Grad School w/ Family (best towns, apartment, crime)

[Snowden12]

I've seen a couple posts on here asking about places for those who have money...well I don't. I've got a wife and (soon) 2 kids. I'll be attending GW for grad school and know nothing about the area thus far, aside from it's expensive and has crime problems. I'm sure there's much more to it, but these are both obvious concerns. Where could I find a safe environment for my kids, while still keeping the price low? I had heard someone mention Gaithersburg before, but would that take me too far from the city? I'd still like to feel like I'm a part of everything, so distance doesn't cure all I suppose.

Primarily, I guess I'm looking for something (preferablly a home or townhouse) for under 1600 per month, that has room for a family of four and a dog. Anyone know any areas that might accomodate? Thank you so much in advance!

[juniperbleu]

I don't know if you'll find a townhouse, but your best bet is to look along a bus line in a suburb like Arlington, Alexandria, or Falls Church. You can bus to the metro to get to Foggy Bottom (GW). You could also look further out, like in Fairfax or Vienna. You can try driving, but parking is tight, so you'd probably have to find and pay for a garage. You could also try some places in Maryland, like Rockville or Silver Spring. From there you could take the red line to Dupont Circle and walk to GW from there. You could do Gaithersburg, but that commute to GW would be a little tough.

I should mention that I'm thinking of a 2-bedroom for $1600. As it is, most 2-bedrooms in the area are closer to $2000/mo or more. If you really need a 3-bedroom, then you might have to look further out, but it still might be a little hard.

[Snowden12]

Thanks for the info. I shouldn't say I need a townhouse or anything, but it'd be great to bring my dog, a german shepherd, along. Obviously it'd be best to have a yard for him. My biggest problem with DC is that I don't know a thing about it. I've heard the neighborhoods/towns of Rockville, Gaithersberg, etc. mentioned but you can't learn about them with google maps.

With that in mind, what would be the best towns (I'm assuming that DC is out of the question) for a young student family to live in? Resources are limited, but I'd hate to be so far away from the city as to have to take anything longer than a 45 minute train ride to get there. And yes, we'll have a car, but I would most likely plan on using the metro to school. So....affordable family towns, along metro lines, but not too far...I guess that's what I'm looking for. Any more help? And thanks.

[claremarie]

Many other people are looking for affordable family towns near the Metro, so you'll need to make some tradeoffs. You're right that, given your constraints, DC is out of the question. Realistically, a 45 minute total commute (including the time it will take you to drive or bus to the Metro, wait for the train, and the train ride itself) might not be do-able if you also need a house or townhouse with a yard in a neighborhood safe for families. Also, there aren't really any "towns" in the DC area -- just a lot of suburban communities that blend together, most of which are NOT located near a Metro line.
That said, I think that Arlington and Alexandria, plus the City of Falls Church, will be out of your price range. You might find something in the Falls Church area of Fairfax County, but your best bet will be look further out and plan on driving in to one of the terminal Metro stops, such as Springfield or Vienna. Burke is a family-friendly area in Fairfax County that you might consider.

[PenguinSix]

Most places inside the beltway are going to be ruled out by your budget and size requests, unless you are willing to deal with far fewer transit options and questionable safety issues. I'm sorry to say that a nice, family friendly low cost area on a metro line is basically something everyone else is looking for as well and the prices reflect that.

Are you looking for a 2br or a 3br (2 would be MUCH easier)

I'd start with Craigslist and try to sort out the scams (i.e. you're not going to get a place for $800 with 3br next to the Capitol) to come up with some realistic options and neighborhoods. You'll then have to look at how far those places are to the nearest metro or bus route, but I think you'll be lucky if you can get a 45 minute commute to GWU in the price range.

Is the dog absolutely necessary? It seems to throw a major monkey wrench into your search, ruling many places and requiring you to deal with walking, grass, yards, etc (which will be even more of a pain in the butt with two new kids to deal with).

I should also note that even if you do find a place, you are going to have another $100-$200 a month in commuting costs more than likely. Something you should be budgeting for as you move forward.

I live about an hour from GWU or so, driving (or on the commuter bus). There are places out here but it's a hell of a trip.
3BR 2.5BA water view home <5 yrs young

[Snowden12]

One further question...how much does a commute cost from Rockville, Falls Church, etc? Also, what about utilities in the area? I got an offer for a decent sized 2 room flat right in Foggy Bottom with utilities included, for $2200. This is a bit out of my budget, but I was curious how much so. If I found a similar place in Rockville, for example, and added on commute (metro) costs and utilities, what would I be looking at?

[juniperbleu]

From Rockville, during rush hour, it's $4.20 each way ($2.35 if you go off-peak), plus $4.75 if you have to park there. From East Falls Church it's $2.45 during rush hour ($1.35 off-peak) and $4.50 to park. From West Falls Church it's $2.90 ($1.85 off-peak) and also $4.50 to park.

If you go to Metro's website you can look up stations and the fares from each. For GW look at the fare to Foggy Bottom/GWU if you're on the blue or orange line or if you're on the red line then look for Dupont Circle or Farragut North.

Regarding utilities, right now (in DC) I pay only electric which is about $45-50 a month for me and my roommate. In Alexandria it was roughly $110/month for electricity, gas, water, and trash.

[PenguinSix]

Utility bills in MD have been the subject of much debate over the last few months as they have gone through the roof, basically. There was a phase in of energy deregulation that sort of ended and as a result, a lot of people are now paying quite a bit more than they used to pay (it's a very long story). The long and short of it is a) don't take any 'last year' recommendations/bills as an example of what you'll be paying in Md. and b) try to find a place where utilities are included, if at all possible.

There are people with fully electric houses paying well over $500 a month (and I've seen some posts from people paying nearly $1,000 a month). The Maryland boards are filled with complaints recently.

[Legs1357]

Originally Posted by PenguinSix

Utility bills in MD have been the subject of much debate over the last few months as they have gone through the roof, basically. There was a phase in of energy deregulation that sort of ended and as a result, a lot of people are now paying quite a bit more than they used to pay (it's a very long story). The long and short of it is a) don't take any 'last year' recommendations/bills as an example of what you'll be paying in Md. and b) try to find a place where utilities are included, if at all possible.

There are people with fully electric houses paying well over $500 a month (and I've seen some posts from people paying nearly $1,000 a month). The Maryland boards are filled with complaints recently.

Wow that's good to know. Are utilities in DC proper and NoVa generally cheaper then now?

[PenguinSix]

Originally Posted by Legs1357

Wow that's good to know. Are utilities in DC proper and NoVa generally cheaper then now?

It's all over the map. I don't know the per kwh charge and how it differs, but really it's more a matter of the house's construction and the appliances. Is there an electric h2o heater, or a heatpump or air conditioning (and believe me--you are going to need it here). Do you have a gas stove, well insulated bricks or just a hastily thrown together apartment building. I think you'll just have to query them on the electric charges, or call PEPCO/BGE/Dominion Power and just ask what the bills have been recently for that address.