Where would you rather live?... (apartment, house, neighborhoods)

[flyaway185]

If you were a young, fairly social, twenty-something who's new to the city, would you rather live:

1. In Adams Morgan, about a 15-20 min walk to the metro (add to that a 20-30 min commute on the metro to work), in a nice apartment with decent roommates who you didn't see very often.

or

2. In Capitol Hill, about a 15-20 min walk to work about the same to the metro, in a very "lived in" house with fun roommates who hang out together often.

I need to decide SOON, and I'm completely lost!!! I'm afraid Cap Hill isn't going to be lively enough for me (I'm a city girl), but that maybe living with fun people will make up for that.

[Carrot2000]

Young & social? I'd take the place on The Hill. You'll be closer to work and there are plenty of bars/restaurants to keep you occupied.

[EasternMkt]

When I moved to DC from NYC (and London) in my late 20's, I looked at a lot of neighborhoods and finally settled on the Hill as having a healthy balance of decent bars, restaurants, and a good mix of people as far as ages and backgrounds. That said, while I'm social, I was past the point when I wanted to go out to some club every night. I like the Hill and think it as a very friendly neighborhood. I liked going out in Adam's Morgan from time to time, but I really didn't care for the full time bar scene. These days, we find ourselves splitting our time between H Street and the southern parts of the Hill. Given, the choices on H are still somewhat limited but I really like what's there already.

Another thing to consider: If you already know a lot of people in the city, then your choice of roommates might not make a difference. If you're trying to meet people, I'd choose the social roommates since you'll end up getting to know more people. If you hate it, you can always move in 6 months or so, and by then, you'll probably have a solid idea of where you want to live.

BTW, Cookie Monster, I've always found Adams Morgan to be much more "stuck up" than the Hill, mostly w/ folks trying to prove how cool or edgy they are. Um, AM hasn't been edgy for at least 10 years.

[breakingfree]

On those off nights when you don't feel like partying, you might want to consider the Hill. I've heard many people complain about the AM noise at night when they were trying to sleep.

[CookieToaster]

Originally Posted by EasternMkt

When I moved to DC from NYC (and London) in my late 20's, I looked at a lot of neighborhoods and finally settled on the Hill as having a healthy balance of decent bars, restaurants, and a good mix of people as far as ages and backgrounds. That said, while I'm social, I was past the point when I wanted to go out to some club every night. I like the Hill and think it as a very friendly neighborhood. I liked going out in Adam's Morgan from time to time, but I really didn't care for the full time bar scene. These days, we find ourselves splitting our time between H Street and the southern parts of the Hill. Given, the choices on H are still somewhat limited but I really like what's there already.

Another thing to consider: If you already know a lot of people in the city, then your choice of roommates might not make a difference. If you're trying to meet people, I'd choose the social roommates since you'll end up getting to know more people. If you hate it, you can always move in 6 months or so, and by then, you'll probably have a solid idea of where you want to live.

BTW, Cookie Monster, I've always found Adams Morgan to be much more "stuck up" than the Hill, mostly w/ folks trying to prove how cool or edgy they are. Um, AM hasn't been edgy for at least 10 years.

I don't think AM is edgy and never said so. 10 years ago it was not edgy unless you consider lots of Ethiopian food and "Hey man, I'll watch your car for $5" edgy, so your jibe is really pointless. AM is just located near a lot of things to do which is why it is well liked. Some attractions just happen to be in AM, and sure there are lame bars like The Angry Inch. At least if you live in AM you can walk to 4-5 interesting neighborhoods to do stuff. No one I've ever known has said, "Hey guys, lets go out for a hot night on the hill." I wouldn't want to know these people.

I worked near Eastern Market for a few and I visit Eastern Market every few weeks, but other than that and a few marginal restaurants, there's not much of interest down there I think. You're obviously biased since you live down there given your genius nickname. I am thankful you don't show yourself much in NW. The rest of the city has much more to offer than the hill. FYI, AM is not all bars and noisy.

Before you start in again, yes, I did live on the Hill for awhile to be close to work at the time. There are many great looking places to be had relatively cheap down there because of obvious reasons. This past decade it seems to have become a haven for stuffy people, 30-somethings who's excitement revolves around CSI, and hill staffers who have not discovered real jobs. Good luck living there if you ever want friends to come to that part of the city at night. You will find yourself always getting on the train or in the car, but hey, maybe that's a good thing for you.

If you want a reasonably priced place, stay in a lot, and don't walk a lot, then the Hill is probably for you. Conversely, if you are more like me and like to walk, have a wide dining selection, enjoy nightlife, have easy access to stores, and be located in a good place relative to the rest of the nice parts of the city, anywhere in more inward Northwest DC is a good choice.

On a random, I go to H Street as well but find it uninspiring and overrated just as I do AM and all of DC. I would not recommend living there unless you want to buy a place on the cheap. That said, you make the best of what is out there.

FYI, noise is not an issue in AM unless you are stupid enough to want a place directly on 18th on the first floor. I lived there for years and only construction ever woke me up.

[talktobrent]

well, i think living with social roommates is key. it will make it alot more fun and relaxing when you get off work. But, if we were talking location I would greatly prefer to live in Adams morgan. I interned at the hill and lived in Tenleytown. I was glad to escape the "office hell" of The Hill and have a sort of buffer zone like that. Cap hill has its charms but you are going to be surrounded by stuffy white-bread hill staffers all the time.

[EasternMkt]

Did it ever occur to you that you may not meet interesting people in DC because you're too quick to dismiss based on superficial points?

Anyway, I didn't say that *you* said that it was edgy. I said that the many who hang there trying to be "cool" consider it edgy. I did live in NW... it was nice and I have nothing against it (although some of my favorite restaurants have headed for cheaper rents or just closed up shop) but I have no more trouble getting my friends to come out to visit me here than I did there. I do have more trouble in preventing friends from moving in, mostly, I suspect, because I have a bigger place now. I also like the walkability of the Hill; everything I need is w/in easy reach. Plus, sometimes I just need to get out of town... and the Hill gives me easy access to that, too.

The way I see it (as do you, it seems), DC just isn't a very happening town overall, but I don't believe that in itself isn't a bad thing. I've found my quality of life to be better here, bang for buck, then it was in other (larger) cities in which I lived. Do I miss them? Yes, sometimes, but DC has turned out to be more interesting than I expected it to be. BTW, the bus goes directly from the Hill to 18th Street, a quick, cheap ride and runs late.

[Bluefly]

I lived in Adams Morgan for several years and basically lived on the Hill b/c my girlfriend at the time lived there.

The thing about AM - only people who don't live there see it as nothing more than a string of obnoxious, noisy bars. At night, out my window, all I heard were crickets (wonderfully loud). In the morning, being across from the zoo, I was awakened by the rain forest calls of animals. For all its gentrifiction, on Saturday afternoons one is hard pressed to find a white person on Columbia - Latino street vendors, festivals - it's a very eclectic mix. It's a neighborhood - albeit somewhat transient, but there's a lot of normal 30 - 60 something people who take a lot of pride in it being a good neighborhood - not just a good bar scene. I always avoided the bar scene on the weekends - it wasn't fun. It was just crowded with all the whites from the suburbs or the blacks from Northeast (which is cool in itself to see mixing on the same strip). But those same bars on a Wednesday or Thursday night were just incredible.

Madam's Organ was like a weeknight dream - local people of all different ages, races, professions would come together to hear some great blues or dance. I could hang with the bartenders or chat with other locals. I'll never forget one Tuesday night (it was a full moon) and at closing time the bar was just consumed with this raging energy - the music had stopped but people of all ages and races were dancing on the tables, taking instruments off the walls. People were staring in from outside in disbelief.

Capitol Hill is isolated, but decreasingly so. With Chinatown / Penn Quarter turning into the White Flint Mall and the planned emergence of Southwest from its devastatingly soulless urban renewal efforts, the disconnect between U St / Dupont and the Hill is shrinking. It's much more low key over there - I didn't like the bar scene. Very interny, very political. In AM I met fascinating people - people who'd fought in revolutions, a Russian artist, so many. On Capitol Hill, not so much.

Bottom line - if you have a job you like, you'll probably make friends through that. I never lived in a group house and had plenty myself. But, it's a small city. You can be anywhere you need to be in not much time. So, maybe Cap Hill with the potential for friends is the way to go. It's a really good, stable neighborhood.

[HomerBrink]

Lots of dead rats in AM these days. AM like DC itself is incredibly overrated and overhyped. However, Capitol Hill is isolated. At least in AM you can walk to Woodley, Cleveland Park, Mount Pleasant (but why?), Columbia Heights (a new TARGET!!!!!!),
and Dupont and Logan. Also the blue and orange lines going out to Maryland can be creepy late at night.