I used to live right on 14th Street, at the heart of a lot of the action. There was still a lot of prostitution action ten years ago but apparently there also used to be a variety of strip clubs and whatnot there.
Although I moved a couple years ago it was still pretty easy to find hookers around the area. My wife and I used to go out and sit along 14th and L Streets and watch the show. It was always an interesting time.
It sounds like you aren’t too far from Logan Circle. That’s a pretty nice area now. It looks nothing like what it did fifteen years ago. We looked at a condo on 13th and N, but the layout was too odd. It was a two level unit and the bedrooms were below the living room.
You’d be surprised how many $5 beers you can drink when you’re young and stupid. How fondly I remember the Goldrush. DC permitted complete nudity (no pasties, no g-string - completely naked flesh) with alcohol sales - I may still have the napkin and that was nearly 30 years ago.
It looks like either MD or VA: it’s been rather hard finding something with the right combination of items in DC proper. VA is in the lead since I see Trader Joe’s can sell wine there. 
Right now it looks like with the way finaces are going I’ll do a temporary sublet from someone for the first few paycheck cycles, then move into my own place. (The sooner the better!)
Thats a good way to do it since you can get a better feel for the area and you can decide where you really want to live.