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I've lived in New York (love(d) it) and Austin (tolerated it) in the past. I never considered living DC, but the jobs in my field aren't exactly bringing down my door these days and I just got an offer for DC that I don't think I can pass up...
I read all the pinned "Moving to DC" threads, but thought the board might be open to a case study. Guy in his mid-twenties looking to set up a brand new life in DC by the end of the month.
KEY FACTS:
- 26-year-old male.
- I don't drive. (As in, no driver's license... NY.)
- I will be making $48-50k.
- I am moving with a dog. (50 lbs.)
To give you an idea, my job's zip code is 20002.
QUESTIONS/CONCERNS
1 - What kind of neighborhood is the 20002? If it's not a match for me, what would be a good nearby spot to limit the Craigslist hunting to?
2 - What sort of lifestyle can $48-50k a year afford in your opinion in terms of nearby location, rent, etc..?
3 - Would I need a car down the line? Or rather, will I feel not having one? (I certainly did in Austin) I've spent 4-month stretches in Los Angeles and gotten fine on "All Uber, All the time."
4 - Is it extensively available in DC? I can't imagine a worst public transport system than LA, ha.
5 - I'd like to live alone. (Burnt out on roommates after two years in New York and a lot of bipolarity.) I was lucky enough to find a fully furnished 1-BR to rent in Austin, but am unsure if that will be available in that area....
6 - A walkeable area (for the mutt) and amenable (groceries, et cetera) would be perfect, but I can't ask for the moon.
Any other advice?
I'm looking on the positive side of things; making a change for the better but some help would be greatly appreciated!
1. 20002 is a zip code, not a neighborhood. Some neighborhoods in it are good, some bad. I am thinking it's probably in NoMA, so not a bad area to work. To live it's boring. But nearby H Street is not bad. Trinidad is not recommended though, nor anything further east.
2. This depends on your debt level, and what your living accomidations are. For a single person not bad if you are okay with a studio.
3. No. DC is even more transit friendly than LA. So it's Metro, Bus, and Uber. Though on weekends with lots of track work it's Uber and Bus. You will not need one. DC is also highly centralized in terms of nightlife, most things are within the beltway near metro stations.
4. The metro rail system is very extensive, but nowhere near as good as NYC. Metro goes well into the burbs. The bus system in the city is very extensive as well, and it extends into silver spring, md.
5. You are unlikely to find a furnished 1 BR for cheap, you will likely be living in a studio on your budget if alone. A shared house may be more likely.
6. There are plenty of walkable areas both inside DC, and in the suburbs, but you will be paying more for them. But it is worth it, especially if you are going car free.
For your budget look into: Silver Spring, MD, Takoma, Brookland. I am thinking you are working off the red line. But there are plenty others like Petworth, Columbia Heights, Glover Park (less metro accessible though for glover park) you may be able to find stuff. English basement apartments are common in DC.
Unless you are willing to have a long commute, it will be hard to find a studio that won't eat up a massive chunk of your income. Expect around $1,300 for a very basic studio in a decent area with access to public transit and walkability. Most single people at your income level here live with roommates, I would wager.
$48k really doesn't go far here, especially for someone unwilling to live with roommates. If I were you, I wouldn't move here unless being in DC would put you on a good career track to make a lot more than $50k soon.
Also, just saying a zipcode doesn't narrow down much in such a dense city. 20002 has several different neighborhoods, everything from super-trendy, hip areas like H Street to somewhat ghetto and somewhat dangerous areas.
Living alone AND having a dog AND making $48-50k? That's cutting it close. You will probably have to live in a sketchy area if you refuse to have roommates. I make way more than you, don't have pets and I have a roommate.
How far that $48-50k goes will depend on how much debt you have and the type of lifestyle you want to live. If you want to enjoy the restaurant, bar, and club scene it will get expensive pretty fast. Plus dog expenses.
I suggest a house with roommates who are ok with a dog OR live alone and have no money to do anything.
You will not need a car. Public transportation in DC is very good. Not a good as NYC but that is true for every other city in the U.S. I would say DC is in the top 5 if not the top 3 for public transit. DC is also very walkable and bike friendly.
I was born in NYC. While NYC has more to do and is a more sexy city overall.. I think DC has a better quality of life than NY. DC is a better day to day living city.. while NYC is a better city for when you have free time. Just my opinion.
Most of the natives and or long timers will give you a hand on the logistics in terms of living. But I on the other hand like to get deeper.
You seem to have had a linear and stable career thus far and want to get your monies worth as a result. You seem to be extremely easy going and don't really like drama at all- almost quirky and free spirit. You seem to like distinguished diversity. In other words, you like clear-cut separation. You like things to be accessible but you also like change without having to travel too far especially if there is good transportation.
My pointers- you will most likely work much harder to get settled in DC than you have in either of the places you've lived before. Uncommon to popular belief, it's not like every other city. It's expensive and has a specific texture because of its purpose along with people that serve this purpose. it is not on the coastline and so it is not so pretty as San Fran and it's unlike NY where you can get to all 5 boroughs and find a whole new way of life in each. Especially without a car, you will be limited and may not travel beyond your immediate quarters because there will not be any motivation to do so. Unlike NY where there would be good reason to take the 1 hour train ride from BK to Queens, chances are you may not take the train from DC to Tyson's corner very often.
Culturally, you will either love it or hate it. But it will depend on if you merge with the right social circles. This is extremely important in that may make or break you. You will need a support system here because you don't have the sense of freedom that you would have in Fran or NY simply by the layout of the city and nearby areas. Je ne sais pas à quel point votre français est, mais New York est seulement 04:30 heures et vous pouvez y aller souvent.
Again, people here will tell you that most singles live with roommates which says a few things about the level of independent thinking vs herd mentality. Living on your own is a great thing. It puts hair on your chest.
Bottom line, if your personality fits with DC, you will enjoy it. If not, you will continue your travels as you have been doing for the past few years. But just remember, you won't take notice of this until after a few months and after you have adapted to your normal daily activities.
But coming from Canada, I honestly and truly feel that you may be impartial in terms of overall living, separate than the cultural aspects. I think you will enjoy the aesthetics. Just get a good support system cause otherwise, you will be hurting.
Last edited by halfamazing; 09-09-2015 at 01:40 AM..
Living alone AND having a dog AND making $48-50k? That's cutting it close. You will probably have to live in a sketchy area if you refuse to have roommates. I make way more than you, don't have pets and I have a roommate.
How far that $48-50k goes will depend on how much debt you have and the type of lifestyle you want to live. If you want to enjoy the restaurant, bar, and club scene it will get expensive pretty fast. Plus dog expenses.
I suggest a house with roommates who are ok with a dog OR live alone and have no money to do anything.
You will not need a car. Public transportation in DC is very good. Not a good as NYC but that is true for every other city in the U.S. I would say DC is in the top 5 if not the top 3 for public transit. DC is also very walkable and bike friendly.
I was born in NYC. While NYC has more to do and is a more sexy city overall.. I think DC has a better quality of life than NY. DC is a better day to day living city.. while NYC is a better city for when you have free time. Just my opinion.
Thank you for your opinion. Yes, that's not a lot of money, lol.
What neighborhood would you recommend I start looking? One that's a fit and commute-able. (I just learned that my job is on "Corridor H" and walking distance (I think) from Union Station.
You don't need a car to live here. Do you have student debt to pay off? What's your budget?
The Eastern Market area is one of the more affordable parts of the city and would only be like a 10 minute bus ride to work (studios and English basements for about $1300 aren't that hard to find). There are also a lot of other trendy hoods that are off the red line which goes into Union Station like Woodley Park and Adams Morgan. U Street/Shaw is like the most popular hood right now but that's off the Yellow and Green, so you would have to transfer to the red line at Gallery Place (and you will pay a premium to live in the most popular hood).
Thank you for your opinion. Yes, that's not a lot of money, lol.
What neighborhood would you recommend I start looking? One that's a fit and commute-able. (I just learned that my job is on "Corridor H" and walking distance (I think) from Union Station.
I would suggest looking at Adams Morgan, Woodley Park, Van Ness or Columbia Heights. As for other areas, you can find some hidden gems on Georgia Avenue and H Street as well as around Chinatown or NoMa. But those areas can be tricky for someone who is not familiar with the city because one block can make a big difference in price and sketchiness.
To give you a very broad idea of what to expect from different parts of the city... look at this metro map:
The areas below that I say to "avoid" are areas that are either high crime or just ghetto/sketchy.
Green Line:
-Avoid areas on the Green line southeast of L'Enfant Plaza.
-Avoid areas North of Chinatown and South of U street.
-Avoid Georgia Avenue Petworth
Yellow Line:
-Avoid areas North of Chinatown and South of U street.
-Avoid Georgia Avenue Petworth
Red line:
-The Red line has very few sketchy areas. Pretty much every neighborhood on it is ok. The worst areas would be everything north of Union Station. But these are still not "bad" areas.. just a little sketchy.
Orange line:
- Very few bad areas on this line if any. Everything west of Eastern Market is good. The rest is subjective. Haven't explored the eastern side enough to give a solid opinion.
I would suggest looking at Adams Morgan, Woodley Park, Van Ness or Columbia Heights. As for other areas, you can find some hidden gems on Georgia Avenue and H Street as well as around Chinatown or NoMa. But those areas can be tricky for someone who is not familiar with the city because one block can make a big difference in price and sketchiness.
To give you a very broad idea of what to expect from different parts of the city... look at this metro map:
The areas below that I say to "avoid" are areas that are either high crime or just ghetto/sketchy.
Green Line:
-Avoid areas on the Green line southeast of L'Enfant Plaza.
-Avoid areas North of Chinatown and South of U street.
-Avoid Georgia Avenue Petworth
Yellow Line:
-Avoid areas North of Chinatown and South of U street.
-Avoid Georgia Avenue Petworth
Red line:
-The Red line has very few sketchy areas. Pretty much every neighborhood on it is ok. The worst areas would be everything north of Union Station. But these are still not "bad" areas.. just a little sketchy.
Orange line:
- Very few bad areas on this line if any. Everything west of Eastern Market is good. The rest is subjective. Haven't explored the eastern side enough to give a solid opinion.
Silver line:
-See Orange line
Blue Line:
-See Orange and Silver line
This is not the best advice and pretty off...Avoid Navy Yard? I would extend it out to avoid anything east of the river on green belt. Likewise as a single guy he would be fine in Petworth. It just isn't the best commute. Petworth is still worlds better than areas in NE, and infinitely better than east of the river. In this case Petworth is just inconvenient.
Likewise Petworth is still far better than Trinidad or some of the areas around Rhode Island Ave stops.
Orange/blue/silver line again east of the river in DC is extremely bad. Yeah, the Northern Virginia is very safe, likewise most of DC west of the river.
Here is the advice. West of the river is best. But you have to be aware of the neighborhoods within DC. There are some known hotspots like the area between New York Ave and florida ave on north capital.
Be aware of how far you are from the metro, in terms of living. Over 1 mile will be a hard walk during the winter.
Likewise I am not going to tell a person to avoid Shaw or the convention center even with the spike this summer.
Taking everything into consideration Silver Spring, Takoma/Takoma Park may be his best bet, especially considering his pay range. He may be able to find a studio west of the park in his budget as well. Considering where he works.
Also it is the H Street Corridor, not Corridor H.
Look for some place off the red line, but be cautious around New York Ave and Rhode Island Ave.
Honestly a lot of the advice on this thread reads like it's 1995 not 2015.
On your budget, and trying to focus on interesting, transit accessible neighborhoods, I'd look at Petworth, Shaw, H-street (where you'll work after all), eastern Capitol Hill, and NOMA. There are also some bargains to be found in SW, as long as you aren't too close to South Capitol St. Don't have any experience w/ Navy Yard but that area seems to be exploding.
Woodley Park, Dupont, and Adams-Morgan are probably too expensive, and quite far from H Street.
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Guy in his mid-twenties looking to set up a brand new life in DC by the end of the month.
