What Towns are 20-30 minutes outside of D.C.?

[chrisherbert]

Actually I think Arlington or Alexandria might suit you. Alexandria is about 130,000 and Arlington is about 200,000 people, but they can feel like small towns if you move to the right area. How much are you able to spend on rent?

[claremarie]

Arlington and Alexandria are two of the most desirable and expensive locations in northern Virginia. Probably not feasible for a grad student seeking a house with a yard.

[han775]

Thank you Claremarie. I'm obviously only moving down there for the certain educational programs that the area offers. Thank you for giving me a county to focus on. I've checked out some maps and Marlyand actually has several state parks.

[han775]

I'll be moving down with my fiance and we can spend $1,200 a month for housing.

[anglophile]

1,200 is about what a one bedroom apartment goes for close to the University of Maryland. How far are you willing to commute? To have a house with a yard you will have to be willing to drive a long ways. You have to understand that the DC area is really expensive, even in the bad economy.

[Bluefly]

Something else to consider is Rock Creek Park - largest urban national park in the country.

The best way to live in DC is either in the city itself or in Arlington / Alexandria. You definitely want to be close to Metro and leave your car parked. The suburban ideal of having access to open land on one side and the city on the other is not very realistic anymore. Everybody wanted that and destroyed it.

That said - I lived in Adams Morgan (neighborhood in the heart of DC) overlooking Rock Creek Park and would sometimes drive 10-15 minutes near Great Falls on the Potomac to kayak in the morning before work.

If you're only going to be going out hiking on weekends or whatnot, I wouldn't get too obsessed with living close to a big park. You can take a few extra minutes to drive. Far more important to live close to where you'll work / go to school. People who don't tend to really hate DC.