As a DC resident, I find M60's comments to be classic New Yorker. Obviously has little experience on the ground in DC. Wife and I do long dog walks all through DC. As long as you stay north of the Anacostia and away from Benning road, you'll be fine.

it is true that the occassional drunk young adult at 2 AM gets a bit of trouble. But that's more of a too much alcohol and bad judgment problem than one unique to DC. Fights on H Street? Tell me where a bunch of 20-30 somethings can gather and get drunk without a few problems? I'd like to see that city.

One final note: comparing crime stats between cities is problematic because reporting standards vary so widely from city to city. Within a city it's more consistent, although note that as neighborhoods gentrify, crime reporting rises - we gentry are more likely to report than the poorer incumbents.