My friend is finishing up FBI training and being assigned to DC. She isn't familiar with the area and asked for my help. I've spent most of my time here in the suburbs, so I was hoping some in-the-know ladies could help. Here is what she wrote to me:
"I'd like to be in downtown area, not suburbs. DuPont, Adams Morgan, Capitol Hill, Penn Quarter, these were some areas I've been looking. I'd rather be in a 1 bedroom. It can be small, I don't want to sit in traffic all day after work - so i'll forgo space for convenience since I am single w/ no kids."
Any thoughts about a good match would be very helpful - and also any insight into areas she's best to avoid due to crime, very family-oriented, too college-aged, etc. She's not a party-all-the-time person and will take her job seriously, but I'm sure she'd like to be somewhere fun, too. Metro-accessible is probably a good thing, but I don't know where exactly she'll be working. Thanks for any help!
Re: XP: DC neighborhoods for single friend moving for job?
Those neighborhoods all sound good for what she's looking for. Do you know where her office is? That might help.
My friend lives on Scott Circle, which is a few blocks from Dupont. It's a nice area, a little quieter, but near nightlife and the (all-important) P Street Whole Foods . . . might be worth looking.
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I'd agree those are all good choices, as is the Scott/Logan Circle areas as well.
I lived in Adams Morgan for a long time and loved it, but safety can really vary from block to block, so you have to be aware of that when looking for a place to live.
Additionally, it is really super, super loud on weekends. Now, my apartment was on the 2nd floor of my building, with 6 windows overlooking the street, and I was 1 block off 18th Street, so it was probably worse for me than others. But I got woken up in the middle of the night on weekends all the time. Drunk people don't realize how loud they are, and the noise level was ridiculous after last call when people were making their way back to their car or to the Metro.
Eastern Market, especially near to 8th street. That area is a LOT of fun, a slew of restaurants and bars but also the market and a metro right there. Lots of parks and walk to the Capitol building.
LOVE that neighborhood, and it's definitely a fun place to be if you're single
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i live in the logan/scott circle area and we like it a lot. both DH & i walk to work. my main gripe is that we live on a busy, loud street so we definitely hear a lot of what goes on outside. there's a bus stop outside our building and we're an easy walk to a few metro stops, so hugely convenient.
if we were going to move further out, we'd consider woodley/cleveland park/van ness and eastern market very seriously.
depending on her budget, she may need to consider a studio if she wants to live really centrally. neither DH or i could afford our 1-bedroom if we were single.
HTH
I lived in DuPont Circle for years and loved it. I have friends on the Hill and they love it there too. If I moved back to the city I think I would end up in either of those places.
Will she have a car? That makes things a little more challenging.
good question! if she can commute without a car, it will save a lot of money. parking in all those neighborhoods is a pain in the arse and i know that parking in our building is like $260/month.
we have zipcar and that has come in handy
Exactly. Even if I wanted to pay for parking, my building's lot was full and there was a 20 person wait list! I had to plan when I drove home so that I would arrive at "optimal open parking" time!
DuPont is close the the metro, fabulous Farmers' Market.... Ah, I miss it so!
That's a good point. She currently owns a car but I don't know her plans for it: keep it, sell it (I doubt it), or maybe leave it with family in Massachusetts for now. I don't think she'd use it daily but may want it handy.
Thanks so much for all of the input..a hundred times better than anything I could have provided!