Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I MUST pick the RIGHT place to live in DC w/ my wife & baby girl (plus small dog), when we move there next month.
All we seem to hear about DC is negative--traffic, housing and crime--so my wife, who is a quiet person from Europe, is scared to move there with our young daughter.
So I must pick the right, best place for us to live.
We are quiet. We like neighborhoods and trees, and walks with a stroller. Most important for me, I need a place where my wife will not fear for crime every time she goes outside. I need to be relatively near a metro, to ride to work each day. We would like to get a 2 BR or so, for about $1750 if possible.
Do you know any specific neighborhood, or apt bldg, or location, or metro stop you can recommend? There are so many to search from, and on the internet they all sound the same. I do thank you; my wife can thank you, and; my girl (when she learns to speak) will thank you :-)
P.S. I hope I did not offend anyone by this posting, for I am very excited to come to DC; I can hardly wait. But I MUST get this housing matter right. And I have no experience with DC.
--terry
Last edited by terry boesch; 04-06-2009 at 07:50 PM..
There's plenty to love about DC. We don't live there now, but I miss it and think that it's a great place to raise a family.
We lived in the Woodley Park area, borderline Cleveland Park; that was a fabulous neighborhood, very kid-friendly (home to the National Zoo, too - free and great for stroller walks!), good metro and bus connections, and safe. I think rents for a 2BR are probably going to be above $1750, but you might want to investigate, just in case you can find something. There are a number of large apartment buildings lining Connecticut Avenue, and really anywhere along there (from Dupont Circle on outwards) is going to be nice - IF you can find something in your budget.
I also know people with kids who have been happy in Glover Park. That's north of Georgetown, safe, nice for walks, and I know I've seen listings there for 2BR in your price range. There's no metro, though (which is probably why the prices are lower) but there are buses.
We rented from a company called Bernstein Management Company and had a good experience; I think they have a website that you could search. They have properties in Glover Park, Dupont Circle, Woodley/Cleveland Parks, along with other neighborhoods.
Don't worry too much about whatever bad stuff you've heard; DC is a great place, and has so many wonderful opportunities for people of all ages.
You could try a suburb, like Alexandria. If you're near the King Street or Braddock Road metro stations you can take that into DC. The area's very safe, and fairly walkable. However, rent prices might still be higher than $1750, but I don't think by too much. You could also look in Arlington or Silver Spring, MD.
If you definitely want to be in DC, Glover Park, Woodley/Cleveland Park, are all nice areas. You might have better luck with your budget if you try to go for a place on a bus line rather than walking distance to a metro station. I did it, and it really wasn't that bad.
There are areas in DC you wouldn't want to raise a kid or walk alone at night. The same thing applies to areas of Paris, too. There are plenty of nice, safe areas and I plan to start my family here soon. Traffic isn't great, but the mass transit is fantastic. It's also a very walkable/bikable city. My wife doesn't even use a car anymore.
Like juniperbleu said, getting a bit away from a metro will make housing more affordable, and the bus lines are excellent in most of DC. Suburbs like Alexandria and Silver Spring (which are still on the metro) are more affordable. 1750 will go much farther in Silver Spring than in DC, and you could still live blocks from the metro.
Very much agree with trying the surburbs instead of DC. I have lived in downtown Silver Spring, Arlington, and now Gaithersburg; all very nice, safe, and decent areas. Commute is not that complicated either.
Terry, welcome to DC! I must say that any reputation that DC has for crime is really somewhat misleading. I have lived in New York City, Boston and DC, and find that DC is almost certainly the safest place we've lived. Where are you going to be working? I think that will have a lot to do with which neighborhoods are the best options for you.
Given that you have a baby girl, I would recommend staying somewhat close to the city and all that it has to offer young kids. My wife and I have a 18 month old son, and he absolutely loves going to the National Zoo (absolutely fantastic for kids and 100% free!), or the American History Museum (which has a great section just for kids) or the National Building Museum (again, has a great area just for kids). There are also a lot of parks and playgrounds all around the city.
I think the best areas for you that would be metro accessible would be:
Woodley Park (right by the zoo and very charming -- lots of greenery on all the side streets near Connecticut Ave, lots of restaurants and shops as well), Cleveland Park, Van Ness, Tenleytown/AU, Friendship Heights, Chevy Chase, Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon, and Ballston. I think Capitol Hill also has a LOT to offer families, but some it really depends on the exact location because the further you are away from the Capitol Building, the more challenging the neighborhood can be.
On the whole though, I want to reassure you that you are going to LOVE DC. It is perhaps the most European of all American cities. It has lots of culture, great restaurants and everything is very accessible. In addition, the Metro system is very very clean and every efficient. The only place I've ever been that has a Metro that is equally clean and efficient is Barcelona. You should be able to get to all DC has to offer within 15 minutes if you live in the right location. $1750 should be enough to get you something nice, but if you go up to $2000 for your budget, you will have almost no problems at all in terms of finding exactly what you want.
On the whole though, I want to reassure you that you are going to LOVE DC. It is perhaps the most European of all American cities. It has lots of culture, great restaurants and everything is very accessible. In addition, the Metro system is very very clean and every efficient. The only place I've ever been that has a Metro that is equally clean and efficient is Barcelona. You should be able to get to all DC has to offer within 15 minutes if you live in the right location. $1750 should be enough to get you something nice, but if you go up to $2000 for your budget, you will have almost no problems at all in terms of finding exactly what you want.
This is most certainly true. My wife went to college in Paris, and absolutely fell in love with the city when we visited for exactly this reason. It's got it's issues, it's not for everybody, but it's a great place to live if you ask me.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
