Great Falls? (McLean, Falls Church, Seven Corners: homes, neighborhoods, luxury)

[txyz]

Hi,
My wife and I are considering moving from Falls Church (Seven Corners) to Great Falls (near the village). Seven Corners has become completely overrun and family-unfriendly and we want out. Our concern with Great Falls is that we would have to get in the car to go anywhere -- we are okay with that but there needs to be a good sense of community to justify that sacrifice -- families, neighborhoods, community acitivities, etc.
Can anyone comment on the family setting in Great Falls?
Thanks very much,
Mel

[VT Hokie 2007]

I don't live in Great Falls, but I have a bunch of friends who either do live there or have lived there (I go to McLean Bible Church and there are a lot of people from that area who go to MBC). From what I can tell, the lots in Great Falls are considerably larger than most places inside the beltway--we're talking lots AT LEAST a half acre large and many more than 1 acre. I've gotten the sense that my friends aren't too close with their neighbors and it's probably because the lots are too far apart, which will keep neighbors from being in contact with one another. In addition, people who live there make big bucks and work a lot, so there never seems to be too many 40-some-year-olds + using their own homes.

Word of wisdom: Great Falls is probably the Mecca of suburbian class on the east coast and it is served by Langley High School, a top notch public school. Unfortunately, Langley for some reason or the other still doesn't have the International Baccalaureate program. Also, your kids had better be brought up well because the area is a slice of Beverly Hills arrogance dropped in the middle of an area of fairly down-to-earth upper-middle class (that is, Washington, D.C. metro). Kids at Langley have been spoiled rotten, the parking lot is like a luxury car auto show, and cocaine use is a pretty big problem. Wealth isn't necessarily bad, but just make sure your kids stay grounded in what matters.

Other than that, Great Falls is an absolutely GORGEOUS township and it's where I aspire to live, but we'll just have to stay on guard against the lies that tell us how great we are.

[JohnK801]

I lived in Great Falls and moved to McLean recently. Great Falls is an excellent place but you are correct the drive to anywhere other than the town center is a killer.

It is cleaned up and the minority problem that is killing the DC area has not reached in there yet.

Don't worry about Langley High School. The public school system is a joke & everyone sends their kids to Potomac or Madeira.

John in McLean