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The perfect house popped up in Capitol Hill East a couple blocks from Stadium Armory Metro but I'm reluctant to move forward with it due to the location. I've been told Capitol Hill East is sketchy; however it is developing and in a couple years will be fine/normal.
Is this area safe? Does it have potential? What should I be concerned about? What are your general thoughts of the Capitol Hill East area? Any information will be gladly appreciated!
It's hard to think of any "gentrified" area in DC that still doesn't have problems with crime so the idea that Hill East would become "fine/normal" in two years seems very spurious to me.
As for living there and if it's "safe"... that all really depends on your expectations and your personal comfort level. If you're hoping for an area where crime is as rare as most of the suburbs you won't find it there. Muggings happen and are not a surprise when they do. But you can also live there for years and never experience crime. I haven't. It's really luck of the draw as well as your street smarts and experience in an urban environment.
I think you'd really need to visit and hang out there at different times of the day and night to be able to judge for yourself how comfortable you would feel there. Strangers on the Internet can't tell you what would be "safe" for you.
I've lived near what's commonly regarded as Hill East for several years so that's what my comment is based on it. I love the area because of the walkability and beauty of the housing stock and my cool neighbors. But with that good there's the major downside of crime. Still, even though the muggings happen I haven't been mugged nor have any of my neighbors who have been here for years so the crime rate is still low enough for me that the positives outweigh the negatives. And it's not like I hide inside my house and don't go out at night. I'm out a lot. But that's my comfort level. Yours might be different.
Yeah, I also lived in that area for a while. Safe is all relative. I did get jumped when I lived near there, but most of my neighbors/friends didn't. So like stateofnature said the odds are against it on an indivudual level, but it does happen with some frequency. So it isn't a freak occurance either. To me, the big issue is quiet residential nature and the lack of foot traffic. The area doesn't have the "safety in numbers" aspect that other more prime DC neighborhoods have.
As to the improvements in the neighbrhoods. I could see some improvements in terms of more restaurants and bars opening up around the Potomac Ave Metro Stop. Hill East has some development planned, but that seems a bit more hypothetical 5-10 years out. As to crime though, I don't see the situation changing that much in the near term (next 5 years). The arrival of "gentrifiers" doesn't automatically end the underlying street crime issues. Perhaps in a generation (20 years) the neighbrhood will have changed enough to change the fundemental realities, but don't believe the hype that elevated crime rate is going to magically be gone in the next 3-4 years.
I personally wouldn't live there. I have a good friend who had their house broken into and car stolen. And as others have said, robberies aren't that uncommon.
The perfect house popped up in Capitol Hill East a couple blocks from Stadium Armory Metro but I'm reluctant to move forward with it due to the location. I've been told Capitol Hill East is sketchy; however it is developing and in a couple years will be fine/normal.
Is this area safe? Does it have potential? What should I be concerned about? What are your general thoughts of the Capitol Hill East area? Any information will be gladly appreciated!
I moved to DC in 2009 to work at a charter school near RFK that is now defunct and currently Appletree Early Learning Center PCS (St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church) by Oklahoma x 21st St NE. A month into the school year I moved close to work near the Safeway on 14th St SE and later lived at the Car Barn until 2013. Nothing ever happened to me, I'd walk home from the metro at night frequently. I'm also a decent sized guy. It's kind of like life, you can't know for certain what's going to happen.
Hill East has changed tremendously since 2009. I tried to buy a house on 21st St NE but was ousted. The whole area is changing, but nothing has changed more than the prices. Back in those days you could get an outdated but decent condition rowhome from the high $100k's to low $200k's. Nowadays even a gutjob will bring more than that. Has the neighborhood changed? Somewhat, yes. It is slowly gentrifying but the prices have skyrocketed at a far greater pace. Enough to justify the prices? I'm not so sure. IMO I think you missed the golden opportunity. If you really want to live on the hill in a house but just can't go over $450k it's about all you are left with except some of those tiny homes that are under 800 sq. ft. but I think it will be a long time until you see any real appreciation seeing as the area has just about doubled in the past 6-7 years.
There is definitely some stuff going on over there, check out DC crime map, but most people who mind their business rarely experience anything but property crime, but it does happen, so get a dog and/or ADT and stay vigilant. Also, a couple blocks from Stadium Armory doesn't tell enough. 17th x C St SE would be a whole lot different than 19th x C St NE. I'd suggest driving around the hood during the day, then at night.
The real question about that area is what will replace RFK Stadium once it's torn down. New Redskins stadium (poor land use in my opinion), housing, a public park, or a combination?
I hope not a new football stadium. Keep that team out of DC. Plus I don't want my taxpayer money going to them. Virginia and Maryland can have them. A public park would be nice.
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