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I will be a resident doctor at St. Elizabeth hospital, and I am looking for a very cheap way, yet safe, place to survive the years of residency. Would any one please comment on this? i am looking for a studio to rent. I searched online and there are tones of places for as low as 450 in that area?
Since, i have never lived in a large city, i dont know what possible dangers are awaiting if i move to an area like "Suitland, MD 20746" or "Capitol Heights, MD 20743", or even "Oxon Hill, MD 20745". I am on an extremely tight budget for at least another year.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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DO NOT move Suitland, most dangerous area in PG county. Capitol Heights is also a stay away unless you are inside the actual town limits. Oxon Hill may work if you are outside the Capital Beltway. You may want to try Camp Springs, Hyattsville, Riverdale, New Carrollton, University Park, and Mt. Rainier if you want the lowest priced places in DC with SOME safety. the key is to stay away from anything bordering SE DC inside the capital beltway espically apts in that area.
I certainly understand financial constraints, but I would STRONGLY advise not to rent ANY apartment, even a studio, in the D.C. area that is only $450/month. This is a very expensive area and it shocks me that there's anything that cheap even available, and it's an indicator that there is something VERY wrong with the apartment or neighborhood. Apartments going for this cheap are most likely in the absolute worst neighborhoods imaginable. As for those particular areas, I agree with Alanboy. Suitland, Oxon Hill and Capitol Heights are generally dangerous communities and not desirable places to live, and much of the crime is recorded in apartment complexes so it's not recommendable for an out-of-towner, especially one with little experience in large cities, to settle there.
Considering your financial situation, I would highly recommend renting out a room in someone's home rather than looking for your own place. Even in doing so, it would be difficult to find a place as cheap as $450/month but in general, renting out rooms is much cheaper than renting an entire apartment, so your money will go much further if you choose to go this route. So whereas $500/month may get you a crummy studio in the most violent neighborhood in the city where you're afraid to set foot outside even during the daytime. That same amount may get you a tiny bedroom with your own bathroom in a home in a safer, albeit a little rough-around-the-edges suburb.
St. Elizabeth's is in a horrible area. I recommend if possible looking at communities outside of the Beltway in PG County; the further away the better, but you also have to take into account rising rent prices and commuting times and basically prioritize what is most important to you.
EDIT: I just realized that you're the same guy from a couple months back who posted about staying in Congress Heights/Washington Highlands. I have to say that at the very least, those cities/areas you named are safer than there, but as I mentioned back in that previous thread, pretty much any place is a step up from where you were looking as that was pretty much the absolute worst neighborhood in D.C.
dullnboring
that is very true, i had posted a few months earlier here as well. finally i moved here and rented a room, but it is a tiny one, with no privacy. my GF can not come and visit me, which make both of us unhappy. so, i was thinking to find somethings where i will have a least a little bit private life as well. I truly appreciate your input. What about fort washington? is it also in the same dangerous category? honestly, i am thinking of buying a new car, and i am afriad someone will steal it before i buy it
I can commute for 30-45 minutes every day, would you recommend any community to the south of St. Elizabeth?
Alanboy395
Thanks a ton for your input as well. There are a lot of studios for $500, could you please give me some advice? i am using the following site for search
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,700 posts, read 41,742,544 times
Reputation: 41381
fort washington is a pretty safe community when compared with a lot of PG county. if you even want to think about apts in this part of PG, fort washington is the place. the theme is that the farther from DC the safer you'll be. you car insurance will also drop the further away you are from DC. if you can stomach $800 a month there are a few apts in alexandria that won't give you as much crime to worry about as PG.
dullnboring
that is very true, i had posted a few months earlier here as well. finally i moved here and rented a room, but it is a tiny one, with no privacy. my GF can not come and visit me, which make both of us unhappy. so, i was thinking to find somethings where i will have a least a little bit private life as well. I truly appreciate your input. What about fort washington? is it also in the same dangerous category? honestly, i am thinking of buying a new car, and i am afriad someone will steal it before i buy it
I can commute for 30-45 minutes every day, would you recommend any community to the south of St. Elizabeth?
I appreciate your and anyt other input.
Take care
Yeah, privacy can be greatly infringed upon if you're renting out a room in someone's home. I can see how that would be a serious annoyance especially with the girlfriend and all.
I concur with Alanboy. Fort Washington is generally a decent area and those parts of it further away from D.C. are the safest and nicest parts.
I would recommend looking at Fort Washington or maybe even further south towards Accokeek where it's even cheaper, although that may be stretching the commuting time limits. It's only around 15 miles from St. Elizabeth's but I'm not very experienced with rush hour traffic in that area, but I'd imagine it's doable in 45 minutes. And to solve the privacy issue, I'd recommend shopping around a bit and seeing if there are any people offering up their basements for rents. Many times, with townhomes in particular, these will come with their own entrances and have their own bathrooms attached, affording at least a greater amount of privacy. People generally charge a bit more to rent out an entire basement, but there's some good deals here and there.
Out of curiosity, where are you living now? City-wise.
thanks dullnboring,
Currently i live in mt rainier, very nice place+nbrhood. Thanks for the advice on ft wshngton, my friend lives there, he also says it seem alright. I appreciate your input, and thanks for your guidance,
Oxon Hill isn't all bad. Fort Washington has nice sections. Also consider Southwest D.C. Many buildings are co-ops and as such more affordable. It is affordable, generally save, and convenient to everything. A bonus - a lot of places have a river view.
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