DC neighborhood recommendations? Where do the artisanal-jerky-making hipsters live?

[Anonymous]

Awww...this thread is making me sad. Badly want to buy in Bloomingdale with my husband and 5 month old, but fear we're priced out already.

[Anonymous]

Takoma DC is "just as cute" but the schools are not.

[Anonymous]

OP, disregard many of the above posters who have no idea what they are talking about.

A good rule of thumb - most hipsters in DC are along the green line:
- Petworth
- Columbia Heights
- Shaw/Bloomingdale/Eckington

Also H Street/Hill East.

Much less urban, but know a few hipster families in Brookland/Woodridge as well.

[Anonymous]

PP, your advice seems more or less in line with what others have written on this thread. Which advice in particular would you disregard?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, your advice seems more or less in line with what others have written on this thread. Which advice in particular would you disregard?

Obv, any advice that differs from his/hers!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:8th st on Capitol hill is pretty cool.

Gah, no, it is the opposite of cool! It is full of lobbyists and 40 year old moms with newborns. (And I say this as someone who is both a 40 year old mom and a lobbyist)

[Anonymous]

PP 9:47 here -

I was pointing out that in large part the hipster areas are on the green line.

Would disregard the advice saying that OP will find concentrations of urban hipsters in Takoma Park, Columbia Pike, Arlington, Capitol Hill, Dupont Circle, Kalorama.

Would also disregard those who say go to a different city! Plenty of pockets smart, creative types here.

[Anonymous]

1) Adams Morgan
2)DuPont Circle

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8th st on Capitol hill is pretty cool.

Gah, no, it is the opposite of cool! It is full of lobbyists and 40 year old moms with newborns. (And I say this as someone who is both a 40 year old mom and a lobbyist)

Yep, I hang out there and I am so not cool!

[Anonymous]

Bloomingdale

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP, disregard many of the above posters who have no idea what they are talking about.

A good rule of thumb - most hipsters in DC are along the green line:
- Petworth
- Columbia Heights
- Shaw/Bloomingdale/Eckington

Also H Street/Hill East.

Much less urban, but know a few hipster families in Brookland/Woodridge as well.

This person got it right. We lived in Bloomingdale and it was so hipster we barely fit in (and we're pretty much along those lines). Now we live off H Street in "near northeast" and it's slightly less clique/fixie hipster and slightly more NPR-hipster. Love both places and great families in each. Schools are abysmal but slightly better in the lower digits on H Street NE than Bloomingdale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved from Adams Morgan to Baltimore a few years back. It may not be convenient, but Baltimore (Charles Village, Bolton Hill) is definitely worth looking at.

It's not worth it if you cherish a decent commute, unless you despise DC and love Baltimore for some reason. The retail/restaurant scene in DC is much more vibrant than anything Charles Village or Bolton Hill has to offer. In DC you can walk, bike, and take transit to dozens of different, "colorful" neighborhoods. Baltimore's Charles Village and Bolton Hill are beautiful, but not any more so than DC's historic neighborhoods.

I'm the poster you're quoting. You're right that the commute from Baltimore to DC sucks. I don't do it (I work from home), but I think the difference between Baltimore and DC is that because Baltimore has a lower cost of living, the population tends to be funkier/artsier. If OP is really looking for jerky artisans, she's more likely to find them in Baltimore, Hon (IMHO.)

I think the OP would like Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood the best. I'm surprised no one mentioned it. It reminds me of gentrifying but still funky Echo Park or Highland Park in LA, except that Hampden always had a white Southern, blue collar, working class vibe. Confederate flags were not all that uncommon a few years ago. Today it's a mix of the blue collar families and the very artsy. There are some great independent restaurants and stores, but not much in the way of ethnic food, except for an excellent Asian noodle place. When it comes to ethnic food options DC wins.

Hampden is the region's answer to Echo Park. Too bad the commute to DC would suck. Public transportation is terrible, and the light rail station is a long hike. [/

the people in Hampden are gross

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone: please write back when your kids are about 9 or so. I mean it. If your kids' school day still includes a nap or mandatory rest period, lovely. I mean it, you're probably a lovely person. I have no doubt your school does a solid job with center time and the plastic groceries.

But you're not equipped to talk about how well charter X or dcps school Y does with, say, national math benchmarks. Or prep for a middle school STEM program.

We'll see how I feel when my kid is nine. But right now I can tell you that my late birthday three year old who could barely hold a crayon in August when he started school can now WRITE. He is on the cusp of READING (and can read and spell out simple words). He can add and subtract. He could do none of those things before he started school. He amazes me every day telling me what he has learned at school in four short months.

He's not four until next September and his teachers have taught him to read and write, already. I am stunned. It's not all "center time and plastic groceries". With education like this we'll definitely be staying in DC.

NP here. My child is 9 and has attended DCPS at the same neighborhood school since 3. He hit all those benchmarks and is doing increadibly well at math. He loves school and never misses a day-- somehow manages to only get sick on weekends! But his sense of imagination is not that high. He doesn't have a strong sense of curiosity. Maybe he would have been like this regardless. Maybe it is something that will just come to him later. But it is something I am worried about. I wonder if there is a test for curiousity? MAybe my expectations are too high.

there was an article in the wash post mag about something similar to this about a year ago. A very bright child from DC charter schools who went to Georgetown completely unprepared. He said no one had ever taught him to think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone: please write back when your kids are about 9 or so. I mean it. If your kids' school day still includes a nap or mandatory rest period, lovely. I mean it, you're probably a lovely person. I have no doubt your school does a solid job with center time and the plastic groceries.

But you're not equipped to talk about how well charter X or dcps school Y does with, say, national math benchmarks. Or prep for a middle school STEM program.

We'll see how I feel when my kid is nine. But right now I can tell you that my late birthday three year old who could barely hold a crayon in August when he started school can now WRITE. He is on the cusp of READING (and can read and spell out simple words). He can add and subtract. He could do none of those things before he started school. He amazes me every day telling me what he has learned at school in four short months.

He's not four until next September and his teachers have taught him to read and write, already. I am stunned. It's not all "center time and plastic groceries". With education like this we'll definitely be staying in DC.

NP here. My child is 9 and has attended DCPS at the same neighborhood school since 3. He hit all those benchmarks and is doing increadibly well at math. He loves school and never misses a day-- somehow manages to only get sick on weekends! But his sense of imagination is not that high. He doesn't have a strong sense of curiosity. Maybe he would have been like this regardless. Maybe it is something that will just come to him later. But it is something I am worried about. I wonder if there is a test for curiousity? MAybe my expectations are too high.

there was an article in the wash post mag about something similar to this about a year ago. A very bright child from DC charter schools who went to Georgetown completely unprepared. He said no one had ever taught him to think.

I remember that story. The kid was super annoying and the charter school was Chavez, NOT a good school. The real questionis why did Georgetown admit him.

[Anonymous]

If you are really looking for artisanal types, Eckington, Bloomingdale, and H Street NE are really the best fit. In fact these places are turning into artisanal foodie havens. Think Chocolate City Brewery, New Columbia Gin Distillers, most of the H Street Corridor, and Union Market DC.

Takoma Park, Adams Morgan, and others mentioned don't have the same types of food options. Yes, Adams Morgan has bars and restaurants, but they are not hip or artisanal.