What Would my DC Life Look Like?

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by DistrictSonic

Arlington would not be terrible, and if you got an offer in Woodly Park take it, it's on the red line, VERY safe, and the commute would not be bad.

I don't think most parts of Arlington that are close to a metro stop would be more affordable than parts of DC with an equal commute time. But maybe OP will get lucky. Arlington is definitely safe, relative to some other parts of the close-in metro area.

[paytonc]

Originally Posted by NextstopAustin

I I've had offers in Ivy City, someone who lives 20 miles south of DC in Woodbrige, in Arlington, Woodley Park, Tysons Corner.. etc. Everyone makes it sound like the commute to DC/ Union Station is a snap of the fingers.

Look along the northeast side of the Red Line. I suppose that you could consider places along commuter rail, since you'll be working sort of near Union Station, but almost all of those locales would be very suburban.

[DistrictSonic]

Originally Posted by paytonc

Look along the northeast side of the Red Line. I suppose that you could consider places along commuter rail, since you'll be working sort of near Union Station, but almost all of those locales would be very suburban.

Not all of them. Downtown Silver Spring, Takoma, Brookland, not at all. All three fall under urban walkable. Brookland is far more interesting than it used to be too. Definitely not Rhode Island (which is more run-down urban). Really the only one suburban is maybe Forest Glen and Glenmont. Even Wheaton is pretty dense and falls under an urban development pattern, though it's not the most interesting place.

Ft. Totten is a bit unusual out of all of them, it's just really poorly developed near the metro station.

[NextstopAustin]

THREAD STARTER:

I have a new lead! On Hobart Place off of Sherman Avenue. I believe that's "Columbia Heights". It's near a college campus, ish, and I think it might be my sort of neighborhood.... Walkeable, young, very car-less.

Or am I completely wrong?

[paytonc]

Hobart and Sherman is indeed walkable and young and near Howard University. I'd consider the condition of the apartment closely, though.

Originally Posted by DistrictSonic

Not all of them.

I guess I should have put in a line break, like so:

Originally Posted by paytonc

Look along the northeast side of the Red Line.

I suppose that you could consider places along commuter rail, since you'll be working sort of near Union Station, but almost all of those locales would be very suburban.

Is that clearer? Commuter rail locales (like Woodbridge) tend to be very suburban. I didn't say "all" of them because of Silver Spring, Alexandria, and other closer-in commuter rail stations that have a more urban character.

[Snd485]

To commute to Union Station and given that you have a dog and plan to be car free, I'd look in the following neighborhoods:

Silver Spring (in Maryland, on the red line)
Capitol Hill/Hill East (their connecting neighborhoods with easy bus access to Union Station)
Rhode Island Avenue (the area around this metro station)

There are lots of new buildings in all those areas but with your budget you'll have better luck finding an older home with a connected apartment (english basement) for rent. There are also some older apt buildings in the Silver Spring area that might be in your budget. I say start searching on craigslist and see if you find options that work. If not, reconsider roommates?

As other posters mention, the salary is low for the area, but most 20-somethings here start out making that or less. I know I did. But I found that there's huge potential for income growth here.