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Is the City Cleaners location that liquor store that was closed for years on Rhode Island Ave? If so a buddy of mine growing up's uncle killed a guy in that store maybe 20 years ago... that was the reason it was shut down. It looks like both of the neighborhoods have come up quite a bit. I'm on google maps and not believing the white people I'm seeing on the corners of 1st and R and 1st and T... The 1st & R st Crew was infamous back in the day just like the K st (SW) Crew. LOL
Another SW resident here, I concur with the others who recommend it as an affordable, quiet neighborhood with easy access to the rest of the city. On nice days, I walk from SW to my office at Metro Center. The Greenleaf housing doesn't intimidate me as it's so small and there's a police station next to it. I wouldn't walk through some of the high rises off of M street, but I've never had a reason to go in that direction.
I'm not familiar with the Bloomington neighborhood.
Yeah, but SW has more. Many, many more. SW probably has the highest concentration of public housing of any quadrant.
I think you need to take a tour of SW and all areas of DC for that matter. I think you will discover that Anacostia, SE and DC along the PG County border certainly has more projects than SW Waterfront, the tiniest quadrant in DC.
Do you mean going West on M Street towards the Wharf? If that's the case, then yes, I would agree. If you mean south of M Street headed towards the Anacostia, then no.
If you go south on M Street you will see about 3 - 4 blocks of housing projects, yes. But after that, you get to Navy Yard and then once again you are in high rent district. For the record, Navy Yard is just one metro stop from Anacostia.
Okay, but no one really thinks of the Air and Space Museum when they hear "Southwest DC?" Just like no one really thinks of the Supreme Court or Union Station when they hear "Northeast." When people say "Southwest," they generally mean the area south of I-395 and west of the stadium.
Maybe you just didn't realize that these attractions are in SW as many people do. But the reality is that they are, and are very much part of the SW neighborhood that residents love. Local residents walk, bike, walk their dogs, and push their baby strollers along Constitution Ave, SW and throughout the National Mall admiring these museum attractions and Washington institutions every day. They are without a doubt the gems that make SW one of the best kept secrets of the city. Just because people don't think about it doesn't mean it is so.
Nobody ever said Southwest was "unsafe." But it's definitely more hood than Bloomingdale, that's for sure.
Call it hood, but I would choose SW Waterfront over living in Bloomingdale
The only advantage SW has is a Metro stop and a Safeway. But depending on what part of Bloomingdale you're living in, the Metro may be only a 7-10 minute walk.
I'm not familiar with the Bloomington neighborhood.
You're apparently not terribly familiar with DC as a whole either. It's "Bloomingdale" not Bloomington.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DCadvocate
Call it hood, but I would choose SW Waterfront over living in Bloomingdale
To each his own. I just laid out some of the facts as well as my own observations. I even stated that I would live in Southwest under certain circumstances.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brooklynborndad
The Arena Stage? The fish market?
You mean the Wharf. Nobody calls it "the fish market." Yes, that is in Southwest also, even though it's not really integrated into the residential fabric of the area. It is, however, a place that you could walk to if you live in the area.
Arena Stage is also in Southwest, but that's not something most people would do regularly (unless you're just a huge theater buff). The Howard Theater, on the other hand, offers brunch and dinner in addition to music acts and happy hours and mixers. And once you've walked to the Howard Theater, it's just two more blocks before you get to Etete, 1905, Dickson, Martin's, Portico, Nellie's (if that's how you roll), Lounge of Three, etc. There's just a lot more to do in a closer proximity than there is in SW.
You could very well walk from Southwest to Gallery Place, too, but it would take a little longer and the walk would be desolate. The area south of the Mall is a real deadzone. There are virtually zero pedestrians there at night other than homeless people (who really wants to hang around the Department of Homeland Security on a Friday night?). Almost all of the retail is buried underground (or in office buildings) in L'Enfant Plaza, which I'm not sure is even accessible after hours.
Last edited by BajanYankee; 08-23-2012 at 08:37 AM..
^^ everyone calls it the fish market. I'll agree with you on everything else, but I enjoy living in SW. If I was young and single I'd rather live closer to the action.
Oops, just read OP is specifically interested in safety. I live in SW with my husband and toddler and we generally feel safe in the area. The neighborhood has its sketchy parts, but they are obvious and seem separated from the nicer streets. We do hear about the occasional mugging which is scary, but that comes with city life.
Colloquially the "Maine Avenue Fish Market" is known as "the Wharf." When people go to Maine Avenue to buy crabs, they say "I'm going down to the Wharf to get a bushel" not "I'm going down to the fish market to get a bushel." Just like nobody ever says "I'm making a quick run over to Southeast" when they're going to Capitol Hill.
I don't find this to be particularly surprising, though. Someone on this Board once said that he had never heard of "Uptown" DC. That just goes to show that there's a pretty wide cultural divide between the District and many parts of Maryland and Virginia.
You mean the Wharf. Nobody calls it "the fish market." Yes, that is in Southwest also, even though it's not really integrated into the residential fabric of the area. It is, however, a place that you could walk to if you live in the area.
There is also the Wharf, but IIUC the only businesses there now are overpriced seafood restaurants. Theres the nice walk along the waterfront, but we seem to be mainy comparing other kinds of amenities.
Quote:
You could very well walk from Southwest to Gallery Place, too, but it would take a little longer and the walk would be desolate. The area south of the Mall is a real deadzone. There are virtually zero pedestrians there at night other than homeless people (who really wants to hang around the Department of Homeland Security on a Friday night?).
Almost all of the retail is buried underground (or in office buildings) in L'Enfant Plaza, which I'm not sure is even accessible after
Just to clarify you mean ICE, right? DHS HQ is in Tenleytown. Yeah, theres not much street retail at L'Enfant (though there is a little) and some of the places over nr 7th are open after work hours, I am pretty sure. But not really an amenity for the SW residential area.
Of course if you WORK in that area, SW would be ideal. OP hasn't told us where he would be working, has he?
Anyway, SW seems to have a very convenient metro, the Safeway, walking along the waterfront, the fish market, the Arena stage - a desolate but short walk to downtown - and short walk to the ballpark for those brave enough to walk past the projects on M street. Bloomingdale has lovely TH's, a slightly longer walk to the metro, and a short walk to some other happening nabes, with better access to bars and coffee shops and that kind of thing.
Last edited by brooklynborndad; 08-23-2012 at 09:31 AM..
Colloquially the "Maine Avenue Fish Market" is known as "the Wharf." When people go to Maine Avenue to buy crabs, they say "I'm going down to the Wharf to get a bushel" not "I'm going down to the fish market to get a bushel." Just like nobody ever says "I'm making a quick run over to Southeast" when they're going to Capitol Hill.
I don't find this to be particularly surprising, though. Someone on this Board once said that he had never heard of "Uptown" DC. That just goes to show that there's a pretty wide cultural divide between the District and many parts of Maryland and Virginia.
Where exactly is "Uptown" DC? Anywhere north of the downtown, or is it a particular neighborhood? I've been here for 4 years, and the only person I've heard who referred to "uptown" DC was someone who just moved here from uptown NYC (so I just assumed he was using NYC terminology).
I also still call it the fish market and had thought "the Warf" was mainly a term used by the redevelopers. Clearly I still have a lot to learn!
not "I'm going down to the fish market to get a bushel." .
Perhaps it's not the most accurate terminology, but that's exactly what we say. We'll just have to agree to disagree.
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