Tell me about this neighborhood in NE DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, and no. You can find crime maps on MPD's website. Also look at schools' test scores for what would be your in-bound neighborhood school to see if that would be do-able for you if you don't do well in charter and out-of-boundary lotteries. Most DC schools aren't very good, but some neighborhoods that are safer and not horribly expensive are Michigan Park, North Michigan Park, Lamond-Riggs/Riggs Park, Brookland, and Petworth.

A couple years ago MPD put roadblocks up around Trinidad in response to a lot of shootings.

After you look at crime maps, walk around the neighborhoods you're thinking of on a Friday or Saturday evening when it's nice out. See if you feel creeped out or like you could comfortably live there.

PP of this post here. I looked up the address, and realized that I had been around there for work during the day. I definitely wouldn't want to live there. Over half a million for a place where you're going to hear gunshots--wow. At that price point, you could get a nice, detached single-family home in Silver Spring or Takoma Park with good schools and possibly walking distance to the Metro. Or a condo in DC west of the park or close-in VA. You have a lot of better options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9:00, I assume you weren't inconvenienced much by the police cordons?

I'd have said the same thing about the Parkway neighborhood of South Arlington a decade ago. I mean, I was able to shrug off flophouses and a drug bust across the street ... I suspect if I'd have been met with Arlington PD cordons that'd be too much for me.

Or maybe you can ask the young family that bought from us, did $20k of renovations to the place and then moved in less than a year.

I did clearly say "regular DCPS". Which of the ones you mention are "regular DCPS schools" where you don't have to pass a test, win a lottery, etc.?

Maury looks like a regular DCPS school but for some reason it gets a 5 on Greatschools, OTOH it is under 50% FARMS, so maybe it's the ES version of "Yale or Jail." Be interesting to know where they go after there, though.

Tyler is a '4' on Greatschools, 62% FARMS ... maybe not as bad as other DCPS elementaries but not quite there yet.

OP, maybe you'll luck out and you'll get a nice older long-term resident couple on one side that'll even agree to babysit occasionally, and a couple of younger families will agree to stick around. Or maybe you'll move in next to an older woman whose grandson has no discernible income yet drives a nice car.

You don't have to test into any of those schools. Maury, Tyler, and the Cluster are all neighborhood schools. SWS and CHM are city-wide. So yes, you lottery in, but there are many neighborhood schools where you need to lottery in before K. You really sound like someone who has no familiarity with the area. Which is fine, but in that case the OP should not be relying on your advice.

[Anonymous]

11:08, OP probably shouldn't rely on my advice on DC proper.

OTOH, I do have experience living in a less desirable part of the region and the things I've stated as facts are correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This area is pretty rapidly gentrifying. It depends how you feel about being a first mover and getting into an area that is still rough but improving. We bought on the NE side of the Hill in 2003. It was still a little rough then and we had trouble with petty crime (car break-ins, once our house was broken into) but nothing violent. There used to be people who loitered on stoops and there was more trash on the ground than I wanted. However, we got a huge house with two car parking for a really reasonable price. Flash forward ten years and our house has doubled in value, the neighborhood is very safe, there are tons of kids and the local school is pretty strong, lots of new restaurants and shops, etc. Basically, it is a great neighborhood. I think that Trinidad is on a similar trajectory and it all depends on whether or not you want to be there through the transition years. We didn't have kids until this year (not that we intended to wait quite that long) but I would have been comfortable with kids in the neighborhood five years ago. It is all about personal taste and personal comfort level with things not being upscale for a few years.

I agree with this post. Yes, it's a little rough, but I lived in Shaw/Logan in 1991 and heard gun shots. My mother cried when I showed her the neighborhood. Now - I couldn't dream of owning a house there. I get mad everytime I think about how cheap it would have been to buy a house back then. It's all about the investment. If you move and you aren't comfortable, you can always rent until the neighborhood gets better. It's close to Gallaudet.

[Anonymous]

There are only a handful of DCPS schools that are good to send kids to and the real estate in those areas price reflects why...not the schools, it's the families sending their kids there that makes it a good place to learn, a good place to teach and a place that teachers stick around.

The charter system is worth playing - and otherwise plan on private if you can? But I've been to this neighborhood to look at houses, everytime we go I think how much nicer it looked online and in theory....