Safest DC neighborhoods to live?

Ballston-Virginia area will be close to metro, great neighborhood, many "for rents". The people working in DC may live in DC (good neighborhoods include Georgetown area; Foggy Bottom area, Northwest (Wisconsin Avenue area)) in Virginia (Arlington, Virginia, Falls Church, Virginia, Alexandria or Fairfax), or Maryland (Bethesda, Md. Chevy Chase, Maryland)).

Look at a map of the metropolitan-DC area and you can get a sense of distance.

From Falls Church, Virginia to the White House would be 15 miles (25 minutes driving-time on Saturdays, 45 minutes during rush-hour traffic.)

Look at a map which shows the metro-stops.

http://dc.about.com/od/neigborhoodprofiles/Washing...

The areas where you'll find the highest concentration of young people are the "hip" parts of DC, largely Adams-Morgan and Dupont Circle. Due to the presence of universities, there are also many young people located in Georgetown, Foggy Bottom (GWU), Tenleytown (American U.) and Shaw (Howard U.). I would recommend Adams-Morgan or Dupont Circle over any other neighborhood just in terms of the vibe the area has going for it and the concentration of things to do, as well as their somewhat centralized location within DC. However there is the cost factor as both neighborhoods are somewhat expensive, but good deals can be found if you're willing to rent a room, or have a roommate. There are cheaper cool neighborhoods in DC as well like the areas around U Street, Logan Circle, Shaw, Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights, however, these neighborhoods are all in various stages of the regentrification process and can be a little rough around the edges in parts which sounds like it's something you're trying to avoid. Capitol Hill is another possibility. It's a bit cheaper (and also more gritty and not as safe) than Dupont and Adams-Morgan and has a lot of the young non-profit employee crowd living there. Personally, I find it to be a bit of an inconvenient location within DC. Cleveland Park is another nice neighborhood you may want to check out although it's chiefly residential and probably just as expensive as Dupont Circle but not as lively.

Most twentysomethings who move here and want the DC lifestyle without actually living in DC for various reasons (crime, cost, taxes, etc.) choose to live in Arlington, particularly in the neighborhoods of Clarendon and Court House. They're a little pricy (which really is the case in any somewhat hip neighborhood full of twentysomethings across the nation) as well but not as bad as DC. In Maryland, the same crowd tends to stick to Bethesda which again, is a little pricy but cheaper than DC. Alexandria is nice and all but for whatever reason, it doesn't seem to attract as young of a crowd as Arlington. Maybe Arlington's closer proximity to DC is the reason for that.

If you want to live somewhere won't you be shot or robbed, live in Northwest. Definitely avoid Southeast.

Also, Friendship Heights, Its right on the DC/MD border and there is tons to do in the area.