Apartments at corner of Mass Ave and 4th St NW?! or on Franklin St NE?! (neighborhood)

[Caitlin22]

Hello!

I'm heading to DC this summer for two months to do an internship, and am trying to figure out what to do for lodging since I don't know anyone in town (I know there are a lot of these type of threads, sorry!).

I'm looking either at a place at 400 Massachusetts Ave NW (near the corner of Mass Ave and 4th St...or maybe 9th, the site is confusing) or another place at 1217 Franklin St NE.

I've been looking online and it looks like the Mass Ave place is close to Judiciary Sq and Gallery Pl-Chinatown metro stations, while the Franklin Street is close to the Rhode Island and Catholic University metro stations.

Are either/both/neither of these in OK areas? I grew up in Boston and I like to think I know how not to be dumb living in a city, but all the horror stories I've been reading online are making me nervous!

Thanks!

[14thandYou]

4th and Mass is a better neighborhood and closer to more of the DC hotspots. The Franklin St. place is in a neighborhood known as Woodridge, which somewhat isolated from an amenities perspective. And while it's not necessarily a particularly unsafe part of the city, some of the commercial blocks nearby are blighted.

[juniperbleu]

Go for the one on Massachusetts. It's in a good area, close to the metro, and close to a lot of things to do. My friend lives right around there and loves it.

[saganista]

Ditto here. The horror stories, btw, are mostly because some people like to tell horror stories. So it goes. But I wouldn't see any entry on my own checklist where 4th & Mass wouldn't beat out Franklin Street. That area along Mass Ave has become a nice urban enclave and it's close to a lot of desirable stuff. Hard to go very far wrong there...

[richard kerr]

do you know the name of the hostel at 1217 franklin st ne ?