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Nobody answered your question about bus transit, and the answer is that it works well. There are a few exceptions, but by and large the metro buses work well.
You never commented on the area where you will be working. Living close to where you work can make all the difference in the world in terms of quality of life.
On neighborhoods -- Tenleytown -- Whole Foods, Van Ness -- Giant, Anyplace -- Peapod.
The fact that you don't care about being in the heart of the DC "nightlife" opens up some more possibilities. For example, the DC side of Takoma Park is quite safe, quiet, and your rent would go a lot further than in Tenleytown or Van Ness. Brookland in DC has a few rough spots but is also generally quite safe and more affordable.
I thought you said your monthly income would be $3,400 after taxes? So $40,800 for the year? $1500 times 40 is $60,000, which seems a lot higher than whatever is $40,800 plus taxes. I doubt you'd be paying $20,000 in taxes at that income bracket.
I guess I'm doing some maths wrong somewhere. I'm going to be making 29 per hour, 40 per week, give or take some overtime and leave time. Which is somewhere in the ballpark of 58-60K. So the 40 percent of annual income is something around 1450-1500.
The hourly paycheck calculators I've been using are taking out about 166 for federal tax, 64 for SS + Medicare, and 76 for DC income tax per week, leaving something around $3,400 in take-home. Do those numbers not sound right for what is taken out, generally? Federal looks about right based on now, but Seattle has no income taxes, so that's foreign to me, as well.
Nobody answered your question about bus transit, and the answer is that it works well. There are a few exceptions, but by and large the metro buses work well.
You never commented on the area where you will be working. Living close to where you work can make all the difference in the world in terms of quality of life.
On neighborhoods -- Tenleytown -- Whole Foods, Van Ness -- Giant, Anyplace -- Peapod.
I'm going to be working in a building just off the Chinatown/Gallery Place metro station, so it looks like tenleytown, van ness and the like are in good transit range. I'm in total agreement about living close going hand-in-hand with quality of life. I'm hoping to find the sweet spot between something I can afford and being close to the place I will be going to most.
So as of now, the game plan (after finding temp housing, too) is to check out spots Along Van Ness and Tenleytown, and check out how I feel about Columbia Heights when I get there.
Petworth and NoMa might also be options. Stuff west of Rock Creek Park is usually more expensive than to the east. Google Maps can show you the optimum bus and metro routes
I would recommend Crystal City, VA. It's not in DC, but it's extremely close in, and it's on the yellow and blue lines. It's so safe it's ridiculous. There are lots of apartment buildings right next to the metro, and you would be a very quick and easy (no line switching) commute to Chinatown. Not having to switch lines saves you a lot of time in the morning, so your commute from Crystal City would be faster than a commute from many other neighborhoods actually in DC. The rents for one bedrooms are about right for your price range, and there are always available units. You can walk to a Harris Teeter grocery store, the mall, and dozens of restaurants. There are only a few bars. Many of my friends have lived there without cars and it was very convenient. Try Crystal House- it seems to be a cheaper (but still nice) building, and it's right across the street from the metro.
I would much recommend the neighborhoods in the city itself that people have mentioned over Crystal City. Crystal City and Pentagon City have always felt like the Soviet Union to me--just bland, utilitarian cookie-cutter buildings.
If you don't have a car I really would recommend DC over anywhere in VA. Yes, Crystal City is an example of a walkable, somewhat urban part of VA where you can get by without a car. But the problem is that once you get beyond the relatively small walkable area, you're in the middle of suburbia. Not a pedestrian-friendly place. You will definitely have more overall to walk to and take transit to within the city.
That being said, there are some parts of the city that are just as pedestrian-unfriendly, but if you're looking to be close to a metro stop you will mostly avoid those.
I also don't think Crystal City is that much cheaper than Tenleytown, Van Ness, Columbia Heights, etc.
Also, wow, I need to recalculate what I myself am paying in taxes a year.
I'm sorry but I wouldn't recommend Columbia Heights for a newcomer. Columbia Heights is a weird neighborhood with million dollar rowhouses next to housing projects. So yeah it looks nice and improving by leaps and bounds but too many people get shot at the metro. An alternative to Columbia Heights is Mt. Pleasant which is quieter and safer. However you still have to use the Columbia Heights metro.
Is this really true, that the Columbia Heights metro is dangerous? I have an opportunity to sublet a condo in Mt. Pleasant for 6 weeks, which would solve my issue of not having somewhere to sleep when I get here. But this assessment concerns me, and I get conflicting assessments. One of my future co-workers lives in Columbia Heights and loves it. Is getting shot really a concern, or is this overblown.
Getting shot is not a real concern. You are far more likely to get mugged but even then if you don't roam around late at night on side streets by yourself, isn't even worth getting worked up over.
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