Street smarts living in the D.C. metro area and neighborhood descriptions (apartment complexes)

[DCnative1990]

I'm going to list neighborhoods in D.C. that a lot of people are skeptical about or want to know more of. So far my street knowledge has helped people on this site.

-Columbia Heights, NW
The Good: Very Diverse, Up and coming, Convenient
The Bad: A lot of beef and tension between gangs and hoods. For an example.
The "CTU hood" (Clifton st, University place, Fairmont st) is beefing with Girard St and these streets are all within 5 blocks of each other. Also the MS-13 gang has shown there presence a lot more lately. I can talk a lot more on this area, but I'm pretty sure you get the point.

Advise: Avoid living on the streets I just named. Also I wouldn't recommend walking through there either at night. If you want to live in Columbia Heights, choose the safer parts like Irving street (by the metro station) or park road. But because this part of Uptown is so economically diverse its best to just be safe everywhere.

-Trinidad, NE
The Good: Nothing at all
The Bad: Everything, don't go around there if you don't have to.

Advice: Self Explanatory

-Brookland, NE
The Good: A much quieter part of Northeast. Served by the red line and numerous bus routes makes transportation no problem. Banks and stores are located on 12th street.

The Bad: The only "bad area" of Brookland would be 18th and Monroe street. But other than that you're good to go.

-Mount Vernon Square/Shaw, NW
The good: Short commute to downtown, shopping, public transit not an issue.

The Bad: This area has a history of crime and there are housing projects on this area (7th and O street, 5th and O street, 7th and R street) and a few more. But there are police cameras and the cops are there 24/7, so you'll be okay for the most part.

Advise: Anything west of 7th street is safer.

-Logan Circle, NW
The Good: Diverse area, the gay scene is similar to Dupont circle, definitely one of the safer areas. Stores, restaurants, clubs, everything you need is in this area.

The Bad: If you are the conservative type thats does not like diversity than this area is not for you.

-Waterfront and Buzzard Point, SW
The Good: Nationals Stadium nearby, Safeway, metro station, seafood Warf, seafood restaurants.

The Bad, a lot of housing projects. Keep away from anything south of M street.


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The Real/Forgotten parts of D.C.

-Anacostia, Congress Heights, Benning Heights, Southern Ave, Parkland, Bellvue and the rest of SE/SW across the river.
The "REAL": This is more of a color privilege part of town. Don't get me wrong
anything can and will happened to you regardless of race if your caught off guard. But if your not black it'll just increase your chances of something happening. Public transit isn't safe as it is, if you stand out it'll just cause trouble. some parts of Anacostia have been revitalized but it still has a very long way to come. If you must move to this area please have a car, its for you own good.

-Deanwood, Lincoln Heights, Mayfair, Kenilworth, and the rest of N.E. thats across the river.
The Good: Its more acceptable to people of other races and its slowly up and coming. I was raised in this area and I've seen it go though a lot. Things seem to be getting better slowly but surely. I would look into either the single
family homes of Eastland Gardens, which is the southern part of Kenilworth or the townhomes by Deanwood metro station. Also there are new townhouse on 58th street by east capitol street and not to far from the DC/MD border.

The Bad: Avoid Mayfair/Paradise apartment complexes, Kenilworth projects, Huntwood courts, and Lincoln heights.





If you want a neighborhood evaluation that I haven't talked about, send me a private message and I'll help you out.

[Mrs. 14th & You]

This is an interesting overview of DC neighborhoods. In terms of "the bad," though you neglect distance from good transportation routes, Smartbike, and Zipcar. You also neglect expense. Logan Circle is great and all, but a rowhouse will set you back $1 million +, even on transitional blocks.

I do agree that some subsidized housing complexes do become the local nexus for crime. Not all are bad, however. It's important to research each particular neighborhood and understand who will be your potential future neighbor.

Also, keep in mind that this advice is your opinion. I too wouldn't choose to live in Trinidad or recommend it highlty, but I know people who do like it there -- mostly because of the attractive but inexpensive (relatively) housing stock. Also, you never know what background someone is coming from/where they are moving from. An experienced city dweller might not blink to move to Trinidad, whereas, someone who spent his life in quiet suburbs would be ill-prepared for it. There are also a lot of young professionals of all races increasingly moving to wards 7 and 8 east of the Anacostia River. Again, it wouldn't be my choice, but I think for some it's a great fit.

Lastly, I hope no one is scared off by "public transporation isn't safe as it is." The Metro crime statistics really do not support that assertion. It would be fair to say that the Anacostia Metro station has a higher incidence of crime, but I understand that the Gallery Place/Chinatown station (in an upscale neighborhood) has a similar rate of crime. That said, the crime incidence is still comfortably low on buses and trains.

By the way, I've noticed that all of your posts are in bold. It's rather jarring. You might want to consider plain ol' fonts.

[Dcdave]

I saw no mention of NoMA or Eckington which is where I hope to be moving to from Capitol Hill East no less. I am quite excited about living in Eckington.