Falls Church was recently the subject of WETA’s second season of “If You Lived Here,” a locally-focused show highlighting different cities throughout the Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia [DMV] area with the goal of teaching viewers more about the city being featured, whether they have any intention of moving there or not.
This episode takes viewers into the City of Falls Church to look at three different properties for sale in the city at three different price points, as well as highlighting the history of the area.
Local realtor from Long and Foster, Bethany Ellis was approached by the show’s team to introduce hosts Christine Lousie and John Begeny to the city and view three very different homes— the first, a starter home perfect for a single person or a couple, the second, a mid-level ranch style home for a family and finally, a larger “dream” home.
“The benefit of living in the City of Falls Church is that you’re close to everything,” said Ellis, who has worked in the area for many years. “It’s definitely a community feel, it’s a small community. It’s walkable. It’s also in the middle of everything. It has easy access to everything. If you want to be out in the country, it’s close by; if you want to be downtown you’re close by. It’s center to everything so you can go out wherever you want to go. It’s a great location.”
Besides showing a wide range of homes, the show also makes an effort to educate viewers on the city they are visiting each week. John Taylor, the owner of Brown’s Hardware, shares his knowledge of the history of Brown’s as well as other local businesses and Quang Le, owner of Huong Binh Bakery, provides insight into the history of Eden Center. The difference between Falls Church City and the greater Falls Church area is also explained, a topic that often comes into conversation and is misunderstood when looking at real estate in the area.
The show’s Executive Producer, Glenn Baker, has been living in Falls Church for the past 25 years. “It wasn’t hard to convince everyone else that it was an area that deserved to be in the show. I know all of the charms of “the Little City” from firsthand experience and wanted viewers across the region to get a sense of that as well,” he said.
The hosts, Christine and John, are not professional on-camera talent for WETA but have quickly been able to thrive in their roles on the show.
After they tour each house, each host makes a guess as to how much the listing price is without any clues as to what the cost may be.
“They absolutely have no clue what the listing prices are, all of that is completely legit,” said Baker. “It wouldn’t be any fun if they had a clue and you can tell sometimes they’re way off and sometimes they’re shockingly close and it’s because they’re truly making educated guesses based on their own knowledge and experience.”
While the actual homes that were toured are no longer available, viewers are still able to get a sense of what the market looks like in the area, from a starter home to a dream house.
Real estate shows have remained popular for many years, beginning with “This Old House,” a PBS show that has aired for over 30 years now. “If You Lived Here” takes the charms of this type of show and makes it appeal to a more local audience, allowing viewers to learn more about their own cities and cities in their backyard.
The show is now available for streaming with the free PBS app which can be downloaded on any streaming device or online at https://watch.weta.org/show/if-you-lived-here/.
