Am I understanding Falls Church City right?

[Anonymous]

FCC has a lot of state department families and expats so will have several kids in each classroom who've lived in a different country/speak a different language.

We're in FCC and while it's not walkable like a European city, it is more walkable than a suburb. The schools system is small so you end up getting to know everyone and you get the small town feel despite being close to DC.

Also - FCC has an amazing library. Saying this for no particular reason other than a shout out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We raised our family in North Arlington, very close to Falls Church. I don’t understand the fixation on Falls Church having a small town feel and all that baloney. The main drag is full of traffic and essentially strip malls and chain stores. There are a few decent restaurants but nothing super interesting at all.

To me, the only thing different between Falls Church and everything around it is that it has a separate, smaller, and less diverse public school system with a good reputation. That’s it.

I’m in the Falls Church section of Fairfax County, so I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I’d say that there is a mix of a small town feel with boring strip mall suburbia. What Falls Church City does well is their farmer’s market and holiday get-togethers (parades, fireworks). The community center and Cherry Hill park serves as a central community area that the other cities lack.

[Anonymous]

There used to be a homeless shelter near St James. Crazy homeless people would just walk in the middle of broad street. Other than that, it’s a great little city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Unlike Falls Church City, the Del Ray neighborhood in the City of Alexandria actually has a charming small town look with a main street with non-chain stores. The drive into DC from Del Ray is probably about the same as the drive to DC from Falls Church City. The knock on Del Ray is that the schools are not well regarded. But this wouldn't be an issue for you if you are committed to using Catholic schools.

Are there any walkable Catholic schools in Del Ray? I can't seem to find any.

St. Rita’s is near Del Ray

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Falls Church City (FCC) is one of the nicer places to live in Northern Virginia.

For children, it tends to be a closer knit community since the schools are smaller, and everyone in FCC feeds into the same schools (the same MS and HS). Historically, FCC schools have been just a minor step below the best Fairfax County schools, and comparable to the best Arlington schools. FCC just built a completely new modern high school that may be the nicest school facility in the DMV, and test scores in the first year are comparable to Langley HS and McLean HS, and bested only by one Bethesda HS, despite the district having fewer advanced programs and far less private-tutoring-per-capita than those schools.

If you live near downtown, FCC is a walkable community for many errands, and most kids walk to the downtown meet up. As I see it, the primary downsides to FCC are (1) horrible traffic along Route 7; (2) limited walkable access to the metro and therefore DC area amenities like museums, since it’ is 1-2 miles away (the East Falls Church metro has plenty of $5/day paid weekday parking as well as free weekend parking); and (3) slightly higher taxes compared to the surrounding suburbs.

I liked living there except for the traffic on Route 7. I’d probably still be living there if it weren’t for the traffic.

OP here. Thank you for this info. I didn't know about the new high school. Is there a convenient way to get to East Falls Church metro? I can't seem to find if there are buses that regularly go there of if I can bike from FCC and park the bike somewhere in the metro.

OP, the EFC metro is actually in Arlington fyi, but borders FCC so depending on where you are you can walk to metro and stuff along Broad St. Check out the neighborhood Broadmont and the parts of Arlington that border it. Also you may like Westover in Arlington not too far from here although it’s a somewhat small walkable area.

I will add that walkability around here usually means sidewalks and trails, a handful of parks, a coffee shop and a few restaurants, maybe metro or your kids’ schools. I can also get to an exercise studio and our vet’s office. But definitely can’t do all my errands on foot. Everything else I need is super close by though.

Since you’re considering private, I’d also suggest opening up your search. FCC and N Arlington cost a premium because the schools are perceived as better than more affordable areas (the merits of this are debatable, but you may as well look all over). City of Alexandria (not to be confused with the neighborhoods in Fairfax County with an Alexandria address) or parts of S Arlington (I like Pentagon City) could also be good fits.

You could also consider living in DC if you want even greater walk ability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCC has a lot of state department families and expats so will have several kids in each classroom who've lived in a different country/speak a different language.

We're in FCC and while it's not walkable like a European city, it is more walkable than a suburb. The schools system is small so you end up getting to know everyone and you get the small town feel despite being close to DC.

Also - FCC has an amazing library. Saying this for no particular reason other than a shout out

OP, one of the reasons FCC is so sought after is b/c the small school system. There is a K-2 school, 3-5 school, MS, and HS. No zoning to worry about, all kids go to the same schools. If you end up there, I’d reconsider whether you really want to do Catholic school. Neighborhood schools are wonderful for making friendships.

[Anonymous]

I would reconsider downtown Bethesda. Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School seems like a nice place (we see the kids when dropping our kids off at BCC high school). We also know families happy at Little Flower and St. John's for high school.

[Anonymous]

Living in FCC makes no sense of you are just going to pay to send your kids to Catholic school. If you buy in FCC, you are paying a premium for the school system. FCC public schools are better than most if not all of the Catholic schools in the surrounding area, at with respect to test scores and college preparedness.

To get a private school with significantly better average test scores, you have to shell out roughly $50K/year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We raised our family in North Arlington, very close to Falls Church. I don’t understand the fixation on Falls Church having a small town feel and all that baloney. The main drag is full of traffic and essentially strip malls and chain stores. There are a few decent restaurants but nothing super interesting at all.

To me, the only thing different between Falls Church and everything around it is that it has a separate, smaller, and less diverse public school system with a good reputation. That’s it.

Bingo. And that less diverse public school system is a direct result of Falls Church City redrawing its boundaries at one point years ago to exclude poorer, Black residents. Not a very attractive legacy.

[Anonymous]

Sure it's walkable but there are two very busy streets that cut through that I would not let my children walk on until maybe high school. Broad street is a busy road and the vast majority of people who travel it are not FCC residents.

There are a few fun, cute stretches, but it's not particularly urban.

The schools are good but not very diverse and very insular - your kids will be with the same kids K-12 which is great if they have good friends, not so great if they are outsiders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure it's walkable but there are two very busy streets that cut through that I would not let my children walk on until maybe high school. Broad street is a busy road and the vast majority of people who travel it are not FCC residents.

There are a few fun, cute stretches, but it's not particularly urban.

The schools are good but not very diverse and very insular - your kids will be with the same kids K-12 which is great if they have good friends, not so great if they are outsiders.

Broad Street is just the name given to Route 7 as it goes through FCC. It’s a busy commuter route with lots of cars making side turns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would reconsider downtown Bethesda. Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School seems like a nice place (we see the kids when dropping our kids off at BCC high school). We also know families happy at Little Flower and St. John's for high school.

+1 The neighborhood adjacent to Our Lady of Lourdes is known as East Bethesda, or sometimes it is shown by the original development names: West Chevy Chase Heights, Rosedale Park, Columbia Forest, Westboro, etc. It is walking distance to the Catholic school and to a Trader Joe’s and Harris Teeter grocery store, numerous doctors offices, restaurants, and metro. Many families are expats from all over, working at NIH, World Bank, in media, academia, government, law, etc. Houses are available for rent in your price range, though most rentals tend to be small (by American standards).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would reconsider downtown Bethesda. Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School seems like a nice place (we see the kids when dropping our kids off at BCC high school). We also know families happy at Little Flower and St. John's for high school.

+1 The neighborhood adjacent to Our Lady of Lourdes is known as East Bethesda, or sometimes it is shown by the original development names: West Chevy Chase Heights, Rosedale Park, Columbia Forest, Westboro, etc. It is walking distance to the Catholic school and to a Trader Joe’s and Harris Teeter grocery store, numerous doctors offices, restaurants, and metro. Many families are expats from all over, working at NIH, World Bank, in media, academia, government, law, etc. Houses are available for rent in your price range, though most rentals tend to be small (by American standards).

Also, many people are serious bikers and commute to work in DC by bike.

[Anonymous]

You can rent in Bluemont or Dominion Hills and send your kids to St Ann’s or rent in Cherrydale or Waverly Hills and send your kids to St Agnes. All neighborhoods are fairly central to Arlington - close to the metro for you and kids can hang out in Ballston or Westover.

[Anonymous]

I’ve lived nearby for over 30 years and I don’t find FCC appealing. To me the city’s overall ambiance is old and little depressing. The Great Falls and side streets are in perpetual shade due to overgrown trees. Giant trees like the tulip poplars towering over tiny houses. The Main Street is basically a long strip mall with high rise condos. The city is trying to grow its tax base. I heard, that FCC was investigated by HUD for approving a development that would have resulted in discrimination against families with school aged children, a violation of the Fair Housing Act.