Mt. Pleasant, Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, & Petworth (where to look?)

[Anonymous]

I posted this inquiry in Real Estate, but thought I'd cross-post here to get the families-with-children traffic:

Hi all,

My family and I are moving to DC this summer from out-of-state for a 2-3 year temporary assignment. Our 3 year old has lotteried into CM, which will be moving to Old Soldiers Home, which is kind of sandwiched between Columbia Heights and Brookland -- as such, we're looking to rent (remember, only here a few years) from the following 4 neighborhoods, in rough order of our initial perceived desirability:

1) Mr. Pleasant
2) Capitol Hill
3) Columbia Heights
4) Petworth

We chose those areas for proximity to the school. We're looking for a 2 BR, in the $2500 - $3000 price range, something walkable with retail options (e.g. Brooklyn/Prospect Heights is our ideal neighborhood), and safe and appropriate for families with young children. From what we read, Capitol Hill would likely be our first choice, but it's probably out of our price range, and is not as close to the other options for the CM school commute. (Please correct me if I'm wrong).

We're doing a real apartment hunting trip in July, but I'll be in the DC area next week for work and will have about 2 free days to check out the above neighborhoods. Not being familiar with DC, I just want to get an idea of what these neighborhoods are like, where the ideal streets/areas are to try find housing, where to avoid, etc. I hear some of these neighborhoods go from safe to somewhat sketchy very quickly, so if you can just give me parameters of which streets/areas I should visit to get a sense of the neighborhood in the short time I have, I would very much appreciate it. I suppose we'd consider Brookland too, though from what I hear it may be too suburban for us....we really like walkable. And again, we're not too familiar with DC so if there's other neighborhoods I should be considering, please let us know. We're set on CM though so living in MD or VA is not an option.

Thanks very much in advance!

[Anonymous]

OP here, sorry, Mt. Pleasant, not Mr. Pleasant (though he does sound like a great guy).

[Anonymous]

If you are looking for walkability to school (for CM) then petworth is your choice. moving to capitol hill will make your commute tough. the buses here are kind of frustrating so don't think of them like Brooklyn buses. Petworth is family friendly has a cool-ish vibe and can be very close to the new CM campus. Fort Totten and Georgia ave are the nearest metro's to CM. best of luck! grew up in Brooklyn myself (crown heights baby!), just realize nothing can replicate it so adjust your expectations accordingly.

[Anonymous]

We live in Mt Pleasant and love it. There are many families around - the guy who sells the Pleasant Pops at the farmers market remarked to me yesterday that he is getting a crash course in kids since there are so many at the market. We walk everywhere - we use the shops on Mt Pleasant periodically but Target and other bigger stores are just a little further in Columbia Heights. You can walk to the zoo too and have easy access to Rock Creek Park. I am not familiar with what the apartment stock is like in the area but most of the apartments are on/near Mt Pleasant Street / 16th Street. Since Creative Minds was on 16th Street for the past little while, there are likely many Mt Pleasant families who will continue to go to the school at its new location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted this inquiry in Real Estate, but thought I'd cross-post here to get the families-with-children traffic:

Hi all,

My family and I are moving to DC this summer from out-of-state for a 2-3 year temporary assignment. Our 3 year old has lotteried into CM, which will be moving to Old Soldiers Home, which is kind of sandwiched between Columbia Heights and Brookland -- as such, we're looking to rent (remember, only here a few years) from the following 4 neighborhoods, in rough order of our initial perceived desirability:

1) Mr. Pleasant
2) Capitol Hill
3) Columbia Heights
4) Petworth

We chose those areas for proximity to the school. We're looking for a 2 BR, in the $2500 - $3000 price range, something walkable with retail options (e.g. Brooklyn/Prospect Heights is our ideal neighborhood), and safe and appropriate for families with young children. From what we read, Capitol Hill would likely be our first choice, but it's probably out of our price range, and is not as close to the other options for the CM school commute. (Please correct me if I'm wrong).

We're doing a real apartment hunting trip in July, but I'll be in the DC area next week for work and will have about 2 free days to check out the above neighborhoods. Not being familiar with DC, I just want to get an idea of what these neighborhoods are like, where the ideal streets/areas are to try find housing, where to avoid, etc. I hear some of these neighborhoods go from safe to somewhat sketchy very quickly, so if you can just give me parameters of which streets/areas I should visit to get a sense of the neighborhood in the short time I have, I would very much appreciate it. I suppose we'd consider Brookland too, though from what I hear it may be too suburban for us....we really like walkable. And again, we're not too familiar with DC so if there's other neighborhoods I should be considering, please let us know. We're set on CM though so living in MD or VA is not an option.

Thanks very much in advance!

You might add LeDroit Park/Bloomingdale/Shaw to your list. They're walkable, with lots of young families (you could bus or carpool pretty easily). They're more downtown flavored than Petworth or Mt. Pleasant, but that's because like the Hill you can actually walk downtown from there.

[Anonymous]

Another MtP parent here---who has also lived in Petworth. MtP is a great neighborhood for kids for the reasons stated above. The small scale and community feel of MtP Street makes it feel like a true "village" in the middle of the City. We always see lots of neighbors and other families at the Farmer's Market or running errands. If you need metro or Big Box retail like Target, Columbia Heights is just a few blocks away. It is also super easy to walk to "grown up" restaurants in Adams Morgan or U Street and the 16th Street and 42 bus lines get you downtown quickly. There are also children's events at the newly refurbished MtP library.

Several of the streets in the neighborhood close for Halloween or summer block parties.

[Anonymous]

Definitely add bloomingdale to your list.

[Anonymous]

How did you enroll at CM without providing proof of residency?

[Anonymous]

I would say look into the Brrokland and Fort Totten area. Riggs Park?

[Anonymous]

I live in Petworth, the neighborhood closest to CM. We love it, and there are lots of families here, but it would definitely feel suburban to someone coming from Brooklyn. Plus, on a scale from 1 - 10 for walkability, I'd give it a 6.5.

The closest thing on your list to Prospect Heights is Mt. Pleasant. You wouldn't be able to tell by walking down the main strip, Mt. Pleasant Street on a Wednesday afternoon, but on a sunny Saturday morning I'm so envious of the community gathering around the farmer's market and standing in line at Heller's Bakery - chock full of families, and plenty of things to do. Other than Capitol Hill, it's the only place I know in DC that captures that small town feeling in an urban setting the way Brooklyn does.

North Columbia Heights kinda sorta does this. I'm talking about the blocks around 11th and Monroe, where you can see families getting an early Saturday morning breakfast at The Coupe before they hit the playground across the street. But Columbia Heights isn't as established in terms of where families would like to live, so it does't feel tight knit. And since it's had the most recent and dramatic gentrification, I feel it's where you stand the greatest chance of experiencing crime. Plenty of low-income mixed with unassuming wealth that still walks drunk down a dark street with a phone to their face. Criminals who want easy targets start there. It's still worth a look, though. The housing stock there is gorgeous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How did you enroll at CM without providing proof of residency?

Yes, good luck renting and apartment & providing DC residency by May 7th. By the way if you are using a lease you also need 2 months proof of utilities.

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah, the new Mt Pleasant library. Swoon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How did you enroll at CM without providing proof of residency?

And given that you've clearly broken the law, why would you provide identifying information on this website so that someone can report you? People on this site have very strong feelings about residency cheaters.

I would assume, at this point, that you don't have a spot in CM.

[Anonymous]

Trinidad!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did you enroll at CM without providing proof of residency?

Yes, good luck renting and apartment & providing DC residency by May 7th. By the way if you are using a lease you also need 2 months proof of utilities.

Congrats to a the family #1 on PreK3 waitlist - you are in.