DC Neighborhoods

[hkellick]

OK, folks, I need your knowledge.

Kristen and I are moving (within the DC Metro Area - Wherever it goes, it needs to be relatively close to a Metro Station, so that one or both of us can get to work) and we NEED to know which areas we should be conentrating on finding an apartment in. We want to know what neighborhoods are worthwhile and which are not.
At the moment, we've only looked at Silver Spring. I've been told to check out Fairfax. And Alexandria is an obvious place for me to check.
Other suggestions?

Our rent threshold is approximately $1,400.

This post is public. Please feel free to redirect people.

Thank you!

Comments

[phoenixsong]

Hahahaha, I had no idea you were going to do this s:)

[lite.livejournal.com]

Do... what? Post asking for help?

[phoenixsong]

We just posted similar stuff within a few minutes of each other, unplanned, and it amused me some. s:)

[royannadawn.livejournal.com]

Did you post to dc_metro?

[lite.livejournal.com]

I did not! I shall! Thank you!

[phoenixsong]

Also washingtondc

[lite.livejournal.com]

You want to handle that one?

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

I'd say Fairfax too.

Stay away from Dulles and that area by the Galleria. It's metro central, but really pricey.

[lainiest.livejournal.com]

:O
Alexandria has the best seafood restaurant evar.

[sskipstress.livejournal.com]

You might want to put your rent threshold in your posts when asking for help, because that's just as important to you guys as location.

If you want help with on-line searching and calling places to check for vacancies and confirm rents, let me know. I can help with that once I'm back from war. I can't really pick out places and neighborhoods, but I can help you find places that meet your objective requirements so you can go look at them.

[lite.livejournal.com]

That would be helpful :)

*edits posts*

[sskipstress.livejournal.com]

And I found my place by walking around neighborhoods I was most seriously considering (Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, Woodley Park, and Cleveland Park) and bopping into complex offices and asking to see what they have in my price range. I used the newspaper and online listings to figure out what rent range to expect. Some were more expensive, some were much cheaper, and I really liked my kitchen.

You might try something similar with driving around the suburbanish neighborhoods. Because not all apartments with vacancies announce the vacancies online or in papers and the phone books around here are horrible for figuring out where things are.

[lite.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I realize that. And alot of places have so-called Window Specials.
That's why it's really important to try and narrow down neighborhoods. The problem is.. DC is too freakin' big and we have no idea where to look! (and where to avoid!)

[sskipstress.livejournal.com]

I'm probably not the best judge of neighborhood for the two of you because I LIKE downtown and I like being a minority in my neighborhood. I even enjoy the challenge of buying food in the tiendas that like to call themselves supermercados.

Your desire to be near the metro and your need for cheap is going to dictate where you *can* live more than anything else.

That said, of my friends who live in VA (Falls Church, Reston, Anandale, Ballston (Arlington), Manassas) the only one who wishes for a safer neighborhood is the one in Manassas (just off 66 past Centreville), which is further out than you would want to be anyway.

[elbinia.livejournal.com]

What do you mean by "close to a metro stop"? Walking? Driving? If driving, how many minutes or miles away? I used to live in Centreville, VA just off I-66...the time it took to the Vienna Metro stop varied on traffic.

[lawchicky.livejournal.com]

I don't have a lot of knowledge about the DC Metro area, but I can say that I've spent a lot of time in Alexandria, and it's a great area. The metro there gets you anywhere fairly quickly (Josh and I used it the last time we were there). I think it's pricy, but if you could find a bargain in the area I think you'd like living there. My uncle's building actually went co-op, so he's not renting anymore. He bought one co-op and his girlfriend bought the one next door. He's actually on the town committee for real estate (he's a commercial real estate lawyer), so if you have any questions on Alexandria, I could probably get you answers.