Photo by DCMatt

The childless adult is ascendant, and they’ve got money to spend, are looking for places to live and want to have a good time. But what are the best neighborhoods across the nation for those free of infant responsibilities?

MSN Real Estate has the answer, having compiled a list of the top 10 great neighborhoods for childless adults. There’s Silver Lake in Los Angeles, Church Hill in Richmond, East Austin, Harbour Island in Tampa, Seattle’s Capitol Hill, downtown Knoxville, Williamsburg in Brooklyn, the Alberta Arts District in Portland, Boise’s North End, and our very own U Street corridor. Sayeth MSN:

Duke Ellington was born in Washington, D.C.’s U Street Corridor. The great black musicians and entertainers of the 20th century packed theaters and clubs in this northwest Washington community. The historic neighborhood stretches along U Street from 14th Street Northwest to Florida Avenue Northwest and 9th Street Northwest. It was Washington’s Harlem in the early half of the 20th century. African-American businesses, residences, churches, schools, music and theater flourished. The neighborhood fell on hard times and blight in the 1960s.

The new century has brought a new start. The corridor’s restored Victorian homes and row houses are home to plenty of families. But the mix of retail shops, street murals, galleries, restaurants, clubs, cafes and meeting places where young people gather all make the neighborhood a sought-after home for cosmopolitan singles and couples without children.

Developers have discovered the U Street Corridor in recent years, erecting big mixed-use developments with condos and ground-floor shops. The city has restored one of the neighborhood’s centerpieces, the historic Lincoln Theatre. Municipal government has installed new brick sidewalks and street bike lanes. Getting around is easy using the Metro — use the Cardozo Green Line stop — buses, Zipcar and community bikes.

There’s certainly some truth to all of this. But as the Post’s Jonathan O’Connell interestingly wondered over the weekend, is D.C.’s growth too dependent on the young and childless? “What D.C. hasn’t yet figured out, or even really planned for, is what happens when this raft of newcomers grows out of one-bedroom condo living. What happens when their lives evolve past the urban-playground stage and they are less interested in speakeasies than in parks for their kids?”, he inquired.