Whats the vibe in falls church?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and for the person who always comes on these threads to talk about the City's segregated past: Yes, there were ugly, shameful decisions made 70+ years ago regarding school and neighborhood boundaries. The current situation is much more inclusive, with representation and awareness for people of all ethnicities, sexualities, and perspectives. (Except for the people who like the food at the Four Ps. Not sure I'll ever understand them.)

There is still a lot of work to be done -- affordable housing is a major issue, and the secondary campus has seen a string of problems this year. But there is genuine diversity in neighborhoods, classrooms and friend groups, and responsiveness from schools/government when problems arise.

What do you mean by “genuine diversity”? If you’re referring to demographics, it’s is markedly less diverse than neighboring Arlington or Fairfax. FCC is 76% white and <3% poverty. The BLM rally at Cherry Hill in June 2020 was almost comically performative for a city with ~4% Black population. Politically there is virtually no diversity at all.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/fallschurchcityvirginia,arlingtoncountyvirginia,fairfaxcountyvirginia/PST045222

There are a TON of mixed race kids/families in FCC. They may identify as white when that doesn't tell the whole story. My child was one of only a handful of white kids in his boy scout troop in FCC.

Mixed race?? Isn’t Fairfax County heavily Asian?

No, it has large populations of Asian communities, specifically Korean and Indian.

[DCAgain]

Okay, I have to know, as someone who uses "vibe," what is this unspoken feeling about people who use the term "vibe?" I'm considering Falls Church so also curious about the community- will I be gossiped about poolside for saying "vibes?"

[Anonymous]

Falls church and falls church city are very different. The only families I know in fcc send their kids to private schools.

[Anonymous]

Thank goodness us Falls Church folk can finally raise flags in November.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Falls church and falls church city are very different. The only families I know in fcc send their kids to private schools.

That's pretty ridiculous considering a huge percentage of FCC residents live there because of the schools. I don't even believe it unless you only know two or three families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dumpy.

There are still a few areas in FCC that could use some upgrading but overall it's only the priciest real estate in the DC area.

https://www.gazetteleader.com/fairfax/fairfax-real-estate/falls-church-had-priciest-real-estate-in-mid-atlantic-last-year-8116323

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2024/03/falls-church-median-home-price-tops-1-million/

[Anonymous]

Falls Church is a huge area with lots of different “vibes”. What part are you asking about?

[Anonymous]

This whole thread is ridiculous. I’ve lived in FCC for 8 years. Like anywhere else in the world, if you try you will find your group. Most of the people I know are down to earth and care very much about being present and involved with their families and communities. My neighbors are lovely and helpful. Some people are annoying or pretentious, but I can’t imagine a place where that doesn’t exist. My neighborhood is a mix of working moms and SAHMs. We enjoy the walkability and look forward to have a Whole Foods nearby. I haven’t experienced the gossip or cliques, I’m sure they exist but if you look for that you will find it everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Historically racist, economically segregated, and comfortably liberal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Artsy & $2M houses don’t belong in the same sentence.

Boulder would like a word with you. Of course all the artsy types bought their houses 30 years ago but yeah.

Sedona and Taos, too.

[Anonymous]

I have no idea how I missed this thread as I live in Falls Church.

The question about whether there is an "artsy" vibe made me laugh so hard I choked on my tea. I'm an artist myself, and I say, with zero hesitation, this place is the opposite of "artsy." It's as bland and as boring as can be. "Crunchy" and "buttoned-up" are funny as well, because both denote a certain character (or "vibe" as the OP hilariously puts it) -- and FC doesn't have any character. It wants to brand itself as a small town enclave in the urban/suburban DMV, and although it is small, there is almost nothing charming about it. The main drag, Route 7 as it heads through FC, is mostly segments of strip mall, with stuff like Panera and Domino's Pizza and CVS. I wonder how the non-big box stores even survive (who goes into that dusty camera place or the place that fixes leather?). The community is small, old mid-century ramblers that are being torn down every chance a developer gets to be replaced by McMansions. The traffic snarls resulting from the never-ending construction are every bit as bad as people say they are; I live between Haycock and West, and just won't drive down Haycock anymore, even if I'm heading that direction. Something people who don't live here might not notice is that traffic is annoying for another reason as well -- the constant new-home construction means that the residential streets are often torn up or blocked as well.

Socially, at least from my point of view, having lived her for a lot of my adult life now (about 16 years), it's dead. Unless you are 1) one of "the mommies" or 2) an extreme joiner (sitting on committees, the city council, school board, own a local business and are super involved that way, etc). People are transient (lots of State Dept folks come and go on my block), or their social priorities are elsewhere (as opposed to with neighbors).

I really don't feel this area has much to recommend it at all. I'm only here because it is a convenient location for us, my DH grew up in FFX and is very comfortable in this kind of neighborhood (even if I am not), and we have a very nice house with a 2% mortgage that has increased in value to a crazy degree.

I don't know. I don't like it. It's boring as hell. But YMMV.

[Anonymous]

House as big as a Bed and Breakfast, BLM and rainbow signs out front, but no room for any migrants.

[Anonymous]

We made an offer on a recently built craftsman zoned to haycock two years ago. There were four of the exact same house on the street in various colors. The street was very narrow. It felt like a tacky version of McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Falls Church is a huge area with lots of different “vibes”. What part are you asking about?

Going by the original post it seems obvious they are asking about FCC which is not a huge area, it's two square miles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:House as big as a Bed and Breakfast, BLM and rainbow signs out front, but no room for any migrants.

They retired their BLM flags
signed
FCC neighbor