Looking for affordable housing/resources (Chantilly, Manassas: apartment complexes, rentals, car insurance)

[vitaminkitten]

My boyfriend and I currently live with my best friend and her dad and our rent is a nice, manageable $100 a month. But now that we both have new jobs, we're looking to move out. The problem is that I've lived in this area for about 13 years now and from my experience, unless you work for the government or are willing to live in a neighborhood where shootings and drugs are a regular thing, it will be virtually impossible. I make about $1800 a month, but $1000 of that goes to bills for me each month. My boyfriend should be looking at about $1400, though his financial responsibilities are far less than mine at the moment. I've looked into county housing assistance, but there's basically none in Prince William County (I currently live in Manassas), and Fairfax County has waiting lists of up to three years, and other programs that I'm not entirely sure will be all too helpful (reduced rent units, but I'm yet to find out how much lower than $1200/month they're willing to go).

So I'm basically looking for any suggestions/resources. I work in Leesburg, and he works in Fairfax, so moving further south wouldn't be preferable. I don't really have any issues with any areas; I just know I would prefer to not live in a so-called "bad area", mainly because I'm concerned for safety, but if there are lower income areas that have a better reputation for safety, then I'm willing to consider them. Thanks so much in advance for any help.

[HereinVA]

If your rent is only $100, what is the other $900 in bills going towards? Is there any way to reduce or eliminate those?

[FindingZen]

If $1200/month is your preferred ceiling, you may as well look elsewhere in Manassas. Chantilly may possibly have rentals under that amount.

Then again, I'm thinking of managed apartment complexes as opposed to owner rentals. That list by Craig may offer some options for the latter.

[tysonsengineer]

You should look into renting out from an individual owner who has a income property. Some of those refurbished basements are really quite nice, have separate kitchens, and are much more reasonable compared to equivalent traditional apartments

[vitaminkitten]

@HereinVA: It's mainly my student loan payments that are killing me. I just applied for an income based repayment plan, so hopefully that should help, but that ones that cost me the most are in my dad's name, and he makes too much to qualify for an income based repayment plan I think. I'm also looking into reducing my phone bill, since my new job has some sort of partnership with Verizon which would allow me to get a discount. Everything else is just sort of what it is. Car payment, car insurance, gym membership (which I'd like to cancel, but they won't let me unless I pay the rest of my year, which would be something like $200), and a credit card I would love to get rid of (thankfully it's only good at auto stores, so I actually stay relatively out of trouble with it).

@Tone509: I've been looking in Manassas, but the only places that even come close to what I'd be able to afford are somewhat dangerous reputations, so they would be an ultimate last resort in my mind, but I am keeping them in mind. The other problems in that area are that my boyfriend and I both have terrible credit, and even the nicer places around here have horrible reputations for continually upping their rent every few months.

@tysonengineer: Ultimately, I think that's where we'll end up looking. My boyfriend has only just graduated from college, and this is the first time he'll be living on his own not in a dorm, so he's optimistically thinking we'll be able to just get a little apartment on our own. I keep trying to gently explain that, in order for us to do more than work and sleep, we will probably have to have roommates. With that in mind, would you recommend this board for finding roommates? I've used roommates.com before with great success, but I wasn't paying for it and really just got lucky since the person who ended up being my roommate had paid and was able to contact me directly. I'm wary of Craigslist when it comes to looking for a roommate, though I suppose it couldn't be much more dangerous or sketchy than looking on a forum (though I think this sort of board is a little more geared towards that).

Thanks everyone so much for all the suggestions. I'm still open to more ideas, so if anyone has anything to add, I'll definitely hear it. I really appreciate the help.

[stpickrell]

Have you considered Winchester or Charles Town?

[Forehead]

For $1,200 or so, you should be able to find something managable and relatively safe. I don't think we're supposed to post links, so I'll shoot you a PM with ideas.