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I am a lawyer. Husband is an adjunt prof. We have a 1 year old and will be relocating from Minneapolis to DC. I previously lived in Boston, so I am familiar with expensive housing. My job is near Gallery Place, and we are looking for a safe neighborhood for the baby and a not terrible commute for me. We only have one car, so I would prefer to be near a bus or metro stop. I take the bus now, so I don't mind that. Budget is around $2500 or so a month, and we will be renting. There may be some wiggle room. If possible, we would like to be in an area where there is green space.
Any thoughts on a good compromise neighborhood/city? Hubby likes a yard and would live in the sticks, but I cannot tolerate that kind of commute and prefer city life.
I am a lawyer. Husband is an adjunt prof. We have a 1 year old and will be relocating from Minneapolis to DC. I previously lived in Boston, so I am familiar with expensive housing. My job is near Gallery Place, and we are looking for a safe neighborhood for the baby and a not terrible commute for me. We only have one car, so I would prefer to be near a bus or metro stop. I take the bus now, so I don't mind that. Budget is around $2500 or so a month, and we will be renting. There may be some wiggle room. If possible, we would like to be in an area where there is green space.
Any thoughts on a good compromise neighborhood/city? Hubby likes a yard and would live in the sticks, but I cannot tolerate that kind of commute and prefer city life.
Are you licensed to practice law in DC? What kind of law firm will you be working for?
Hmm You could live right in Chinatown if you wanted lol
However, you gave your budget but didn't give too much details about what type of place you want? Are you looking for an apartment complex? Townhome? House? What type of neighborhood are you guys looking for? How many bedrooms?
How much is TOO much of a commute for you in terms of time? less than 20 minutes, less than 40?
To give a short answer though, any neighborhoods along the Red/Green lines would be ideal in terms of commute....I think anywhere in Silver Spring or Takoma would be a nice lil compromise for you guys (plus less taxes since you'll technically be living in MD but only about I think a 20-30 train ride from China Town )
To give a short answer though, any neighborhoods along the Red/Green lines would be ideal in terms of commute....I think anywhere in Silver Spring or Takoma would be a nice lil compromise for you guys (plus less taxes since you'll technically be living in MD but only about I think a 20-30 train ride from China Town )
I heard China Town is really not China Town, but having tons of blacks.
I was just about to post a very similar request. Moving to DC this summer with my husband who's a lawyer (working around Gallery Place) and a toddler. I'm going to stay home at first, so I'd like to be somewhere with other SAHMs. We're open to DC, VA, and MD and have a budget of around $2500 - 3000. We want a walkable, more urban setting on a Metro line, but would also like some green space and parking.
We're moving from NYC where it's typical to work with a broker to find a rental. Is that the case in DC as well? If so, how do I go about finding a good rental broker? I'm planning to take a couple of days off work and come down to apartment hunt in the next week or so, with the goal of moving in mid to late June. How do you go about looking at places in VA or MD if you don't have a car (we do have a car, but I'll be coming down on the train because my husband needs it in NYC)? Would a realtor take you around?
Don't mean to highjack the thread, but it sounds like the OP and I have similar needs and didn't want to start a duplicate thread.
Thanks for the responses so far. To answer a few questions, I can easily become licensed in DC and will be working for a large general practice law firm. I prefer not to give too many other details than that. In terms of commute, max is probably about 45 minutes. We would prefer a town home or single family home. We currently live in a SFH, but I know that we need to get used to more cramped quarters. Ideally we would live two bedrooms plus an office or den or a three bedroom.
Thanks Erelgi for your additional questions. I was wondering the same thing about brokers. A lot of people use those in Boston too. If brokers are not used, where do I look for places?
I was already considering Silver Spring. I'm glad to see that I am on the right track!
I heard China Town is really not China Town, but having tons of blacks.
I wonder why it is called China Town.
What do you mean ? The Wah Luck House in Chinatown, is an entire high-rise apartment whose occupants are 100% Chinese. There are also 20 Chinese restaurants, a Chinese church, and traditional herbal medicine shops.
I think for your budget (and if someone wants to correct me, please do!) for your specs you could find a nice SFH/Townhome....I just did a quick scan of craiglist
For my rental hunt, I did not use a broker at all. I think in D.C. they're a waste of time and I think I would have not been able to find a few gems(cheaper and with more of what I wanted) if I had used them. I think they're more of an option than an absolute necessity and I used Craigslist and Hotpads.com for my search. The only thing you have to keep in mind when searching (especially in Silver Spring or Takoma since it's a big area) is to look for ads that say "near" or "walking distance" from Silver Spring Metro or Takoma Metro. Also call them and ask for their address and use the metro trip planner here( Metro - Home page) to see how your commute will be. This will show you EXACTLY how close you are to the metro and possible buses to take which will save you ALOT of time searching and wasting time visiting places that just aren't a good fit, trust me.........there are PLENTY of places advertising to be in Silver Spring that are like an hour bus ride from the actual station(I learned my lesson the hard way lol) I always looked at places with pics as well
If you don't have a car (I still don't have a car to this day) use the metro..You're gonna be commuting on it daily anyways so no use wasting time on places that are far too car dependent and it'll give you a sense of what to expect...BUT if they don't have a metro nearby and you think it's a really nice place to checkout ask beforehand again about the address and about nearby buses and look up how regular the bus schedule is in those areas. Maryland buses, depending on where you're at can have sporadic schedules. Meaning, you could have a bus that only runs once every 30 minutes-1 hour which can really make you hate your commute if you're rushing in the morning and happen to miss the "half hourly" bus. Try to focus on places with buses nearby that run every 10-15 minutes during rush hour....However if you're a lawyer (and I expect you might have some late nights narrow it down even more to places that run every 10-15 minutes after rush hour as well)...Be absolutely picky because living here can be stressful at times and coming home to a great place makes your day all better
You could also maybe add Bethesda, MD and Old Town Alexandria, though I've heard it's a bit pricier and I know the commute into D.C. with a car can be KILLER coming from Bethesda lol, from metro it'd be about a 30 minute train ride during rush hour(I ride from Bethesda to Chinatown every day) .I'm not sure of pricing but it could also be a good option for you guys in terms of the neighborhood.
to Erelgi...def check out Takoma if you're wanting to be around other Stay AT Home Moms as well as the other neighborhoods mentioned.I Swear everytime I ride by Takoma though there are moms out at ALL time of the day.
Hi - both of you should look along Metro's Red Line in Northwest DC. The areas around the Cleveland Park and Van Ness stops have lots of houses and condos for rent that will be perfect for you - houses with yards, dog parks, kid parks, restaurants with sidewalk tables, close to the National Zoo, but you're in the city so the commute is short to Gallery Place. That is my exact commute (and I'm a lawyer too...) and it takes me 30 minutes each way, door to door. I either drive through Rock Creek park or take the Metro. Your budget may be tough for a SFH (I think they are closer to 3200 typically), but certainly there are nice condos in that range. The neighborhood names would be: Cleveland Park, American University (AU) Park, Forest Hills, Tenleytown. Best of luck and welcome to the city!
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