Place to live in DC/MD Metro area (Silver Spring, Ellicott City: apartment complexes, rent)

[rlane8511]

Just took a job in Hyattsville MD. I'm 22 and just graduated college. From what I've been reading it seems that Silver Spring would be the best place to live but its just barely out of my price range. I'm trying to spend around 750-800 a month (with a roommate so a totals cost of 1500-1600). I'm not very familiar with the area so I'm quite lost. I can deal with an hour - hour and half commute. I have my own car but wouldnt mind giving public transportation a shot to avoid sitting in traffic. I want an area that has shops, restaurants, bars, and an area where people are close in age and are loooking for the same thing, just a good urban feel where I don't have to worry about getting mugged every time I step outside. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!!!

[CHIP72]

Hmm, that willingness to do a 60-90 minute one-way commute gives you some flexibility, though I'd never want to do it! If you are really willing to travel that far/long, places northwest of the DC Beltway like Rockville or Frederick become possibilities, as do places in Virginia like Manassas and Fredericksburg (use US 301 in the latter case for the commute). College Park, which is right near by, could also be a possibility.

In all seriousness, if Silver Spring is just a little bit outside your price range, you should evaluate your gas/car maintenance costs if you live further away. It is possible the money you save from living somewhere cheaper could be offset by the gas/maintenance costs and Silver Spring would still work best for you.

Is this job in Hyattsville near either a Metro Green Line and/or MARC Camden Line station? You may have some additional flexibility for location options if it is.

[FrankLaw]

If Silver Spring is out of the price range, chances are, Rockville will be, as well.

Try looking at Takoma Park. I think it's pretty underrated as a fun place for young people to live.

Otherwise, you might consider looking east and north, rather than west. Maybe Beltsville, Burtonsville, Laurel, or even Ellicott City. None of those places have as much going for them as downtown Silver Spring, but they'll be a lot more affordable.

[CHIP72]

Some more thoughts - I've also taken a new job in the Washington area (actually in the District itself) and I've also been looking in the downtown Silver Spring area. Based on what I found on craigslist.com, if you want to live in/near the downtown Silver Spring area, you'll need to go to an apartment complex/tower. There are MANY apartment complexes within a reasonable walk (3/4 mile or less) of downtown Silver Spring and the Silver Spring Metro/MARC station, and some of them have 2 bedroom apartments around $1500-1600/month or a little less. Some of them even include all utilities in the rent (not an insignificant factor when you are cutting things tight).

The sites you want to go to find out more about these complexes are the following:

Apartmentshowcase.com (this site is affiliated with the Washington Post)
Apartmentguide.com
Apartments.com

The first site listed is the best (largest listing of complexes), and you'll pretty much see every complex available if you look at both of the first 2 sites listed. The apartments.com site can give you Google area maps that will give you an idea how far away the complex is from the Metro stop. When you search for Silver Spring apartments, restrict your search to zip code 20910.

Another useful site to check out would be StationMasters Online. This site contains good information about each Metrorail station and what's in the immediate vicinity. Here's the Silver Spring map. The core of downtown Silver Spring is between Georgia Avenue and Fenton Street near Colesville Road.

In the DC area it is generally best to use the Metro for commuting trips if possible. If your Hyattsville job is near one of the Metro Green Line stations, it is fairly easy to get there from Silver Spring; use the Red Line south to Fort Totten and then get on the Green Line towards Greenbelt. The trip shouldn't take more than about 15 minutes at rush hours. If your workplace isn't near a Green Line station, it is still possible one of the Metrobus routes travels between Silver Spring and your work location (or pretty close to it). From looking at the WMATA (Metro) Maryland system map, it appears the F4 or F6 bus routes might get you to where you need to go. Bus timetables can be found on the main WMATA website.

[CHIP72]

Incidentally, I concur with Takoma Park. It is a quieter area than Silver Spring but still is fairly nice. It isn't far from Silver Spring either.

[Bnelms1171]

I am moving to the DC area. I will work at Walter Reed Medical Center. Is Silver Spring a good area to live in? I am looking at the Enclave Apartments any comments?