Where to live if commuting with public trans. to College Park? (school, places to live)

[yurch10]

I am going to be attending graduate school at the Univ. of Maryland at College Park. From everything I've read, it seems as if staying in College Park is a terrible idea.

If I wanted to live in the DC area and commute on public transportation, what would be a few good places to look in to? I am single, 26, and would like to live somewhere close enough to have a social life.

Thanks for any help.

[HurricaneDC]

I live in Adams Morgan and I commute to UMD each day. On a good day it might be like 35-40 minutes, on a bad day about an hour. The thing is, since you're not driving, you can get things done and it's just not as stressful as an hour-long driving commute.

Adams Morgan isn't too cheap but not the most expensive either, and people often find good deals. You might also consider the U Street area. What's your budget for housing?

[BigCityDreamer]

I'd say don't write off College Park just yet. It can be good or bad depending on where you are. Sure, there are better places to live, but you can move later of course.

College Park does have some density and if you like hanging with the college crowd while you're in grad school, it's not a bad deal for that either since the UMD has such a huge enrollment (the largest in the DC area - 37,000). Plus, you don't want to deal with a possibly hellish commute. So I'd say visit first and then decide.