*Neighborhoods* in Vienna and McLean?

[riley1319]

Originally Posted by Jlyles

For what it's worth, I like your sense of humor. My husband takes a casual approach towards the commute (starts a bit later, stays late) and works in Tysons. One of the grand commandments for our purchase was that it was close to the toll road. 15 minutes is nothing for a commute! Good for you for knowing what you want. I'd say McMansion is probably not in your future, let your Realtor know your needs and you'll find something great!

Thanks.

My husband has agreed to drive some of the potential commutes this week and next. I'm trying to stay positive, but we're just not finding exactly what we're looking for and I'm starting to get a bit bummed. I just can't fathom spending the kind of money we've talked about and not having everything we want. I'm done whining, it's just a mental shift.

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by riley1319

Thanks.

My husband has agreed to drive some of the potential commutes this week and next. I'm trying to stay positive, but we're just not finding exactly what we're looking for and I'm starting to get a bit bummed. I just can't fathom spending the kind of money we've talked about and not having everything we want. I'm done whining, it's just a mental shift.

You may want to think about buying a tear-down and building a custom home to have everything you want. Then you could rent for a while as your custom home is finished. It would likely make the commute for your husband easier as well.

[Doppelganger69]

Hi Riley! I haven't seen all your threads, so this may have been answered, but have you checked out the Town of Vienna? I think it offers a lot of what you're looking for with respect to a neighborhood feel. If you live within walking distance of an elementary school, you'll see lots of families walking to and from school, plus you can play on the playground during off hours as your neighborhood playground. Also, there is a lot of new construction going on right now, so if you buy a house that's currently under construction, you can have input into a lot of the final details while not waiting too long before you can move in.

My favorite neighborhood in TOV is the SE/SW area near Whole Foods and Park St, including Vienna Woods (alas, it is not where I live!) From there, you can walk to the community center, W&OD trail, ice cream, Starbucks, restaurants, the library, Cunningham Park or Vienna Elementary Schools, etc. Some streets have sidewalks and there are a number of cul-de-sacs, increasing the neighborhood feel. If you want particular house suggestions, I can forward some to you.

As for pools, in the Town of Vienna there are Vienna Woods Swim Club (which has a 7-year waiting list) and Vienna Aquatic Club (not sure about wait list.) However, there's also Hunter Mill Swim & Racquet club about 10 minutes up Lawyer's Road, which either has memberships available or a short wait list. Last I checked, Dunn Loring Swim Club also had memberships available (either to buy or rent; I can't remember).

All that said, I've found that moving here is in fact all about compromises that I wouldn't have made in other places I've lived. We had a particular wish list and also had to go through the process of realizing that we would spend more than we planned to get less than we had hoped. Compared to say, Ohio, it would be a raw deal, but for around here, I think we've done well (decent commute, excellent schools, friendly neighbors, convenient location, and not quite bankrupted by the house cost). All in all, I'm happy with the trade-offs we have made to live here, though I sometimes complain about my house and the dearth of sidewalks.

Good luck!

[riley1319]

Originally Posted by Doppelganger69

Hi Riley! I haven't seen all your threads, so this may have been answered, but have you checked out the Town of Vienna? I think it offers a lot of what you're looking for with respect to a neighborhood feel. If you live within walking distance of an elementary school, you'll see lots of families walking to and from school, plus you can play on the playground during off hours as your neighborhood playground. Also, there is a lot of new construction going on right now, so if you buy a house that's currently under construction, you can have input into a lot of the final details while not waiting too long before you can move in.

My favorite neighborhood in TOV is the SE/SW area near Whole Foods and Park St, including Vienna Woods (alas, it is not where I live!) From there, you can walk to the community center, W&OD trail, ice cream, Starbucks, restaurants, the library, Cunningham Park or Vienna Elementary Schools, etc. Some streets have sidewalks and there are a number of cul-de-sacs, increasing the neighborhood feel. If you want particular house suggestions, I can forward some to you.

As for pools, in the Town of Vienna there are Vienna Woods Swim Club (which has a 7-year waiting list) and Vienna Aquatic Club (not sure about wait list.) However, there's also Hunter Mill Swim & Racquet club about 10 minutes up Lawyer's Road, which either has memberships available or a short wait list. Last I checked, Dunn Loring Swim Club also had memberships available (either to buy or rent; I can't remember).

All that said, I've found that moving here is in fact all about compromises that I wouldn't have made in other places I've lived. We had a particular wish list and also had to go through the process of realizing that we would spend more than we planned to get less than we had hoped. Compared to say, Ohio, it would be a raw deal, but for around here, I think we've done well (decent commute, excellent schools, friendly neighbors, convenient location, and not quite bankrupted by the house cost). All in all, I'm happy with the trade-offs we have made to live here, though I sometimes complain about my house and the dearth of sidewalks.

Good luck!

We have tossed around the idea of ToV. We drove around the areas you mentioned and stopped for ice cream at Stone Cold Creamery. My hang up is that ToV is similar to where we live now. We're in a neighborhood close to the city with new homes (craftsmans/bungalows) next to older ones (in fact we've built two houses in this same neighborhood). So we've kind of been there done that with the building thing and I'm a bit over craftsmans. My boys ride their bikes on the sidewalks and we have to be careful b/c our streets are used at cut-throughs. There really is something to be said for a cul-de-sac.

I'm certain we'll find something, somewhere that will be great. I just feel like we're having a hard time focusing.

BTW, I spoke to my husband this morning expecting tales of woe around his drive to Tysons from Fairfax - it took him 10 minutes. He left at 7:30 and drove up 495. Now the man does have a tendency to underestimate all time related things, but even if it was 15 I have to assume this was a particularly good traffic day.

[SallyField]

Originally Posted by JEB77

Getting a bit granular here, but Shouse Village is actually south of Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) and north of the Toll Road (Route 267). Most of the streets have music-inspired names (Tuba, Cello, Mandolin, etc.). The neighborhoods just south of 267 near Wolf Trap are nice, too, but they're in a different school pyramid (Wolftrap ES/Kilmer MS/Marshall HS).

Oops, my mistake. I had a friend who lived on Shouse Drive (has since moved), and I always thought it was "below" 267, but I just checked a map and I guess my memory wasn't as good as I thought! In any event, that was the neighborhood I was thinking of in my earlier post.

[michgc]

I don't know if Town of Vienna is right for you or not but I just wanted to let you know that there are a ton of cul-de-sacs in the Town. You just have to jump on them when they come up. I really think you'd like the Lakevale community. And as mentioned above, Shouse Village might be a good fit.

[Jlyles]

Understood. There are so many options out there, really. I have a couple now that's probably a year out, but they've really told me two different stories of what they want. And they're pretty experienced too .. fortunately we have a couple of months to explore the possibilities.

Originally Posted by riley1319

Thanks.

My husband has agreed to drive some of the potential commutes this week and next. I'm trying to stay positive, but we're just not finding exactly what we're looking for and I'm starting to get a bit bummed. I just can't fathom spending the kind of money we've talked about and not having everything we want. I'm done whining, it's just a mental shift.

[Movingwesttoeast]

I agree with doppelganger about the town of Vienna. I live in the NE section, close to the park. We can walk into town. It is great. There are more cul de sacs on this side, even close in. My kids ride their bikes around, we walk to the library/ice cream shop/WF. The SE section has lots of great places too -- and I know lots of people who love it there. Cul de sac homes do come up in NE Vienna. There is great family home on a cul de sac for sale in NE right now (it had sold, but the deal just feel through due to financing and it is back on the market). It is priced just below 1M...15 years old, so maybe it need some updating, but it backs to the park. Super area, and it gets better all the time. I have been here two years, we looked for homes, and more importantly neighborhoods, for 7 months before we found our place here (and bought it the day it came on the market). We love it.

I hope you find something you love too.

[blueskysunnyday]

Riley1319 I'm wondering where you ended up. We too are looking in McLean and in the River Falls neighborhood in MD.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by blueskysunnyday

Riley1319 I'm wondering where you ended up. We too are looking in McLean and in the River Falls neighborhood in MD.

I'm not sure that Riley1319 visits C-D too frequently now. Her family ended up in McLean, but I'm not sure where. For some reason, I think she's in the Langley HS district, but that's a big area.