I'll be honest. I thought this thread would be about where to procure an eight-ball in D.C. Glad it wasn't.

In my innocence, that never occurred to me.

All my surviving relatives live in DC/environs.

One of my best friends moved there for work and she got a good deal on an apartment because the management company of the building wanted young professionals in the place (as opposed to those employed by politicians - it's on I street, where most of those offices are)

If you drive, DC is easier to live in than if you do not.

I currently live a little east of LeDroit Park, around between 1st and North Capitol. Where I live is pretty cheap, and I know a lot of people in bands live around here, though as to how long that'll last with the neighborhood's overall demographics changing to upper-income types, I can't say. It's certainly more expensive than it was a couple of years ago. Mount Pleasant is probably even more so now, though it's a much more diverse area, and has a lot of artists/musicians and some pretty stellar restaurants (I'm a big advocate of the papusas at Don Juan's).

Being from Virginia, I would not recommend living anywhere beyond the Arlington/Old-Town Alexandria area. Much more goes on there than in parts further out, and you'll have to deal with VERY conservative people on a regular basis in those places, as well. Maryland overall strikes me as the better deal, particularly in Montgomery County.

I also know a few who actually do commute by train or car from Baltimore for work in D.C. It's a town with a whole lot of problems, a lot of which were illustrated here, but I've been going there since I was a kid (even crashed there on Friday night), and I just really like it a lot, and feel way more at ease. It's an option to consider.

nathan. wrote:I currently live a little east of LeDroit Park, around between 1st and North Capitol. Where I live is pretty cheap, and I know a lot of people in bands live around here, though as to how long that'll last with the neighborhood's overall demographics changing to upper-income types, I can't say. It's certainly more expensive than it was a couple of years ago. Mount Pleasant is probably even more so now, though it's a much more diverse area, and has a lot of artists/musicians and some pretty stellar restaurants (I'm a big advocate of the papusas at Don Juan's).

Being from Virginia, I would not recommend living anywhere beyond the Arlington/Old-Town Alexandria area. Much more goes on there than in parts further out, and you'll have to deal with VERY conservative people on a regular basis in those places, as well. Maryland overall strikes me as the better deal, particularly in Montgomery County.

I also know a few who actually do commute by train or car from Baltimore for work in D.C. It's a town with a whole lot of problems, a lot of which were illustrated here, but I've been going there since I was a kid (even crashed there on Friday night), and I just really like it a lot, and feel way more at ease. It's an option to consider.

How cheap is LeDroit Park "cheap"? I'm asking because a good chunk of Richmond actually works in DC and houses are oppressively expensive here, let alone anywhere within reasonable proximity to the Metro. Some DC-ers even extreme-commute from the eastern panhandle of West Virginia.

I agree, though, that once past Arlington, you're very much in Virginia, not DC metro. Virginia has a very "equestrian-class, Southern blue-blood" ideal for living extending all through the Piedmont region and points east.

Well, where I am, I'm paying about $450+ utilities, and another friend is $550 + utilities, and some people I know are paying even less on 8th around the corner from the 9:30 Club, but there are probably six people living in that house. I guess I could've been more clear that this is "D.C. cheap", and believe me, these are pretty rare exceptions even within that context. Barring moving to Anacostia or deep into NE, you're not likely to find anything better, besides connections with some group houses or whatever.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the Petworth area's worth a look, too. I almost moved there last September, but that option didn't work out, and then a buddy of mine offered me the spot where I currently live.

iembalm wrote:I'll be honest. I thought this thread would be about where to procure an eight-ball in D.C.

scott wrote:Even inside the district, there's lots of trees, much more nature-feeling than Chicago is. Can't speak for Pittsburgh.

Considering that this is just a couple minutes walk from where I am right now, access to trees are not a problem.

scott wrote:Expect your car window to broken and little shit to be stolen from your car every couple years unless you're dilligent about never leaving anything in it. And maybe even if you are, depending on what neighborhoods you spend all your time in.

Nice. Good point, though. About four years ago, someone tried to bash in our car window with a brick, and was unable to in five tries. (By the fifth bang, I was at the window, and they took off. Hey, it was 2:30 in the morning.) I think that means we just have amateurs here, while the DC thieves know what they're doing.

scott wrote:It gets hot as fuck in the summer, and humid too. The winter will seem like a fucking joke to you. Everybody goes cuckoo if it snows 1". The winter there is a cakewalk compared to Pittsburgh, I'm sure.

We've actually visited DC several times in August. It seems stupid in a way, but it was great--everything's pretty much available without waiting in line. As for the puny winter, yeah, I'm sure it's comparatively trivial.

scott wrote:Also, be ready for Masonic iconography on a level you've probably never seen anywhere else. Those fuckers are all up in that town, bigtime.

Like Washington and Franklin? No doubt.

Carl wrote:I would try to avoid living anywhere that would involve commuting on the Beltway as traffic can make the worst Pittsburgh traffic jam look tame.

The office in question is right off the Blue Line, so yeah, Metro access is a goal. I am averse to traffic jams: I've structured much of my life so that I can avoid them. At different times this has meant a pre-rush-hour-rotated commute, a wholly walking commute, and self-employment. But in this case, yeah, I'd prefer Metro or biking.

Carl wrote:there's a yinzer-themed bar a couple blocks south

Seriously? The mind boggles.

Carl wrote:Then again, there are many places to drink if you don't need to have an IC Light

I don't know if I have ever "needed" an IC Light, thankfully. There's a hipster bar here that has the glorious Atwater Vanilla Java Porter on tap; Atwater's site doesn't seem to suggest DC availability, last I checked.

Carl wrote:It will be a lot more expensive than Pittsburgh, if that's an issue.

That is indeed what I'm seeing from the various online salary calculators.

Mandroid2.0 wrote:I would highly recommend either apartment company if you are looking for an inexpensive rental and don't want to buy in a house or have 4 roommates in a house.

Which apartment companies? I should note, though, that we're a family of four (two kids under 3), so there has to be some degree of family-friendliness.

Mandroid2.0 wrote:Poverty is an issue and quite a few jobs do not pay more to account for the heightened cost of living.

That's important. What I'm being offered would be good for Pittsburgh, but I have my questions about how far it would go in DC, especially with three other people to consider.

Also, damn, nathan--that's some great info right there.

Thanks, folks! Still working it out!

Maurice wrote:

Mandroid2.0 wrote:I would highly recommend either apartment company if you are looking for an inexpensive rental and don't want to buy in a house or have 4 roommates in a house.

Which apartment companies? I should note, though, that we're a family of four (two kids under 3), so there has to be some degree of family-friendliness.

Ah, sorry. I meant to add links to my original post. Massachusetts House is more of a place for one or two people per apartment unit. However, you may want to check out Falkland Chase in Silver Spring. When we lived in our 2-bedroom there, the family above us had two toddler age children. The apartments are spacious and the area is very conveniently located, right next to the Metro station and at the D.C. border. Also, as I mentioned above they offered free parking for residents.

The area I rented that house, about one mile west of the Ballston stop in Arlington, would be a fine place for a wife and kids. You could walk to the Ballston stop, ride a bike to the Ballston stop, or even ride your bike all the way to your final destination maybe. My then-roommate used to bike to his work, which was right near the White House.

Do NOT commute on the beltway. Screw the beltway.