I’d say that anywhere on the redline past Dupont is going to have an uptight NIMBY feel. Tenleytown and the Chevy Chase side of DC have a somewhat urban suburb feel that is almost exactly like Bethesda. I’m not as familiar with Bethesda as I am with DC or Arlington although I have gone out for the evening there a few times. It strikes me as more of a late 20s, early 30s type scene with pricier restaurants and quieter bars.
Are you going to be bringing in a car?
I am, does that make a difference?
Also, thanks, people upthread, for pointing out that DC and Bethesda don’t have a typical suburb-city relationship. Makes me feel more comfortable about potentially living in Bethesda.
Gestalt
If you weren’t, I would suggest DC a little more strongly with the advice of making sure there was a decent supermarket within walking distance. If you have a car, then it isn’t a concern as you can drive there and won’t have to go as often.
As I said earlier, registering the car in DC is a pain. It took me all morning starting at 7:00 to get my car inspected and to get my license.
I’m a resident of DC, although I am currently overseas. I would certainly say that Bethesda is the suburbs. You talk about living in Bethesda but going out in DC, but because of the traffic (see below), that will happen less and less. Being in the city will give you more opportunity to meet more and different types of people. As for diversity, it won’t be an issue, trust me. DC has the problems that any city has, but you can’t compare the vibe between the city and MoCo suburbs. I have never, BTW, not known I was in MoCo instead of the city.
Traffic in the burbs around DC is horrendous, some of the worst in America. If you think you are going to be going on the weekends to DC, you will either have to metro from Bethesda or drive (and then there is parking, not being able to drink and drive). I lived briefly in Montgomery County and I felt that I was a prisoner of traffic and sprawl. Going anywhere became such a pain, I didn’t want to go out.
There are a lot of different neighborhoods with really different vibes in DC. Adams Morgan is a party neighborhood, Georgetown is the same, but for frat boys, capital hill is overrun with self important congressional staffers, Petworth is quiet and laid back. You can find a neighborhood to fit your mood in DC.
madmonk waaaaaaay overstates the traffic in Bethesda. My friends and I drive to and from D.C. at all hours of the day with no real problem; you just have to know which ways to go. (Never, for example, take Wisconsin Avenue into Georgetown, but that should be self-evident.)
I also want to emphasize what VCO3 said: Bethesda is about half a mile further up Wisconsin than Friendship Heights, which in turn blends seamlessly into Tenleytown. It is, for most intents and purposes, simply another D.C. neighborhood.
(I’d say the same thing about Rosslyn/Court House/Clarendon, although perhaps less so. Silver Spring (like Alexandria or Rockville) is sufficiently separated from the most-trafficked areas of D.C. that it really is a completely separate place.)
Sorry, Gadarene, I have to disagree with you on Bethesda being like another DC neighborhood. Friendship Heights, Tenley and parts west of Georgetown as the exceptions*
DC like other cities has problems and you have to weigh the benefits and drawbacks to decide it is worth it for you to live in the city.
In your situation, I would take a look at Woodley Park. It is a few metro stops from your work and is still fairly close to the neighborhoods in DC where the nightlife is.
In my experience, it is generally people from outside the city who say the burbs are similar to DC neighborhoods, you don’t hear many people from the city saying that. As Caffiene says, it’s not that there is anything wrong with those communities, but they do not feel like DC.
And I don’t think I’ve overstated the traffic problem in DC: DC’s traffic creeps toward nation’s worst
I don’t think madmonk overstates it.
Driving around these burbs is maddening. I never know if my lane is going to turn into a “turn only”. There are always jams caused by delivery trucks, buses, construction cones, accidents, and broke-downs. Any intersection near one of the countless shopping centers/districts is a nightmare.
Yeah, sure. . .if there are no hang-ups, you can jump on Connecticut (or wisconsin) and be in the city lickety split, but in reality it’s a little different.
Well, I only, y’know, live there. I guess I’m not qualified to judge the traffic I see/experience daily. 
The other point is that since the OP would not be driving in to DC at rush. Traffic in DC on a weekend or late at night is not that bad. Parking can be unless you know where to look and are patient.
Hi guys,
This has really been so incredibly helpful, I can’t overstate it. Thanks so much for the opinions.
A couple of things.
I plan to drive as little as humanly possible. All commuting I would like to do by foot, bike, and metro.
I guess what I’m most concerned about is social life. The thing is, I don’t really know anyone in DC, so I would hope to meet people through my roommates. The only other way I can see myself meeting people right now is through my job, and those people would most likely be in Bethesda. So yeah, I think that Bethesda right now is sounding like the better bet; the likelihood of me dropping down into DC randomly and partying all the time with college kids and capitol hill staffers seems pretty low. In addition, I don’t know that I will have as much time to socialize as I hope to have, so maybe Bethesda is better for me. Oh, but I do so love socializing . . .
So right now, yeah, Bethesda seems like the best bet, particularly as I also need to take physics I and II over this year, and would like to do so in Bethesda. I’m reassured that it’s in the beltway, and it seems like there are enough young people that I could find a social circle.
Anyone know how far the NIH is from downtown Bethesda, in terms of mileage?
Is Bethesda a bike-friendly city?
Hopefully I will be down there Saturday to inspect.
Thanks again!
I figure it’s no more than 2-3 miles.
When are you going to come down here? We’ll give you a welcome-to-MADs DopeFest.
NIH has a host of clubs for singles and scuba and fencing and … whatever.
In 2000 33% of Bethesda’s population was 25-44
Bethesda is a little “whiter” than Montgomery County at large - which is about 3% Indian (of the Asian kind).
NIH is fairly bike friendly, Bethesda less so but its not bad.
Ditto on the restaurants and the diversity. I think it was McGovern(?) who said paraphrased: “Whenever a government falls anywhere in the world another restaurant opens in Bethesda”
If you are in Bethesda proper there are two Metro stations Medical Center (on the NIH campus) and Bethesda in downtown Bethesda. Mapquest says they are 1.86 miles apart. I would guess it is roughly that from Bethesda to Friendship Heights Metro to the south and maybe just a bit more from Medical Center to Grovesner to the North.