Duels
Duel: Downtown Bethesda v. Crystal City
Downtown Bethesda by daquella manera at flickr
Despite the fact that their proximity to DC proper is almost identical, and there are similarities from the convenience and walkability standpoints, Crystal City and downtown Bethesda are pretty different locales. Crystal City is a concrete jungle of high-rise office and apartment buildings in Arlington with restaurants and retail scattered throughout the area. Downtown Bethesda has the feel of an up-and-coming town on the west coast with its outdoor restaurants, high-end condo developments and casual nightlife. Oh, and there is hardly a shadow cast by any building over ten stories.
Round One: Real Estate Prices
Buying a home in downtown Bethesda is not much cheaper than buying in similarly popular zip codes within the DC borders, and the numbers above are reflective of that. The area is also using its reputation as a destination for great restaurants and shopping to justify construction of seven condo developments over the coming years. Crystal City can not boast the same intimate feel or popularity as downtown Bethesda, and consequently, it is a far cheaper place to live at the moment.
| Downtown Bethesda | Crystal City | |
|---|---|---|
| Price Per Square Foot | $527 | $371 |
| Average Listing Price | $940,980 | $624,348 |
| Median Sales Price | $540,000 | $521,250 |
* Source: Trulia
WINNER — Crystal City
Crystal City by dymphieH at flickr
Round Two: Transportation and Parking
Access to Public Transportation
Downtown Bethesda: Very good. The Bethesda Metro station is on the Red Line that can get you to downtown DC in about 15 minutes. The J bus line also runs from Bethesda to Silver Spring.
Crystal City: Very good. The Crystal City Metro station is on the Blue and Yellow lines. The trip to L’Enfant Plaza in downtown DC takes about eight minutes. Crystal City is also on both the Manassas and Fredericksburg lines of the Virginia Railway Express.
How Walkable Are The Areas?
Downtown Bethesda – Excellent. If you live in true downtown Bethesda, while it would be nice to have a car, you certainly do not need one. As noted above, the Metro station is in downtown, as are a number of coffeeshops, restaurants, and movie theaters as well as places for handling the mundane tasks of your life like dry cleaning and grocery shopping.
Crystal City – Good. Walking around Crystal City is a lot like walking around downtown DC (read: a lot of drab concrete). While the city is really making a concerted effort to have the same feel as Bethesda, i.e. sidewalks that are lined with restaurants and shops, it is not there yet.
Parking
Both Crystal City and downtown Bethesda are flush with parking garages, many of which are free if you are shopping at nearby establishments. There is also a good deal of street parking in both areas. The edge might go to Bethesda in this category, however, due to the fact that condo developments in the area are more prone to offer parking spaces as added amenities with their units.
WINNER — Bethesda
Courtyard in Downtown Bethesda by Taylor Bunnag at flickr
Round Three: Convenience
These two areas are neck and neck when it comes to awarding a winner for convenience.
Crystal City is in very close proximity to both the Pentagon and Reagan National Airport, but perhaps just as important is its closeness to places where residents can pick up everyday necessities. In the downtown area there are two pharmacies, seven banks, a post office, a grocery store and a number of doctor and dentist offices. There is also The Underground, a series of underground shops that carrying the same necessities and can be far more convenient in the winter months. WalkScore, a website that calculates the walking times to stores, shops and entertainment from addresses across the U.S., gave Crystal City a score of 92 out of a possible 100.
Again, Bethesda may have the edge here. Accord to Steve Israel of Buyer’s Edge in Bethesda, “if you live anywhere in downtown Bethesda, then you can walk to the Metro.” Furthermore, there is no need to hop in a car for anything from a trip to the drug store to seeing a move to going to the grocery store. WalkScore gave the corner of Woodmont Avenue and Old Georgetown Road, a main intersection of downtown Bethesda, a score of 95.
WINNER — Bethesda
20th Street and Crystal Drive by dymphieH at flickr
Round Four: Quality of Life/Things To Do
Crystal City wants to be a destination. Downtown Bethesda already is.
The restaurants in the downtown Bethesda area largely blow those in Crystal City out of the water. The fried green tomato and cornmeal crusted oysters at David Craig Bethesda or the tuna tartare with lemon-basil sauce at Raku are dishes that Crystal City restaurants can not compete with yet. Crystal City does does boast some high end chain restaurants like Morton’s of Chicago and McCormick and Schmick’s, but the area is not one that comes to mind for Washingtonians to head out for a nice dinner.
Downtown Bethesda has the Bethesda Row Cinemas and United Artist Regal Cinemas which everything from art house movies to blockbuster films. In Crystal City, it is a good two-mile drive from downtown to all movie theaters. As far as the bar scene goes, the two areas have a similar number of homogeneous Irish pubs and dive bars, so we’ll call it a draw on that note.
WINNER — BethesdaConclusion
Crystal City is a less expensive place than Bethesda to live for a good reason: It doesn’t have that much to offer just yet. Case in point: Here is an “interesting” promotional video that does its best to pump up the area as a hot, new locale, but the viewer really can’t escape the perception that the area is still just a close place to DC to work…not to play.
1 Comment
concrete jungle is an apt description of Crystal City. A pedestrian takes their life in their hands crossing Jeff Davis Highway and, city fathers, in their wisdom, are constructing an even denser, less “charming”, more smog cloaked and more user UNfriendly community than before. To their credit, Crystal City has given up the underground concept and is trying to revitalize Crystal Drive with some interesting restaurants. Still, “walkable” and “neighborhood” are not terms that come to mind.
We are hopeful, nevertheless.