NWDC and safety
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Anonymous
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We are a family with two kids who may be moving to DC from Boston in the next couple of months. Ive been reading the DC thread for research and the frequent discussion of crime slightly concerns me - and yes, I’m reading the news coverage on rising crime in DC as well. I’ve seen “Chevy chase” and “NWDC” mentioned multiple times as a safe area to live for families without completely forsaking an urban lifestyle.
How accurate is this? Is NWDC the safest part of DC? What makes it the safest other than demographics? The last thread I found on this is from 2020, curious how things may have changed since then. |
Anonymous
| Where did you live in Boston? |
Anonymous
| People referencing NWDC are usually talking about west of Rock Creek Park (“WOTP”). Chevy Chase is in that area. It’s very safe. There are some other areas of NW that are east of Rock Creek Park (“EOTP”) that are also safe but depending on where you are, the schools aren’t great. Then there are some areas of NW EOTP that I wouldn’t recommend if you’re worried about safety (fwiw I don’t necessarily consider them unsafe but if you’re worried about it, you may not be comfortable there) |
Anonymous
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You're giving up the urban lifestyle if you live in Chevy Chase. From parts of it, you can walk to some very meh shops and restaurants that are the same types of places you can find anywhere. You're not getting the same urban environment that you would find in Logan or H Street. But CC is relatively safe.
The public schools aren't great because DC just doesn't have great public or charter schools, but they're better than many of the other DC public schools. Unfortunately, the fun areas don't have good schools in DC. If you're looking for good public schools, then you'll do better in the suburbs. |
Anonymous
| The safest area in DC by far is the Woodland Normanstone/Woodley Park. |
Anonymous
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OP here, thanks, jotting these down. We live in Cambridge. Very safe, very urban.
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Anonymous
| If I read this board a lot I’d be scared, too, yet the reality is it’s incredibly safe. I’ve lived in dc my whole life except for a short stint in Boston. The only crime I’ve experienced has been in the back bay and Georgetown, ironically. |
Anonymous
which areas are those? (the NW EOTP ones you refer to) |
Anonymous
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As PP notes, NW DC is a large swath of DC. The neighborhoods people are generally talking about, with family-sized houses and a scale that will remind you of some Boston suburbs, are basically west of Rock Creek Park from Woodley Park up to the District line (Western Ave.) The latter divides Chevy Chase, MD, from Chevy Chase, DC. Many locations among those are close to Red Line Metro stops and/or major bus routes and the businesses that cluster along Wisconsin and Connecticut Avenues, though some areas, especially west of Wisconsin over towards Mass. and east of Connecticut towards the park, can be quite far from walkable amenities.
All these places, all in Ward 3, are historically white, from when DC was much more (even more) segregated than it is now, and upper middle class, and the current profile of the public schools reflects that. Most of the top private schools are also in Ward 3. East of Rock Creek Park in northern Ward 4, off 16th St. in the very northern tip of the District, are neighborhoods with a similar housing stock, family-friendliness, professional/UMC population, and a good elementary school: Shepherd Park and Colonial Village. This is a historically integrated part of the city and prices remain persistently somewhat lower. People who live there love it and it's worth a look, though houses don't turn over very often. There has been an uptick in property crime and some increased level of disturbance in apartment buildings along Connecticut Avenue that used to be very, very quiet and staid. And there is more visible homelessness. These get a lot of attention, but from deep within Ward 3 as a lifelong resident I can report that these neighborhoods feel as safe as they always did for families walking around doing things. |
Anonymous
Woodland Normanstone (aka Mass Ave Heights) is VERY different from Woodley Park even though they are in close proximity to each other. Mass Ave Heights is filled with detached homes and billionaires while Woodley Park enjoys a Metro stop and attached row houses. Not the same. AT ALL. |
Anonymous
NW EOTP is huge. Shepherd Park/Colonial Village (as a PP mentioned most similar to WOTP and best schools), Takoma, Brightwood, Manor Park, Brightwood Park, Petworth, Columbia Heights, 16th St Heights, Mount Pleasant, Crestwood (also skews wealthy), Adams Morgan. Which ones are safest is probably subjective. Some more searching will reveal that Petworth, Columbia Heights, and Brightwood Park tend to be problem areas. I see a lot of complaints about rising crime in Adams Morgan lately but I don’t know anyone who lives there and can’t tell you much. |
Anonymous
It is the same. This is referring to the area of Woodley Park that is in fact in the same neighborhood and used to ge the same ANC. It is very very safe. Unlike Woodland it doesn’t have a tree and slope overlay which would mean you would have to get a permit to move a branch. So one could argue you couldn’t do any better in DC. |
Anonymous
Upper NWDC is, at least historically, safer than Cambridge. If you can handle living there, you'll be fine anywhere in NW, even with the recent increase in crime, which is citywide but concentrated in other parts of the city. |
Anonymous
If money is no object, avoid all of the above. |
Anonymous
You want to be exactly there in Observatory/Woodland/Woodley triangle, but not on the major avenues or near any metro. Why? Great schools, but inconvenient for crime. That’s the problem in the otherwise coveted Cleveland Park. Nice map below. You could also go by the only no-fly circle in DC outside of the White House. Again, it’s the same leafy parts of the Observatory Circle/Mass Ave Heights/Cathedral/Woodland Normanstone and Woodley Park. If money is an issue, then Chevy Chase and parts of Cleveland Park away from the Avenues, 34th, Reno, Macomb, Porter, and never West of Wisconsin. https://www.uptownurbanist.com/blog/no-cleveland-park-amp-woodley-park-should-not-be-in-separate-ancs |