Lived here for a few years
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12/16/2010
DC's a beautiful city. The climate has it's highs and lows... literally. DC can have wonderful long springs, typically hot/humid summers (from late June thru September), pleasant falls, and a mild winter. The winter's will usually have there very cold moments but by mid march things are pretty nice. The district has amazing resources, many of which are free, and are available to those who are willing to seek them out (museums, shows, arts, etc). Bicycling in the city and region is extremely underrated. The city itself continues to add many bike lanes and there are several very long paved trails that are reasonably easy to access (e.g. Capital Crescent, Mt Vernon Trail, Custis, and to a degree the Anacostia Trail System). Generally the traffic is responsive to pedestrians and bicyclists unless you choose a moronic route such as riding down Mass Ave during rush hour. The large parks (e.g. Rock Creek, Glover Archbold)in the NW part of town offer quite the respite with many many miles of dirt and bridle trails (yes bridle trails). If you can easily access these trails you'll find that DC has some of the best trail running for a city on the east coast, no kidding. DC's generally pretty safe. I never feared random crime. The violent crimes tended to happen during the wee hours and generally in bad neighborhoods. In other words, a little common sense will go a long way regarding one's personal safety.
Call it gentrification, transitional, or just plain old change - the city has done this dramatically over the last 20 or more years. It's gone in sort of a wave from west to east and I'd say is currently at (as of 2010 that is) Georgia Ave in the upper NW to North Capitol in the nearer NW and over to H St in the NE. I'm sure others on here have referenced this. Needless to say, as with most redensifying modern cities - the city has witnessed the flexing muscle of the new socioeconomic caste system. All of the folks on the losing end have been pushed into PG County, Maryland unless they've tried to struggle along in the NE or SE neighborhoods across the Anacostia (though there are some nice pockets in those places such as Fort Lincoln, Hillcrest, etc.). And the newbies seem to be pretty darned well off and help push rents to exorbitant amounts. The quality and character of people in DC is hit or miss - there are some very intelligent and kind people here but there are some seriously lame people as well. Suppose that's too be expected when you've got all kinds and types stepping up to the federal trough. Full disclosure, I did not enjoy the majority of the people I met in this town. But many people love living here, so there's no reason to think you wouldn't enjoy it also.
If you must live in DC I'd recommend Mt Pleasant (if you can stomach renting in a group house or doling out a premium for your own place) or Cleveland Park - they're both safe, good transportation access, less idiotic environments and close to Rock Creek Park. If you're not going to be in the district itself but want to be close I'd recommend Takoma Park, MD or the Del Ray/Arlandria area of Alexandria, VA.
PJ | Bloomington, IN