Moving to NoVa with limited budget. (Arlington, Alexandria: apartments, rental, house)

[newtonova14]

Hello there everyone! I'm a recent college graduate and I recently accepted a job offer in the DC area. I am looking for a place to stay and am pretty sure I'd prefer to live in Northern Virginia rather than DC itself or Maryland (proximity to work, hopefully a little less expensive rent, a little less urban).

I have been looking at apartments along Columbia Pike and I was wondering if anyone would be willing to provide an assessment of that area? My budget is fairly limiting and so far I like the look of the area and it falls within my budget due to the lack of a Metro, I'm assuming. It's got grocery stores and the bus routes are convenient for my future place of employment. If anyone has any recommendations (or ... anti-recommendations) for a studio apartment under 1200/month it would be greatly appreciated!

But yeah-- I'm hoping to move down there and if anyone has any recommendations for my budget, even outside of the Columbia Pike area (I was looking at Falls Church too) that would be awesome. Thank you so much!

[KittyTwoShoes]

Are you completely against a roommate? Most apartments I know start at about $1500 for a studio, even in that area. If you need a metro area, I would recommend around Old Town Alexandria and the Rosslyn/Courthouse/Clarendon/VA Square/Ballston area as well.

[Carlingtonian]

Pike is OK--gentrifying and more pricey on the east end, and old and mostly low-income Hispanic on the west end.

Also consider Lee Highway in Arlington, west of Quincy. The 3Y bus goes right into DC. Far enough from Metrorail to be more affordable.

[stateofnature]

You should live with roommates. You can find something for under $1,000 in almost any location if you go the group house/apartment route. Not only will you save a lot of money and be in a better location, but it will open up your social life more.

It is extremely, extremely common for recent college grads moving here to find roommates via Craigslist.

[CaliTerp07]

Yup, almost anyone under 30 has a roommate (whether that's a friend or a significant other or a random craigslister). Alternatively, you may be able to find a basement apartment rental in your budget if you're really anti-roommate.

[gomason]

Colonial Village has cheap studio apartments but I don't know if any are available.

Columbia Pike is a very easy place to commute from though. Theres like at least one bus every couple minutes and the 16X goes to downtown DC. Definitely worth paying less for a more metro-acessible area.

[highpoint1]

Originally Posted by gomason

Columbia Pike is a very easy place to commute from though. Theres like at least one bus every couple minutes and the 16X goes to downtown DC. Definitely worth paying less for a more metro-acessible area.

Agreed. There's also the 16Y to McPherson Square, which is pretty downtown-ish too. The very, very frequent buses to Pentagon City and/or the Pentagon are great as well, since one can then hop onto a train and be in the city in minutes. Columbia Pike is reasonably priced in most places, and most of the buildings I've looked at are fairly nice.

That said, I would still suggest to the OP that he or she find roommates.

[beatlecrazy]

Glebe House and Southern Towers offer studios for a lot less than $1200. I lived at GH for a year and paid $1005 per month. I moved to Southern Towers (more amenities) and pay $945 for a studio. I know that the Broadstone Van Dorn apartments advertise studios for $915 (no utilities included). I looked at Broadstone about 4 months ago when they hadn't yet officially opened, it was pretty nice. But ST offers utilities included so that's why I went with them.

I know they are not on Columbia Pike though, d'oh. A good friend of mine lives at Dominion Towers on Columbia Pike, and pays $1170 for a studio which is also pretty nice.

Best of luck in your search!

[LynchburgLover]

I, too, would suggest the roommate route. You're new to the city and it can be very lonely when you don't know people. Having roommates doubles/triples your social circle.

Your housing budget will also go much further allowing you to live in a safer area. I'm not specifically saying that area is unsafe but if you share a group house, you can frequently get into a better neighborhood.

Think about things like laundry -- do you want a communal laundry room in a large apartment? Parking -- do you want to be searching for a spot on the street late at night by yourself?

My daughter found a house that she shares with three other young women in a very safe neighborhood with parking right outside the house for several hundred less than an efficiency. That several hundred dollars leaves much more for savings and fun.

Best of luck!