Quote Originally Posted by Wash DC Blue View Post
I’ve been driving up NY Ave E most Monday’s for the last 11 years or so to get to a meeting in Maryland.
I used to hate a couple of intersections when the lights turned red.

It used to be very sketchy
Lots of that area has been gentrified
Still preferred it to driving on The Beltway.

Apart from NW DC, the rest of the City used to be bad. Now a lot of the bad parts like Anacostia and The U-St Corridor has been gentrified somewhat and packed full of Hipster/Yuppies.

Still dodgy AF in some areas, but not as bad as it was.

Much of Baltimore is way worse.
Stray a few blocks from Camden Yards or The Harbour and it gets very real very quickly.
Many years ago I decided to do (mainly) the east coast and Canada by Greyhound. After a really long overnight journey from Chicago I arrived at DC bus station. I visited the restroom but couldn't figure out why the guys in there were exchanging pairs playing cards wrapped in silver foil. I wandered outside to find a phone booth and noticed a store called "The Plain Brown Wrapper: Purveyors of Fine Smu" (no mistake the 't' had fallen off) as I called my friend who was at Georgetown. I told my friend where I was and she shouted "Stay inside the Phone booth! I'm coming straight there." Apparently it was a bit rough. I still laugh to this day about the name of the sex shop. The friend then poisoned me but that's another story.