NWDC and safety

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The safest area in DC by far is the Woodland Normanstone/Woodley Park.

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.

Thank you for correcting my attempt at not being a snob. OP, I stand corrected, so please pick the right parts of the Woodley Park which are the ones directly adjacent to the Woodland Normanstone and Mass Ave Heights area. There is a neat circle you can draw around the VPs residence about half a mile all around. That is the ultimate place to be and literally tells which of what 50-100 houses are the most privileged in DC, but there are many other nice areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Just FYI — from Lafayette to the park is Ward 4, so not all of CCDC is Ward 3.

[Anonymous]

Adams Morgan is fine right now, there have been a couple incidents in the last several months but we feel very safe as a family. Look for the areas that are zoned for Oyster Adams.

Other areas that will feel safe and have good schools are are woodley park, Cleveland park, van ness, tenleytown, Chevy chase. All of them will feel more urban the closer you are to the main drag of shops in each area. Mount pleasant is lovely too. The hill is worth looking at, very different vibe but has lovely areas.

Avoid Columbia heights, petworth, parkview, brightwood, Shaw, Logan circle, Brentwood, noma. I know some people love these areas but I just can’t do it with the crime. And the schools.

[Anonymous]

OP, do you want your kids to go to public school through high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks, jotting these down. We live in Cambridge. Very safe, very urban.

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.

Agreed. I lived in Cambridgeport/ Central Square for a few years and felt much less safe there than anywhere I've lived in NWDC. Chevy Chase is much more suburban and "safe." Depends on where you live in Cambridge, but maybe Capitol Hill is more comparable in terms of safety issues and urban feel. I'd say that H Street, Petworth, Shaw, etc are less safe than Cambridge, but it sounds like you're just looking at upper NW. Have you been to DC OP? Because Chevy Chase is just...so different.

[Anonymous]

Op, how much money do you have? How many kids? Are you planning for public or private?

Cleveland Park and Woodley Park are the best combos of somewhat urban and somewhat safe. If you can afford them.

Chevy Chase is very nice too, but slightly further it, and slightly less urban wrt shops, restaurants etc.

[Anonymous]

OP, I live in Glover Park DC and it's about the safest neighborhood in DC. My windows are open right now and all I hear are crickets. It is a tad boring but great for kids. Green, safe, sidewalked. You can walk to Whole Foods and a bunch of restaurants from here (Wisconsin Ave). Zoned for Stoddert ES. Def check it out.

[Anonymous]

I suggest the palisades or if you’re willing, the Woodacres neighborhood in Bethesda Maryland; it’s super close to the DC line and 100% safe.

[Anonymous]

Much of NW is no more “urban” than the suburbs on the other side of the DC line and isn’t remotely comparable to Cambridge. And the schools, while perhaps the best in DC, are average at best compared to the suburbs and below average once you are past elementary school. So it’s really the worst of both worlds: not city-like in terms of lifestyle, and not suburb-like in terms of school quality. So why bother?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Much of NW is no more “urban” than the suburbs on the other side of the DC line and isn’t remotely comparable to Cambridge. And the schools, while perhaps the best in DC, are average at best compared to the suburbs and below average once you are past elementary school. So it’s really the worst of both worlds: not city-like in terms of lifestyle, and not suburb-like in terms of school quality. So why bother?

Quite false

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suggest the palisades or if you’re willing, the Woodacres neighborhood in Bethesda Maryland; it’s super close to the DC line and 100% safe.

Super! Also under a horrendous flight path, by all means rent but do not buy there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Much of NW is no more “urban” than the suburbs on the other side of the DC line and isn’t remotely comparable to Cambridge. And the schools, while perhaps the best in DC, are average at best compared to the suburbs and below average once you are past elementary school. So it’s really the worst of both worlds: not city-like in terms of lifestyle, and not suburb-like in terms of school quality. So why bother?

Quite false

Suburbs suck. They are commuter communities without any real charming town center; metro is horrendous and traffic rivals LA. And the peeps from the top school got an arrested for racist crap. Your real estate money is at risk. In summary, unless you have a Time Machine and lived there a decade or more ago, why on earth would you do so now?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, how much money do you have? How many kids? Are you planning for public or private?

Cleveland Park and Woodley Park are the best combos of somewhat urban and somewhat safe. If you can afford them.

Chevy Chase is very nice too, but slightly further it, and slightly less urban wrt shops, restaurants etc.

+1

Wise

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Agree, this board is not a good place for big decision making data.

[Anonymous]

OP, plug in potential addresses here

https://crimecards.dc.gov/

Work with a good realtor. You may find a house that better fits your needs in close in suburbs, esp re: schools and crime as concerns.