Moving Near East DC vs West DC (rent, vehicle registration)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm moving soon and I have a choice of East DC vs West DC. By East DC I'm talking within driving distance from Greenbelt MD and West DC means driving distance from Reston VA.
I've decided to look for an existing DC area resident as a roommate and am looking to keep rent at $1000 or less. I need a place/house with a yard for my dog and renting this by myself is too expensive. I'm 29 and a single male, and would like to live near a decent social scene if possible.
Do you need to be close to a Metro station (by close, I mean an easy walk)? If you commute by driving, your best bet to save money would to look at places 1-2 miles from a station. Do you have a preference for being in DC (as opposed to a suburb)?
For places actually in DC proper, "west DC" would pretty much encompass the NW quadrant. Most of this quadrant is nice, safe, but pricey. You could try looking into places like Glover Park, Burleith, or Foxhall. You'd be close to Georgetown, in terms of a social scene. As for "east DC", you've got the NE and SE quadrants. Capitol Hill is nice (spans NE and SE directly behind the Capitol building), but then you run into the price issue again. However, you can probably find a place to share for $1000. There's a lot of parks around there for the dog. The H Street NE/Atlas District is an up-and-coming area, with a lot of quirky bars and restaurants. Since it's still relatively new on the redevelopment scale, you might be able to find a good deal. Outside of Capitol Hill/H Street, there are pockets of NE that are nice, but fairly quiet (Brookland is one, but I don't have much NE experience so ask around). I hear Takoma Park also being suggested to others, but again I have no experience with that neighborhood.
As for outside DC, in terms of "west" try looking in North Arlington. There's a strip of bars and restaurants in the Clarendon/Courthouse/Ballston area that are pretty popular. To save money, look for places a bit away from the Metro station, you can always drive or take a bus in. Ballston also seems to be slightly cheaper than Clarendon, even though you could walk from one to the other, so that's something to keep in mind. Alexandria is also nice, though further east. Old Town and Del Ray are my favorite areas of Alexandria. As for "east", maybe try Silver Spring or Greenbelt itself. I don't know Maryland very well, but have heard good things about both places.
Edit: I looked on CraigsList and found rooms that accept dogs in your price range for H Street, Alexandria, Arlington, Bethesda, and Silver Spring. All the ones I clicked on also had a similar age range (27-34), so what you're looking for is by no means impossible.
I haven't decided on a preference for being in DC vs a suburb primarily because I don't know the benefits of either. I figured for the sake of having a yard I would be more towards the suburb, but I don't want to have to drive 20 miles to go on a date either. Aside from having a yard, affordability, people my age, and crime rates are my top factors.
If I had to lean one way or another right now I'd say I'm looking at living between DC proper and Greenbelt MD and then working in Greenbelt.
Just curious, I'm due to renew my vehicle registration in Sept and was wondering if anyone knew the costs in MD vs DC vs VA for the renewal?
Look in Brookland, NE DC. Nice neighborhood in the Northeast quadrant of DC. Right on the Hyattsville, Mount Ranier border. Good communite to Greenbelt.
I'd also check out Hyattsville and College Park MD.
West DC (NW) is wayyyyyyyyy more safer than East DC (NE and SE).
Some parts are, but certainly not all. And Capitol Hill is for the most part a very safe neighborhood, and it extends across both NE and SE.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
