A Fun, Vibrant Place

July/August 2009

By Eugene L. Meyer

Fran and Terry Wingfield, both 56, are former Virginians and happy empty nesters residing on the 10th floor of the Lionsgate condominiums in downtown Bethesda. In Great Falls, they lived in an 8,000-square-foot, four-bedroom house on two acres, and Terry’s office was in Virginia. But then he took a job with a different company in Germantown.
“So we found ourselves coming to Bethesda all the time to have dinner,” Fran says. With two grown sons, they concluded it was time to downsize and looked for a home in Bethesda. While their Great Falls home languished on the market for 14 months, they rented in Potomac.

After Terry saw an ad for Lionsgate, at the time barely a hole in the ground, the Wingfields took a leap of faith and bought a two-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot unit, moving in last July.
“Bethesda is a vibrant, fun place,” he adds. “The value of having Metro at hand is a big plus. We didn’t get into things like comparable tax rates or any of that stuff. It was just more based on finding a lifestyle we liked. I really like the concept of having 200-plus restaurants within a walk. We flip a coin sometimes, whether to go left or right [to the restaurants in Bethesda Row or Woodmont Triangle].” The Wingfields have three cars, but say they rarely drive them. “I don’t buy gas but every two or three months,” Fran says.

What, if anything, does Fran miss about Fairfax County? “I should think hard for a minute,” she muses. Then, after a long pause, she says: “The trees.” Terry says, “I miss my yard periodically. I miss getting out the barbecue grill and cooking. But I don’t miss raking leaves and shoveling snow.”