penn qtr or capitol hill? (renting, townhomes, safe area)

[augustmovers]

My husband starts work next month right near Union Station. We're torn between renting in the penn qtr neighborhood and capitol hill. We have found an apt we like in each, although we like the one in penn qtr more jsut b/c of the layout. The one at penn qtr is on the 900 block of E St., and the one on Capital Hill is at 6th st a few block south of stanton park. We are both around 30 years old and don't have kids. Our conflicts in choosing are:
how good/safe is the walk to union station from each location?
where to park our car in penn qtr?
is capitol hill too quiet?
is penn qtr too active?
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!!

[juniperbleu]

Both are in very safe areas. From Penn Quarter you can just walk straight over on E Street. Also, if you're feeling lazy you can just take the metro 2 stops from Union Station to Chinatown. Capitol Hill is also extremely safe, so that walk would be fine as well.

Regarding your car, in Penn Quarter you'd probably have to park it in a garage. Street parking is fairly difficult to find, and there might be certain hours where no parking is allowed for rush hour.

Regarding quiet/activity, it depends on what your opinion of "too quiet" would be. Capitol Hill is quieter than many areas of the city, but there are still bars, restaurants, and coffee shops along Pennsylvania Avenue so it's not completely dead. As for Penn Quarter, Penn Quarter itself is pretty quiet after working hours, but Chinatown/Gallery Place is only a few blocks away and is more active.

Really, the difference you're looking at is a predominantly quaint residential area with townhomes and a good number of neighborhood places to go (Capitol Hill), or a high rise near office buildings and a recent redevelopment with stores, restaurants, bars, and bright lights. Both are very nice, safe, and convenient, so it really just depends on your personal preferences.

[LIS123]

The areas do seem quite different. As mentioned, CH is more residential and quaint, while PQ is more business oriented and has larger offerings with regards to dining, entertainment, etc. PQ is definitely not too active; it's quite slow on weekends and outside of normal business hours. There's more activity in the Gallery Place area, but much of it is a tourist trap and as a residents you probably won't spend too much time there (except to Metro it from the Red line). PQ is much more active on weekends than the central business district, which is a complete ghost town. PQ is close to a lot of museums and the Mall is not too far of a walk, which is nice.

Even though it's not THAT far, I doubt your husband would be walking from the 900 block of E to Union Station on a regular basis. That walk wouldn't be too pleasant when it's too cold or hot/humid (esp if he wears a suit or dresses up for work).

[augustmovers]

Thank you both for your help. We chose Capitol Hill, seems like the right choice. Thanks so much!