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| *Travel Tips>>>Washington, D.C. Travel Tips |
Where's the best place to live in the Washington DC area? |
Travel Info I'm considering a job in DC. I have a young family, so low crime and safety are very important. Schools are not a factor -- we are homeschooling our kids. My job would be in the city, so being near a Metro station would be great. I'm not terribly familiar with the communities in suburban VA or MD. Any suggestions? Thanks! Travel Tips Arlington, VA has a low crime rate especially near the Pentagon. There are plenty of areas that are near metro stops although it is a very expensive place to live. You'll want to do plenty of research on what's best for you before you move to DC. Traffic is terrible here and cost of living increases more than the US average. Make sure your job can cover the cost of living. Mine can't. I'm actually getting ready to move out primarily for that reason and because I can't afford to buy a house unless I move far outside the city. I'm single, though, and have different priorities. You should do what's best for your family. Others Silver Springs is an awesome place to live. There is crime all over the DC area, but it seems to be less violent in the Silver Spring area. There are some great parks and a couple metro stations right in town. Plus there is great shopping and tons of awesome restaurants. As someone said, Silver Spring is a good area to live and there are a couple of Metro stations there. Also Takoma Park is becoming a very cool place to live. Bethesda is also nice. (All of those are in Montgomery County which has a great school system as well even though you don't care about that). All are very safe and have a sort of "downtown" with restaurants, stores, etc. If you want to live IN the city, pretty much anywhere in Northwest DC is nice (I like Tenleytown and Van Ness) but I wouldn't go anywhere else in DC. All are right near the Metro (on the Red Line). Unfortunately I'm not too familiar with the VA suburbs but if you're looking at MD then those are the places I would check out. I'm originally from the MD suburbs I've lived in the Washington DC area for more than 10 years. Most of the Northwestern quadrant would be safe (especially the far western reaches of it with Tenleytown, Georgetown, Cathedral, Glover Park, Cleveland Park etc). However, not all parts of NW DC are safe. The eastern part of the quadrant which borders the NE quadrant is not the safest. I should know, I lived in this area for a year. Also, there are pockets of NE and SE DC which are pretty safe as well. There are areas near the US Capitol building (where all the quadrants connect). As for Southwest DC, it's just blab. This quadrant is mostly populated by government agencies, so in the evenings and weekends, there's not a lot to do. I lived there the first year I came to DC and it was boring. As for the suburbs, in Maryland, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Wheaton, and Friendship Heights are great places. Also, College Park (where the University of Maryland is located) is a great area as well. Pretty much all of Northern Virginia (the part of Virginia which is considered suburban DC) is safe. There is a rough pocket in Alexandria, but it's not major. The thing you have to realize is that it isn't easy to make general observations on crime and safety in DC. Realistically, DC is more like a checkered board in this regard. You will many times have a good block bordering a bad block. I have a friend who lived in SE Washington (which is considered unsafe). She lived in the part of SE Washington across the Anacostia River (which many think is really, really bad). Her block in SE was safer and nicer than my block in NW DC. The closer you are to the center of DC, the more the city becomes a checkerboard. The further out you go, more uniform the neighborhoods become in terms of crime and safety. Also, DC is going through major gentrification so neighborhoods that were once classified as rundown are now being revamped. Currently I live in the Dupont-Scott Circle area of DC. It's downtown near the White House. I feel fairly safe here, but there is crime in this area, but it's definitely on the low-end. Also, if Metro access is an issue, you will need to stay within the beltway (I-495). Once outside the beltway, metro access becomes scarce. All the areas I and others here have mentioned are within the beltway. i think Cleavland park is really nice there are nice houses very safe and is like a 2 min. walk from the metro it very safe many stores around and restaurants tenley town is a very nice neighborhood and is also near a metro there are many nice neighborhood it depends on your budget LUCKILY, THE METRO SERVES SEVERAL NICE SUBURBAN VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND TOWNS. SILVER SPRINGS MD IS NICE AS IS FAIRFAX AND VIENNA VIRGINIA |
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