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Hello! I have been accepted to Howard University for a graduate program and need some advice about relocating. Right now, my husband and I live in a house with a .5 acre yard. I know that won't be possible on a stipend, but I would like to live somewhere with a little bit of room. Which neighborhoods should I be concentrating on? Would I have better luck with apartments or shared houses? What are the housing options available in DC?
I prefer to be near a metro station so that I don't have to take a car to campus. I would also like to have a tiny bit of yard so that I can get a dog. Any advice?
getting a place with a yard for the dog is going to be real hard on a budget, many neighborhoods in DC have dog parks anyway so it's not totally neccesary to have a yard for just the dog.
Look at Craiglist to get an idea of where things are and what costs are going for.
and congrats on the acceptance, I did HU undergrad with their school of business and you'll love the HU experience. I currently live in the Capitol Hill NE area, it's not perfect and is currently gentrifying but the neighborhood is full of young familes/couples of all types moving to escape the rest of the higher priced areas in DC. I'm about a 20 walk to Union Station Metro and a 5-10 minute bus ride(which i prefer actually even though the X2 bus is ALWAYS crowded grrrr!) to the Chinatown Metro Stop.There are also bars/restaurants/performance spots in the H street area(same neighborhood) which makes entertaining easy. It's a short commute to HU, Chinatown and other DC neighborhoods and I think it might be ideal.You could either find a house in this neighborhood OR an apartment easily but I think with the way prices are in the DC area you may want to rent until you finish your degree...esp if you find out you want to move to another area. I've found people do get a bit tired of the area if they don't work in government, law, or business...finding a dog friendly apartment is another issue but I've found this neighborhood is more accepting of pets since my place currently lets me have one (a small one) ...don't take my word for it though...
Check out the neighborhood blog to get more of a feel for the Cap Hill Area, this blog also has links to other neighborhood blogs if you're interested
Moderator cut: link removed, please read our terms of service
Other Neighborhoods you Should Check Out Columbia Heights-Also Gentrifying, near the only Target in DC, VERY close to HU, nice shopping area, U Street Area-The Closest to HU(walkable or by bus), you might be lucky and find something here which most students can find...however you will have a very hard time finding anything with a yard. Pet friendly apartments are also pretty scarce, Largely African American (due to the students) and
Finally, expect to pay at least $1000+ for a decent one bedroom...dc apartment prices have started skyrocketing esp after Obama won and govt workers flocking to the area
Add Shaw to the list of those neighborhoods. Biggest dog park in the area and your rent is going to be cheaper than any of the neighborhoods listed. Also very close to Howard (metro stop is actually Shaw/Howard University).
Not every block is safe, so check in with C-D before closing the deal. Quite a few projects speckled through the area.
I'll put in a vote for Bloomingdale, since it's only two blocks from campus, and some of the houses have decent-sized yards. Not too convenient to the metro, but many bus lines run through.
Add Shaw to the list of those neighborhoods. Biggest dog park in the area and your rent is going to be cheaper than any of the neighborhoods listed. Also very close to Howard (metro stop is actually Shaw/Howard University).
Not every block is safe, so check in with C-D before closing the deal. Quite a few projects speckled through the area.
Yeah it is a decent area and I def agree about checking safety...however (things may have changed since I've been in the neighborhood and if it has PLEASE correct me), it seemed like Shaw was an Anti-Howard Neighborhood esp amongst the black locals. Everytime i walked down the street or went to a store, if they even THOUGHT i was a Howard student they'd get this attitude or think all HU students thought they were "too good", heck me and my friends at night would get heckled...now I'm originally a poor girl from the South, and at first I thought maybe they had bad experiences with HU students but no matter how nice and polite I was...still the same thing...I actually chose to move as far away from there (yet still close by in terms of commute) just to get away from that experience. I'm in a different black neighborhood now and if someone thinks i'm from HU...no negativity, maybe some questions but they don't think I came in to destroy the city by going to school here lol
Either way, please visit each neighborhood (ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT) to get a feel for it...as a grad student, this is def important since you'll more than likely have alot of night classes or study sessions
People in Spring Valley are also not real fond of the AU students either... this is not an uncommon complaints with residents who live near a major university...
I can't blame them. A lot of college students do act like jackasses, partly because they're away from home with all this freedom for the first time and partly because a lot of them aren't from the area the school is located, so they don't feel like they need to take care of it.
it seemed like Shaw was an Anti-Howard Neighborhood esp amongst the black locals. Everytime i walked down the street or went to a store, if they even THOUGHT i was a Howard student they'd get this attitude or think all HU students thought they were "too good", heck me and my friends at night would get heckled...now I'm originally a poor girl from the South, and at first I thought maybe they had bad experiences with HU students but no matter how nice and polite I was...still the same thing...
That element isn't completely gone, but it has changed a lot in the past two years. Considering the large subsidized housing complexes, there are lot of the residents for whom college is not an option. So a little static is understandable. That being said, the area is experiencing a lot of investment as it's one of the cheapest downtown NW neighborhoods left.
Man, I just looked at craigslist for rents on 1 bedroom apartments... Ouch... It's a whole different ballgame than when I was renting even a year ago.
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