Should I commit to this sublet in Washington DC?

May 29, 2006 6:48 PM

I am planning on subletting a room in an apartment for the summer located at 15th St NW and Fuller St NW, in the Columbia Heights section of the city. Should I be worried about living in this neighborhood, ie it's safety?

It's a few blocks (7-10 minutes, I'm told) walk from the metro, and in a mostly residential area. I'm working about 10 minutes walk north of here, so would be planning on walking a lot.

Also, any final questions I should be asking before agreeing to this Craigslist sublet find? (I've not seen the place, but a friend of mine has.)

posted by chefscotticus to travel & transportation (9 comments total)

I wouldn't hang out in Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park at night, but yeah, you should be fine there.
posted by mookieproof at 7:26 PM on May 29, 2006

I think that's actually more Mt. Pleasant than Columbia Heights, but it's a great neighborhood, regardless. Pretty hip, lots of young people, and its in the process of becoming gentrified (or maybe already gentrified), walking distance from good bars and restaurants (Mt. Pleasant, Adams Morgan, U Street all easily accessible). Meridian Hill Park (or rather, Malcolm X Park) is kinda sketchy at night, so I wouldn't walk through it alone, but we walk a friend's dog there almost every weekend morning and its fine.
posted by echo0720 at 7:31 PM on May 29, 2006

I've lived on Clifton St, between 14th and 15th, and I never felt overly unsafe living there. I walked through Meridian Hill park at all hours of the night, and that was the only times that I felt unsafe while living in the neighborhood. That didn't stop me from crossing the park, though.

The area is gentrifying at a pretty good clip, though. At the top of Columbia Heights they just opened a brand new huge grocery store and are building a big Target or something like that.
posted by Inkoate at 7:36 PM on May 29, 2006

The neighborhood has gotten considerably better since they built the Columbia Heights metro station. Really for a young person, the neighborhood is ideal. You're close to the U street corridor with great jazz venues, you're near 14th street which also has a lot of theatres and restaurant plus great jazz joints (check out HR57). The Mount Pleasant neighborhood is close and you're also close to Adams Morgan, which has every kind of bar and international restaurant you can imagine. Not too far from dupont circle, either. Having said that, it is an urban neighborhood and you have to have your wits about you. The washington post did a story a couple years back about the "gentrification" of the area around there. Basically, you have rich white yuppies who have moved in and are living next to prostitutes, etc. But I've walked around there at night and have never felt threatened at all. A few more things to check out: Ben's chili bowl (awesome shakes fries and chili), Bohemian Caverns, and Polly's cafe ($2 mimosas on sundays), the 9:30 Club, and the Black Cat. God, I miss DC. Have fun!!!!!! Oh and the Mount Pleasant Festival should be coming up in June.
posted by bananafish at 7:43 PM on May 29, 2006

oh how i love MF...
posted by chefscotticus at 7:46 PM on May 29, 2006

Please check out the place before committing to anything. I looked at 4-5 places in that area, found from craigslist, and without exception, they were all strange situations and not at all as described in the posting.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 8:09 PM on May 29, 2006

I lived off Fuller St. ten years ago. That was just before the Columbia Heights Metro station was complete. Even then, the area was safe but edgy. My wife and I had to catch the S2 and S4 buses home from work and school late at night, and we never had any problems, even during a few months that I was on crutches. On 16th Street between Fuller and Meridian, there were three embassies (Spanish, Italian, and Polish), plus the Cuban Interest Section, plus a Howard University dorm, so it was a wonderful mix of diplomats, people with business at the embassies, and students. In the middle of it all, on the east side of 16th Street, the Ward-Totten House was inhabited by drug-addicted squatters who were generally pleasant. The area was lively and exciting, but it never felt dangerous. And it's only better today. Much better.

The area has gentrified, but not so much that you will feel like you are living in the suburbs. Columbia Heights is more expensive, but more secure. I would check your apartment carefully for problems with roaches, but you'd find that sort of problem no matter where you live in Washington. And parking is basically out of the question, but with the Metro and the buses down 16th Street, that probably should not be a concern for you. Make sure you hit the farmers' market on the weekends, and (if you can) rent on a floor high enough that you will have a view. With the churches to the north and the cathedral to the northwest and the Washington Monument to the south, you really can't go wrong if you're above the sixth floor or so.

Good luck, and I hope that everything works out for you.
posted by mikewilliams at 9:29 PM on May 29, 2006

The area is fine.
posted by OmieWise at 6:55 AM on May 30, 2006

That area should be OK, but walking home blacked out drunk probably isn't the best idea.

I second the idea of making sure the situation is ok.
posted by sandmanwv at 11:00 AM on May 30, 2006