We're Moving to… Petworth!

It’s been months since Tom and I started our apartment hunt. While we love our current neighborhood in Navy Yard, we quickly realized after moving here in 2015 that we needed more space. When we moved to Brazil, we downsized quite a bit. The thought was that we’d return to the U.S. after our visas ran out, and then live in Brazil again off and on. Due to job shuffles, that didn’t work out as planned. Without the promise of international travel, our cute one bedroom apartment started to feel a little small.
Over the past few months, we searched the DMV high and low for our next home. Ideally, we wanted to stay in Navy Yard.
We love it here. Evening and weekend walks in the neighborhood fill me with so much joy. And while we don’t have a ton of bars and restaurants (yet), the ones we have are top-notch. There are also so many fun, free events at Yards Park all year ’round that make living here so enjoyable.
But as we started thinking about what we wanted to do next, we couldn’t help but be curious about DC’s many other exciting neighborhoods. We get restless pretty quickly (we’ve lived collectively in six different places since we started dating five years or so ago), so even though our love for Navy Yard runs strong we felt it was time to start a new chapter.
Plus, to be honest, Navy Yard rent prices are already majorly on the rise due to a huge influx of new apartment buildings, restaurants and the exciting Wharf project nearby. To get the space we wanted, Navy Yard wasn’t really an option.
So… where to move? It was such a hard decision. It definitely turned into a bit of a House Hunters situation. There were many options, but none of them quite right.
For a long time, we were sure we would end up in Ivy City. Even if you’re not in the market for an apartment, I highly recommend checking out Hecht Warehouse. It is unlike any apartment building in DC. The historical elements are beautiful and there is an old-school game room in the basement and a free Atlas beer tap on weekends. They also offer free Compass Coffee all day in the beautiful grand room. Sign me up, right?
Ultimately, we opted against moving in solely because the building’s historic windows, while cool to look at, didn’t allow me any views to the outside world. Since I work from home most of the time and spend a LOT of time in my apartment, having sunlight and a decent view in my office area is mandatory. So Ivy City was out.
In other stories of apartment buildings we fell in love with… there was a magical bathroom at the brand new One Hill South community in Navy Yard. It was glorious and spa-like with a separate shower and the most beautiful tub I’ve seen in person. Sadly, the only unit we could afford was way too small and while I would have liked to have lived in the bathroom, it would have been hard to get a lot of work done in there.
In between those two main contenders we saw a lot of so-so options, and a lot of places we loved that were out of budget. In the end, it came down to where we could get the most space for a decent price in an area we would enjoy. The verdict?
Petworth! We ended up getting a great deal on an apartment that ticked off our need for space and my desire for lots of windows and a great view for my office. The photo below makes it look larger than it actually is, but the space is still exactly what we wanted.
We’ll even have room for guests, which was really important to me. Living in a one bedroom would be a lot more doable if my family and friends all lived in DC, but I love having the option for visitors stay with us. I will force people to visit me if I have to!
And, of course, there’s plenty of room for Ashton. We took him for a visit when we signed our lease and he seemed at home right away. He can’t wait to move in!
I regret that we’re leaving Navy Yard right as all of the new restaurants in the area are slated to start opening. We’ll absolutely miss living here and the people we’ve met. But its time for a change. Plus, it’s only a few(ish) metro stops away whenever I need to get my fix.
I’m so looking forward to checking out everything that Petworth has to offer. We already fell in love with Homestead and Qualia Coffee, and I’m itching to visit Timber Pizza Co., Ruta del Vino, Himitsu and the upcoming Taqueria del Bario, just to name a few. Plus, we’ll be a short walk away from some of our favorites – Thip Khao, Bad Saint and Maple. I’m sure there are non-food things to do in the neighborhood as well, but being who I am I haven’t done quite as much research on that quite yet.
It’s a busier area than we’ve grown accustomed to in Navy Yard, but I’ve kind of missed the true bustle of the city and imagine we’ll get used to it pretty quickly. Luckily, Rock Creek Park isn’t too far away for when we need a hefty dose of nature.
We move in less than a month. Until then I’ll be soaking up the last few weeks we have in our beloved Navy Yard, when I’m not frantically packing and creating endless to-do lists. Cheers to a new adventure!