Lien Chiu, stay-at-home mother, McLean
“I would say McLean is a really top quality residential area. The school system here is famous in Fairfax County. I’ve also enjoyed all the people I’ve met so far. Over 13 years, I have known many good neighbors, parents, teachers and other people involved in all kinds of organizations. Even during the daily grocery shopping experience, I just feel that things are so convenient and pleasant every time. The feeling I have about the culture of the community here is that everyone is looking for the best to contribute back to the community, especially the experience I had with Churchill Elementary School, Cooper Middle School and Langley High School so far. There are always parents who want to make the schools better and also the students try to find ways to help the community through different kinds of organizations, like Martha’s Table, Jump Rope for Heart, Relay For Life, holiday greetings and support items to troops on duties outside of the USA. When you grow up here, I believe that the kids will have that kind of heart to try to extend help whenever they see people needing an extra hand. Also, safety wise, I believe that this is a good place. The crime rate is extremely low. People are always looking out for each other and helping each other.”
Angela Proxmire, stay-at-home mother, McLean
“Since I have kids, I would say the schools here are very good. We go to Churchill Elementary School, Cooper Middle School, and we’re on our way to Langley High School, and we have been very happy with the schools. Also for restaurants in McLean, we really like Joe’s Burger. The other thing that we really like about McLean is the McLean Little League—we played a lot of baseball there. It’s a great facility but also a great experience for the kids to play baseball. They have met a lot of people who didn’t necessarily go to their school and then now they see them in the grocery store, so it’s nice to meet other people. Another thing that we love is the nearby swimming pool, the Langley Club. We spend our entire summers there and it’s very close to here. I also like the general location—we’re very close to Reston, Tysons, and it’s easy to get into DC and access the airport. The location is very central. I really like the community and the families that live here. They’re very nice; I’ve met a lot of nice people and my kids have made a lot of good friends."
Bill Stratton, retired, McLean
“There are a lot of convenient things located near by, especially a lot of different kinds of restaurants that have a lot of diversity. For example, there’s an Indian restaurant, a Turkish restaurant, McLean Family Restaurant, Tachibana and Pulcinella. Things are really close by. I like to eat so there are a lot of restaurants and we always go eat. You can walk there if you want—it’s like a little village. Although my daughter didn’t go to school here, other people want to send their children to Langley and McLean High Schools. It’s very common. In addition, if you are really interested in outdoors, you can go to Great Falls, and there are also a lot of parks around here. I think for a lot of newcomers, there are a lot of good career opportunities for young professionals. Since they are putting in a Metro, it’ll be a lot easier and convenient to commute. It’ll be much better connected for people. McLean is a very good place to live in. The transportation, variety of restaurants, schools, and my neighbors are all very good. There are a lot of neighbors from all around the country and even the world. It’s a very diverse community.”
Lala Johnson, retired clinical social worker, and Jim Johnson, retired aerospace experimental psychologist in the Navy, McLean
“The very best thing about living in McLean is the schools. I think the elementary schools, such as Springhill Elementary School, the middle schools, and Langley and McLean High Schools are among the best in the country. Schools are [the] number one reason why people choose McLean. There are also excellent restaurants. I think we have good restaurants, like Clyde’s and McLean Family Restaurant, which is the oldest restaurant in the area and is like an institution. The village of McLean has at least six very good restaurants, along with Tysons, which is filled with top-notch restaurants. And people are accessible to Fairfax, Falls Church and Great Falls. The atmosphere of the community is friendly, especially dog friendly, and that means a lot because more and more people are adopting dogs, and we have a lot of friendly animals. There are good neighbors. People are warm and welcoming. We even have an annual picnic where we celebrate our friendship and welcome the new people in the community.”
Jerry Schrager, government economist, McLean
“It’s very family-oriented here. Both my kids went to McLean High School. The schools are among the best in Fairfax County. There are also a lot of activities for kids to participate in. There are recreational activities and parks near by, like in Great Falls. I’ve coached sports, baseball, in Falls Church and it was a good outside-of-work activity. It helps the young fellows. I came from New York City but I like it much better down here. Overall, the people are relatively friendly. There’s an Indian restaurant right near here, as well as, Wok-N-Roll, a Chinese restaurant, where we get take-out all the time. We also utilize the McLean Community Center. They have shows and exhibits there. However, as a word of advice, it’s expensive here. It’s hard for a young couple or a young person to buy or even rent here. It’s tough but it’s really worth it.”