Thoughts of moving to Washington D.C. from Las Vegas (credit, relocating)

[GeminiOne]

I am a 29 swf (single white female) who is currently living in Las Vegas, thinking about relocating to Manassas, VA with family until I can find a permanent place in the Washington D.C. area. I have several questions about the city and any response or suggestions are welcomed.

*I have been (and am used to) living in a studio/efficiency model apartment. The business in which I work, I found, have several stores around the D.C. area, therefore my final location would be very flexible. I do not necessarily have (or want) to live in a 5 star-luxury community, with a price to match, but at the same time, I do not want to live in 'the ghetto', or any place unsafe, with me being a SWF and all. I'm looking to find a decent living area, with rent between $500-$650, which is what I've been accustomed to paying in the past. Please Note: I do, unfortunately have an eviction in my rental history, so if there are any places that do a weekly/monthly, or no credit check, that would be a much more convenient option for me.

*How is the music/art scene (nightlife)? Are there any 'dj friendly' clubs around town, perhaps bars that cater to the local music scene? Any good concerts ever in town?
*Are there monthly/annual events/festivals in town?
*Is the crime as high as the rumors I've heard say they are?
*Is there any public transportation for the town of Manassas that travels throughout the city, and into Washington D.C., besides the Tram, such as a public bus system?
*How good are the colleges out there, and if they're good - which ones would you suggest, particularly in the field of Computer Web Design?
*Is it highly expensive to live in the Manassas and/or Washington D.C area for a single person, living on their own?

and

*This might be a silly question, but how is the dating scene in the Manassas and Washington D.C. areas?

[fjennell]

You will not be able to find anything in that rent range on your own - You could possibly rent a room or do a roommate situation. There are buses in, around DC. Not sure that they come from Manassas though. There are clubs, lots to do in DC however if you live in Manassas you would have to drive into the city to party. Most major tours for concerts come to the area. The area is very expensive and crime is high, but probably not any higher than other major cities.

[JimGriffith]

1. You'll never find an apartment that cheap. Not even a basement in the ghetto. You'll need to rent a bedroom in a house with a bunch of roommates.

2. There are plenty of live music venues across DC and NOVA. I can't imagine the nightlife scene here is anything like Vegas, obviously. But most types can find a few spots they like.

3. There aren't "monthly" events. They happen every day. Festivals and all sorts of things all over the place.

4. Yeah the rumors are true. Crime here is bad, but just use common sense and stay out of bad spots at night.

5. The VRE goes from Manassas to DC. It's a commuter train. Never been on it.

6. Great colleges here. Also very exclusive. If I were you, I'd try to establish residency at your relatives' place and go to George Mason. Places like Georgetown, George Washington, and American are $$$$$$$$$$$$$.

7. It's pretty cheap to live in Manassas. It's pretty expensive to live in Washington. Most 1br apartments in decent neighborhoods go for about $1200/month.

8. Dating's fine in DC. In Manassas, not really sure. There are plenty of young people here from all over.

[Bluefly]

You're kind of asking the same questions for two very different areas: Manassas and DC.

Typically, if you live in Manassas you won't be too involved in the DC culture / nightlife due to the pain of commuting in. So, you should probably focus on one or the other.

No chance you'll find anything that cheap in DC, as others said. I don't know about Manassas. Very doubtful.

While DC obviously can't compare to the Vegas strip, Vegas as a whole is far more sedate and boring than DC as a whole. So, you might like it.

[LDNMAN85]

I wonder why you want to move to DC? In order to live here you would probably need to do double your housing budget or find someone willing to give you a good deal as a roommate. You may be able to find a shared house for under a thousand but those are hard to come by and competitive. If you want to live in SE DC or way out in the exurbs you could do fine with that budget but safety, commute times, and a lack of night life would hamper your fun.

Good luck finding somewhere in DC, but keep in mind that it is a working and expensive city.

[smakawhat]

On top of everything that has been said, Manassas is FAR from DC, which wont give you all the time that you would want to take advantage of the city that being closer in would give you.

[PenguinSix]

I would suggest taking a look at the rentals, or far more likely, the roommate wanted section of Craigslist.org, not so much to find a place but so that you can get an idea of what you can expect to pay in DC (one of the most expensive areas to live in the entire country).

As others have said, Manassas is FAR from DC for doing the 'clubbing / nightlife' scene. You'll probably be stuck out there for nightlife until you can find something in DC.

But DC is very, very expensive. You may actually consider Balitmore and then commuting down by train every day. Many folks who want an 'urban' lifestyle but can't afford DC rents are living in B'more and taking the commuter trains (1 hour) to DC.

[GeminiOne]

Thank you all for your input and opinions. From all the responses thus far, I see that D.C. is just not a convenient place to live, if you're on a budget when it comes to rent. Manassas could perhaps be a better choice, even though it's not as close to D.C. as I'd like - the whole 'nightlife' thing is not a dyer need, therefore I could commute to the area when I have the time. Again - thanks for all your responses.

[itlchick]

Originally Posted by GeminiOne

I am a 29 swf (single white female) who is currently living in Las Vegas, thinking about relocating to Manassas, VA with family until I can find a permanent place in the Washington D.C. area. I have several questions about the city and any response or suggestions are welcomed.

*I have been (and am used to) living in a studio/efficiency model apartment. The business in which I work, I found, have several stores around the D.C. area, therefore my final location would be very flexible. I do not necessarily have (or want) to live in a 5 star-luxury community, with a price to match, but at the same time, I do not want to live in 'the ghetto', or any place unsafe, with me being a SWF and all. I'm looking to find a decent living area, with rent between $500-$650, which is what I've been accustomed to paying in the past. Please Note: I do, unfortunately have an eviction in my rental history, so if there are any places that do a weekly/monthly, or no credit check, that would be a much more convenient option for me.

*How is the music/art scene (nightlife)? Are there any 'dj friendly' clubs around town, perhaps bars that cater to the local music scene? Any good concerts ever in town?
*Are there monthly/annual events/festivals in town?
*Is the crime as high as the rumors I've heard say they are?
*Is there any public transportation for the town of Manassas that travels throughout the city, and into Washington D.C., besides the Tram, such as a public bus system?
*How good are the colleges out there, and if they're good - which ones would you suggest, particularly in the field of Computer Web Design?
*Is it highly expensive to live in the Manassas and/or Washington D.C area for a single person, living on their own?

and

*This might be a silly question, but how is the dating scene in the Manassas and Washington D.C. areas?

I haven't been to LV, but ...

1. You will not find any place for 600 that you would want to live in. You can probably find a good place with 1-2 roommates, each paying 600. The eviction thing may be an issue, depending on where you want to rent. Some of the "desirable" neighborhoods in D.C. are pretty competitive so that may hurt you. On the plus side, if you move in with a roommate, you won't have to worry about that.
2. There are tons of good concerts. D.C. does have clubs, but probably nothing compared to LV. This town isn't known for clubbing or DJs.
3. There are some festivals.
4. Yeah, crime is high. Most of it is centered in certain areas of the city, but yeah, that's not a positive about D.C.
5. There is the Metro which is great Metro - Homepage
6. This is one of the best things about D.C. There are tons of great colleges here, too many to name.
7. Yes, it's expensive. My opinion is that D.C. is great - good jobs, schools, lots to do, really smart people, great food, culture, museums, etc. But you will pay a high price to live in this area.
8. I've heard dating is pretty challenging. D.C. is very career-focused which means people don't have a lot of time. Match.com is quite popular.

[DC's Finest]

DC does have a big club scene. You won't get bored. There are parties every night of the week in different parts of town.