Moving from St. Louis to DC on $50,000/year (apartment, lease)

[STL-DUDE]

I will be moving from St. Louis to DC and Im already trying to recover from cost of living shock. Im in a 2 bedroom 800sq. ft. at $654 a month. I know I will have to lower my standard of living and pobably will have to drop down to a 1 bedroom apartment. Im assuming rent will be in the $1200-$1500 range. Can any tell me what areas will be close to a metro station and a park? I figure I will be going through some serious bouts of homesickness and would think that having a park nearby to get out to would help with the adjustment. Will I be able to live in DC and still go out every so often to have fun on $50,000/yr? My fear is that I would move there and be filled with misery and regret if Im struggling to survive. Keep in mind that after 3 years my salary will jumo to $75,000/yr. Thanks for all of your input!

Jeff

[lscalder]

You will be fine living on 50k as a single person. You can log on to craigslist and try to find a condo for rent which might be cheaper then renting apartment. I do not think you will be home sick living in DC. If you enjoy the nightlife you will enjoy DC.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Yeah you will be fine on $50,000, I have friends making in the low 40s and they do just fine. I also don't think you will get that homesick, I moved here from small town WV and was very worried about that. Once I moved here, I found there was so much to do away from work that I didn't have time to even think about home.

[1st_one]

I moved to DC from St Louis by way of Chicago 5 years ago and survive on a similar salary and do just fine. What area of the city would you prefer to live in?

[DCguy03]

One of the best ways to save money as a young 20-something in DC is to get a roommate. I recently moved to Arlington, VA from the Boston area, and I met a great roommate on Craigslist.

Especially since you will be new to the city, living with a roommate makes it easier to meet friends since they already have friends!

One strategy that I have used to "try things out" with a roommate is to take over their current roommate's lease. This way, you can end up with only a 3-6 month commitment, instead of a full year to start.

[Bluefly]

Rock Creek Park is a gem and the largest urban national park in the country that runs up and down the whole city - much larger toward the top.

Most of the Red Line on the west side runs along it.

Many, many, many people make far, far less than you do in DC and are perfectly happy. No, you will not have your extra bedroom. But you will have a much more dynamic and vibrant city out your door.

[5stones]

single on 50k? yes, you can do it. as others have said live along the metro line. Rock creek park is beautiful and Ballston/Claredon is fun.

you should be able to get a 1 bedroom for 1200 in a good location with no problem.

[msolution]

Me and my wife was thinking about relocating to DC because we both wanted to go to Howard's graduate program. We both are school teachers in Texas and theoretically if we both got jobs in the DC area we could make around what we make here $70,000 a year. And does anyone know the situation with the areas schools. We have no children but would at least need a 2-bedroom apartment. Where is a good area (safe) we could move. Would Maryland or Virginia be an option because I dont mind the commute is it would make a huge difference in rent. Would we need a car? Please I need some help because I dont know anything at all about the area.