soon to be high school graduate..moving on out! (Alexandria: apartment, to rent)

[ilovemaryland]

i'm a soon to be graduate from high school and i'm looking for some ideas for places to move around august 2008. my plan is to attend community college for at least two years before i transfer to another school to fulfill my major. at the same time, i will maintain the receptionist job that i have, which pays well and i've been saving money to move out since i was twelve. the problem is, i was so adamant about moving to MD last year (hint the username) but now i'm debating staying in the NOVA area ( a lot has changed in a year).
and my question is if anyone can direct me in the nicest area that they think will be most adaptive to my status; (18, single, female, first year college student, first time apartment renter) i'm not looking to buy, i'm looking for a nice apartment community, but nothing too expensive which i know is hard to find in the NOVA area. if anyone has any suggestions or advice to give, please feel free to post. all input is very much appreciated. thanks so much and good luck on your own seaches!!

[The Dissenter]

i am pretty much in the same boat. i'm 19 a second-yr college student and single. personally i do want to be independent and get out on my own, but NoVA is just not the place to do it. i would really stay with your parents as long as they'll support you. trust me it allows you to save money in the bank and that extra $ will come in handy (was able to put a nice down payment on my car). would you rather put a $900 into the bank every month or spend it on an apt that you wont be in even two hours outside of the time you spend sleeping with school and work? (trust me on this) Not to shoot your dreams down just trying to give you the benefit of my experience.

P.S. i gotta give you credit for having courage to be critical of fairfax co and arlington schools (i read your posts.) I'm an Alexandria City school graduate myself and get sick of fairfax co and arlington talking smack on my system when theirs arent that much better.

[ilovemaryland]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

i am pretty much in the same boat. i'm 19 a second-yr college student and single. personally i do want to be independent and get out on my own, but NoVA is just not the place to do it. i would really stay with your parents as long as they'll support you. trust me it allows you to save money in the bank and that extra $ will come in handy (was able to put a nice down payment on my car). would you rather put a $900 into the bank every month or spend it on an apt that you wont be in even two hours outside of the time you spend sleeping with school and work? (trust me on this) Not to shoot your dreams down just trying to give you the benefit of my experience.

P.S. i gotta give you credit for having courage to be critical of fairfax co and arlington schools (i read your posts.) I'm an Alexandria City school graduate myself and get sick of fairfax co and arlington talking smack on my system when theirs arent that much better.

i agree with you wholeheartedly with the staying with the parents to save money. NoVA really isn't the place to rent an apt. for some middle aged adults, let alone an 18 year old about to graduate! especially when the prices are around 900$ for a studio.. wow! and you're not shooting down my dreams, you're being realistic, and i appreciate that! we need more realistic views in the world. i was also thinking about moving back to pg county, in maryland, but i'm not so sure about that idea anymore. it's hard having all these wants and ideas and deciding which ones to take action with and whatnot. i try to keep my expectations realistic but it's kind of hard with a brain that won't stop projecting ideas like mine
anywho, i truly appreciate the advice..
oh! and in regards to your p.s., i always try to be honest with everything and the truth is, fairfax county is not what the majority (wealthy) like to say it is. they like to say it's one of the best school systems in the nation and blah blah blah..but the truth with that is, they really have no clue. just because you have kids that go there, graduated, etc. does not mean you know anything about the school system itself, listen to the students that actually attend *hint hint* and you'll get the true picture.