capitol hill was mentioned in there somewhere. I think it a good choice. it is a back commute to laural. should take no more than 30 min 4 days out of 5. wreck the other day, and take forever. I back comute from balt to cap hill to play squash and can still do that at 4-5pm in less than an hour.
We have some friends who live on near D & 3rd NE within walking distance of Capitol Hill and Union Station. They live in a VERY COOL refurbished townhouse dating back to the 1890s. It definitely meets your criteria of low maintenance and close to urban amenties & transportation.
I work in Silver Spring and also echo those comments as well. They are building new condos and townhouses left & right and have Yuppified the downtown area. The American Film Institute is right there as well as the HQ of the Discovery Channel.