OT: Moving to D.C.

[suttree]

But Bayside will make me go with him to Georgetown games.

You city guys. I made many trips out to Landover back in the day and enjoyed waving goodbye to the hated Hoya fans, wishing them all the best as they made their way back to their tar paper shacks.

 

[Hoo's That]

I am moving to Maryland this summer. We are looking in the Columbia, Ellicott City area. We'll have two boys in high school. Any recommendations on neighborhoods and schools?

For the longest while, most people targeted the Centennial High School catchment area. It's an area between Maryland route 108 and US Route 40, west of US Route 29.

 

[TexanMark]

Just an update...my son has landed in DC. His job is in the Crystal City area. He has decided on U Street area in DC NW. His commute will be a bit longer than neighborhoods near Arlington/Alexandria but it offered what he wants. His monthly rent actually went down 50% and he got a bigger apartment coming from the East Village.

He looked around Logan and Dupont Circle along with Foggy Bottom and U Street.

Thanks for all the inputs above.

OttoMets and SoBeCuse won the suggestion lottery...with picks in the general area he rented from.

U Street

 

[rrlbees]

Just an update...my son has landed in DC. His job is in the Crystal City area. He has decided on U Street area in DC NW. His commute will be a bit longer than neighborhoods near Arlington/Alexandria but it offered what he wants. His monthly rent actually went down 50% and he got a bigger apartment coming from the East Village.

He looked around Logan and Dupont Circle along with Foggy Bottom and U Street.

Thanks for all the inputs above.

OttoMets and SoBeCuse won the suggestion lottery...with picks in the general area he rented from.

U Street

looks like a cool place.

 

[TexanMark]

looks like a cool place.

Best news...a free flop for Georgetown games.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Cool! Fun area. He’s right by two of my favorite oyster spots anywhere...Hank’s and Pearl Dive! You should check those out Mark.

 

[OttoMets]

Good stuff - I think you'll like visiting him down there - walkable to everything, decent food and most services in the neighborhood, and probably not a bad quasi-reverse-commute out to Crystal City.

 

[WaHoos4Me]

live in NW or the Burbs (MD/VA)

don't live in SE

GTown

stay out of D.C. if at all possible... NoVa is nice, Fairfax, Alexandria, Manassas, Leesburg... Not a fan of MD, but SilverSpring, Bethesda might work

 

[TexanMark]

stay out of D.C. if at all possible... NoVa is nice, Fairfax, Alexandria, Manassas, Leesburg... Not a fan of MD, but SilverSpring, Bethesda might work

DC has several areas that have gentrified...sure there is crime but he isn't some rube that just came into DC from Blacksburg.

 

[Gotothehole]

Live in the DC area now Upper Marlboro. SE any more not that bad its an up and coming community. Lot of new restaurants popping up..

 

[TexanMark]

Live in the DC area now Upper Marlboro. SE any more not that bad its an up and coming community. Lot of new restaurants popping up..

I think U Street is considered NW...kinda near Logan Circle

 

[Cramz]

I think U Street is considered NW...kinda near Logan Circle

Yep, U street area is considered a few blocks north or south of U from basically 9th Street, NW (where it becomes Shaw) and 18th Street, NW (where it become Adams Morgan. Great place to be for a young or young feeling person. I live at 8th and V St. NW and really like the area. Good choice!

 

[Forza Azzurri]

live in NW or the Burbs (MD/VA)

don't live in SE

GTown

My father lives in SE a block and a half from the Capitol.

I beg to differ.

 

[Townie72]

My father lives in SE a block and a half from the Capitol.

I beg to differ.

Technically correct. But anyone who knows anything about DC knows that isn't the part of SE that Shark58 is talking about.

Just like 1st and L in NW, is in NW but not a very safe place.

There are plenty of places you shouldn't go. And even living in some of these yuppified sections (Adams Morgan, Shaw, etc.) requires a good deal of what I think of as "City smarts". In the attached map all these areas are light green, not dark green (Safest).

WalkScore Debuts Neighborhood-by-Neighborhood Crime Grade Rating System

 

[TexanMark]

Technically correct. But anyone who knows anything about DC knows that isn't the part of SE that Shark58 is talking about.

Just like 1st and L in NW, is in NW but not a very safe place.

There are plenty of places you shouldn't go. And even living in some of these yuppified sections (Adams Morgan, Shaw, etc.) requires a good deal of what I think of as "City smarts". In the attached map all these areas are light green, not dark green (Safest).

WalkScore Debuts Neighborhood-by-Neighborhood Crime Grade Rating System

My son has been in plenty of sh!tholes (50-60 countries) and has only had one cell phone stolen from him in Barcelona. He was also ripped off by some Chinese business at Tianamen Square (look up Tea House scam) and went back forced them to return a fair amount back money they owed him by intimidation.

 

[Townie72]

My son has been in plenty of sh!tholes (50-60 countries) and has only had one cell phone stolen from him in Barcelona. He was also ripped off by some Chinese business at Tianamen Square (look up Tea scam) and went back forced them to return a fair amount back money they owed him by intimidation.

More sympathetic I could not be. I have been pick-pocketed in Barcelona. It was such a masterful job of distraction that I almost wasn't mad.

But each place is a little different. And the clues that you are in the wrong place are a little different. I have had kids who have rented places at 13th and P and who have gone to high school at North Capitol and "I" NW. And they are still wary and aware of where they are and when they are there.

I had a long conversation once with a recently retired DC police officer who had worked her whole career in the First District which is NW near the Capitol up North Capitol to Florida Avenue. She admitted there were housing projects in NW (technically) where the cops would not go after dark because they were just too dangerous.

It's about a 15 minute walk from these Projects --- where armed cops won't go at night --- to U Street.

People with good sense aren't going to have a problem. But people that think that everyone has their best interests at heart need a reality check. The saying is "A Conservative is a Liberal that has gotten mugged."

Still, its a good place for young people. I can't believe that someone above recommended Manassas or Leesburg.

 

[TexanMark]

Is the Metro (rail) safe after hours?

 

[Townie72]

Is the Metro (rail) safe after hours?

The trains are safer than the buses and bus stops. And where you are makes a difference.

https://www.wmata.com/about/transit-police/upload/December-Monthly-Crime-Report.pdf

 

[OttoMets]

More sympathetic I could not be. I have been pick-pocketed in Barcelona. It was such a masterful job of distraction that I almost wasn't mad.

But each place is a little different. And the clues that you are in the wrong place are a little different. I have had kids who have rented places at 13th and P and who have gone to high school at North Capitol and "I" NW. And they are still wary and aware of where they are and when they are there.

I had a long conversation once with a recently retired DC police officer who had worked her whole career in the First District which is NW near the Capitol up North Capitol to Florida Avenue. She admitted there were housing projects in NW (technically) where the cops would not go after dark because they were just too dangerous.

It's about a 15 minute walk from these Projects --- where armed cops won't go at night --- to U Street.

People with good sense aren't going to have a problem. But people that think that everyone has their best interests at heart need a reality check. The saying is "A Conservative is a Liberal that has gotten mugged."

Still, its a good place for young people. I can't believe that someone above recommended Manassas or Leesburg.

I agree with your point...and those suburban places, no. Not what any young person is looking for. But all those NW PJs are, I think, long gone. Sursum Corda, Kelsey Gardens, a number of the dicey private complexes in the North Cap and Georgia/7th corridors are demolished and it's changed nearby neighborhoods a lot.

It's been almost 12 years since some kids pulled a gun on me near Georgia and Iowa (actually not far from that Seth Rich robbery/murder), violent crime has dropped exponentially since then. Always good for naive people to get aware of their surroundings, but DC is changing fast.

 

[OttoMets]

Is the Metro (rail) safe after hours?

Yeah, but it's good to be aware, especially at some of the transfer hubs. There are problems at Chinatown and L'Enfant now and again. Especially early afternoon when high schools let out.

 

[Bayside44]

I agree with your point...and those suburban places, no. Not what any young person is looking for. But all those NW PJs are, I think, long gone. Sursum Corda, Kelsey Gardens, a number of the dicey private complexes in the North Cap and Georgia/7th corridors are demolished and it's changed nearby neighborhoods a lot.

It's been almost 12 years since some kids pulled a gun on me near Georgia and Iowa (actually not far from that Seth Rich robbery/murder), violent crime has dropped exponentially since then. Always good for naive people to get aware of their surroundings, but DC is changing fast.

Went to Petworth this summer to the Lincoln summer house. The culture clash on the streets was pretty interesting. U Street looks like Manhattan now.

 

[Eric15]

More sympathetic I could not be. I have been pick-pocketed in Barcelona.

I'm envisioning you chasing the guy down, grabbing him by the throat, and demanding to know whether he thinks Jim Boeheim deserves to coach as long as he pleases.

 

[Townie72]

I'm envisioning you chasing the guy down, grabbing him by the throat, and demanding to know whether he thinks Jim Boeheim deserves to coach as long as he pleases.

I didn't know I had been picked until 15 minutes away. It was masterful.

In my youth I would have hunted him down like a dog.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I'm envisioning you chasing the guy down, grabbing him by the throat, and demanding to know whether he thinks Jim Boeheim deserves to coach as long as he pleases.

Ha! That’s bold even for you.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Technically correct. But anyone who knows anything about DC knows that isn't the part of SE that Shark58 is talking about.

Just like 1st and L in NW, is in NW but not a very safe place.

There are plenty of places you shouldn't go. And even living in some of these yuppified sections (Adams Morgan, Shaw, etc.) requires a good deal of what I think of as "City smarts". In the attached map all these areas are light green, not dark green (Safest).

WalkScore Debuts Neighborhood-by-Neighborhood Crime Grade Rating System

He moved to DC in 2000. Area was just starting to change. Projects on other side of highway now gone. Area has been completely transformed.

Bought his brownstone for a song and a dance. Now probably worth more than triple what he paid for it...