D.C. Associates: Where do people live? How much do you pay in rent? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a lifelong Washingtonian whose firm is at Metro Center, and so I can choose to live pretty much anywhere.
I've thought long and hard about it. Please do not live in Navy Yard or NoMa. They are soulless collections of luxury apartments devoid of any context or sense of place (soon to include the Wharf as well). You could be in literally any modern world city and find precisely the same accommodations. That's fine of course, but you'll have the money and flexibility to live in nicer, more interesting places like Adams Morgan, Logan, Dupont* itself, or even Georgetown, Woodley Park, or Cleveland Park if you're looking for a quieter vibe. Heck, I'd take Brookland over NoMa (it's only two more stops on the Red Line). Navy Yard and NoMa are also weirdly cut off from the rest of the city by massive roads/highways, so although they are "walkable" internally, they are not as easily walkable to other places (truer of NoMa than Navy Yard, which does have access on a couple streets under the highway to the Hill and Eastern Market).

Also, Navy Yard is home to notably more conservatives than anywhere else young people live in the city (or even the close in suburbs aside from Alexandria). That doesn't mean they make up a majority of the people there, but it's also well more than 5%. The vote totals cited above are misleading, as neither Hill staffers nor Trump administration folks (a number of whom have remained) voted in DC in the last election. Of course, you may be conservative, and in that case, Navy Yard might make sense for you to be with your people. But if you're liberal and don't have to for commute purposes, I don't see why you'd live there.

Navy Yard and NoMa are full of the transient 20-somethings who will flit into DC for a few years working on the Hill or at Deloitte or at your law firm and then move on, spending the rest of their lives telling people how nobody is really from DC. If you want to move to the city without every actually experiencing it, by all means, live in one of those places. If you'd prefer to integrate a little more with the city itself, please live elsewhere.

/rant

*PSA: it's "Dupont" not "DuPont"

[Anonymous User]

I’m unsurprised that this has devolved into Navy Yard/NoMa discussion, because those are either the best or worst places to live in DC as a yuppie with no connection to the city depending on who you ask. They rarely end up in the middle of someone’s list.

I have lived in both. They are not for everyone, but maybe they are for you. If it’s important to have a “luxury” unit in a “luxury” building, you will not beat the prices or the selection in those neighborhoods. Simple as that. There is a reason that they are both booming with that kind of buildings.

I also disagree a bit with the previous poster that they are “cut off,” because few people will walk across all of DC anyway. In Navy Yard, Eastern Marker and the Wharf are accessible; from NoMa, there’s the Union Market/Gallaudet area, and the Hill is accessible from both. If you drive, especially if you will drive into Virginia for any reason, they are both very convenient to the interstate. Neither are convenient to, say, Adams Morgan, but you are gonna have trade offs anywhere you live for proximity to various neighborhoods.

This isn’t a sales pitch, because nearly every other neighborhood in DC will have more “character,” will be older, will have more natives and long-time residents. If that matters to you, then absolutely do not move to either one. Both NoMa and Navy Yard have burgeoning scenes of local bars and restaurants though, and they compare well to any neighborhood on that front. Wunder Garten and Bluejacket are two of my favorite places in the city to drink.

The conservatives in Navy Yard claim is a wildly overstated thing to anyone who has lived outside of DC in a city or region that is not 90% liberal - it is still very liberal-dominated, like all of DC. You won’t even notice it, and it shouldn’t be a factor unless a goal of yours is to avoid all contact or proximity to anyone who has ever voted Republican (more power to you then). I’d confidently wager that the vast majority of biglaw offices in DC will have as a percentage more Republican lawyers than that of the residents of Navy Yard.

And FWIW - having lived in both, the edge in my mind goes to Navy Yard. A bit more to do, a bit better selection of apartments. Nationals Park, too - I used to walk over and grab a ticket for under $10 during the first inning and spend an hour or two over there many evenings. I would consider going NoMa though if you plan to commute by Metro and the Red would be a straight shot - the Green transfer at L’Enfant can get annoying twice a day. At the least, if you have no clue whatsoever where you want to live, you should tour one building in either of those neighborhoods and spend 10-15 minutes walking around - you will likely get a vibe very quickly of either “Ew, absolutely not” or “I haven’t found a building like this at this price in DC proper before now!”

[Anonymous User]

I’m unsurprised that this has devolved into Navy Yard/NoMa discussion, because those are either the best or worst places to live in DC as a yuppie with no connection to the city depending on who you ask. They rarely end up in the middle of someone’s list.

I have lived in both. They are not for everyone, but maybe they are for you. If it’s important to have a “luxury” unit in a “luxury” building, you will not beat the prices or the selection in those neighborhoods. Simple as that. There is a reason that they are both booming with that kind of buildings.

I also disagree a bit with the previous poster that they are “cut off,” because few people will walk across all of DC anyway. In Navy Yard, Eastern Marker and the Wharf are accessible; from NoMa, there’s the Union Market/Gallaudet area, and the Hill is accessible from both. If you drive, especially if you will drive into Virginia for any reason, they are both very convenient to the interstate. Neither are convenient to, say, Adams Morgan, but you are gonna have trade offs anywhere you live for proximity to various neighborhoods.

This isn’t a sales pitch, because nearly every other neighborhood in DC will have more “character,” will be older, will have more natives and long-time residents. If that matters to you, then absolutely do not move to either one. Both NoMa and Navy Yard have burgeoning scenes of local bars and restaurants though, and they compare well to any neighborhood on that front. Wunder Garten and Bluejacket are two of my favorite places in the city to drink.

The conservatives in Navy Yard claim is a wildly overstated thing to anyone who has lived outside of DC in a city or region that is not 90% liberal - it is still very liberal-dominated, like all of DC. You won’t even notice it, and it shouldn’t be a factor unless a goal of yours is to avoid all contact or proximity to anyone who has ever voted Republican (more power to you then). I’d confidently wager that the vast majority of biglaw offices in DC will have as a percentage more Republican lawyers than that of the residents of Navy Yard.

And FWIW - having lived in both, the edge in my mind goes to Navy Yard. A bit more to do, a bit better selection of apartments. Nationals Park, too - I used to walk over and grab a ticket for under $10 during the first inning and spend an hour or two over there many evenings. I would consider going NoMa though if you plan to commute by Metro and the Red would be a straight shot - the Green transfer at L’Enfant can get annoying twice a day. At the least, if you have no clue whatsoever where you want to live, you should tour one building in either of those neighborhoods and spend 10-15 minutes walking around - you will likely get a vibe very quickly of either “Ew, absolutely not” or “I haven’t found a building like this at this price in DC proper before now!”

Anon from above who had a lot to say about Navy Yard and its conservative leanings. It was an overstatement. That area is just so soulless that it's easy to dunk on. I don't really think it's a MAGA haven, but you will see more of it (albeit still very little) there than in the rest of DC. As others have mentioned, there is also just very little distinctly DC about it.

It's crazy to see how much Navy Yard has changed. I've only lived here a decade, and I can't imagine what longer-term residents would have to say, but it's just night-and-day different than even when I first moved here. It used to be a few scattered buildings and seemingly a lot of open space. I assume prices around Navy Yard will start getting bad the closer we get to Amazon HQ2 opening.

[Anonymous User]

Anon OP, I think everyone in this thread can agree that it's hard to recomend a specific area without knowing more about what you value in a neighboorhood (besides in unit laundry, which you can get most places), regardless of what we all think of NOMA or Navy Yard.

I think my best advice, if you are single and just starting out, is to just get a one bedroom as close to work as possible. Minimize your commute in year one, and reasses after you can form your own opinions on what area of DC seems like a good fit for. Even if we all knew you, we would be guessing or projecting as to which neighboorhood you would like.

[Anonymous User]

Navy Yard is easy to dunk on because it’s soulless and whatever but I don’t care. I’ve lived in DC for 4 years. This is my first time living in Navy Yard (moved in September) in one of the “lux” buildings and fuck it, I’m not afraid to admit I’m enjoying the amenities.

Who gives a shit. I sleep here. I don’t go out here, but I have the green line to see all my friends in CH or Shaw and I have easy access to blue/orange/silver to get to work. My roommate needed a place with parking for their commute to the ‘burbs so the highway being nearby was a major plus.

Trying to find something that checked all the boxes (commutes, parking, laundry, enough room, etc) was not that easy. I felt a little weird moving here and all my friends still crack jokes about how we’re republicans now but I love it so far. Yes, I could pay the same for a shittier, falling-apart building with half the square footage and one fewer bathroom in DuPont, but, why would I?

[Anonymous User]

I'll chime in to recommend living in Virginia. It's gonna be cheaper for the comparable amenities, the commute isn't that bad, and there's plenty of social stuff to do in Alexandria or Arlington. It's also not hard to go out in D.C. if you want to do, so I don't view it as sacrifice.

[Anonymous User]

When I looked, Alexandria and Arlington were not cheaper than DC, even when compared to nice apartment complexes in nice neighborhoods of DC. The only place in Virginia that was close to DC and markedly cheaper was Crystal City. I guess you do save on taxes though.

[Anonymous User]

When I looked, Alexandria and Arlington were not cheaper than DC, even when compared to nice apartment complexes in nice neighborhoods of DC. The only place in Virginia that was close to DC and markedly cheaper was Crystal City. I guess you do save on taxes though.

This was also my experience a few years ago when looking for a place. At that time I also took a look at the likely tax savings, and I didn't think it was big enough to move the needle much on where to live (I also looked at Maryland). Virginia really has a slower feel, though, which can be nice. I live in NE DC, and it has city problems that my friends in Virginia never seem to experience, but I really like it. Basically, I think the whole DC/VA/MD living decision is better conceived of as a lifestyle rather than a cost of living analysis. If I were just moving to the city I'd probably move to Columbia Heights or Adams Morgan just for the going out lifestyle.

[Anonymous User]

When I looked, Alexandria and Arlington were not cheaper than DC, even when compared to nice apartment complexes in nice neighborhoods of DC. The only place in Virginia that was close to DC and markedly cheaper was Crystal City. I guess you do save on taxes though.

+1 on Alexandria/Arlington not being that much cheaper. I lived in Georgetown for a few years and am now moving to a nice house in Arlington. My rent is almost doubling, but I am getting a lot more bang for the buck in terms of housing and being close to stuff (which is kind of hilarious since Georgetown is actually in DC).