Tell me about DC (Washington: mortgage, refrigerators, unemployment rate)

[terrence81]

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

Well daamn, looks f#ckin gorgeous, esp the architecture. I saw that thread earlier, but only the first page with a buncha pix. Looks pretty clean too, everyone says it's cleaner than NY/NJ, why is that, less people or what? DC looks like it has that old Euro style feel, and I don't get when people say it lacks skyscrapers, it doesn't need them, that's what makes it DC, kinda reminds me of Moscow cuz it's pretty low rise too.



So how much does it cost with w/d in unit and parking?

I agree DC can have a European feel at times.

It really depends on where in the DC area you are but as a general rule I'd say $1300 in the suburbs and $1500 in the city is a good starting point. The prices just shoot up into the stratosphere from there. You will pay extra for a parking spot in the city. Also if you drive to a job downtown you'll pay for a parking spot. Downtown parking spots are usually about $200 a month. Some employers will pay for parking so make sure you ask. Others will provide public transit vouchers. Others won't do anything but expect you to get to work on time. Most car owners in the District park on the street. Only homeowners get their own parking spot in the city but I've seen a few ads that include a parking spot.

[OleSchoolFool]

Originally Posted by HurricaneDC

You're gonna start as a beat cop in any municipal or state police department dude. If you wanna do detective work or special assignment work you need to earn your stripes as they say.

Not gon start as a beat cop cuz im not gon be a cop, was looking to be some kinda analyst, not tryin to run round with a gun

[BigCityDreamer]

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

Just to get it out the way forever, I will not have roommates under any circumstances.

Tell me about, man. I'd rather be homeless.

BTW, don't accept a job for less than $60K/year if you move to DC. Fight for at least that amount.

[OleSchoolFool]

Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer

Tell me about, man. I'd rather be homeless.

BTW, don't accept a job for less than $60K/year if you move to DC. Fight for at least that amount.

Unfortunately the govt jobs I am looking at start at 40k so that's most likely what I will get anywhere, both here and there. They don't negotiate. Unless I get hired by TSA soon and start my clock, I won't get much more than that at the beginning. The good part is there is a good chance I WILL get hired by TSA soon and even if not, Homeland Security tends to hire out of my school a lot so I should be able to get in one way or another, and it's a huge agency so I will have a lot of room to transfer to new positions at diff cities if I decide to move.

How crowded and congested are the burbs? Say you go 30 min out of downtown DC, is it still overcrowded at that point when it comes to density of housing and people? Cuz like if you're 30 min from Manhattan in NJ, it's still hella crowded, and not that suburban. I assume DC area shouldn't be as bad cuz it's way less people?
Also, from what I understand so far the traffic is mainly horrible on the freeways leading in/out the city, but the regular street traffic is not as bad? I am asking cuz street traffic is quite painful in Manhattan and since it's an island there is no way to avoid it cuz you gotta go through the damn tunnels plus all those f#cking tourists and taxis make it 10 times worse, that's one of the big things that bothers me here.

Originally Posted by terrence81

I agree DC can have a European feel at times.

It really depends on where in the DC area you are but as a general rule I'd say $1300 in the suburbs and $1500 in the city is a good starting point. The prices just shoot up into the stratosphere from there. You will pay extra for a parking spot in the city. Also if you drive to a job downtown you'll pay for a parking spot. Downtown parking spots are usually about $200 a month. Some employers will pay for parking so make sure you ask. Others will provide public transit vouchers. Others won't do anything but expect you to get to work on time. Most car owners in the District park on the street. Only homeowners get their own parking spot in the city but I've seen a few ads that include a parking spot.

That seems like NJ prices. Are suburban homes and condos similarly priced to Northern NJ or more affordable? How are the property taxes? I haven't researched this too much, but from what I know a modest old ass home in a decent NNJ nhood will cost at least 500k with high ass property taxes.

[terrence81]

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

How crowded and congested are the burbs? Say you go 30 min out of downtown DC, is it still overcrowded at that point when it comes to density of housing and people? Cuz like if you're 30 min from Manhattan in NJ, it's still hella crowded, and not that suburban. I assume DC area shouldn't be as bad cuz it's way less people?
Also, from what I understand so far the traffic is mainly horrible on the freeways leading in/out the city, but the regular street traffic is not as bad? I am asking cuz street traffic is quite painful in Manhattan and since it's an island there is no way to avoid it cuz you gotta go through the damn tunnels plus all those f#cking tourists and taxis make it 10 times worse, that's one of the big things that bothers me here.

When is this 30 minute drive? During rush hour? I can't think of any suburb that is 30 minutes from downtown DC in rush hour traffic unless you're talking about Arlington and even that can take 45 minutes depending on the situation.

Thirty minutes outside rush hour traffic. Then you're talking about Rockville, Springfield (where I live), Kingstowne, Fair Oaks, Vienna. I wouldn't call them congested. Lots of trees and such in my neck of the woods. Fair Oaks has LOTS of apartments and good amount of trees but nothing like Springfield and Burke. If you like nature and elbow room I'd suggest Burke and Springfield. If your job is downtown you're looking at an hour commute in rush hour traffic. To do social stuff takes me about 25-30 minutes to get to the city.

DC is a very green area so you can escape the hub bub of the city quickly with a drive down George Washington Parkway along the Potomac or Rock Creek Park in the middle of the city. The nice thing about DC is that one minute you're in the hustle and bustle the next you're surrounded by trees.

Traffic is horrible here. Beyond words horrible. That's why so many people are just giving up their cars not on the scale of NYC though.

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

That seems like NJ prices. Are suburban homes and condos similarly priced to Northern NJ or more affordable? How are the property taxes? I haven't researched this too much, but from what I know a modest old ass home in a decent NNJ nhood will cost at least 500k with high ass property taxes.

That sounds about right. You might be able to find something decent for $400k but in a trendy Arlington neighborhood you might be looking at $700K. But yeah the general rule is $450-$500K. Also a lot of people here opt for townhouses versus single family houses. They start around $300K but can easily go up to $600K. A rowhouse in the city can easily be $1 million.

[OleSchoolFool]

Well, I guess I meant 30 min without traffic cuz in traffic here you not even gon get to Jersey City from Manhattan, you gon be enjoying the concentrated fuel fumes in the middle of the Hudson river in'em tunnels, that's as suburban as its gon get lol but good to know both
A decent single fam home in a decent nhood in NNJ will prolly cost 1 mil.

Is it true that most people don't live in DC area long term?

[Bluefly]

Originally Posted by killabunnies

Right... I didn't plan on it being THIS expensive. Once I made the decision to leave San Francisco (pricey on its own as I'm sure you can find out or already know), I figured I'd get some kind of break, which I did, but once I ventured out on my own, I realized it was pretty comparable.

I really banked on the "other" stuff making up for the rent difference. I couldn't believe how comparable rents were but I figured for the real-world experience, it would be worth it for me to pay as much to live here.

It's been worth it in some ways but as I've said on other threads, not worth enough for me to pay less to live in Richmond and come up once a month to do what I have to do here in town.

As I've said before, I do not regret spending two years here. It's been awesome. I'm especially grateful I spent a year of it EOTR where I've lived among the "real" locals as opposed to fellow transplants.

The main issue was that everything I write about is centered here (the Fed, govt, etc) and in California, I felt behind (Asian markets opened by the time I went to bed) but I can easily cover all that from Richmond for way less and still manage to get up here every few weeks to report on the events I need to be here for without living in the DC hood just to afford being close to the action. Not that I hate it here, I love my apartment and love this neighborhood, it just seems a bit excessive with no sign of settling down anytime soon. DC has no idea there is such a thing as a recession in most of the country. I can't handle that kind of delusion.

I still would never talk anyone out of moving here - like you - if you think it'll benefit you or be worth it. It's just worth managing expectations is all...

This is what I've never understood about your story - even if you did, for a brief period, mistakenly believe that DC would be cheaper than San Fran, didn't a quick perusal of Craigslist before you ever packed a box to move here prove you wrong and make you reconsider?

I don't understand why you still came here once you knew what you would be able to get for the money as compared to San Francisco. Seems like you were setting yourself up to not make it here if the primary reason you left SF was because of the costs and the primary reason you're leaving DC is the same.

[OleSchoolFool]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

This is what I've never understood about your story - even if you did, for a brief period, mistakenly believe that DC would be cheaper than San Fran, didn't a quick perusal of Craigslist before you ever packed a box to move here prove you wrong and make you reconsider?

I don't understand why you still came here once you knew what you would be able to get for the money as compared to San Francisco. Seems like you were setting yourself up to not make it here if the primary reason you left SF was because of the costs and the primary reason you're leaving DC is the same.

That's what I said too lol
DC is a bad place to move to if you are trying to get out of expensive living. She was doomed from the beginning.

[clb10]

D.C. is a wonderful city because, unlike most other American cities, the people in the District are unusually productive, intelligent, efficient and necessary.
This is the reason that the recession barely scraped the region.

Note to the other American cities:
The next time the economy falls off a cliff just do what the folks in Washington, D.C. have done over the last five years...simply be more productive, efficient, intelligent and just plain old necessary.

[terrence81]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

This is what I've never understood about your story - even if you did, for a brief period, mistakenly believe that DC would be cheaper than San Fran, didn't a quick perusal of Craigslist before you ever packed a box to move here prove you wrong and make you reconsider?

I don't understand why you still came here once you knew what you would be able to get for the money as compared to San Francisco. Seems like you were setting yourself up to not make it here if the primary reason you left SF was because of the costs and the primary reason you're leaving DC is the same.

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

That's what I said too lol
DC is a bad place to move to if you are trying to get out of expensive living. She was doomed from the beginning.

Well this is what people do sometimes. I knew a guy who lived in Baltimore and went on and on about DC being so expensive and how Charm City was so dirt cheap. A year later he tells me he's getting out of dodge. He complained about the virtues of Baltimore (he wanted to date more educated black men eyeroll Baltimore has degreed professionals but that's another story for another day). I advised him to move to DC the most educated city in the country. Too expensive! "I'm moving to Texas." LoL Everyone has to find their own way I suppose.

I don't know there's more to life than money. I've had opportunities to move to both Richmond and Baltimore for work. I declined. I really like the DC area. However, if it's not for you why stay? Experience is still good and it sounded like she appreciated the experience. My first job wasn't the best but I still appreciate the experience because it was a good stepping stone to something better.

Originally Posted by clb10

D.C. is a wonderful city because, unlike most other American cities, the people in the District are unusually productive, intelligent, efficient and necessary.
This is the reason that the recession barely scraped the region.

Note to the other American cities:
The next time the economy falls off a cliff just do what the folks in Washington, D.C. have done over the last five years...simply be more productive, efficient, intelligent and just plain old necessary.

Well let's not forget that we're some of the luckiest people in America. We live in a very nice protective bubble. Yes we're more productive but we're also just very fortunate that so much of our company is based on the government versus the housing crisis that's rocked the rest of the nation.