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hey folks,
i been trolling around here for a few months and i think i'll askthe question that everybody else has.......... where are some good places to move down there??
i'm born and raised here in pittsburgh. the cost of living is very low and it's a city u could get used to real quick. but since its part of the rust belt, nothin new comes here very often.
my girlfriend and i are lookin to move down there this summer when i get done with nursing school. we're looking for some neighborhoods that aren't a "pittsburgh part 2" type of thing. what i mean by that is we are looking for somewhere nice to live that is quiet, drug free and not have people posted on the block. i tried looking online at NW dc ( can't afford), NE DC ( crap shoot), SW DC ( another roll of the dice) alexandria , va ( can't afford it) and places in pg county ( temple hills, oxon hill, mt. rainier, capitol heights, hyattsville, etc.). are only resource for nice apartments is apartmentratings.com
i first came to DC in october 95 for howards homecoming and then came back a few weeks later for the million man march. i visited my sister in 97-98 when she was living in alexandria and told myself ' i have got to get down here!!!' i feel in love with the diversity, different subcultures and opportunities for things to do.
i was particularly attracted to the fact that DC/MD/VA has a black middle and upper class. there is none of that up here in pittsburgh. so i was very determined to move to pg county, but after drivin through some of the neighborhoods i.e. bladensburg, most of hyattsville, chillum, etc. we were very disappointed ( i've been wantin to move to mt. rainier for the last 3 years....... i guess i must've seen it on a good day back then!!). i'm looking online for apts outside the beltway in pg county, but it's not looking good.
we're looking for a 1 - 2 bdrms for absolutely no more than $1200 + electric. we've been to alotta apts but most of them have maximum income guidelines and WE ALL KNOW WHAT KINDA TENENANTS LIVE THERE!! again, we wanna dodge a 'pittsburgh pt. 2'!!
so far, the best places we saw we're the kennilworth apts in bladensburg, the avery park apts in silver spring and the portabello apts down in temple hills.
to sum it up:
$1200 a month + electric
nice quiet neighborhood
in DC or pg county
Before you decide on a place to live, you really need to figure out where you and your friend are going to be working. I also grew up in Pittsburgh (but left 20+ years ago), and visit often. The traffic in this area is a different order of magnitude that what you are used to, and it can take much longer to travel from Point A to Point B during rush hour than you might think from looking on a map. You could easily end up spending 2+ hours a day in the car if you don't plan ahead to live near your workplace.
It's been a long time since I rented an apartment, so I can't help you there, but in general, anything inside the Beltway in PG County is likely to be an iffy neighborhood, especially if the price seems too good to be true. Most of the nicer neighborhoods in PG County are much farther out than the places you mentioned, and are very suburban in nature -- you would probably each need a car.
Hope this helps.
forgot to add.......... u guys can recommend places in alexandria, arlington, nw, ne, sw or se. the only thing i have to go by is apartmentratings.com and word of mouth. dc and pg county are preferences, but we're open to other plces too, as long as the price is right and the neighborhood is semi-nice at minimum.
Before you decide on a place to live, you really need to figure out where you and your friend are going to be working. I also grew up in Pittsburgh (but left 20+ years ago), and visit often. The traffic in this area is a different order of magnitude that what you are used to, and it can take much longer to travel from Point A to Point B during rush hour than you might think from looking on a map. You could easily end up spending 2+ hours a day in the car if you don't plan ahead to live near your workplace.
It's been a long time since I rented an apartment, so I can't help you there, but in general, anything inside the Beltway in PG County is likely to be an iffy neighborhood, especially if the price seems too good to be true. Most of the nicer neighborhoods in PG County are much farther out than the places you mentioned, and are very suburban in nature -- you would probably each need a car.
Hope this helps.
we're going to be working in hospitals right in the district. probably washington hospital center and the va hospital
Washington Hospital Center is right near Brookland (in NE). Brookland/CUA is the metro stop that runs near it (Red Line). Many buses run nearby (the 80 a few blocks away, the H buses). I know you said you drive, but it's good to know anyway. Brookland is a very nice community, and you should check it out.
Brookland CUA Metro stop isn't very close to Washington Hospital Center. There may be a bus from there though.
If that is where you will work, then best bet is Silver Spring, Takoma Park, College Park, Adelphi, Beltsville, etc... These locations are easier to drive to that area than most other places.
Washington Hospital Center is right near Brookland (in NE). Brookland/CUA is the metro stop that runs near it (Red Line). Many buses run nearby (the 80 a few blocks away, the H buses). I know you said you drive, but it's good to know anyway. Brookland is a very nice community, and you should check it out.
is all of brookland nice or should i watch out for certain parts?? what is the rent like there?
Brookland CUA Metro stop isn't very close to Washington Hospital Center. There may be a bus from there though.
If that is where you will work, then best bet is Silver Spring, Takoma Park, College Park, Adelphi, Beltsville, etc... These locations are easier to drive to that area than most other places.
how is beltsville, i never heard anything about it?
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