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I'll start my master's degree at Georgetown University. I need you help ( I've been to DC for 8 hours as a tourist in 2014).
1- Would like to rent an apartment or a one story house. Budget ( 2000 - 2200). Either in DC or its surrounded areas in Virginia. Any recommendations for the safest neighborhoods? and what's better? living in DC or Virginia ( my concern is winter time and how would get to the university during snow days). I would have a car.
2- Places or neighborhoods to avoid? I know commonsense works wherever. I need to know, commonsense works with tourists more, I'll live there for two years.
You could live in an apartment in the Georgetown neighborhood itself for around $2,000. That would be easiest so you could just walk to campus. You probably wouldn't be driving to school as parking is very limited/expensive on the Georgetown campus, but maybe the school has some arrangement where it can give you parking. Still, since DC is one of the worst areas for traffic in the country, even if you have parking, walking is going to be much easier than driving. You can get a residential permit and just park your car on the street in Georgetown. If you want an off-street parking spot it's going to be expensive, like $150 to $200 a month or more, but that's going to be the case anywhere within a short commute to campus, not just Georgetown.
Georgetown is very safe as are the surrounding neighborhoods. You are pretty unlikely to end up in an unsafe area if you are at all near Georgetown.
You certainly could live in Arlington, Virginia, right across the Potomac from Georgetown, and ride the bus over the Key Bridge, but traffic is often quite heavy on the bridge so the bus or driving is subject to major delays. So in your case I would say DC is preferable to Virginia. A lot of people walk over the Key Bridge to Georgetown from Virginia, so that is an option, and there are a few apartments in Rosslyn, the neighborhood in Arlington directly across the bridge, but I have walked over that bridge on windy days in winter and it is NOT fun. It's a fairly long bridge and very exposed to the elements. It's a doable walk but living directly in Georgetown will be much easier.
There are usually only a handful of days every year where it snows more than a light dusting. Yes snow does really interfere with transportation here but it happens so rarely it's not really worth worrying about. And when the snow does accumulate, it's usually mostly melted away a week later. This isn't like the Midwest or New England where snow is on the ground all winter.
Last edited by stateofnature; 04-01-2016 at 10:06 AM..
You could live in an apartment in the Georgetown neighborhood itself for around $2,000. That would be easiest so you could just walk to campus. You probably wouldn't be driving to school as parking is very limited/expensive on the Georgetown campus, but maybe the school has some arrangement where it can give you parking. Still, since DC is one of the worst areas for traffic in the country, even if you have parking, walking is going to be much easier than driving. You can get a residential permit and just park your car on the street in Georgetown. If you want an off-street parking spot it's going to be expensive, like $150 to $200 a month or more, but that's going to be the case anywhere within a short commute to campus, not just Georgetown.
Georgetown is very safe as are the surrounding neighborhoods. You are pretty unlikely to end up in an unsafe area if you are at all near Georgetown.
You certainly could live in Arlington, Virginia, right across the Potomac from Georgetown, and ride the bus over the Key Bridge, but traffic is often quite heavy on the bridge so the bus or driving is subject to major delays. So in your case I would say DC is preferable to Virginia. A lot of people walk over the Key Bridge to Georgetown from Virginia, so that is an option, and there are a few apartments in Rosslyn, the neighborhood in Arlington directly across the bridge, but I have walked over that bridge on windy days in winter and it is NOT fun. It's a fairly long bridge and very exposed to the elements. It's a doable walk but living directly in Georgetown will be much easier.
There are usually only a handful of days every year where it snows more than a light dusting. Yes snow does really interfere with transportation here but it happens so rarely it's not really worth worrying about. And when the snow does accumulate, it's usually mostly melted away a week later. This isn't like the Midwest or New England where snow is on the ground all winter.
Such a fantastic, rather quick reply. Thank you very much! I'll consider living in Georgetown.
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