Apartment near Dulles? (Reston, Chantilly, Herndon: sublease, subletting, rentals)

[bewilder2]

Hi, I am looking for an apartment around Dulles Airport for an internship this summer. I will be graduating here soon, so this is hopefully a lead-in to a full time job, but I cannot commit to a place like it will be longer than the 3 months the internship lasts. As such, I am not very concerned about nightlife or the usual fun, but rather someplace with a fairly short commute, so I can work my butt off to try and make it into a full-time job.

What are the best areas that are a short commute away, safe, looks acceptable, and as cheap as I can get, on a 3-month contract? I've looked some on this site, but many want the urban lifestyle and/or the nightlife, which are not on my mind. (maybe after the summer...)

Coming from a rural college town, the rent I've had to pay is probably way below anything I'll get in the area. I know looking online, it's rare to see a place below $1000/mo, with most around $1200. What is a good price range to expect for a one-bedroom or studio?

Finally, I've heard that often the best way to look is actually driving around, but I probably won't have the luxury of being able to doing so. Is there any good sites/online newspapers to browse for apartment ads?

Thanks!

[ShannonMilligan]

When we were selling our home in another state we had to rent short term. We stayed at Archstone in Ashburn which is right on Rt 7. It is probably about 10 miles from the airport so maybe 20-30 minute commute in traffic. (Depending on the times you would work...wouldn't be that long if on odd times)
We had a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with a 1 car garage and paid $1400 a month. If you only want a studio it would be cheaper. One thing to remember is short term rentals have higher rents b/c they are short term!

Archstone has several places in and around this area. I can only speak of the one in Ashburn where I stayed but it was nice. A little park behind it so we often took walks, but many people would ride their bikes and such. Close to Target and other stores.

Anyway, good luck! You can also check Craigslist and Rent.com (Or apartment.com...can't remember which!)

[Badger21]

all three sites twin listed are good though Craigslist should give you the best best at finding a month to month lease...1100+ should get you a decent apartment around herndon/reston area and the dulles/sterling/ashburn area, honestly haven't heard about many studios. reston/herndon has a ridiculously easy commute to the airport (you get your own road directly to the airport!!), while Ashburn and Sterling should be around the 20 min mark.

[bewilder2]

A question I have about the commutes:

I've read places that highway 28 (whatever the local name is for it) is often very congested. A few of the subleases I've found are in Chantilly, and what would the expected commute time be from there to IAD? Is hwy 657 any better?

[lchoro]

Rt 657 is the highway number for Sunset Hills Road in Reston and Spring Street in Herndon. The road is right next to the Dulles Toll Road (267) which feeds into Dulles International Airport.

Chantilly is close to the airport. It's probably 15-20 minutes. Commutes to IAD from Reston, Herndon, and Sterling will all be within about 5 minutes of each other and depend on how quickly you can get onto the main thoroughfare from your home (i.e., the closer you live to 28 or 267, the better).

You might try Homestead in Chantilly. They have an ad for a $799/mo furnished studio in Craigslist. I would see if you can get the same deal from their hotel in Sterling on Route 606 (Old Ox Rd), which is probably 5 minutes from the airport.

Amazing Rate Offer (http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/1690021962.html - broken link)

[GoHokiesGo]

I'd suggest trying to find a place near the George Washington Univ-Ashburn campus. You could probably get a few non-local students that are heading away for the summer, and then sublease from them for the summer months. The GW campus is right at the north end of 28 about 10 mins from Dulles. There isn't usually any traffic on 28 S in the mornings (you're going opposite the mass of traffic), so you should breeze right into work. You may hit a small amount on traffic on your way home around ashburn and waxpool, but nothing too bad.

I don't know if GW has a roommate listings site, especially for the Ashburn campus, but check out the neighborhoods surrounding that area and I bet you'll have some luck subletting from a student for the summer.

The bad traffic on 28 are all the people heading north into the dulles tech corridor and Reston. It usually clears around Frying pan road, which is the exit just before Dulles Airport. If you find somewhere south of the airport, such as chantilly, expect to hit some traffic coming north on 28.

[bewilder2]

Okay, thanks for the help figuring out the commute.

I looked through the GWU site, and most of the listings are both near D.C. and too expensive. And there is no listing for Ashburn, it appears that they do not even have university housing, period, much less a tradeboard. So I'm guessing that they go through the regular channels.

Ichoro: the reviews on all the sites are very negative on Homestead, so I'd rather go someplace else.

I'll keep looking, but thanks again for all your help guys!

[lchoro]

I thought you were looking for a cheap place while avoiding renting out a basement or a room in someone's house. You might try Colvin Woods in Reston. Somebody else here on the boards has signed a contract to rent there (after some warnings from us). It would be in the $1100 range, reasonably close to the airport, and probably situated in a more residential setting than some of the other lodging choices.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/1701274735.html (broken link)

Here's a 1br at Elden St & Worldgate in Herndon. It's very close to the Toll Road. It's about 5 miles from the airport.

Spacious 1 BR with abundant closet space! (http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/1701548449.html - broken link)

[ngoud09]

hi, we want to sublease the 2 bed apt having 4 months lease leftover . actual rent is 1650 but i can give at 1500 , beacause i got a job in different state. if interested please email me ngoud09@gmail.com. its 1.5 miles from dulles airport, apt is in Astoria circle, Herndon , va 20170

[mdcrim]

I can't say for sure but I would assume that the OP has found something by now. This thread is OLD...