Street Sweeping (insurance, how much, neighborhoods)

[dgold88]

Hi Everybody!

My wife and I are moving to the DC area next month. I am starting a new job with the Federal Government. I have a feeling I am going to need to depend on you guys for help making the transition. So to get things started, here is the first of what will likely be many questions.

How does alternate side parking work in DC and how much do I need to worry about when picking a place to live? Is alternate side parking in DC as cruel and unusual as in NYC? We have two cars right now and would prefer not to have to sell either of them simply because they are both in good condition and paid off.

Thanks,
David

[DistrictSonic]

Alternate side parking is a pain in some places, and less so in others, and other neighborhoods it does not exist at all.
Listen some neighborhoods it is easy to find parking, and others it is a real pain. It really depends on where in the city you live. Taking you have two cars if you are looking at living in upper NW (on either side of the park) it is not to hard to find parking. Downtown, and closer to downtown things can get much more difficult.

I should note, it is not nearly as cruel and unusual as NYC though. They usually just give you a $25 ticket if you forget to move your car. Not the end of the world.

[dgold88]

Thanks! How do people usually deal with this? Do they just move their cars to another street the night before or something?

I really appreciate your help. This is my first move to a truly urban area. I want to make sure I know what I am getting myself into.

[stateofnature]

It completely depends on where you're working and the kind of neighborhood you want to live in. Some parts of the city are really suburban and you might have free off-street parking. Other parts, off-street parking is like $300 a month and street parking sometimes means circling every block within a half-mile radius of your destination for 15 minutes to find a spot. Then there's a lot in between those two extremes.

If you want to move to a "truly urban" part of the city and neither of you need a car for work, I really think bringing two cars would be a mistake. The fact that the car is paid off is irrelevant--you won't use it enough to justify monthly insurance and annual maintenance costs. Even one car is unnecessary in a lot of the city.

[RozCat]

Just look at the signs and don't park on the side of the street on the street cleaning day from Spring to October. The fines are higher than $25 dollars though, but DC doesn't tow, just issues tickets. Between street cleaning tickets, speed cam tickets and parking out of zone tickets, I pay DC at least $500 year.