DC or Boston - Help! (appointed, crime, how much)

[outdoorsmw]

Any information is greatly appreciated! I'm thinking about relocating from Florida to either the DC area or Boston. I've realized how much I loath the Florida summers and the people seem to be caught up in possessions rather than depth.

My lifestyle is very active physically (like to run marathons or compete in triathlons) and I love running when it's cold! I appreciate seasons, but I want to be near water. I know both DC and Boston would be great places based on those preferences.

What I also want to know is are people friendly and open? How is the single's scene? I'm hoping to find a nice guy to settle down with sooner rather than later, so that's very important!!! What areas in Boston are best for me and my dog? I would like to live near a park. What are the differences between Arlington, Alexandria, Georgetown, Adams Morgan? If there are other areas that seem to fit my lifestyle, please include suggestions. HELP!!!

[dcnative68]

There are 9 men for every one woman on average in the DC area. If you would like to step into that type of power vacuum, move here. If not, move to Boston. Most women I know native to this area actively seek to marry men from somewhere else or settle.

[vasinger]

For someone coming from Florida, DC winters would be much more tolerable for you. There's lot of stuff to do in DC and you're not too far north to enjoy nice warm weather most of the year.

It has a large creative class of people. Its slightly liberal, but not extreme like Boston. It has a nice mix of people. I personally wouldn't want to live in either city, but if I had to pick, I'd choose DC. Its a right nice town with a good mix.

[jb124]

Originally Posted by dcnative68

There are 9 men for every one woman on average in the DC area.

Wow It doesn't seem that way to me, where did you get that statistic?

[jb124]

Originally Posted by outdoorsmw

I've realized how much I loath the Florida summers and the people seem to be caught up in possessions rather than depth.

You might be disappointed in either city in that case, I know for sure people in the DC area are just as concerned about possessions (assuming you mean keeping up with the Joneses type deal) as anywhere else.

What I also want to know is are people friendly and open? How is the single's scene? I'm hoping to find a nice guy to settle down with sooner rather than later, so that's very important!!! What areas in Boston are best for me and my dog? I would like to live near a park. What are the differences between Arlington, Alexandria, Georgetown, Adams Morgan? If there are other areas that seem to fit my lifestyle, please include suggestions. HELP!!!

People here are sort-of friendly. I don't know what size town you come from in Florida, but in any large metro region you run the risk of people coming off as rude because they're always in a hurry or whatever. Once you slow someone down enough to talk to them, I'm sure you'll find they're as friendly as anywhere else. The singles scene is pretty good here since we have a few centers of nightlife and we have many young professional types. DC is very transient so there are always people who are new to the area and looking to meet people and do various activities.

The main differences between the areas you mentioned are price and how urban the landscape is. They're all very active areas, although Arlington and Alexandria are much larger than Gtown and Adams Morgan, so it really depends on where you are in Arl/Alex. The urban areas of Arlington run along the Metro lines for the most part and in Alexandria, you're probably thinking of what's called Old Town Alexandria. My guess on order of expenses: Gtown, AM, Arl, Alex; for degree of 'urbanity' I'd say AM, Gtown, Arl, Alex.

[Skatergirl]

I've been to Boston quite a bit--live in Ct--and it's a great city!! People are really friendly and there are some terrific eateries all over. D.C. is going to be a city that IS very into the pursuit of materialistic posessions. Boston has a great mix of people and you're close to NYC. It's a nice drive. If I were a single person I'd go to Boston over D.C. in heartbeat.

[outdoorsmw]

JB124 - Thanks for the details. I would say an equal balance between urban and green is a good fit for me. A perfect weekend day would consist of an early morning run, breakfast at a diner around the corner, then a stroll through the local farmer's market, finally grab a new book at a cute bookstore and head to the park with my dog and for some afternoon reading. Wow! What a perfect day! If I could find that, I would be very happy :-) Maybe that helps to limit place to live. Thoughts?

[Zippy7fo]

Originally Posted by outdoorsmw

Any information is greatly appreciated! I'm thinking about relocating from Florida to either the DC area or Boston. I've realized how much I loath the Florida summers and the people seem to be caught up in possessions rather than depth.

My lifestyle is very active physically (like to run marathons or compete in triathlons) and I love running when it's cold! I appreciate seasons, but I want to be near water. I know both DC and Boston would be great places based on those preferences.

What I also want to know is are people friendly and open? How is the single's scene? I'm hoping to find a nice guy to settle down with sooner rather than later, so that's very important!!! What areas in Boston are best for me and my dog? I would like to live near a park. What are the differences between Arlington, Alexandria, Georgetown, Adams Morgan? If there are other areas that seem to fit my lifestyle, please include suggestions. HELP!!!

1. Open--Depends on where you live and where that person grew up. Alot of the NY, Bostoners, Phillyians brought their attitudes with them so they can be rude but the people from the south, west, and midwest are very nice. Great thing about DC is everybody is from somewhere else so it depnds on the person.

2. You'll love the dating scene. You'll have no problem if you enjoy socializing and going to different places. Just know that people here are also on power trips and titles so they will ask that first about your title and degree.

3. Arlington- I highly recommend thiis area for you. Young 20-30-40 something professionals with dogs who enjoy socializing and hanging out.
- Alexandria- Nice area. More diversity and the entertainment hub is old town section.
-Adams Morgan-- Its basically clubs, bars, restaurants, entertainment district. I would not live there but definitely would recommend it to hang out at night or weekends.
-Georgetown--basically upscale area of DC...lot of young sucessful people and college students as well. Has TONS of shopping, eating, and entertainment. I would not live her because the traffic is insane but a beautiful area. You can go out and have lunch overlooking the potomac which is beautiful at night. Just watch out for snakeheads..

I hope this helps....

[jb124]

Originally Posted by outdoorsmw

JB124 - Thanks for the details. I would say an equal balance between urban and green is a good fit for me. A perfect weekend day would consist of an early morning run, breakfast at a diner around the corner, then a stroll through the local farmer's market, finally grab a new book at a cute bookstore and head to the park with my dog and for some afternoon reading. Wow! What a perfect day! If I could find that, I would be very happy :-) Maybe that helps to limit place to live. Thoughts?

Actually both Arlington (Ballston/Clarendon/Courthouse corridor) and Alexandria (Old Town) fit that pretty well. I know Adams Morgan and Goergetown have little shops and eateries as well, but I don't know what type of parks are nearby. All four areas have cafes with indoor/outdoor seating. Old Town and Georgetown would have the advantage of being situated on the Potomac River (for waterfront jogging and parks).

We have farmer's markets a few days a week in Arlington, I think the weekend one is in the Courthouse area. I'm not certain, but I would assume Old Town Alex has a market too. Not sure about DC though since the ultimate farmers market (Eastern Market) had a big fire recently.

Both DC and NoVA enforce leash laws so while running/reading with your dog is fine, you'll have to keep him/her on a leash or take him/her to a dog park for some play time.

If at all possible, it would probably make sense to spend a weekend in both Boston and DC to check out potential neighborhoods and get an impression of how the cities fit your personality.

[Tom Lennox 70]

How close to DC do you want to be? If you must commute to the city, I would suggest the suburbs in Montgomery, Fairfax, or Loudon Counties though. If you're commuting to the Dulles Airport corridor in VA you can live further out in Loudon County out toward Manassas and if you're commuting to suburban Maryland/Mongtomery County you can easily live in Frederick County which is much cheaper and has very little crime or noise. If you are an "outdoors" person don't live anywhere in the District or inside the Beltway.

The DC-Baltimore-Annapolis area has a lot of water sports opportunities, fishing, etc. We are an hour from Chesapeake Bay with marinas throughout Annapolis and the bay, 3-4 hours from the beaches in MD and Delaware, and 3 hours from Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland which is VERY beautiful (though gets cold in the winter). If you love powerboats, jet skiing, water tubing, fishing this area is definitely great for you. If you're from Florida I don't think you want the Boston winters. I personally will never settle down somewhere north of Baltimore. I'm not a cold weather person.