a little stuck on why you are limiting yourself to apartment complexes in Tysons (or perhaps I am misunderstanding?). In your position I would be comparing life in Bethesda against life in Falls Church City, Mclean or Vienna (each a pretty easy commute to Tysons). Good luck!

+1. You wouldn’t want to live in Tysons directly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was born in Maryland but have lived in Virginia for years. In general, NoVa is more dynamic and less stuck-up than the nicer parts of Montgomery County, and it has fewer run-down areas. There's more new construction, you're closer to the airports, and the public education system is better. It also seems to skew more Asian in terms of the minority population, which is a plus for our family (we are part Asian). If we were Jewish, we would probably live in Bethesda. And if we'd gone into journalism rather than law and consulting, we might have looked at Chevy Chase.

I was born in Nova but have lived in MD for five years. In general, Nova is more hillbilly... Moco people seem more educated and reasonable. They don't have a crazy MAGA governor.

This is a stupid take. NoVa is not hillbilly. And you've obviously have never been to Upper MoCo or Frederick Co if you think NoVa is hillbilly.

Anonymous wrote:I moved from Chevy Chase to Tysons and never looked back. My 1960 house in CC was a constant maintenance nightmare and the closest restaurant was La Ferme (barf). Although it's a bit of a walk, I can now hit Jiwa Singapura in the Galleria, Eddie V at Tysons, and other restaurants. Plus it has a youthful vibe and people doing real jobs (e.g. not government drones)

I would take CC 100% over just about anywhere in NOVA.

Lots of restaurants in the B-CC area -- who knows why you just went to Le Ferme. Anyone with a car can hit the Galleria if need be.

Anonymous wrote:I was born in Maryland but have lived in Virginia for years. In general, NoVa is more dynamic and less stuck-up than the nicer parts of Montgomery County, and it has fewer run-down areas. There's more new construction, you're closer to the airports, and the public education system is better. It also seems to skew more Asian in terms of the minority population, which is a plus for our family (we are part Asian). If we were Jewish, we would probably live in Bethesda. And if we'd gone into journalism rather than law and consulting, we might have looked at Chevy Chase.

I was born in Nova but have lived in MD for five years. In general, Nova is more hillbilly... Moco people seem more educated and reasonable. They don't have a crazy MAGA governor.