We lived in one of the rowhouses on 13th street and Irving. Personally saw 2 shootings (in section 8 and a drug deal gone bad on Irving) from the windows. Moved out in 2008. |
I don't understand this. How do you not commute if you live in Petworth? It's not exactly a commercial mecca. Your "commute" from Ballston would be better or at least not worse, depending on where you have to be. |
NP. What? Most people live in areas densest with people, and yet friends/relatives are still the primary threat. |
We live in Petworth, OP, and love it. So many kids, although it remains to be seen if they stay as they get older.
There is crime here, too, but what I love about Petworth as compared to CH is that it generally feels much more spread out to me. CH always seems so cramped. If you can afford Mt. P go there for schools, but if not, or if there is no inventory, look at Petworth. We are up near Sherman Circle which is different from other parts of petworth closer to metro. Honestly the worst thing is the smell of pot, but that's not just Petworth |
Doable with younger kids; but I (and most of my friends) cashed out and moved a bit further out when the kids got a bit older. Depending on the budget, destinations ranged from Wakefield to Brookland. It was a mix of general chaos in the area, lack of space, schools, and changing priorities.
Also, I'm not white. |
2008 has nothing to do with 2021. Did Columbia Heights even have the Target mall yet? OP: - if you want to walk to brunch, grocery, yoga class, school, playgrounds, hop onto metro for anything, live in Col Heights; - if you want to walk to brunch, grocery, yoga class, let your kids play in the alley with the neighbors' kids, and be close to your Columbia Heights school, walk 10mn to metro for anything, you'll need Petworth or Park View. - if you want bike/10mn drive to the same amenities, have a big fenced yard for your kid to play unsupervised, don't plan on using metro, move to 16th st Heights. |
OP, what is the school? Is it a preschool? I'm trying to figure out what K-12 you'd want to be convenient to there.
In any case, if you have already decided on the school, I agree with Petworth, 16th St Heights, and Crestwood. We live in Petworth. Yes, shootings are an issue and quite frankly have us thinking of moving. But in exchange, I think we'd be giving up a great community (including wonderful neighbors) and possibly diversity. Agree with the pp that the shootings are a bit more dispersed with some distinct problem areas that can more or less be avoided. I used to live on the cusp of CH and MP before I was married, and I thought it was better back then. In my mind, the 14th st CH/ParkView area is more problematic than some parts of Petworth (though not all). |
You know there are places like Wheaton that are on the Metro, have a bunch of good restaurants from all over the world, and are incredibly diverse but don't have the same levels of crime as Columbia Heights. |
The bolded is hilarious, because it's so true. |
They're polite, perhaps - their customers can be more of a hassle. Yet, I would walk a street dealer by the effing collar into a jail cell myself but sit on the curb next to the customer, rubbing their back until social services showed up to help them get into some program. Hypothetically. |
OP here, thanks for the comments. We're coming from New York City so we're used to city living, my main concern is proximity to shops and space for kids to play. We'll plan a trip to check out the neighborhood in person. |
This is a good analysis, but I’d add the bus as another great way to stay connected with adjacent neighborhoods from 16th St Heights. Not necessarily at the infant stage, but for us, age 2+ it has been fun to hop on the bus. 14th street and Georgia Ave lines are both pretty good. That was all pre-pandemic. Now they prefer to bike around. |
Yes, but it's a balance of all things. Commute, schools, community, the actual house, etc. We haven't ruled out the suburbs but either way we're giving up something. It's just a matter of determining what we want to let go of. And FWIW, I am not looking to move from Petworth to CH. |
Yes, but not sure what the pp means about playing in the alley in Petworth and Parkview. There are more playgrounds in the Petworth area, not including school playgrounds that are open to the public, than say Crestwood (which has RCP so not knocking that). |
I didn't mention alleys as a knock on playgrounds, but an additional option not available in Columbia Heights. |