About

Where is Brightwood?
When I tell people I live in Brightwood I often get a blank look in return. When I elaborate by saying "It's the neighborhood that's north of Petworth and south of Takoma," the blankness sometimes dissipates (sometimes just vaguely).

Brightwood is located in the far northern part of Washington, DC's Northwest quadrant. The neighborhood's boundaries are:

To the north: Aspen Street NW/Walter Reed Army Medical Center
To the west: 16th Street NW/Rock Creek Park
To the south: Missouri Avenue NW
To the east: The eastern border is disputed. Depending on who you ask, the eastern border terminates at either Georgia Avenue NW or 5th Street NW. The Brightwoodian blog defines the eastern border at 5th Street NW.

Me me me me me
I’m Rebecca, and I’ve been a resident of Brightwood since 2010. I’m a native New Yorker but have been living in DC and/or its immediate suburbs since the mid-90s. When I first moved to DC I lived in Glover Park, and then on Capitol Hill, before settling in Arlington. I didn’t think I would move back into the District ever, because I thought it was (my word) “unliveable”. In the mid-2000s, my outlook on the District began to change, and I began to consider it a place I’d like to live.

About the blog
Before I moved to Brightwood, I started to read a lot of DC neighborhood blogs to get perspectives on life in the District that were different from those of the people in my immediate social circles. However, I noted that Brightwood, and the area surrounding Upper Georgia Avenue in general, was not very well represented in the neighborhood blogging phenomenon that was taking place in the city. The Brightwoodian is the blog that I wish had existed before I moved to Brightwood, a go-to site for news and information about the neighborhood and its surrounding area. I hope you will find it useful as well, whether you’re a new resident, a potential new resident, or long-time resident.

This blog is, for the most part, a one-person project with occasional contributors. Please send your tips, questions, and suggestions for story ideas to thebrightwoodian at gmail dot com.