College Grad moving to NOVA needs help

[VEIK]

Originally Posted by anonymous703

When I was in college, I lived in Potomac Towers (2001 N Adams St 22201) which is at the intersection of Lee Highway and Veitch St. (Straight north of the Courthouse metro.) Back then (2001) I paid $885 for a studio, which included all utilities. It was a bit of a walk, but not terrible, to the metro. The only time it sucked was when it was raining or I had a lot of stuff with me.

there is a bus there now, 3Y, that runs from Adams St/29 intersection down to Rosslyn and to downtown DC.

[Andrw1217]

Thanks everyone for the responses, much appreciated. I will keep the forum posted with questions and concerns. Thanks again!

[DCguy03]

I graduated from college not too long ago and have been living in the Court House / Clarendon area ever since. You will definitely like it here. There are tons of people our age living here, it is easy to get into DC, and the bars/restaurants are great especially in the summertime when they have outdoor seating.

A few recommendations...

-look into Park Adams apartment bldg on N. Adams St. I lived there for my first year out of school with a roommate I met on Craigslist. It was clean, has a pool and grills, and was $1800/mo for a 2-bedroom. It's only 3 blocks back from the Court House metro station. I'd def reccomend.

-get a roommate, for sure. Especially in this economy, it doesn't make sense to blow 2 g's a month by yourself. I mean, with a roommate, you'll save $12,000 a year. You'll thank yourself later for doing it.

-I'd stick with your plan for a 2-bedroom with just you and 1 roommate. It's much easier to split bills, keep everything clean, etc. with just 2 guys total. Trust me - I have a friend that lived with 3 other guys (nice guys, too) and it was a mess. It's a huge pain to get everyone to pay up for the cable, utilities, gas, and other bills on time. Just a lot less hassle with only 1 roommate.

-Ballston is okay, but I like Clarendon and Court House much better. There are more and better bars/restaurants, tons of grocery stores, and a less "office-building" feel.

-Also, some people mentioned Rosslyn, and I would stay away from living there. I work in Rosslyn, and sure it is a great place to work, but it is almost entirely office buildings. Nearly everything closes down after work hours, and on the weekends it is dead there. Could be great for some, but not if you're in your 20s.

Good luck man!

[VEIK]

+1 for park adams, lived there for 2 years

their prices are decent, and short walk to metro

[AnalyzeThis]

I would rather get a studio or one bedroom and live alone than with roommates but that's just me. SOOOOO many of my friends have had alot of problems with roommates. Just make sure you have extra cash on hand in case your roommate does not pay his/her portion of the rent or utilities. IF you do that then you can buffer yourself from a worst case scenario instead of getting screwed. I actually have a couple of friends that got evicted because their roommates did not pay their portion of the rent (two of them had gotten laid off) and my friends did not have the money to cover the entire rent along, and of course the apartment complex does NOT care if one party cannot meet their portion of the liability, you will still be responsible. I don't want to be gloom and doom but just make sure you protect yourself just in case especially in this market.

[akorosdc]

Originally Posted by AnalyzeThis

I would rather get a studio or one bedroom and live alone than with roommates but that's just me. SOOOOO many of my friends have had alot of problems with roommates. Just make sure you have extra cash on hand in case your roommate does not pay his/her portion of the rent or utilities. IF you do that then you can buffer yourself from a worst case scenario instead of getting screwed. I actually have a couple of friends that got evicted because their roommates did not pay their portion of the rent (two of them had gotten laid off) and my friends did not have the money to cover the entire rent along, and of course the apartment complex does NOT care if one party cannot meet their portion of the liability, you will still be responsible. I don't want to be gloom and doom but just make sure you protect yourself just in case especially in this market.

Also, make sure that everyone's names are on the lease, not just yours, and keep copies of everything. Another suggestion I had while moving was to write down everything that each person brought into the place and sign it. That would make it easier to settle disputes over who brought the tv/plates/sofa/etc should a problem come up. You can also write up some sort of "roommate contract" and get it notorized. Really, that would probably only help you if you got sued by a roommate, but who knows.

Of those I only did the lease thing and keep copies of everything, but I knew my roommate for a while beforehand (and, I suppose, I'm also just lucky).