Safe parts of Washington, DC to live in ?

[disneyofcourse]

I considering moving to the DC area sometime next year (or early 2011) so right now I'm just in the planning stages. Hopefully lots of people on here know a lot about the actual DC area and would share some info. My budget will be less than 275k and I'd prefer a 1 bedroom over a studio apartment. So I know I can't afford the amazing areas or an amazing place. What zip codes should I look into if I want the safer areas near transport and walking trails?
I've been looking online and found a couple streets that seem to be in the better zip codes of 20009 , 20016 and 20008. But there is so much conflicting information on areas on other message boards! I actually used to live very close to the DC border but that was years and years ago and I didn't really pay attention to all the areas.

Here are a couple streets with lots of condos available for sale in the DC area. So if you know the area please share your knowledge
- 5112 Macarthur Blvd Nw
- 3100 Wisconsin Ave Nw
- 4000 Cathedral Ave Nw
- 3039 Macomb St Nw

-Bethesda, MD
10600 Montrose Ave
7111 Woodmont Ave
4970 Battery Ln

Where else should I look that's in a nearby location? Thanks

 

[FireDancer]

I know 2 people in DC proper and one in the metro area. The 2 in DC are in Georgetown and overlooking DuPont Circle and the one in the metro area is in Arlington, VA. I have stayed with all of them and felt perfectly safe in all of them.

The people I know living there say to stay away from is Poplar Point. One of them is on The Secret Service Presidential Protective Detail team as a return fire operative. If he doesn't feel safe going down there I sure as heck don't .

 

[justhat]

I live in 20009, but I will say it varies considerably from nice to not so much. Adams Morgan, where I am, is okay, but Columbia Heights isn't that great and same zip code. Mt. Pleasant is kind of up and down.

Those addresses you listed, they have 1 bedroom condos for less than $275K? That seems like a good deal for any of those addresses in DC.

 

[Quiksilvr]

I would say definitely avoid areas deep in Southeast. There are a lot of nice places to live in Capitol Hill proper and around Eastern Market. However, I don't think you'll find much for your budget.

One place you might consider is the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood. The prices there are lower than other areas of DC, but the area is pretty safe and is very close to the federal SW district, the National Mall, Smithsonian, etc. It's also quite close to Nationals Park (if you like baseball). We live in the general vicinity of that neighborhood and we were able to get twice as much as house there as we would have been able to get in NW for the same money (our budget was admittedly considerably larger than yours).

You have to be kind of careful because there are nicer parts of SW and not as nice parts, but it's a good neighborhood generally. It's also kind of nice because it has all of its own DC services (i.e., post offices, DMV, inspection station, police stations) but the population in the area is much smaller than other parts of DC so it doesn't take as long to get your business done.

 

[LukenDC]

I live in DC and can vouch for the safety of these neighborhoods:

Dupont Circle (I currently live here; moving to Pentagon City at end of Oct.)
Georgetown
Foggy Bottom
Some areas of Capitol Hill
Downtown business district (very busy, but generally safe)

Montgomery County, Maryland (which includes Bethesda) has many nice areas, as do Arlington and Fairfax Counties in Virginia and Alexandria in Virginia. That said, crime can happen anywhere.

 

[Floridagal23]

I live in Dupont and have lived in Foggy Bottom. The areas that the above poster mentioned are all great. You might consider looking in the pentagon row, pentagon city, and crystal city area in addition to arlington, clarendon, etc. in virginia with the budget, or maybe consider renting until you settle on a neighborhood you like.

 

[mikehn]

Obviously, you've done some homework. Just about anything in Northwest DC is good, along with those addresses in Bethesda. One of the other trendy neighborhoods you might consider would be Arlington, VA.