Falls Church Breakdown

[Anonymous]

Hi. We are about to start the house-hunting process and want to look in Falls Church. Can anyone give me a breakdown of Falls Church by of Zip Code? I have heard that some neighborhoods are very good and others are not so great (low-income, crime, I don't know why). I can't figure out which areas are Falls Church City and which are the rest of Falls Church (do these fall in Fairfax County?). Also, can you tell me where the best Elementary and Middle Schools are located?

Appreciate any information.

[Anonymous]

We used to rent an apartment in the Tysons Glen apartment complex, across the street from Marshall HS. We felt pretty safe living there, and have considered buying a house in the Pimmit Hills neighborhood. Our zip code there was 22043.

Also, we have friends who live off of Shreve, near the Giant strip mall on Rt. 7, near the WFC metro. Again, pretty safe area. Their DS goes to a Montessori school for now, but I think he'll enter the public school system when it's time.

[Anonymous]

I'd stick with Falls Church City which is 22046. When we were looking not too long ago I was surprised that some neighbhorhoods you thought were part of the city were not and therefore the schools were not so hot. You can't go wrong in the city of falls church though.

[Anonymous]

There's Falls Church City, which is 22046, mostly. It has its own, well-regarded, small public school system.

Then some other zips are some of 22046 and 22043, which is mostly north of Rt. 7. These are between Arlington and Mclean. Generally, I think since these schools are near Mclean and feed into Marshall and Mclean HS, they are well regarded as well. The WFChurch metro is in this area too. (EFC metro is actually in 22213 zip in Arlington, near 22207, and 22205).

Then there's 22041, 22042 and I'm sure I'm missing some others. Those are generally south of FC City and Rt. 7, and in the 7 Corners area, between Columbia Pike and Gallows Rd. There's areas here like Sleepy Hollow that have really nice houses and lots of land. Getting through 7 Corners, though, unless you know some secret back way, is a nightmare in general. I think these feed into Stuart and Falls Church HS.

It depends on where your communting too, also. If Tysons or Arlington, none of it would be a bad commute. If Maryland, you want to be north of Rt. 7/near the beltway/Mclean. If DC, you could take Rt. 50, Lee Highway, or drive to the WFC metro and park.

Look on the FC City and FFX County websites for more school info. Generally, test scores seem to go along with demographics, but it's only one piece of what makes a good school.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone. Is 22044 the zip for the Sleepy Hollow area?