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It seems like this forum is for people who have more of a steady income than I am, but I would need advice anyways. I am a recent college graduate, as you may all know the job market is tough, but I am just offered a job in the DC area as a paid intern with potential to be full time. The internship pays $11 an hour, and I would have to relocate from New York to DC, so that means rent, transportation, ect. I am wondering if that is a livable wage in the DC area. I calculated it and it is only a measly $21120 per year, not taking out taxes. I am a single female where safety is a credible concern. So, please let me know if there are any advice you can offer.
It seems like this forum is for people who have more of a steady income than I am, but I would need advice anyways. I am a recent college graduate, as you may all know the job market is tough, but I am just offered a job in the DC area as a paid intern with potential to be full time. The internship pays $11 an hour, and I would have to relocate from New York to DC, so that means rent, transportation, ect. I am wondering if that is a livable wage in the DC area. I calculated it and it is only a measly $21120 per year, not taking out taxes. I am a single female where safety is a credible concern. So, please let me know if there are any advice you can offer.
I'm pretty sure I may get criticism for posting these, but depending who you are, you can live in these apartment complexes and be fine. I know I can, but can't say the same for others.
Last edited by Avtomat Kalashnikova; 08-14-2010 at 05:38 PM..
Location: Ft. Washington/Oxon Hill border, MD (Prince George's County)
321 posts, read 813,712 times
Reputation: 233
Where are going to be working...DC? You said DC 'area' so I wasn't sure where exactly and being a reasonable distance from work helps with the horrid commutes here.
While I was in college and law school (which were my broke years in this area) I had a roommate (at one time 2 roommates) and paid like $250-$300/month for my share and when lived on my own I lived in Arlington on Columbia Pike. That was the late 90s and I was able to rent a studio condo from a private owner for $500/month and a one bedroom in an apartment building for $650...I am sure that now it is probably the norm to see $1k+ for a one bedroom in better neighborhoods. When my husband was renting a couple of years ago he was in Capitol Heights in a one bedroom for $900/month...not considered a great area to most but he worked at a low paying non-profit at the time and it was within his budget. Consider basement apartments from private owners. Beyond that I think you will need one if not more roommates. Check City Paper for roommates Shared Housing | Housing | Classifieds | Post an Ad | Washington City Paper
I didn't have a car so that helped me save a lot monthly. I lived right on a bus line and used the bus, biked and metro. I used Zip Car when it first started up to run weekend errands when I had to have a car to transport things.
Those were definitely rough years here and I can't imagine it now since the prices have gone up but it is doable with some flexibility...especially with respect to neighborhoods or having roomies.
I won't sugarcoat things when I tell you that your lifestyle here will be very unpleasant earning $11/hr. I graduated from college last year and moved to the DC Area to accept a position with a $40,000 gross starting salary, and even on that once I deducted my rent ($1,100/month), car insurance, gasoline, car payment, utilities, groceries, etc. I found myself struggling just to survive. Granted I could have (and should have) sought out roommates, but due to my personality and looks I was sort of like the last kid picked on the dodgeball team in terms of prospective roomies amongst all my friends/ex-friends, and I wanted nothing to do with living with a bunch of random CraigsList strangers in cramped quarters in a foreign city. To give you some perspective I live about 20 miles outside of the city in a bland suburb, and even here I've struggled on a $40,000 salary, so I can only imagine how miserable you would be living on less money IN the city.
You will need multiple roomies most likely. I'd look for a 3-BR townhome in the 'burbs that is reasonably close to a transit line into the District (anything near Metrorail is outrageously expensive, but if you could take a bus to Metro, then it's plausible). A friend of mine is renting a very luxurious penthouse-like suite on the third floor of a newer townhome in Herndon for $600/month, splitting the $1,800 total rent with two roomies who live in the other two bedrooms. I don't foresee you finding many of the deals/bargains that TechLawyer references, as even the Columbia Pike section of Arlington has increased considerably in price since then.
The problem with Metro DC is that while the recession has detrimentally impacted starting salaries for new college graduates, rental prices largely haven't been affected by the recession because the volume of people moving here has remained static, if not even increased. This means today's college graduates get to look forward to less discretionary income than our recent predecessors. So many in Metro DC look down upon those who earn less than them or "have" less than them, but they fail to realize that they were blessed with a lot of good fortunes---buying before the housing bubble and then cashing in, investing in the tech boom, moving here at a time when starting salaries were more in-line with prevailing rental rates, etc. To me it seems like the salary vs. cost-of-living ratio is quickly approaching that of New York City, and I have yet to meet anyone who thinks DC can rival NYC in terms of "bang for your buck" in what you get in return for the financial sacrifice.
I wish you the best of luck, but as someone who has been struggling to stay afloat and to pay bills here now for nearly a year-and-a-half I keep asking myself "Is it really worth it for the so-called luxury of living in a far-flung suburb and sitting in traffic on the weekends?"
It seems like this forum is for people who have more of a steady income than I am, but I would need advice anyways. I am a recent college graduate, as you may all know the job market is tough, but I am just offered a job in the DC area as a paid intern with potential to be full time. The internship pays $11 an hour, and I would have to relocate from New York to DC, so that means rent, transportation, ect. I am wondering if that is a livable wage in the DC area. I calculated it and it is only a measly $21120 per year, not taking out taxes. I am a single female where safety is a credible concern. So, please let me know if there are any advice you can offer.
My advice? Unless this is the chance of a lifetime, don't do it. You will be miserable.
I'm pretty sure I may get criticism for posting these, but depending who you are, you can live in these apartment complexes and be fine. I know I can, but can't say the same for others.
I would not recommend section 8 housing to a single woman who is concerned about safety.
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