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Good place to live or not. I'm looking at a place on 12th Street, within a block of H Street. Anyone from DC have input??????

If you're female and planning to walk/bus home from the library late at night, I personally wouldn't do it (I'm a girl, and have some guy friends who live around H St and 10th). If you're a guy and you're going to live with a group of people, and don't mind paying like $6-8 for a cab home if you stay at the library late, I would. H St is a cool place, has some great bars/hangouts, and you can get good housing deals there, but on like a Tuesday night at 11:30pm walking home with my laptop? Not a place I want to be by myself.

Interminable_Waiting wrote:Good place to live or not. I'm looking at a place on 12th Street, within a block of H Street. Anyone from DC have input??????

I personally would not even consider living there. But I'm a girl and I've only ever been there late at night so perhaps that clouds my judgement.

Okay, thats what I was expecting. Thanks for the input. If I end up there I'll probably bike back and forth from Georgetown, and I'm not sure if I'll do nightitme studying in the library or at home anyway.

I don't imagine my girlfriend will be out late at night alone, so I think we'll be okay.

I've lived in the area for 3 years and have never had trouble. The X2 bus runs straight into downtown and is pretty reliable. They are also putting a trolley though- which will likely make things even easier.

Overall, the neighborhood is changing fast. I almost don't recognize it from 3 years ago.

I'd try to stay south of H St., but overall the area varies from tough to gentrified. My friend used to live at 8th between F and G NE (2005-2006), and the the basement apartment of his rowhouse got broken into. He also heard gunshots twice in a yearlong span living there, but never witnessed any crime himself. I always felt safe walking through the neighborhood, even at night, even after hearing about the gunshots. The nightlife down there is fun, too.

Like nealric said, the neighborhood is changing fast, though H St. itself still feels rough, as does the neighborhood north of H St.

rockthelaw wrote:I'd try to stay south of H St., but overall the area varies from tough to gentrified. My friend used to live at 8th between F and G NE (2005-2006), and the the basement apartment of his rowhouse got broken into. He also heard gunshots twice in a yearlong span living there, but never witnessed any crime himself. I always felt safe walking through the neighborhood, even at night, even after hearing about the gunshots. The nightlife down there is fun, too.

Like nealric said, the neighborhood is changing fast, though H St. itself still feels rough, as does the neighborhood north of H St.

The place is just a block north. I guess the best thing to do is go visit and see for myself. More time and money.

H Street is awesome. I know tons of women who live in the area with no problems.

South of H will "feel" nicer than north, but it is a good neighborhood. Hard to judge without knowing the exact block as DC goes block by block.

bilbobaggins wrote:H Street is awesome. I know tons of women who live in the area with no problems.

South of H will "feel" nicer than north, but it is a good neighborhood. Hard to judge without knowing the exact block as DC goes block by block.

12th St, as I mentioned in the OP. If you know that area?

Interminable_Waiting wrote:

bilbobaggins wrote:H Street is awesome. I know tons of women who live in the area with no problems.

South of H will "feel" nicer than north, but it is a good neighborhood. Hard to judge without knowing the exact block as DC goes block by block.

12th St, as I mentioned in the OP. If you know that area?

Sorry, I skimmed the initial post. I would feel fine living there. As people have mentioned, the block south of H is nicer than the one north of H. This neighborhood is also great if you don't mind biking places in the summer.

It's pretty sketchy. I wouldn't live around there unless you have a car. (Of course, your windows will be broken a few times.) I've lived in DC for two years.

Also, don't think about living there unless you're paying a lot less in rent than you would about 15 blocks west in Northwest. If you're paying more than $700 for a bedroom in an apartment, $1000 for a studio, or $1200 for a one-bedroom, then I'm not sure why you are putting your life at risk.

Last thing--That trolley someone mentioned is in limbo. Don't expect it to be finished anytime soon.

saladfiend wrote:It's pretty sketchy. I wouldn't live around there unless you have a car. (Of course, your windows will be broken a few times.) I've lived in DC for two years.

Also, don't think about living there unless you're paying a lot less in rent than you would about 15 blocks west in Northwest. If you're paying more than $700 for a bedroom in an apartment, $1000 for a studio, or $1200 for a one-bedroom, then I'm not sure why you are putting your life at risk.

Last thing--That trolley someone mentioned is in limbo. Don't expect it to be finished anytime soon.

This sounds like someone who hasn't spent much time on H Street NE.

Last thing--That trolley someone mentioned is in limbo. Don't expect it to be finished anytime soon.

The tracks are already in place and they've already started stringing the electric wires. They seem hard at work every day- not sure what is supposedly in limbo.

If you're paying more than $700 for a bedroom in an apartment, $1000 for a studio, or $1200 for a one-bedroom, then I'm not sure why you are putting your life at risk.

You aren't putting your life at risk anymore than anywhere else in DC. H street isn't Trinidad or Anacostia. Your car might get broken into (mine did), but that can happen just as easily in Duipont.

Most of the places near H-street are going to be shared rowhouses- there aren't really many apartments. Going rate is going to be around $700 for a bedroom in a shared house- and you will get a nice common space out of the deal.

bilbobaggins wrote:

saladfiend wrote:It's pretty sketchy. I wouldn't live around there unless you have a car. (Of course, your windows will be broken a few times.) I've lived in DC for two years.

Also, don't think about living there unless you're paying a lot less in rent than you would about 15 blocks west in Northwest. If you're paying more than $700 for a bedroom in an apartment, $1000 for a studio, or $1200 for a one-bedroom, then I'm not sure why you are putting your life at risk.

Last thing--That trolley someone mentioned is in limbo. Don't expect it to be finished anytime soon.

This sounds like someone who hasn't spent much time on H Street NE.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing about the H Street defenders. You're telling me the area specifically around 12th & H isn't sketchy as heck?

The whole Atlas District is sketchy, not just H St. And it is adjacent to Trinidad, lest we forget. I used to live right by Galludet, on Orleans and 7th. Got followed more than once, harassed more than once, and some kid tried to spit on me as I was headed for the train at New York Station for no reason. Not my first choice of neighborhoods. With that said, the area is improving, but not quickly enough. On the upside, getting to GULC won't be hard, since Union Station is like a 20 minute walk from H St. I've done it. I had a really shitty day and just started walking from the Bank of America on 8th and H. Ended up at Union Station without realizing how far I'd gone in about 20 minutes. The intent had been to go home. LOL.

berkeleykel06 wrote:

bilbobaggins wrote:

saladfiend wrote:It's pretty sketchy. I wouldn't live around there unless you have a car. (Of course, your windows will be broken a few times.) I've lived in DC for two years.

Also, don't think about living there unless you're paying a lot less in rent than you would about 15 blocks west in Northwest. If you're paying more than $700 for a bedroom in an apartment, $1000 for a studio, or $1200 for a one-bedroom, then I'm not sure why you are putting your life at risk.

Last thing--That trolley someone mentioned is in limbo. Don't expect it to be finished anytime soon.

This sounds like someone who hasn't spent much time on H Street NE.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing about the H Street defenders. You're telling me the area specifically around 12th & H isn't sketchy as heck?

12th and H scared the crap out of me. I went to go check out the famous fried catfish place, but ended up getting checked out myself, lol. Never went back.

The whole Atlas District is sketchy, not just H St. I used to live right by Galludet, on Orleans and 7th.

That's Trinidad- not the H-street corridor or the Atlas district. Yes, that area is sketchy. DC is very block by block. I certainly wouldn't recommend people hang out by the NY ave metro stop- but 12th and H is a LONG way from that stop.

You're telling me the area specifically around 12th & H isn't sketchy as heck?

Yes, I'm telling you exactly that. Stop by Granville Moore's sometime- it's one of the best restaurants in town. The block may not look sterling clean, but you are not going to get shot. The only things to be afraid of on H street are hipsters wearing skinny jeans.

berkeleykel06 wrote:

bilbobaggins wrote:

saladfiend wrote:It's pretty sketchy. I wouldn't live around there unless you have a car. (Of course, your windows will be broken a few times.) I've lived in DC for two years.

Also, don't think about living there unless you're paying a lot less in rent than you would about 15 blocks west in Northwest. If you're paying more than $700 for a bedroom in an apartment, $1000 for a studio, or $1200 for a one-bedroom, then I'm not sure why you are putting your life at risk.

Last thing--That trolley someone mentioned is in limbo. Don't expect it to be finished anytime soon.

This sounds like someone who hasn't spent much time on H Street NE.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing about the H Street defenders. You're telling me the area specifically around 12th & H isn't sketchy as heck?

No it isn't. It might look run down, but I've been in that area at night countless times as have many female friends and no one has ever had any issues. Really, the only good indicator of this are crime stats over the last year, but I can tell you, when I was in town, H Street was fine.

Same with New York Ave metro, incidentally. I know plenty of people who live in those neighborhoods without any trouble. I lived at R NW and North Cap and never had any issues, neither did my female roommates. DC is block by block and crime is actually pretty spread out (more shit went down in Adams Morgan and Dupont than my neighborhood if we're talking muggings, burglaries, etc.). You need to assess the block and how comfortable you feel living on it, but I think DC offers a lot of up and coming neighborhoods that look scary to suburbanites but are actually not.

Hey everyone. Thanks for all the feedback. I am cautiously optimistic, particularly because those who live there or have in the last year or so seem to think it is good enough.

I am concerned about my car. It is a 2009 Escape; besides leaving it empty, any suggestions on parking to minimize it being broken into??

Interminable_Waiting wrote:Hey everyone. Thanks for all the feedback. I am cautiously optimistic, particularly because those who live there or have in the last year or so seem to think it is good enough.

I am concerned about my car. It is a 2009 Escape; besides leaving it empty, any suggestions on parking to minimize it being broken into??

Leave it empty and tint the windows. Tinted windows discourage break ins because the tin generally makes the window more difficult to break and it is much harder to see anything inside.

Money for the streetcars almost got cut in May: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/201 ... _back.html

Additionally there is a legal issue because overhead wires are not allowed in DC. You'd think the planners would have thought of this issue. See: http://dcist.com/2010/06/streetcars_to_ ... _wires.php

Anywhere east of Rock Creek Park, except parts of Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle will have more street crime than you might be used to. H Street is an "up and coming neighborhood," and it is the most dangerous of the "hip" neighborhoods. You'll probably feel safe if you're out at the bars when there are people around on weekend nights on H Street itself. If you walk around there any other time of day, you might get skeezed.

Also, if you tint your windows you might have trouble getting you car past DC inspection. My friend had trouble with this.

Check out crime stats here:

http://dc.everyblock.com/crime

DC has a crime problem. I live in Adams Morgan (which is one of the safer hip neighborhoods) and someone was shot around the corner two nights ago.

saladfiend wrote:Money for the streetcars almost got cut in May: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dc/201 ... _back.html

Additionally there is a legal issue because overhead wires are not allowed in DC. You'd think the planners would have thought of this issue. See: http://dcist.com/2010/06/streetcars_to_ ... _wires.php

Anywhere east of Rock Creek Park, except parts of Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle will have more street crime than you might be used to. H Street is an "up and coming neighborhood," and it is the most dangerous of the "hip" neighborhoods. You'll probably feel safe if you're out at the bars when there are people around on weekend nights on H Street itself. If you walk around there any other time of day, you might get skeezed.

Also, if you tint your windows you might have trouble getting you car past DC inspection. My friend had trouble with this.

Check out crime stats here:

http://dc.everyblock.com/crime

DC has a crime problem. I live in Adams Morgan (which is one of the safer hip neighborhoods) and someone was shot around the corner two nights ago.

See, this is what is so funny about kids who live in DC. In terms of crime where the individuals in question do not know each other, Adams Morgan is by no means "one of the safer hip neighborhoods."

In fact, a simple query at http://crimemap.dc.gov will show you, that in the last year, crime within 1500 feet of the 1200 block of H Street NE is almost exactly the same as crime within 1500 feet of 18th and U NW. This data will obviously vary block by block, but it's just simply wrong to characterize the neighborhoods in the way that you have.

What evidence do you have to back up what you're saying besides the way people/houses look in either neighborhood?

For whatever statistics you are looking at, you have to factor in that not all crimes are reported. Go ahead and live on H Street, but only do it if you are saving a good amount of money.

saladfiend wrote:For whatever statistics you are looking at, you have to factor in that not all crimes are reported. Go ahead and live on H Street, but only do it if you are saving a good amount of money.

So, you suggested the OP look at crime stats, but when the crime stats don't support your position, you suggest that stats are inaccurate.

How bad could this area be... there's a country club on H street.