McLean opinions, and McLean to Reston Commute? (Great Falls: fit in, foreclosure)

[sc_alum]

Originally Posted by 5stones

if you can afford it..McLean hands down great schools from preschool to HS. Close enough to DC that if your have to commute for work you won't kill your self. Great parks and activites for kids and young families.
Great Falls is beautiful I would actually give it an edge to Mclean but...being in your 20's with small kids I think Mclean has a lot more to offer.

Vienna would be more afforable than the other 2 and has great schools as well, it's a bit further from DC than Mclean But has easier Metro acess.

Can you give any recommendations on parks/activities that we should look to have proximity to (in McLean)? We're definitely drawn to the "house on some acreage" idea, but at the same time want to be close to an area where there will be other families/kids etc so our children aren't hobbits

[tankdude]

Best free kid's park in this area: Clemyjontri Park, Clemy Park, Fairfax County Park Authority Playground: Clemyjontri Park, Clemy Park, Fairfax County Park Authority

[VEIK]

Originally Posted by sc_alum

How long does it take you, door to door, with traffic, morning/evening, etc?

It varies, at times its 45 minutes (usually its a Friday) sometimes its over an hour.

Two things to remember:

1. If you get a school bus on Georgetown pike, forget about fast moving traffic. They make tons of stop along that road, very slow.

If that happens - I travel using small back roads deep into Great Falls when I see a slow down, it gets me around that traffic faster.

2. Major slow down on GW Parkway often occurs after Chain Bridge Road and most often before you get to Rosslyn exit. That merge from Arlington is very slow.

[sc_alum]

Originally Posted by tankdude

Best free kid's park in this area: Clemyjontri Park, Clemy Park, Fairfax County Park Authority Playground: Clemyjontri Park, Clemy Park, Fairfax County Park Authority

Haha - this might be a rookie mistake, but are there NOT free parks? i.e. parks that you have to pay for...?

[VEIK]

Now reverse commute is a whole lot better.
I leave DC at 4-30 and hit zero traffic on the way back. I go the same way back too.
GW to GT Pike. Sometimes there is a slow down by Safeway shopping center, but its very minor.

If you are gonna live in Great Falls, study those back roads
-Beach Mill Rd
-Walker Rd
-River Bend Road - my favorite, to bypass most of GT Pike traffic.

[5stones]

here...fairfax county parks and rec
Spring Hill RECenter, Fairfax County Park Authority

Spring Hill rec center is one.

since I haven't lived in Mclean since I was a kid...(churchill rd elem!) I lived out in Loundoun County I can't comment on exact programs etc... I know youth soccer is huge everytime we drove through Mclean on a weekend soccer games were in full force. Swim & Tennis clubs are big as well.

Homepage*- Fairfax County, Virginia
Should have ALL the info you need!!

[claremarie]

Great Falls is lovely, but it's a more rural and somewhat less "suburban" environment. Although there are some older and more typical subdivisions near the shopping area at Walker Road and Georgetown Pike, most of the homes in the rest of Great Falls are large, expensive (well over $1million) and on large lots, with lovely but narrow and winding roads in and between most neighborhoods. If you wanted a house where the kids could ride their trikes down the sidewalk and over to a friend's house, this is not the place.
Most of the homes in Great Falls are a fairly good distance from anything commercial, including the two elementary schools. That's one thing that makes the area so attractive, but it also means a lot more driving around for day to day needs. There is only one community swim/tennis club in Great Falls, and it has a lengthy waiting list, so if you plan to take your kids to the pool on hot summer days, you'll have to travel to a pool in McLean or Vienna. (Unless you join the country club, which probably has its own waiting list).
Clemyjontri is the best playground I have ever visited. It has a wonderful artificial surface (intended for wheelchairs and walkers), but it also means that the park is usable even when the weather has been wet and other playgrounds are too muddy.

[tankdude]

Originally Posted by sc_alum

Haha - this might be a rookie mistake, but are there NOT free parks? i.e. parks that you have to pay for...?

There are TONS of free parks in NoVA. This one just happens to be the most unique kid's park.

[tankdude]

Originally Posted by claremarie

Great Falls is lovely, but it's a more rural and somewhat less "suburban" environment. Although there are some older and more typical subdivisions near the shopping area at Walker Road and Georgetown Pike, most of the homes in the rest of Great Falls are large, expensive (well over $1million) and on large lots, with lovely but narrow and winding roads in and between most neighborhoods. If you wanted a house where the kids could ride their trikes down the sidewalk and over to a friend's house, this is not the place.
Most of the homes in Great Falls are a fairly good distance from anything commercial, including the two elementary schools. That's one thing that makes the area so attractive, but it also means a lot more driving around for day to day needs. There is only one community swim/tennis club in Great Falls, and it has a lengthy waiting list, so if you plan to take your kids to the pool on hot summer days, you'll have to travel to a pool in McLean or Vienna. (Unless you join the country club, which probably has its own waiting list).
Clemyjontri is the best playground I have ever visited. It has a wonderful artificial surface (intended for wheelchairs and walkers), but it also means that the park is usable even when the weather has been wet and other playgrounds are too muddy.

Great Falls is also a very hilly area. I've seen mega mansions built on extreme retaining walls. Just take a drive down Georgetown Pike and you'll see.

The worst thing about Great Falls is that most homes don't have natural gas supply and a lot of homes depend on well water and septic systems.

I can't imagine staying warm during the winter without natural gas, but of course, other options include oil and propane. Most of the newer homes are heated with electricity though.

[JEB77]

Originally Posted by claremarie

Great Falls is lovely, but it's a more rural and somewhat less "suburban" environment. Although there are some older and more typical subdivisions near the shopping area at Walker Road and Georgetown Pike, most of the homes in the rest of Great Falls are large, expensive (well over $1million) and on large lots, with lovely but narrow and winding roads in and between most neighborhoods. If you wanted a house where the kids could ride their trikes down the sidewalk and over to a friend's house, this is not the place.
Most of the homes in Great Falls are a fairly good distance from anything commercial, including the two elementary schools. That's one thing that makes the area so attractive, but it also means a lot more driving around for day to day needs. There is only one community swim/tennis club in Great Falls, and it has a lengthy waiting list, so if you plan to take your kids to the pool on hot summer days, you'll have to travel to a pool in McLean or Vienna. (Unless you join the country club, which probably has its own waiting list).
Clemyjontri is the best playground I have ever visited. It has a wonderful artificial surface (intended for wheelchairs and walkers), but it also means that the park is usable even when the weather has been wet and other playgrounds are too muddy.

I think a critical factor ought to be how much time you or your spouse plan to spend in DC. If either of you will be commuting regularly to DC, and can afford a nice house in McLean, McLean would seem like a great choice. If your spouse is working in Reston, and you plan to go into DC only occasionally, I would look elsewhere. There are newer developments in Great Falls (toward the Loudoun border, but in the Langley district) that are more traditional suburban developments. Vienna and Oakton are more densely settled than Great Falls, but generally more affordable than Great Falls and McLean.

While portions of Great Falls are very hilly, portions of McLean are incredibly flat. Unless I were commuting into DC regularly, I would not spend a large sum of money to buy an older house in mediocre condition on a small, flat lot. Although there are many other houses in McLean that don't fit that description, a fair amount of the housing stock (particularly the more affordable housing) will likely strike you as uninspiring.