Georgetown or Capitol Hill for single. young professionals? (rental, neighborhood)

[RLCMA]

I'm contemplating moving to DC and I keep hearing Georgetown and Capitol Hill are the best places to live.

I'm a single, young professional who enjoys going out to bars and restaurants so I'm looking for an area with a good selection of both. I would really like to be in an area with a good concentration of single, young professionals as well. I'm not concerned with rental prices. I do want a nice place in a safe part of town where there is a lot going on. I also hear that DC is great if you're a single guy because there are more women than men. What part of town would you recommend? Your feedback is much appreciated.

[LIS123]

Didn't you ask in a separate thread about where to live?

G-town is far from the Metro (Foggy Bottom), which can be a problem. I don't go there much, but it has a rep for being a bit young and stuffy as well. CH is OK. The area is transitional in the sense it's getting better. Some areas of CH are better than others, but it's unlikely that the transition will be that smooth or fast with the economy weakening.

About gender numbers... you're probably right but I know TONS of single guys here (many of whom have been here for quite some time). My best advice is just go out, try to meet people and, if you see someone you like, talk to her. You'll see groups of women everywhere you go. While they may not be going out JUST to meet guys, it's unlikely they're going out NOT to meet guys.

[mmposting]

Georgetown will definitely be to your liking. It's got a real urban, active, vibrant lifestyle, similar to certain parts of Manhattan or the Brookline area of Boston. Definitely lots of young people, college students, young professionals, go getters, lovely women, and bars.

In fact I wish I had lived in Georgetown. Instead I lived five years in boring Arlington. And now I live in more boring Santa Fe.

So don't move to Arlington.

Or Santa Fe.

mike

[PenguinSix]

I lived in both. I enjoyed Georgetown because there were more options for going out, doing stuff but Capitol Hill is nice in that you have more of a community feel / 'local' bars and you are on the Metro, which may or may not be important given your work.

Generally, people who go out on Capitol Hill are from that area or work in that area. People who go out in Georgetown are usually from somewhere else (there are a few places in Gtown where 'locals' hang out and tourists generally avoid).

I liked Gtown more, but Capitol Hill was 'easier'--easier to park my car, get to a Metro, walk to work (when I worked on the Hill) and develop some connections with my neighbors (when I lived in Gtown one of my neighbors was a top reporter for a major network (i.e. you've seen him before) but we rarely said much more than 'good morning' for about five years).

[RLCMA]

I did post another thread but it wasn't as specific as this and I got a bunch of replies that didn't help. I'm going to look into both places more but I'm leaning towards G-town.

[LIS123]

OK. G-town is an area I know little about. I've really never been there since coming to town. Where is your office again?

[RLCMA]

Right now my office is in Landover so I would do a reverse commute.

[juniperbleu]

Georgetown is fun, though truth be told I hardly ever go there (if you're a Red Sox fan there's a bar for you there). It's just such a pain for me to get to using public transportation, so I usually end up driving or (more likely) opting to go elsewhere. But, then again, it's Georgetown. It's nice, pretty, and has a lot of places to go.

I live near Capitol Hill and really like it a lot. It's a little quieter, and has more of the neighborhood-y vibe. As someone else mentioned, it's also got more of a local bar scene, as opposed to the tourists and college kids in G-town. Regarding its revitalization, I've never felt remotely unsafe anywhere west of 9th Street. Further east it can get a little sketchy, but in general it's not bad at all.

Regarding the commute, my inkling is that it'll be a lot easier from Capitol Hill. From Georgetown I guess you'd have to battle the Beltway or cut through the city, which isn't fun during rush hour. From CH it's just 295/50.

[duckz]

Juniperbleu, do you mean 9th SE? I am only quasi familair with the area.

[juniperbleu]

Originally Posted by duckz

Juniperbleu, do you mean 9th SE? I am only quasi familair with the area.

A little bit of both SE and NE, I suppose. I haven't ventured as far north as H Street NE, so I mean (generally) around 9th Street SE & G Street SE by the Barracks north to about C Street NE.

It's a fairly arbitrary distinction (i.e. this isn't to say that 10th Street is horrible or anything), just my general perception from being around the Eastern Market/Stanton Park/Lincoln Park areas of Capitol Hill. Further east towards 14th Street SE doesn't really seem that bad, but you can tell the area has improved recently.