Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Much of NW is no more “urban” than the suburbs on the other side of the DC line and isn’t remotely comparable to Cambridge. And the schools, while perhaps the best in DC, are average at best compared to the suburbs and below average once you are past elementary school. So it’s really the worst of both worlds: not city-like in terms of lifestyle, and not suburb-like in terms of school quality. So why bother?

Hi - so where is safe and urban (comparable to Cambridge) in DC?

to the PP who asked, we live near Porter square. Yes, been hearing more about crime around Central since Covid, but there is pretty much nothing around where we live. It's safe enough that some elementary aged kids walk home on their own.

I'm the PP who posted about living near Central Square. I heard that Porter actually doesn't have good retail now and a bunch of stuff closed, but I haven't been there since pre-pandemic. Tenleytown and Friendship Heights have had similar issues (there actually used to be some decent retail in FH) but they do not rival some of the better parts of Cambridge. If you're just looking for something safe enough for your kids to walk home from school, then I'd check out Tenleytown, FH, parts of Chevy Chase that are walking distance to the Metro (otherwise it's just too isolated), Glover Park, and Georgetown if you can afford it. I personally don't feel super safe it Mt Pleasant and Capitol Hill, but YMMV.

There have been other threads about Boston vs DC and the pros and cons of each, but either way you are not going to find a "Cambridge equivalent" in DC. Georgetown is pretty isolated and the other universities aren't as rich, so you just don't have the MIT/Harvard academic scene (and wealth) mixed in with good public transportation and bohemian vibes (including wanna be bohemians). For some reason there are a bunch of suburban people who dominate this board, but make sure to do your research because I couldn't imagine living in those places after living in Porter Square or other dense neighborhoods around Boston.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there is one pocket of Spring Valley (with spectacular homes) that was a WWII munitions dump. It's adjacent to American University.

Lol, the munitions are much more widespread according to historic army records. only a small area has been tested and remediated.

“Remediated” with superficial activities or ferns for arsenic only. What about the heavy metals?

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the bottom line. No neighborhood school pyramid (elementary, middle, high) is “strong” because no neighborhood middle or high school is “strong” compared to the top 1/3 or 1/2 in the suburbs. And no neighborhood offering this pyramid can be called “urban” with a straight face except Mount Pleasant. If I were OP, that’s where I’d look.

So in the late 2010s, both DC and MD used the same PARCC exam. All the elementary school in upper NW did as well as (if not better than) their montgomery county counterparts. For middle school, white students in NWDC (mostly deal) did as well as those in BCC and W feeders, but not african american students. For high school you are right. Wilson (now JR) did significantly worse for all students than BCC or the Ws (focusing on english, due to weirdness with some wilson students in math).

Exactly! And doesn’t miraculously stop on the administrative border of DC either

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there is one pocket of Spring Valley (with spectacular homes) that was a WWII munitions dump. It's adjacent to American University.

Lol, the munitions are much more widespread according to historic army records. only a small area has been tested and remediated.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I live in Glover Park DC and it's about the safest neighborhood in DC. My windows are open right now and all I hear are crickets. It is a tad boring but great for kids. Green, safe, sidewalked. You can walk to Whole Foods and a bunch of restaurants from here (Wisconsin Ave). Zoned for Stoddert ES. Def check it out.

Totally agree. GP is safe. No metro there though (probably one of the reasons for its safety).

Yeah, the last 'crime' posting I paid attention to on our listserv is about someone forgetting to lock up their bike at school and then somebody else finding the bike unlocked a block away. If there is crime, it tends to be on the 4-6 lane shitshow of Wisconsin avenue on the edge of the neighborhood. I wish they would go back to the old plan that narrowed it and made through-traffic avoid the neighborhood. But alas all the rich folk in Georgetown who sent their kids to school in Cathedral heights got rid of it to save a minute for their nannies during drop-off.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Much of NW is no more “urban” than the suburbs on the other side of the DC line and isn’t remotely comparable to Cambridge. And the schools, while perhaps the best in DC, are average at best compared to the suburbs and below average once you are past elementary school. So it’s really the worst of both worlds: not city-like in terms of lifestyle, and not suburb-like in terms of school quality. So why bother?

Hi - so where is safe and urban (comparable to Cambridge) in DC?

to the PP who asked, we live near Porter square. Yes, been hearing more about crime around Central since Covid, but there is pretty much nothing around where we live. It's safe enough that some elementary aged kids walk home on their own.

I lived on Bowdoin between Porter Sq and Harvard Sq in 2019 and I live in Riggs Park now. It is a gentrifying neighborhood and schools are meh, but we are a welcoming community.

No. It’s the entire thing plus parts of the AU Park.

Yes, there is one pocket of Spring Valley (with spectacular homes) that was a WWII munitions dump. It's adjacent to American University.

Agree, except check out the flight path annd don’t buy there, and toxic heavy metals in the Spring Valley.

Anonymous wrote:Adams Morgan is fine right now, there have been a couple incidents in the last several months but we feel very safe as a family. Look for the areas that are zoned for Oyster Adams.

Other areas that will feel safe and have good schools are are woodley park, Cleveland park, van ness, tenleytown, Chevy chase. All of them will feel more urban the closer you are to the main drag of shops in each area. Mount pleasant is lovely too. The hill is worth looking at, very different vibe but has lovely areas.

Avoid Columbia heights, petworth, parkview, brightwood, Shaw, Logan circle, Brentwood, noma. I know some people love these areas but I just can’t do it with the crime. And the schools.

Generally, yes, to all of the above, except that I would avoid Van Ness right now, particularly around Connecticut Ave. from around Rodman to Albemarle. A lot of nuisance behavior in this corridor right now due to the formerly unhoused voucher tenants that have been placed in the apartment buildings in this corridor. OP, if you're looking at public schools, the neighborhoods that feed into Janney, Horace Mann, and Lafayette in elementary, then Deal and Reed (formerly Wilson) are the most desirable. If you're looking at private schools, Cleveland Park, Woodley Park, Cathedral Heights, Spring Valley, AU Park are all convenient to the most in-demand schools and are safe neighborhoods with easy access to city life.

People are getting carjacked and bricks tossed at them incl when out w babies in Cap Hill H St and Mt Pleasant but you do you.

Poorly informed

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the bottom line. No neighborhood school pyramid (elementary, middle, high) is “strong” because no neighborhood middle or high school is “strong” compared to the top 1/3 or 1/2 in the suburbs. And no neighborhood offering this pyramid can be called “urban” with a straight face except Mount Pleasant. If I were OP, that’s where I’d look.

They may be losing feeder rights to Deal and JR, there is a thread about it. So, unless OP has money for private, bad advice. OP, talk to realtors, people here are not always well informed.

Lol the mere speculation by a bunch of weirdos on a DCUM thread doesn’t mean Mt Pleasant “may be losing feeder rights.” Now THAT’S funny

It was raised by staff at back to school night. Prime example of why OP should speak with a realtor.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the bottom line. No neighborhood school pyramid (elementary, middle, high) is “strong” because no neighborhood middle or high school is “strong” compared to the top 1/3 or 1/2 in the suburbs. And no neighborhood offering this pyramid can be called “urban” with a straight face except Mount Pleasant. If I were OP, that’s where I’d look.

They may be losing feeder rights to Deal and JR, there is a thread about it. So, unless OP has money for private, bad advice. OP, talk to realtors, people here are not always well informed.

Lol the mere speculation by a bunch of weirdos on a DCUM thread doesn’t mean Mt Pleasant “may be losing feeder rights.” Now THAT’S funny