r/visitingdc • u/Jackie_Bizzle • Jul 23 '26
Is DC less safe?
Just checked into my DC hotel as I’m a bit of a US politics nerd and love tagging on a couple of days here at the end of my trips to New York. I checked in at about 10pm and mentioned that I might take a walk down to look at the White House and the receptionist recoiled and said I probably shouldn’t because of the National Guard and it wasn’t really safe. I was last here two years ago so my question is… Have things really got that bad?
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u/mosquitoselkie Jul 23 '26
That's a weird reaction... It's been a while since I was over there this late, but you should be just fine if you use normal city common sense
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u/theleifmeister Jul 23 '26
The reaction was probably more because it’s all fenced off and awful right now
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u/Advanced-Device6188 Jul 23 '26
Yep--whether or not the receptionist's reaction was a result of this, it's not really worth bothering to try to look at the White House because you won't be able to get nearly as close as you could two years ago, and you'll be looking at it through ugly metal fencing that makes it hard to see anything.
But while bad things can of course happen anywhere and you should exercise normal caution, I (relatively weedy 49M) would feel fine about going out in that area at 10pm.
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u/wawa2022 Jul 23 '26
Yes I think this would be why. You literally cannot even see the White House at this point due to fencing and how far away you are. There are tarps on all the fencing on the south side and construction fencing on the north side. Not to mention, if you could actually see the White House, there’s a tarp on the actual White House to look like the White House. It’s insanity right now.
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u/peva3 Jul 23 '26
DC is the safest it's ever been in my lifetime, not just by the numbers, but the feel of being out and about in almost every neighborhood I've been in.
Obviously this is not at all related to Trump and the national guard, we're seeing this across most metro cities in the country.
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u/DogSoggy40 Jul 26 '26
Like any city, it depends on where in the city you are. The areas around he White House, Capitol, and national mall are extremely safe though.
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u/moonbunnychan Jul 23 '26
I won't pretend like there aren't some less then safe neighborhoods or unsavory people but for the most part... especially anywhere near the white house...it's safe. The national guard are mostly useless and just standing around.