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Old 09-05-2013, 01:14 PM
 
3 posts, read 7,047 times
Reputation: 10

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I looked at the "Look here first" thread and had a good read through it. I'm coming into a pretty good situation (salary + benefits), and will be turning 25 on Monday. (The offer has been a most excellent early birthday present.)

1) Do I need to be near a metro rail? Is it okay to be on a bus line? ... I have no qualms with taking public transportation. In fact, I'd prefer it. I'm a bit more biased toward metro rails than buses, for no other reason than that when I lived in Miami during school, the bus system was horrible.

Being near a metro would be nice, but I'm okay with considering 3/4 mile as "near."

2) How long of a commute am I willing to have? ... As I mentioned, I'll be working in Silver Spring. The office is downtown SS, no more than a 10-minute walk from the metro station. With a flexible schedule, I'm willing to have up to a 35-minute one way commute, but would be happier with 20-25 minutes.

I will not have a car for the foreseeable future. I lived without one in Miami for 2.5 years and got along pretty well. D.C.'s public transit looks far better than Miami's.

3) Would I be willing to live with a roommate or roommates? ... Yep. I had two roommates in Miami, and I'm comfortable having roommates to save some money (and do some aggressive student loan repayment). I also don't know anyone in D.C., so having a ready-made potential group of co-conspirators would be awesome.

4) What amenities are absolutely necessary? ... A/C and heat, washer/dryer, and Internet. I'm not a big TV watcher, but if cable is included or already installed, I won't turn it down. I'm also energy-conscious, so having someplace that doesn't have an "all utilities included" utility premium would be great. I also don't have pets, so that won't be a problem.

5) What is the absolute maximum, with utilities and any fees, that I can afford? ... Well, I could probably afford $1500-1750, but I would like to aim for the low $1000s (anywhere between $900-1200).

6) What is my definition of safe? ... If I can walk someplace and not get mugged/robbed. I'm pretty alert as a general principle, but I'm not keen on living in a project neighborhood or something. I am big on places being walkable, though.

7) How important is nightlife? family community? schools?

Family and schools are unimportant. I'm single, childless, and plan on staying that way. As nightlife goes, I'm not huge on clubbing, but I like being social through things like regularly going to a gym, a farmer's market, a park (to exercise or play a sport), festivals or music performances, meetups, someplace like The Board Room (seriously, place looks awesome), the occasional happy hour / sports bar, and generally being a people-watcher.

I also want to make sure I have good (read: easy - 20 minutes one way) access to groceries, whether by foot, bike, or public transport. Having a continuum of inexpensive to Whole Foods to farmer's market would be ideal, but I could easily handle not having one part of that continuum as long as I can get there once every two weeks.

----------------

I've already looked at places in the 16th St. NW corridor, but my two questions are:

1) The grocery situation. Most of the grocery stores seem to be down near Adams Morgan (e.g., Harris Teeter), but I did just find the Petworth community market through Google (even though it isn't year-round).

2) Transit. I'm perfectly happy with bike, metro, walking, or some combo of the three for getting to work. How treacherous is biking up the corridors toward Silver Spring (16th St., Georgia Ave., 14th St., etc.)? On the other end of things -- I like being able to walk most places, which is why I'd definitely like someplace with good access to nature (Rock Creek Park), gym, grocery, metro, and entertainment.

I'm sort of talking my own way through this to give everyone - including me! - a better idea of my wants/needs, and with all this, I've pretty much boiled it down to Petworth, Columbia Heights, and Silver Spring proper (just because I'd be absurdly close to work). The downside to Silver Spring is that LA Fitness sucks (but Rock Creek Sports Club looks legit), and I'd be 25-30 minutes from doing anything outside of Silver Spring.

And since it simplifies into a D.C. versus Maryland argument, the only other real question turns to taxes. I've read that many aren't too fond of the Montgomery County piggyback tax on top of Maryland state tax, but at my income level I actually think I'd pay ~$1k less in Maryland as opposed to DC... at least according to some quick online calculations. Not sure how that would be offset with travel through the year (living in SS vs. Petworth/CH), though.

tl;dr: 25 years old. Solid salary incoming. Working in Silver Spring. Research says Petworth, Columbia Heights, or Silver Spring, with Petworth/CH as leading candidates. Like walking, nature, gym, and being close to entertainment options. Can handle roommates. No car. No kids. No family. Cognizant of taxes and travel costs. Pardon my mental diarrhea. I'll clean it up.

Last edited by JamesDEngr; 09-05-2013 at 01:21 PM.. Reason: Forgot to mention pet situation
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Old 09-05-2013, 01:50 PM
 
2,081 posts, read 3,553,771 times
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There are way more grocery stores than that. Search again. There are multiple options in both Columbia Heights and Petworth.

If you want NO RISK of being mugged, Columbia Heights and Petworth are not for you. Muggings happen in those neighborhoods all the time and it's just a risk you have to take if you live there. But from my experience, the risk is pretty small for any individual. I know many people who have lived in both of those neighborhoods for years and never been a victim of any kind of crime. These aren't people who are shut-ins, either. They are young people who go out drinking and partying late all the time.

The main plus of Columbia Heights/Petworth is that you are going to be much closer to all the nightlife that caters to people in your age range than you would be if you were in Silver Spring. They also are in my opinion more walkable and interesting neighborhoods than anything in Silver Spring. Silver Spring has an ok little downtown with some bars and restaurants, but outside that pretty small area it's typical suburbia. I'm not bashing it, I am just saying for a young single guy the city is probably a lot more interesting.

I guess you just need to decide if those pluses are worth the minuses of more crime and a longer commute.

This is not to say there is no crime in Silver Spring. There is. But you are less likely to get mugged there than in Petworth or Columbia Heights.

Last edited by stateofnature; 09-05-2013 at 02:31 PM..
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Old 09-05-2013, 04:00 PM
 
3 posts, read 7,047 times
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Well, having a 0% risk of being mugged is unlikely to happen most places. Even in the upscale area of Miami where I lived, there was occasional crime (but hardly anything significant). I'm not that risk-averse -- slight risk at an individual level doesn't bother me, mostly because I've been around enough in large cities to know when/when not to do something.

I'll have to re-check on the grocery situation, then. I've done several online searches, but I guess I didn't hit the right terms. Oh well.

I've seen downtown Silver Spring -- walked around there a fair portion when I was there for my interview. I was fortunate enough to have 1.5 days in the area... and an extra day to see some sights in D.C. I have a feeling I might get a bit bored there. Quiet and nice, but potentially a "doldrums" existence.

I think I'll concentrate my efforts in CH/Petworth. Thanks for your feedback!
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Old 09-05-2013, 06:16 PM
 
999 posts, read 2,002,513 times
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Hey man,

Congrats on the job offer. I live in downtown Silver Spring and I love it. Gotta throw in an argument for the ol' SS. You can live without a car in DTSS since the grocery stores, Metro station, bus lines, pharmacies and a few restaurants are all within walking distance. Lots of apartment complexes have utilities included and pretty good tenant amenities overall. Some complexes even have halfway decent gyms if you are looking to save money on that front.

The downside to downtown Silver Spring is that Montgomery County still wants to be considered a family-oriented bedroom community. You know...lots of Moms with strollers and families getting together for festivals on Ellsworth Street. This also means stricter licenses with new restaurants serving alcohol. The county tries to keep the "riff-raff" down to a minimum on weekends.

But if I were in your situation, I would get real sick of Silver Spring if I worked AND lived in the downtown area. Finding a place in CH or Petworth might be the more sane move. If you move to Columbia Heights, see about walking over to 16th Street and take the S2, S4 or S9 buses up to downtown Silver Spring. The bus lines end near the Discovery HQ building. And the Metro bus is way cheaper than taking the train.
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Old 09-06-2013, 12:21 AM
 
1,641 posts, read 2,741,052 times
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... I lived in Silver Springs and made six figures, and paid $1900 a month in rent and paid $250 on all utilities, plus $110 for the phone, and all the other surcharges.

If you work at DC, prepare to pay about $15 a day for parking. And you get clever and try to get a reserve spot, you'll have to pay double what you pay daily. If you're fed, they give you about $210 - $250 for parking or metro a month. Silver Spring has a very nice metro station, and commute is about 30 to 40 minutes a day one way to Metro Center.

uh... A/C and heat, washer/dryer, and Internet isn't an amenity... it's really a necessity, unless you are from the past and I welcome you to the future.

Look at Pentagon/Crystal City. Honestly, at 25, that would be the way to go. Plus, Maryland blows. They're too expensive, they charge way too much for liquor tax, and tax period. PLUS, they have speed and lane camera everywhere! Those stupid tickets are like $75 each and it just goes up.

Maryland can suck my
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Old 09-06-2013, 09:39 AM
 
999 posts, read 2,002,513 times
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The OP wrote that he works in downtown Silver Spring. That's why is only looking at Silver Spring or DC. Virginia would not make much sense for the guy. Just wanted to clarify that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Plokivos View Post
... I lived in Silver Springs and made six figures, and paid $1900 a month in rent and paid $250 on all utilities, plus $110 for the phone, and all the other surcharges.

If you work at DC, prepare to pay about $15 a day for parking. And you get clever and try to get a reserve spot, you'll have to pay double what you pay daily. If you're fed, they give you about $210 - $250 for parking or metro a month. Silver Spring has a very nice metro station, and commute is about 30 to 40 minutes a day one way to Metro Center.

uh... A/C and heat, washer/dryer, and Internet isn't an amenity... it's really a necessity, unless you are from the past and I welcome you to the future.

Look at Pentagon/Crystal City. Honestly, at 25, that would be the way to go. Plus, Maryland blows. They're too expensive, they charge way too much for liquor tax, and tax period. PLUS, they have speed and lane camera everywhere! Those stupid tickets are like $75 each and it just goes up.

Maryland can suck my
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Old 09-06-2013, 12:17 PM
 
3 posts, read 7,047 times
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@ Plokvios: I would not have a car (guessing you missed that tidbit), so the parts about driving are wholly inapplicable to me. No, my job isn't at DC. I'd prefer something that doesn't require 40+ minutes on the metro, so that pretty much nixes Virginia for me from the get-go.

Washer/dryer are there simply because I prefer someplace where laundry facilities aren't a shared commodity (e.g., a building laundry room). Much prefer having my own unit, or one shared with roommate(s). A/C and heat -- weird wording, I know, but I meant for it to mean someplace where window units aren't de rigueur.
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Old 09-06-2013, 03:16 PM
 
Location: DC
2,044 posts, read 2,942,338 times
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1. I do not like Virginia. I would not recommend crystal city/pentagon city to anybody. That area is FAR more boring than downtown Silver Spring. No AFI Silver, No Fillmore, Nothing interesting at all. Yuck. Dowtown silver spring is good especially if you lean more towards sportsbars as supposed to rock clubs.
2. I lived in Columbia Heights it is a great place to be young. Do not rule out Mt. Pleasant either. Petworth is not my top choice though, I think the area is so large that accessing the metro in some places is difficult. With that being said being within a mile of a metro should be very high up on your list, you don't live here now, but for anybody who does it is usually number one item. Not having to drive in DC is a godsend, and metro is better than bus.
3. Muggings happen, but are not as common as you think. From living in the district for over 6 years only one of my friends was mugged. Most of DC is relatively safe, if you have the normal urban be on guard thing you should be fine.
4. Consider Takoma/Takoma Park area. It is a little more laid back but still skews young. Also there are places close to the metro and you could potentially walk to silver spring.
5. Windows units are common inside DC, and an in room laundry is unlikely. Downtown Silver spring you will likely find both. DC is northeastern city in this respect. Internet and cable tv are likely something YOU will have to pay for. When internet is provided it is often poor. I am just setting your expectations. If you are coming from another city, things will likely be different here.
Be careful about some 16th St Apartments in Columbia heights, a few are notoriously bad.


The DC neighborhoods you mentioned, or Downtown silver spring are both recommended. There is more to downtown silver spring you probably missed, while it is not great for nightclubs, it is good for other things. I don't like petworth as much, but CH/Mt Pleasant are both great. Short bus ride to Silver Spring. Takoma would also be good if you want a more laid back vibe.
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Old 09-06-2013, 06:38 PM
 
Location: Baltimore / Montgomery County, MD
1,196 posts, read 2,516,611 times
Reputation: 541
The 70 and 79 bus routes serve Petworth and the east side of Columbia Heights and go to Silver Spring. 24 hour bus service. There are hoods tho...
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Old 09-12-2013, 10:52 PM
 
1,641 posts, read 2,741,052 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesDEngr View Post

I've already looked at places in the 16th St. NW corridor, but my two questions are:

1) The grocery situation. Most of the grocery stores seem to be down near Adams Morgan (e.g., Harris Teeter), but I did just find the Petworth community market through Google (even though it isn't year-round).

2) Transit. I'm perfectly happy with bike, metro, walking, or some combo of the three for getting to work. How treacherous is biking up the corridors toward Silver Spring (16th St., Georgia Ave., 14th St., etc.)? On the other end of things -- I like being able to walk most places, which is why I'd definitely like someplace with good access to nature (Rock Creek Park), gym, grocery, metro, and entertainment.

I'm sort of talking my own way through this to give everyone - including me! - a better idea of my wants/needs, and with all this, I've pretty much boiled it down to Petworth, Columbia Heights, and Silver Spring proper (just because I'd be absurdly close to work). The downside to Silver Spring is that LA Fitness sucks (but Rock Creek Sports Club looks legit), and I'd be 25-30 minutes from doing anything outside of Silver Spring.

And since it simplifies into a D.C. versus Maryland argument, the only other real question turns to taxes. I've read that many aren't too fond of the Montgomery County piggyback tax on top of Maryland state tax, but at my income level I actually think I'd pay ~$1k less in Maryland as opposed to DC... at least according to some quick online calculations. Not sure how that would be offset with travel through the year (living in SS vs. Petworth/CH), though.

tl;dr: 25 years old. Solid salary incoming. Working in Silver Spring. Research says Petworth, Columbia Heights, or Silver Spring, with Petworth/CH as leading candidates. Like walking, nature, gym, and being close to entertainment options. Can handle roommates. No car. No kids. No family. Cognizant of taxes and travel costs. Pardon my mental diarrhea. I'll clean it up.
Why did you decide on DC or MD only? You can live in VA for a lot better. Trader Joes, Whole Foods, etc. Bust system is better and cheaper in VA, and there are a lot better place to hang out in VA than MD.

I've lived in Silver Springs, and it's ok, but you'll pay more for everything in MD than DC or VA in a long run. I've done this too. You should look at your income tax, and your other taxes for living. Plus insurance, and everything else. Single people shouldn't live in MD. That's really for dual income, family oriented place.

No kids, no family, and VA has shorter commute and lower taxes, plus better authentically cultural places to hang out than MD or DC.

Live in VA.
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