Relocating - Considering Vienna, Oakton & Falls Church (Arlington, McLean: apartment complexes, new home)

[mommyonthego]

Hi - my family and I are relocating to NoVA this summer/fall and have narrowed our search to Vienna, Oakton and Falls Church. Commute will be to the Merrifield(?) area around 50 & Gallows. Our priorities are:
- short commute (under 25 minutes home/office/home)
- good/great schools (child entering K in one year)
- good community
Basically we think we would be happy in a situation where we're in the "least house in the most neighborhood". We're looking for a 3 or 4 BR single family home in the $700-750k range or less.

What specific neighborhoods in our target areas do you recommend?

I've heard parts of Falls Church are/can be sketchy, so I'm not sure if that will remain on our list.

Thanks in advance.

[JD984]

There are lots of neighborhoods in your price range, but I'd suggest you focus on the 22181 or 22182 zip codes in Vienna, and the 22124 zip code in Oakton. You'd have the most choices in 22181 and 22124, but I also included 22182 because it's also relatively close to Merrifield. I'd skip the 22180 zip code, which is primarily the Town of Vienna. There's generally very little in your price range there: the homes tend to be either older homes that are less expensive or brand new homes you wouldn't be able to afford. I'd recommend 22180 if you were looking for a home under $625K or over a million. The www.franklymls.com web site is a great search tool.

Some of the popular elementary schools that serve these areas include Flint Hill, Waples Mill, Oakton, Louise Archer, Stenwood, Wolftrap and Westbriar.

Given your comment about Falls Church, I haven't included any Falls Church recommendations, but the parts of Falls Church that are often deemed "sketchy" - such as the garden apartment complexes in Culmore - are fairly limited. Some folks, particularly those who work in DC, prefer Falls Church to Oakton or Vienna because it's closer to DC, but doesn't carry the same price tag as McLean or Arlington.

[mommyonthego]

thanks for the info JEB77. I hope my comment about Falls Church doesn't come across as offensive...it wasn't meant that way.

[michgc]

I think all three areas are nice. I think Falls Church is a bit more diverse and urban. Oakton is the most suburban and least diverse (fewer singles, fewer non-whites). Vienna is in between the two. I live in Vienna 22180, and I agree with JEB77 that there are more lower-priced housing (think older, smaller housing stock for the most part) or higher priced tear-down housing but there are certainly pockets within the Town of Vienna that would fulfill your price range if you want a walkable downtown atmosphere. It would make your search harder but parts of 22180 could work for you.

Also parts of Falls Church would be within walking distance of shopping, libraries and such but I'm not familiar enough with it to tell you zip codes. If you prefer a housing development with bigger, newer houses but would probably need a car to go anywhere then you can find that in Vienna 22181 or Vienna 22182 or Oakton zipcodes. Schools are very good in Vienna and Oakton. McLean schools and Falls Church City schools are good in Falls Church. Some areas of Falls Church feed into "less favored" schools.

Oh, and you'd definitely have an easy commute to Merrifield from all three.

[ShannonMilligan]

Just came from Vienna-my in laws live there and I personally love it. They have a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home with an acre of land. It's lovely. There house would go for about $700K or so. (At least that is what he says...I haven't run the numbers) They live about 5 minutes from the Whole Foods.

Good luck!

[luvcheetos]

I live in the Falls Hill neighborhood in the Fairfax County part of Falls Church. I HIGHLY recommend it -- and there are houses here from $575K through $750K. Great neighborhood, great schools, very safe.

[claremarie]

People pay a premium to live in the City of Falls Church because of its proximity to DC and location near two Metro stops (and the schools). It's probably not worth paying that premium if you're not commuting to DC -- you will definitely get more house for your money in Oakton or Vienna, especially in your price range.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by luvcheetos

I live in the Falls Hill neighborhood in the Fairfax County part of Falls Church. I HIGHLY recommend it -- and there are houses here from $575K through $750K. Great neighborhood, great schools, very safe.

Falls Hill - which is in the 22043 zip code - IS very nice. If I'm recalling correctly, much of it consists of homes built by Kettler Brothers in the late 1950s and early 60s, and the quality of the construction is better than in many developments from the 1970s or 1980s. Dunn Loring (22027) is another area the OP might consider, as there are occasionally properties in the $750K price range, the schools are good, and it's close to Merrifield.

[MagazineFreak]

Check out 22031. Both Barkley (homes built 12-15 years ago) go for mid 700s, or Mantua, which has older homes, but very well-regarded neighborhood. Both have excellent elementary schools (Fairhill and Mantua, respectively). Fairhill feeds to Jackson MS and Falls Church HS, which are not ideal, but not sure how long you're planning on being in area. Mantua feeds to Woodson HS (I think), which is excellent.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by MagazineFreak

Check out 22031. Both Barkley (homes built 12-15 years ago) go for mid 700s, or Mantua, which has older homes, but very well-regarded neighborhood. Both have excellent elementary schools (Fairhill and Mantua, respectively). Fairhill feeds to Jackson MS and Falls Church HS, which are not ideal, but not sure how long you're planning on being in area. Mantua feeds to Woodson HS (I think), which is excellent.

Yeah - these would be other areas with housing in the OP's target price range.

No school pyramid is "ideal," including Woodson. Schools in the Woodson pyramid could be great for some kids, and schools in the Falls Church HS pyramid might be as good or better for others. Do you want to take a guess as to where more students are slipping each other Adderall before tests?

FWIW, a portion of Fairhill ES (though not the Barkley development) attends Frost MS/Woodson HS, rather than Jackson MS/Falls Church HS. And a chunk of the Jackson MS students are in the Oakton HS pyramid, rather than the Falls Church HS pyramid.