Relocating from NC to DC area with dog! Help! (real estate, apartments)

[binford704]

I just found out that I finslly got the job I applied for in Lanham, MD. It has been made perfectly clear that I do not want to live in that area by several people. I'm sooo confused on where a good location for a single women and her dog is safe to live. Everywhere is so expensive and I'm scared to just find a roommate online. I've been searching Craiglist, apartment websites, ect... And just can not seem to get a handle on where to live. I have been to DC several times over the past 3 months, but never to MD. If anyone has any advice I would welcome it with open arms. I've taken a job at a non-profit so my budget will be limited to say the least. But at least I will be helping soliders and their families.
PLEASE HELP!

[AeroGuyDC]

I recently moved to MD from NC and I found a great deal/place in the College Park area. College Park itself is not terrible due to the development/retail/student population associated with the university, but the further you get away from the university within a 5 mile radius, the rougher it gets in my opinion. With that being said, I like where I live in College Park. I work in downtown DC and commute via the College Park Metro green line.

Take a look at Bowie, MD. If you're working in Lanham, the commute should be fairly simple (10 miles or less). Here is a tidbit on Bowie:

As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 50,269 people, 18,188 households, and 13,568 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,121.9 people per square mile (1,205.5/km²). There were 18,718 housing units at an average density of 1,162.5/sq mi (448.9/km²).
The racial makeup of the city was:
62.65% White
30.83% African American
2.95% Asian
2.92% Hispanic or Latino
2.30% from two or more races
0.93% Other races
0.30% Native American
0.03% Pacific Islander

I don't know what your budget is, nor what the average rents are in Bowie, but i've found that it is full of new development and is generally a pretty nice place.

Good Luck!

[AeroGuyDC]

I forgot to mention....

Download Google Earth (its free on Google.com) and use it to help find a city/town/neighborhood that fits your housing goals. The Street View function is particularly handy. You can also zoom in and out to get a general feel of the area and what retail/park/transportation options are in the vicinity of the area you're looking.

True story: I used Craigslist and Google Earth extensively in my search for suitable housing. In one instance, I found a place whose description seemed to be perfectly in line with what I was looking for. I then took the address of the apartment and entered it into Google Earth, zoomed to the house, selected Street View to get a closer look, and sure enough I saw all I needed to see: groups of what I assume to be unemployed thugs gathered on the corner presumably doing whatever it is they do on the streets in mid-afternoon. Needless to say, I didn't inquire any further about that apartment. The point i'm making is Google Earth can be an invaluable tool, especially if you're moving from a different state. If you're not familiar with GE, there are plenty of tutorials online, but its really pretty simple to use. Good Luck!

[Germantown_girl]

Bowie is one of the cheaper ares you can find in MD, but doent have a good school disctric.
You are singe, so i dont think you will be bothered by that,
That being said not all areas in Bowie are safe, there are some parts of Bowie you should avoid.

[binford704]

Thank you both VERY much! Good to know their are people willing to help. My search goes on.

[ceejamon]

I'll repost something I've put in other similar threads. I hope it helps:

A few ideas/resources for you to consider, especially for DC proper:

1) Craigslist is a great resource for apartments in DC, but it's overwhelming if you don't know where you want to live. Start the process by determining the AREAS you like, then look for apartments in those areas. The search function and price limitations on the site are your friends, but only once you have your bearings.

2) SpotCrime.com allows you to plot different types of crime on a map so you can see what areas are safe and which are shady. You'll see some very clear trends in DC. I focus mainly on shootings, burglarly, and robbery. Assault is most commonly against people the assailant knows. Theft can happen anywhere.

3) Once you've got some areas in mind, HotPads.com plots out apartments from various sources on a map. The Google Real Estate Search tool on Google Maps (click My Maps) is decent, too.

4) Google Maps is a FANTASTIC resource for looking into areas. Click on "My Maps" to get the DCist Metro Map overlay. Then, use walking directions or the distance measurement tool to see how far an address is from a metro. 1/3 mile (1760 feet) is the ideal range I'd look for if possible. It's a short walk, and is quite manageable even in bad weather.

5) Use Google Street View to check out the neighborhood around a building to make sure it's a well-kept area. I'd pass on a nice building across the street from a boarded up one. Also, look at the parked cars. Clean, newer model cars tend to speak well for an area. You don't have to look for Lexus logos, but a trend of run-down beat-up cars may belong to residents that don't take care of their stuff and probably won't respect YOUR stuff. (Nothing to do with race or class-warfare. Just a fact of life. I'm lower-middle class, of a darker persuasion, and drive a Ford.)

6) ApartmentRatings.com helps you find buildings that LOOK nice and may have nice "model/demo apartments" but have serious management, pest, or other problems. See what former/current residents have said. It's not a site to find your apartment on, but rather it's a site to check on a building that you might be interested in.

7) Look into what's near an address using Google Maps. It's nice to have a grocery store, dry cleaners, pharmacy, etc nearby. It's even better to have it within an easy walking distance. DC is one of the most walkable cities in America - take advantage of it!

Hope this helps, and happy hunting!

[mettler]

Silver Spring is good too..a lot of homes with yards. I moved there with a black lab, so I needed a yard for her. A lot of parks as well, and nicely located for metro access.