I really enjoyed my stay with Ellen. I stayed here during a month-long radiology course in Silver Springs, during which I also did a lot of traveling in and out of DC for interviews.
The basement provides a lot of space and privacy, without the price tag of renting an entire apartment. I would mention that there is not a door separating the basement from the rest of the house, but there is a lockable door to the bedroom. This was not a problem for me, just something to note. The basement area had great closets and other storage, plenty for a month's worth of items. Ellen even had a space heater in case it got cold, although I needed it much less that I anticipated. There is actually a new sectional in place of the black sofa which is larger and very comfortable. There is a nice table/desk which I utilized a lot for studying.
I felt very safe in Ellen's home and in the area. I was a little hesitant about the exterior door prior to arriving, but there is actually a locked metal gate and then a garage door before you get to the street. This is kind of hard to explain until you have seen it, but take home point - the basement felt very secure.
I did not have a car so utilized the metro and ride services. I chose the location because it is basically half way between Silver Spring and downtown DC (including walking to the metro station, it takes about 30 minutes to get either place by metro, and anywhere from 15-25 minutes by car depending on traffic). The walk to the metro is 0.5 miles (10 minutes), which isn't bad if the weather is nice or during the day time; however, I found that I did not enjoy the walk at night or when it was cold/rainy. I flew in/out of Reagan and BWI several times, both of which are fairly easy to access. Reagan is a 30 minute subway ride (yellow line) from the Georgia Ave-Petworth Station and about a 30-35 minute car ride depending on time of day. To get to BWI takes about an hour if you take the green line to greenbelt (~30 minutes) and then the B30 bus takes you straight to the airport (~30 minutes). My only warning is that the B30 bus only runs on weekdays and leaves from the metro station on the hour, so you want to time your metro ride accordingly.
There are a few great restaurants (Timber Pizza and Himitsu for sure), one local coffee shop (Qualia's), a Safeway, and a great organic market (Yes! Organic Market) within walking distance, with many other options a short uber/lyft or metro ride away.