Safe and close to the bethedsa.
Need to be safe.
Then why would you move to DC?
Seriously, DC is much safer than people give it credit for.
When I lived in downtown DC people from the suburbs seemed to think that if they took the metro to downtown they would be mugged, beaten, mugged again, raped, and then mugged again, and possibly murdered, all within 50 feet of the station exit. It was ludicrous.
Do you get drunk/stoned and wander about at night? Wander about alone at night after midnight?
Hang out with criminals or those with substance issues or with anger management issues? Do you act like a victim?
If the answer to all of those is "No." then you should be relatively safe.
Do you pay attention to your surroundings and take pro-active steps to avoid problems before they become serious problems?
A "Yes" answer would be good for that one.
If you picked the wrong answers to the questions above you're unlikely to be particularly safe anywhere you live.
I lived in downtown DC in the Eastern Market area and in the Lincoln Park area. I routinely saw young women out walking home alone at night. Clearly downtown DC wasn't as dangerous as people believe. The Lincoln park apt was around $600 11 years ago. Can't help you with the Bethesda area at all. I just wanted to calibrate your fears against reality on the ground. Might save you a bundle...