Graduate Student at George Washington University Looking for Apartments (apartment complex, rent) - City-Data Forum

minhdngo · 01-21-2012, 01:55 AM

Hi everyone,

I got accepted into George Washington University yesterday. I'm gonna start in the Fall. I'm moving there from upstate New York. Since the tuition is very expensive, I need to cut back on my housing cost. I'm wondering if you guys can suggest any apartments in safe neighborhoods around GWU.

I have a car and I am willing to commute as long as it's not more than 30 minutes away from the school.

My budget is pretty limited. Around $650-$850.

Thanks for the help

AJRE82 · 01-21-2012, 02:59 AM

I'm not sure about actual buildings, but if you want to live in DC proper and are concerned about crime, your best bet is to stay west of 14th ST NW (look on a google map). That covers GW, Dupont, downtown, Glover Park, Georgetown, Adams Morgan—and within those parameters, the better parts of Logan Circle and Columbia Heights. 13th - 11th have been getting more and more developed and have some cool places, but those streets are still a little skeevy at night. I don't advise going east of that unless you go as far east as Capitol Hill—which is cute and quiet but a little out of the way--and if you go that route, the lower and the letter and number the better. Silver Spring MD and areas of Virginia are another option if you don’t mind a commute…but unless you’re not interested in a social life, I wouldn’t recommend it. There are most certainly exceptions to everything I said, but I think those are pretty safe guidelines if you have to scout a place remotely.

To save $$$, you may want to consider a group house to get you started--you can likely get a nicer place that way and it's a good way to expand your social circle if you're interested in that. There are regular openings on Craigslist, and it's quite common to find your roommates this way in DC, which is a city filled with educated, interesting, transient people--and a big student population.

Another good option to save money: consider getting rid of your car, and get a bike and a bus/metro pass instead. Public transport is actually one of the best aspects of the city! Insurance and guaranteed parking are expensive ($100-200 a month) and street parking is a huge pain, and also leaves you vulnerable to break-ins, theft (everyone I know without a gated parking spot has had an incident), dings, etc. After having a windshield smashed in, car door dented and car stolen between us, my husband and i both got rid of our cars and lived that way happily for 2 years, getting around mostly by bus, metro, walking, biking—and borrowing, renting or Zipcar-ing when needed. Besides, driving in DC is no fun at all.
Best of luck!

reddoor54 · 01-21-2012, 08:53 AM

I'm not a DC expert as I just moved to this area about 6 months ago, but I'll give my two cents. I have friends that go to GWU for grad school and they all live close by in Foggy Bottom. Parking might be an issue if you want to bring a car, but I think that area's generally pretty safe and there are places to eat/grocery stores, etc. As the person above me mentioned, living with roommates will def help lower costs. I honestly don't think rent for one person for $650 to 850 a month in that immediate area is easy to find--but if you live in other places in NW DC, maybe?? (One of my friends and her roommate split a 1 br, 1 den and converted it into a 2 br with a temporary wall--nice, right near GWU, but small place, and it still costs each of them $950+ a month)

I know a fair number of grad students who go to GWU or Georgetown that also live in Rosslyn. The area is really safe, and the location really convenient, and it's probably much easier to find parking in Rosslyn than Foggy Bottom.
(Each of my roommates and I is able to bring our own car & our apartment complex has free parking, which is a rare find in this area). However, it's also pretty quiet and does not have a lot of night life (something to think about if that is important to you). There's a circulator bus in Rosslyn that goes through Georgetown and passes by the Foggy Bottom metro area before going to Dupont Circle. So that could be an option too.

stateofnature · 01-21-2012, 08:56 AM

You're going to have to live with a bunch of other roommates if you want to only pay under $850. That's very low rent for this area. Go on craigslist and look at postings under the "rooms/shared" category.

rsh56 · 01-22-2012, 08:16 AM

You do not need a car to drive around DC. Traffic sucks and the grid pattern is more confusing than anywhere in NYC.

Try looking around Foggy Bottom and the surrounding areas. You're likely have to share with roommates since the rent is high there.

rsh56 · 01-22-2012, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJRE82

I'm not sure about actual buildings, but if you want to live in DC proper and are concerned about crime, your best bet is to stay west of 14th ST NW (look on a google map). That covers GW, Dupont, downtown, Glover Park, Georgetown, Adams Morgan—and within those parameters, the better parts of Logan Circle and Columbia Heights. 13th - 11th have been getting more and more developed and have some cool places, but those streets are still a little skeevy at night. I don't advise going east of that unless you go as far east as Capitol Hill—which is cute and quiet but a little out of the way--and if you go that route, the lower and the letter and number the better. Silver Spring MD and areas of Virginia are another option if you don’t mind a commute…but unless you’re not interested in a social life, I wouldn’t recommend it. There are most certainly exceptions to everything I said, but I think those are pretty safe guidelines if you have to scout a place remotely.

To save $$$, you may want to consider a group house to get you started--you can likely get a nicer place that way and it's a good way to expand your social circle if you're interested in that. There are regular openings on Craigslist, and it's quite common to find your roommates this way in DC, which is a city filled with educated, interesting, transient people--and a big student population.

Another good option to save money: consider getting rid of your car, and get a bike and a bus/metro pass instead. Public transport is actually one of the best aspects of the city! Insurance and guaranteed parking are expensive ($100-200 a month) and street parking is a huge pain, and also leaves you vulnerable to break-ins, theft (everyone I know without a gated parking spot has had an incident), dings, etc. After having a windshield smashed in, car door dented and car stolen between us, my husband and i both got rid of our cars and lived that way happily for 2 years, getting around mostly by bus, metro, walking, biking—and borrowing, renting or Zipcar-ing when needed. Besides, driving in DC is no fun at all.
Best of luck!

This.

movinghere · 01-22-2012, 02:23 PM

I would suggest getting rid of your car, and then using the $ that you'll save by not driving to spend more on housing. $650 - $850 in a nice area will be very difficult unless you live in a tiny, tiny room in a group house with a ton of roommates. If you can get rid of the car and use the savings to up your budget to say $1000 per month, I think that would open many more options (still won't be enough for your own place, but should be enough for a decent room in a shared situation). If you really can't increase your budget, you might be able to find a room in a group house in Columbia Heights or (even cheaper) Petworth. These areas are undergoing gentrification (Columbia Heights is further along in terms of gentrifying than Petworth is). Many students and young professionals live in these neighborhoods. Whether or not you'd consider these areas safe depends on your personal safety standards. The other option for cheap housing would be to go pretty far out into the suburbs along to the orange line to Arlington or Fairfax, VA. Personally I don't think living out there would be very fun for a young person who wants to have a typical student lifestyle, but if you're looking for more of a suburban lifestyle this could be for you.

HumbleSeaGoat · 01-25-2012, 03:42 PM

I concur with others with respect to the car. Unless mommy and daddy are footing the bill (including car payments and insurance), I'd leave it in New York.

I'd also suggest looking into the nearby fixed/low-income housing. Granted, most of them prohibit full-time students from renting, but they cannot possibly hope to discover your school status with their antiquated background checks, especially since you've not technically started classes yet...

Hey, it might be considered lying in some circles, but if you'd rather subject yourself and your studies to the possibility of unruly roommates as opposed to peaceful solitude, then by all means.

goldenage1 · 01-26-2012, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stateofnature

You're going to have to live with a bunch of other roommates if you want to only pay under $850. That's very low rent for this area. Go on craigslist and look at postings under the "rooms/shared" category.

Also check the Washington City paper online: Housing | Classifieds | Post an Ad | Washington City Paper

terrence81 · 01-26-2012, 09:53 AM

The truth of the matter is that with that budget you have no choice but to have roommates. There simply are no apartments in safe neighborhoods for $850 within a 30 mile radius of DC let alone a 30 minute commute.

Now you might want to look into basement units. A lot of people rent out their basements and they tend to be a little cheaper than seperate apartments. Whether or not you want to have a car in DC is up to you. It depends on the neighborhood. Owning a car in say Cleveland Park or Capitol Hill will be a lot easier than say Foggy Bottom, U street, or Foggy Bottom. A basement apartment is still going to start at $1000. These are usually tiny studios with no full kitchen just a sink and hot plate. I looked at some of those places back in August and decided to just continue living with roommates and save my money versus paying $1000 to be without a kitchen.