Living in DC as a Congressional Staffer (Washington: 2013, rent)
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I recently got a job as a congressional aide in the city making around 35K a year but will be relocating from FL to take the job and have NO idea where to look for a place.
So, does anyone know areas that congressional staff types live?
Also, are there other places than craigslist to look for a roommate?
Congratulations on your new position and welcome to DC. Capitol Hill will be a popular place for you to consider as well as Dupont Circle. With 35k, a roommate situation will be a must. Craigslist is your best bet for finding rented rooms and roommates
I was in your position several months ago. I really had no idea where to look in DC, and it was a pretty confusing experience for me. Anyways, here are a couple of things I've learned.
Wmata.com is your friend. It's best to orient yourself around the Metro rail map since it will be your main form of transportation. Here is the map:
The Capitol Building is located in between the Union Station stop (on the lower right of the red line) and the Capitol South stop on the Orange/Blue line. I know a couple of Hill staffers, and they all live near Union Station (0.5 mile walk to the Capitol Building), and Eastern Market (0.5 walk as well). This is your best bet in terms of proximity to work and price. Rent in DC is high, regardless of where you look, but the Union Station/Capitol Hill/Eastern Market area is decent. I know of places going as low as 650/month. However, I would guess average rent is usually about 800-1000/month. As others have said, get a roommate. Unfortunately I didn't find any other resources outside of craigslist. Have you considered contacting the people who hired you to see if they could put you in touch with somebody who could help you out? Or just see if they are willing to pass around an email describing your situation. That might help.
There are other places you can look at, but from what I can tell, pretty much all Hill staffers live within a mile or two of the Capitol Building. I'd also suggest avoiding Dupont Circle entirely. It's extremely expensive, and a lot of places request that your monthly gross is 3x what you'll be paying for in rent. You'll be ruled out immediately.
I would also suggest asking if people could give you rough boundaries of how far East, West, North and South you should go. That would help you narrow your search a lot.
Last edited by littlefermat22; 12-14-2010 at 06:13 PM..
The city is divided into quadrants (NE, SE, NW, SW) with the capitol building basically being the center. If you are working on the Senate side you will be in the NE quadrant and if on the House side generally the SE (though technically one or two buildings are in SW).
A very large portion of Hill staffers live on Capitol Hill, and generally the younger ones will live in 'group houses' with other congressional aides. There are bulletin boards near the cafeterias of all the House and Senate buildings that have ads up for roommates, and the newspaper Roll Call (which is online) will have classifieds seeking roommates.
Living on the Hill is quite fun. It's a bit quieter than say Dupont Circle or Georgetown but the tradeoff is you can walk to work (literally). Eastern Market is the next subway stop from Capitol Hill (House side) and there are lots of restaurants and things around there.
Generally the Hill is pretty safe, but it is "the city" so you'll need to be aware of your surroundings generally at all time. The further you go away from the Capitol (and closer to RFK stadium) things get a bit dodgy, but you'll generally find it's really "block by block" with one block being renovated and clean and another still having some difficulty.
If you are young and this is your first job and you want to really savor Washington, I'd recommend staying close in for a year at least and making some friends and connections. Try the group house thing--it's a good way to meet folks and network, which is hugely important on Capitol Hill.
a lot of staff assistants on the hill live on capitol hill (or eastern market) in group houses. However, situations like that make it harder to ever get off the hill. I do know that interns in the office I used to live at had group houses in dupont and adams morgan occassionall, though that does add to your commute.
I recently got a job as a congressional aide in the city making around 35K a year but will be relocating from FL to take the job and have NO idea where to look for a place.
So, does anyone know areas that congressional staff types live?
Also, are there other places than craigslist to look for a roommate?
Hi! So can you tell me your experience getting started as an aide? I am interning for a Congressman beginning tomorrow and I am doing this to get my foot in the door to become a paid staffer. Can I ask what kinds of questions they asked in your interview or any helpful tips you might have?
Good luck with the job. Unfortunately, that won't take you very far. I would look into getting into a roommate or group house situation. Otherwise find some other staffers that might want to throw in on a place.
It may be a good idea to look for a part time job if you don't want to be sqeezed for cash. If you have loving parents that don't mind floating you money, or can budget well and have no intention of going out you might be ok. But I just want to put that out there.
$35k is low paying job, no matter where you are. You might need a second job, just to get more. I hope this is an intern job. Try VA big houses for multiple roommates, otherwise you might have to commute couple of hours to live South VA, or upper MD like Frederick to have enough money left over to eat.I have no idea why they thought 35k was the idea salary for DC job.
Congratulations! Echo the recommendations from the prior posters about roommates. Before you try to look at bulletin boards, ask some of the fellow hill aides that work for FL members. They can be helpful and can steer you to FL friendly places.
Also, try to take advantage of hill receptions and breakfasts. Good way to eat for free. Your boss' scheduler gets all the invites and he/she can turn you on to the good ones.
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