Best place to live in DC and commute to College Park (apartment, to rent)

[ontheroad590]

Where would be the best place to rent if I wanted to live in DC and commute out to College Park? I hope to get a 2 bedroom for around $2000 a month. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[LasVegan2008]

Originally Posted by ontheroad590

Where would be the best place to rent if I wanted to live in DC and commute out to College Park? I hope to get a 2 bedroom for around $2000 a month. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Alexandria, Virginia is a great place to live. It's close enough to the District, making it quite convenient to commute either by car or by Metro, but still has strong character and a real "community" feel. (I'm assuming you have some reason for not wanting to live too close to College Park -- if commuting convenience alone is the most important consideration, then you should live in College Park itself, or Takoma Park, Silver Spring, Wheaton, or some other place in Maryland very close to College Park.)

Generally, though, I find that towns like Wheaton and Silver Spring have a much more "urban" and "desolate" feel than most places in Virginia and more outlying communities in Maryland.

Try to avoid Arlington. It's on the Virginia side, a very close-in community immediately north of Alexandria, but it's overcrowded, chaotic, hectic, the street map and layout is mind-numbingly confusing, and unlike Alexandria, it has virtually no character and almost zero sense of community. The only upside of Arlington is that it has many Metro stations, a lot more than Alexandria.

Weirdly, Alexandria is an independent city that's not part of any county, while Arlington is a county which is the size of a small city, and has no incorporated cities inside it. Taxes in both jurisdictions are high, and parking and traffic enforcement in both places are very petty, strict, and expensive. But I think overall, Arlington is worse than Alexandria because you're dealing with a county government rather than a city government.

I find that Alexandria is rather "yuppie", but in a good way (if that's possible). Arlington is very "yuppie", but in all the bad ways.

Apartment rents all over the "inner" DC suburbs in Virginia and Maryland are about the same, and the price you quoted is pretty realistic.

If you're coming from a distant state, far outside the DC area, expect to find things like parking fines, traffic enforcement, and other urban headaches to be MAJOR frustrations. I think that northern Virginia is bad in this respect, but the close-in suburbs of Maryland (e.g., Montgomery County, where Silver Spring, Bethesda, Wheaton, etc.) are even worse... Expect a lot of one-way streets, traffic cameras that send you fines for missing lights by 0.0004 second, and parking boots!

All these jurisdictions are INSANE for collecting revenues from drivers!!!

[PenguinSix]

Where in College Park are you working (or studying)? I'd try to find someplace where the commute wasn't horrible. Logan Circle or Dupont are possible (just head out Rhode Island against traffic), though it might be a bit of a hike. Are you going to be near the CP Metro station and looking for a subway ride? You could also consider Capitol Hill (NE sector) and a drive up say Bladensburg or Brentwood to RI/Route 1

The only rub against Virginia is that you have to cross the bridges every morning. The areas out there are nice, but the traffic over the bridge might be unnecessary given the options that exist in DC.

[claremarie]

Don't live in Virginia if you're commuting to College Park.
You could live anywhere in DC that's handy to Michigan Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, or New York Avenue.

[LasVegan2008]

Problem with living in DC though, is that you're restricted to a pretty narrow range of lifestyles and accomodations. You have to choose between renting a townhouse, or an ungodly expensive OLD apartment, or sharing a house with others to make the rent affordable. There aren't a whole lot of newer high-rise apartment buildings in DC. The only place there are really ANY large residential buidlings is in upper Northeast, and they're pretty expensive.

[claremarie]

The OP asked about living in DC. There are many housing choices at different price points, especially for those who are commuting to College Park and don't need to live in the trendy NW neighborhoods.

[bogfrog]

Try the green line --
1. Columbia Heights -- a newly redevoping diverse urban neighborhood centered on 14th St NW. Some additional quirky shops and businesses on the side streets, and big old homes and new condos. There are some great Latino restaurants and classics like the Wonderland Bar! Almost everything you could ask for, except a movie theater.
2. Mt Pleasant -- depending on whether a 10-15 minute walk to metro is accessible, this is a very "young couple" friendly neighborhood with houses rapidly appreciating in value and a small local shopping strip with unique restaurants (Latino, Marxist, everything you can imagine).
3. Petworth -- up and coming but still typical quiet tree-lined streets with single family homes. No big business district yet -- most people go to Columbia Heights to eat/drink/shop.
4. Chinatown -- Penn Quarter, pretty hip and urban, new high-rises near the Verizon Center, and upscale restaurants, more expensive --
5. Ft Totten -- there is some new construction; plus the priceless Best Address apartment buildings full of lovely older church ladies. This is where you'll find bargains to buy/rent a condo.
6. Takoma Park -- (not sure this is stll on the green line, sorry...)