Moving to Mclean - where could I live?

[bmwguydc]

Cleveland Park is not bad at all to McLean. You just have to know how to get there. It should be about 30 minutes, depending upon the time of the morning and route.

If you took the Rock Creek Parkway south (inbound only for morning rush) to a L on Virginia Avenue, follow past the Chevron station to get on the ramp to 66W. Follow the signs for 66W and get on the GW Parkway North. Follow the GW Parkway to 123S to Tysons.

Another route, while a little more complicated, can be a bit faster, if there's a delay, though Rock Creek Parkway is one way outbound during evening rush, which does speed the route.

The alternative would be starting from Calvert & Connecticut in front of The Shoreham. You would follow Calvert west from Connecticut, a right turn if you're headed south on Connecticut. Calvert turns into Cleveland and there's a slight directional change. Follow Cleveland to a left on Garfield. You would then take a right on Massachusetts Avenue, pass the National Cathedral, cross over Wisconsin to Ward Circle (at American University). You would take a left at the circle to get on Nebraska Avenue. Nebraska turns into Loughboro. Follow Loughboro to a left on MacArthur. Follow MacArthur to a right on Arizona, and then a right on Canal. You could always turn left on Arizona at Loughboro, too, follow it down the hill, past the bank, and continue down the steep hill to Canal. There's a reversible lane here, on Canal, so it will be one lane outbound during rush hour. Take a left at Chain Bridge to cross to Virginia. Immediately after the bridge, turn right on Chain Bridge Road. Follow Chain Bridge to where it crosses the GW Parkway, and then continue as above to Tysons. There are lights on this route (and some speed cameras on MacArthur), so it might be a bit slower, overall, but this route is also very reliable as to the time.

Plus, if you like The Palisades or MacArthur, you could take this route home to scout properties en route, if you were not pressed for time. The reverse route is pretty easy, though there are left turn restrictions around the Cathedral, and it can be busy. Just go to 34th to take the left, and then a right on Garfield, and right on Cleveland.

One other thing to note on this route: Woodley Road turns into Garfield, so if you're near Woodley, just cross Connecticut, or turn right on Connecticut and you can avoid the Calvert to Cleveland portion of the route, inbound or outbound, since they are two-way streets.

ETA: So if you budget an hour to get to McLean, you should be just fine most days, and might even arrive a good bit early.

[Alicia Bradley]

I can already picture chicagotodc and his wife driving around McLean, Vienna, and Falls Church, looking for the 'downtown areas.' Hee hee hee - this is going to be fun.

[chicagotodc]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

I can already picture chicagotodc and his wife driving around McLean, Vienna, and Falls Church, looking for the 'downtown areas.' Hee hee hee - this is going to be fun.

Ok ok, point taken

[JD984]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

I can already picture chicagotodc and his wife driving around McLean, Vienna, and Falls Church, looking for the 'downtown areas.' Hee hee hee - this is going to be fun.

I think he probably understands by now that he's not going to find a replica of either Lakeview or downtown Wheaton or Naperville in any of these areas.

To the extent one is looking to find the center of these areas, I'd suggest that the center of McLean is around Old Dominion and Chain Bridge Road, and the center of Vienna is Maple Avenue and Center Street. Less sure about the "center" of the City of Falls Church - I guess that technically it's the intersection of Broad Street and Washington Street.

Maybe he and his wife will find other things that appeal to them here, or maybe not. Notwithstanding places like Oak Park and some of the beautiful older houses in places like Evanston and Winnetka, I've not found the quality of the residential architecture in a lot of the greater Chicagoland area to be as high as in NoVa - at least based on what I've seen in places like Barrington, Lake Zurich, etc.

[bmwguydc]

If you're looking for Downtown McLean, you want to navigate to Old Dominion & Chain Bridge Roads. In McLean, 123 becomes Dollwy Madison Boulevard, and then becomes Chain Bridge again once you're outside of the downtown area. From Tysons, via 123, you would head east on Great Falls Street and then take a left at the light to Chain Bridge Road. Near Old Dominion is what would be described as the downtown area of McLean, extending a couple of blocks in each direction with grocery stores, shops, etc. -- mostly of the suburban strip mall/office park variety.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by chicagotodc

Thanks guys. This is all very helpful.

I'm coming to the area this weekend to check things out with my wife. I'm hoping to hit up Rossyln/Ballston/Clarendon and then see some of the options further out in Falls Church/Vienna/Tysons area. Chevy Chase I'll save for Sunday or Monday.

I'm thinking I'll start in the Arlington areas as they are probably (by comparison) less of a cultural shock. With that in mind, if I wanted to go out to dinner Sat somewhere kind of fun (not a chain but also not in DC) any recommendations? I'm not picky - vietnamese, french, italian, whatever, ideally mid-range to upscale (e.g. more of a special night out). Similarly, any nice cafe's to try on Sunday? We are in our early 30s if that helps frame what people might like. Ideally looking for places you can stroll around after dinner.

One challenge is that I don't know the area -- that's not so much of an issue for the arlington part of the plan - as i expect I can find the town 'center' - but more of a challenge perhaps for Falls Church / Vienna / etc.. Would anyone be able to provide an address that would put me near what these places have to offer -- or a "town center" if such a thing exists? I worry I'll just take a random exit off the highway, find myself somewhere in a residential suburb, drive around and miss a major portion of the area. I have no idea if this is a stupid thing to worry about - I just picture a lot of sprawl and crawl with pockets of stuff that would be easy to miss.

My other thought was to just drive (or take the metro) to the metro stops in these locations (e.g. fairfax / gmu) on the assumption that these are centrally located near shops/businesses/etc.....but that seems to not be the case once you get past ballston -- i see parking garages...Can I just go to the metro stops from Rossyln to Vienna (9 stops by my count) and get a sense of the areas? E.g Rossyln to court house to clarendon to GMU to Ballston to East Falls to West Falls to Dunn Loring to Vienna?

Arlington is a long stretch of Wilson/Clarendon Blvds (each one way, running parallel), and then Wilson/Fairfax up towards Ballston. I would recommend driving around that area if you have the car, and getting a feel for the area. The metro stops are all along that main strip, but it's an easy drive and you'll get to see more, I think. If you find an area you like, you can start branching off onto side streets.

[chicagotodc]

So I know this is silly, but I can't wait to visit!

[bmwguydc]

Originally Posted by chicagotodc

So I know this is silly, but I can't wait to visit!

Not silly at all. It's fun to explore new places, and have new adventures. I am sure you will find a good place for your family in the process. The nice thing is that none of the areas you're considering are terribly far apart, so if you like certain shops/restaurants in one area, it's not a rough three-hour trip to get there and back from another area in which you might settle. There's a lot to explore in the DC region. Have a great trip!

[chicagotodc]

So, a little late back to this thread, but adding to it in case anyone else searches and hits it due to similar circumstance. (although no one ever bloody searches).

We did the 6 months of "free housing" followed by 3 months corporate in Georgetown on M street. In the end, we ended up in NW DC. We found the cost of housing to be very comparable to Mclean and perhaps even lower than Arlington, but the proximity to both DC and Bethesda made it a good compromise between the unattainable ideal state (a nice 4 bedroom SFH in georgetown with yard... need several million for that!) and what felt like far too much of a suburban sprawl (Falls Church, Vienna, as many rightly assumed would be the reaction, it was). In terms of the styles of homes, we disliked the typical split level / ranch style common to much of Mclean and other areas and found the historical feel / European influenced style of much of DC more up our alley. As an added bonus, I was surprised to discover that the commute from DC is actually better than the commute from many of the places in the burbs, which was rather unexpected.

All of this to say: if anyone hits this thread in the future with budgets suitable for Mclean/Arlington, take a look at Palisades, Spring Valley, AU Park and Cleveland Park in DC as well. They were not on really our radar when we first moved.

To all who helped me with this back in 2010, a big thank you. The move has turned out great, and I couldn't be happier with our decision. As much as people moan and groan about DC/MD/VA, this is a great place to live.

Thanks again.