definitely Bloomingdale. I live there and am an artist with three kids. Very diverse, very artsy, tons of new ethnic restaurants and hip businesses opening up all around. It is awesome here. We own and havent regretted buying for a single second and it's been 5 years now. Things just keep getting better and better. It was a little rough at the start and it is still transitional in spots but for the most part, it is a great place to live.

I would move to Baltimore tomorrow if one of us got a job there. Way cooler city than DC!

Anonymous wrote:H St. NE
Mt. Ranier, Maryland
Baltimore (not convenient, but if culture is more important than commute your husband could take the MARC train)

DC has more goin on. But Baltimore is more down to earth and there is a much better art scene.

H St. NE
Mt. Ranier, Maryland
Baltimore (not convenient, but if culture is more important than commute your husband could take the MARC train)

I agree that DC will be disappointing to you but we had a similar wish list and are in Capitol Hill. And it is disappointing! But there is no other place in DC I am eager to move to.

Anonymous wrote:

Give me any school even charter and I will prove to you that it is subpar in comparison to MOCO or FCPS

DC schools are much better than LA schools though. LA schools are best avoided at all costs--there might be one or two exceptions.

I recommend Petworth and Bloomingdale (in addition to Columbia Heights). There is no great indie coffee shop or restaurant scene like in LA but there are decent options. Chinatown Coffee, Peregrine Espresso (Shaw and Eastern Market), Filter (Dupont Circle). Adams Morgan is great for ethnic food (Ethiopian, falafel shops), but it is nothing like Echo Park or Highland Park in LA. Check out the DC eater blog for all the latest on food.

In the Shaw neighborhood a two way cycle track runs along 15th street all the way downtown.

You might even look at apartments/row houses near Eastern Market. You'll love the market hall which has been around since the mid 1800s. There are about 20 merchants inside (bakeries, meat purveyors [chorizo, ground chuck etc], vegetable and flower shops). And there are decent restaurants nearby. Eastern Market is on the Blue/Orange lines so there are no transfers to Foggy Bottom.

Public transportation is great in DC, and you will not miss driving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adams morgan

All Dcps schools suck so you may want to take that into consideration

Not True. But he DCPS ES for that neighborhood is not so great. But the MS, Deal is amazing. Adams Morgan/ Mount Pleasant is the Brooklyn of DC. Absolutely. Dupont South of R street is Park Slope-y + UWS-y.

Give me any school even charter and I will prove to you that it is subpar in comparison to MOCO or FCPS

Dupont Circle

PPs have already said it all. You have to decide about schools and how they fit into your family priorities.

Atlas area/H St NE

Sorry but Takoma Park does NOT have an urban feel at all. Definitely earth mother/crunchy/granola vibe, but i would not all it "urban hipster" at all.

I would say H street and those parts of NE DC and Shaw.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adams morgan

All Dcps schools suck so you may want to take that into consideration

Not True. But he DCPS ES for that neighborhood is not so great. But the MS, Deal is amazing. Adams Morgan/ Mount Pleasant is the Brooklyn of DC. Absolutely. Dupont South of R street is Park Slope-y + UWS-y.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, there isn't really a Silver Lake equivalent in DC (unfortunately). Check out Mount Pleasant, Columbia Heights, Shaw, Logan Circle, houses near the 14th Street Corridor, Petworth, and Kalorama, see if any are close enough. Takoma Park is a decent suggestion, too.

If you have specific rental listings you want some opinions on, feel free to post them - we can let you know what the neighborhood's like.

These are the neighborhoods you should check out. Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights are great--but pretty expensive. You might be able to get a nice 2 bedroom there for $3000.

I was going to suggest Shaw or Takoma Park. Takoma has a DC and a MD side--they share a border. Takoma DC does not have great schools beyond elementary school, and that may be stretching it. Takoma Park MD has the funkiest vibe of any place in DC. It's also gorgeous. I am afraid that in Logan, Dupont, and Kalorma, you'll find a lot of boring yuppie families (who are probably perfectly nice and make decent neighbors).

Definitely don't rent without seeing places first. Good luck!

You won't find LA in DC. That's why I left LA for DC. You'll find people with similar personalities, but without the "LA." You won't find the same type of "hipsters" because the hipsters are secretly hoping they'll hang out with a famous actor or musician. The "hipsters" are hoping they'll bump into a politician.