job at Walter Reed - where to live? (apartments, crime)

[Mom21]

My niece will be finishing her Army training as a nurse and will be stationd(?)/assigned to Walter Reed. The Army has given her no advice at all on housing, so she's pretty much on her own. She is 20 years old and grew up in the South so she really doesn't know much about city life.

She will have a housing allowance of $600 - 800.00. Is there anywhere she could find safe housing, studio, 1 br for that amount? I haven't checked yet to see if there is a metro near Walter Reed, but she will be looking to purchase a car right away, so a reasonable commute is acceptable also.

I live in Charles County and I told her that she could live with me but her commute will be a bear. Do you think she's better off doing that (closest metro is Branch Ave) or will she be able to find any thing safe and decent in reasonable commuting distance? thanks for any help!

[trzlucky]

Housing allowance in DC starts at $1300 and goes up based on rank. (2008 BAH for Enlisted Members (withour dependents) -- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA)

Since Walter Reed isn't in the middle of the city, there ought to be a pretty good selection of studio and 1 BR apts that she can afford. Don't have any specific leads on places, but once you find some places, check out the DC crime statistics to get an idea of how safe the neighborhood is (Metropolitan Police Department (http://crimemap.dc.gov/presentation/query.asp - broken link)).

[Mom21]

trz,

Thanks SO much. I told her that sounded totally unreasonable for D.C. and I'm SO glad to hear that it's a lot more! Thank you!

[titaniummd]

There are some decent apartments at the intersection of East West Highway and 16th Street (A high rise on the Western side - and a bunch of small older brick apartment buildings on the Eastern side of 16th).

[Mom21]

Titaniummd, do you know if those areas are pretty safe?

[NationsKappatol]

the apartments by East West and 16th are nice. I had a friend who lived there and it seemed fine.

[Bigbluelandrover]

I live in a building called the Chateau it is off New Hampshire and 1-495 in Silver Spring. It is off a secluded street and there is a shuttle bus that takes employees to WR. We have a LOT of military people in our building. The buildings are high-rise with a secured entrance (door person) and it is quiet. I think a 1br is $950-1050?.

[CHIP72]

I just moved to downtown Silver Spring and have established a walking route that takes me right by the northwestern side of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Downtown Silver Spring is not far from Walter Reed; probably about 1 to 1 1/2 miles north of the hospital. If your niece were to live in downtown Silver Spring, she could actually walk to work on nice days if she so chose. The area in the District between East West Highway/Eastern Avenue and Walter Reed is generally nice, single-family housing; the only semi-rough areas are along Georgia Avenue near the MD/DC border. Most of the apartments in downtown Silver Spring have rents above $1300/month, though some places a little further away from downtown, including some places near East West Highway and 16th Street NW, actually are under that threshold for 1 bedroom apartments (and definitely for efficiencies/studios; actually I think most places in downtown SS are under $1300 for efficiencies/studios).

The primary bus routes available between downtown Silver Spring and Walter Reed Army Medical Center are the Metrobus routes 70, 71, and 79, all of which run on Georgia Avenue, the Metrobus route S2, which runs on Eastern Avenue between the Silver Spring Metro station and Georgia Avenue and on Alaska Avenue between Georgia Avenue and 16th Street NW, and the Metrobus route S4, which runs on 16th Street NW. All of these routes except the 79 have fairly extensive service 7 days a week, especially the 70 and 71. If need be, there are also a number of other Metrobus and Ride On routes that operate to/from downtown Silver Spring, if the walk to the bus station (located right next to the Metro station) is too far.

EDIT: I forgot to mention downtown Silver Spring is generally considered to be pretty safe, especially in the areas near Colesville Road west of Georgia Avenue. The East West Highway/16th Street NW area, which is just north of the area I mentioned, would probably be fine.