This slideshow requires JavaScript.

For the insider, Hollin Hills is not a neighborhood but a bit of a cult in the DC area. It’s this enclave of dozens of cool, glass-walled mid-century modern homes. Most of them are of average size, but they’re impressive. They sit on generous, wooded lots, perched against hillsides like tree houses. In short: If the vegetation wasn’t all wrong, you’d think you’re driving through some nicer neighborhood of L.A. But this is Virginia, to be more precise, Colonial Virginia, as you’ll find yourself about half way between Alexandria and George Washington’s Mt. Vernon

To be sure, the post-war era has endowed the DC suburbs with thousands of mid-century homes, but the vast majority of them are anything but “modern.” What made Holin Hills different was mainly that it was designed by leading MCM architect Charles Goodman. There are other, mostly smaller Goodman neighborhoods in the Maryland suburbs (Kensington, Silver Spring) and other parts of Virginia, but Hollin Hills is unique in its dimension: there are nearly 400 such homes!

Taking my stylish 11-year-old on the annual Hollin Hills House & Garden Tour last weekend was — despite the gray skies — not only fun but had another positive effect: she no longer wants to move to Southern California. Hollin Hills will be just fine.

(If you are interested in moving to Hollin Hills: presently, there are 8 homes on the market for sale, ranging in price between $659,000 and $1,099,000. You can see a continuously updated list of Hollin Hills offers here.)