‘Braving the Snowmageddon’
courtesy of ‘theqspeaks’

Here at Where We Live,  our focus is on neighborhoods and communities where people live, work, and play.  But recently, there’s not been a whole lot of leaving the house, so this week’s feature is focusing on the best places to be snowed in.  Sure, this may be the worst winter in history, but if you’re basing your next move on where you’d prefer to be snowed in, here are some ideas.

Best Neighborhood to Drink Away the Storm: Adams Morgan is the place to be if you don’t want to be snowed in your home.  With several bars within walking distance staying open during the storm, you’ll be able to drink away your sorrows.  On Friday night during Snowmageddon, the streets were empty but the bars were open and offering pretty amazing deals!

‘Dupont Circle Snowball Fight 8520’
courtesy of ‘yospyn’

Best Neighborhood for Acting Like a Kid: Clearly Dupont Circle takes the cake, with its huge snowball fights during both Snowmageddon and Snowverkill.  Thousands of District residents took part in the snowball fights and let out their inner child on a snow day.  From Dupont Circle, you can also head up to Meridian Hill park for some sledding, too!

Neighborhood With Built-In Entertainment: WLDC author Cathy says that Chinatown was the perfect place to ride out the storm: “The Verizon Center didn’t cancel its Friday, Saturday or Sunday activities, providing plenty of entertainment within walking distance. There were tons of people at the events and as a result, a lot of bars and restaurants stayed open. Plus, friends give you their expensive/6th row seats because they can’t make it in the storm!” Sounds like a pretty good way to avoid cabin fever.

‘In the Shadow of the Obelisk’
courtesy of ‘william couch’

Neighborhood with the Most Beautiful Views: This is a toss up between Capitol Hill and Southwest Waterfront.  Capitol Hill gives you some amazing views of the monuments in the snow, while Southwest Waterfront has beautiful views of the river and untouched snow.  Everything looks prettier in the snow, but some of the monument/river pictures are just strikingly beautiful.

Neighborhood with the Most Helpful Neighbors: Many neighborhoods had people who were happy to help dig out cars in the snow, but Jenn thinks that Logan Circle was truly remarkable: during Snowmageddon, there were “roving bands of friends out with shovels just wandering around helping people, offering advice – I saw a bunch of people free an ambulance from being stuck on Vermont Avenue, pushing cars down 14th Street – just random strangers performing acts of kindness, which is really heartening.”

‘Senator Frosty Has the Floor’
courtesy of ‘flipperman75’

Neighborhood with the Best Snowmen: According to our Flickr pool, many of the best snowmen are hanging out on the National Mall.  The wide open spaces and plentiful snow gave people lots of room to create huge snowmen.  There’s even a snow Capitol building!

Neighborhood Fighting to Stay Open: Over in Glover Park, Rebecca says restaurants and stores are trying to stay open to serve residents: “Z-Burger, Brueggers Bagels, Rocklands BBQ, Pearsons Liquor Store, CVS, Town Hall, Breadsoda, Bourbon, Kavanaugh’s Pizza Pub have made valiant efforts to stay open and open under limited hours.”  Rebecca also says that neighbors are very helpful digging each other out, since their streets haven’t yet been plowed.

‘hot chocolate’
courtesy of ‘jenna_huntsberger’

Neighborhood with the Best Hot Chocolate: WLDC author Samantha didn’t mind being stuck in Logan Circle, because she loves “going to ACKC to get hot chocolate and macarons.  They have the best hot chocolate – extreme chocolate.”  I also love the Nutella Hot Chocolate over at Crepes-a-Go-Go in Dupont Circle.

First Neighborhood to be Plowed: Hmm, this is a tough one.  If you’re on a snow emergency route like Connecticut Avenue or Pennsylvania Avenue you’re in luck, as those streets are the first to be plowed.  But most people live on side streets, which seem to take days or weeks to be cleared.  It seems like all neighborhoods are equally screwed here, but keep up with DDOT’s real-time plowing map to see when your streets were treated and what the condition of nearby streets is.

What neighborhoods did I miss?  Leave your thoughts on how your neighborhood weathered the storm in the comments.

Shannon grew up in the greater DC area/Maryland suburbs, went to Virginia for college and grad school (go Hoos!), and settled in DC in 2006. She’s an urban planner who loves transit (why yes, that is her dressed as a Metro pylon for Halloween), cities, and all things DC. Email her at Shannon (at) WeLoveDC.com!