athenianstranger

If you are thinking of specializing in ancient political theory do you have any background in ancient Greek?

Political theory is highly parasitic on philosophic claims of varying sorts. Had I known this when I began college I would have switched to philosophy and studied political philosophy. As it is my most recent book's shelving code is "Classical Studies/Cultural Studies" and my publisher forgot to bring the book to APSA (they brought it to APA, go figure)! But I had a spare copy *grin* and they displayed it throughout the conference. And to just confuse matters more people classify my research as "semiotics/literary theory" and I've taught philosophy courses!

Georgetown - so pretty! So expensive! All those important people in one place!
Gtown and GWU are pretty close to each other - they share a metro stop (Foggy Bottom), although Gtown is at least a 20 minute walk from it - and kinda uphill (the next closest stop is Rosslyn, across the Key Bridge in VA). So, really for Gtown your choice is to 1) live in the thick of it, 2) live reasonably close to a metro stop and become a fan of long walks or additional bus rides, or 3) live on a bus line that goes straight into Gtown. I don't know what the school offers in terms of shuttle buses. UMD has an extensive network of them, so maybe Gtown does too - it would make sense!
Bus-wise, a lot of the D & G buses that go to Gtown's campus come from expensive neighborhoods as well. Check em out on wmata's DC bus map: http://www.wmata.com/bus/maps/ You might try a neighborhood along one of the Circulator lines (Circulators are cheaper - only $1 vs $1.50 with Smartrip, and still accept transfers, AND they come about every 10 minutes, which is pretty awesome, but the downside is they stop running around 9pm). You'll see on the map http://www.dccirculator.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=11 that the yellow and aqua colored lines go to Gtown, and that the other Circulator lines crossover in some areas.
Arlington might be a good choice for you too. You have be careful about your searches in Arlington though, much like other cities in the area (Silver Spring is another example), the city of Arlington is huge! You need to make sure you're picking something near a metro, or at least a decent bus stop. Clarendon is a metro stop on the orange line in a pretty vibrant area, but others nearby are also good.
I suppose what I really want to say is that you can live in a lot of places and still get where you need to go. It might be easier to decide depending on your "scene." If you favor more conventional neighborhoods, they'll be more expensive, but closer to Gtown (stuff around Friendship Heights (border of MD) / Bethesda (MD) / Adams Morgan / Dupont / Cleveland Park / Arlington). Not to say that everything in those places is straight-laced - certainly not! Dupont is both conservative and wildly liberal at the same time (home to many embassies and drag queens alike). If you're more "indie," you'll like being in Columbia Heights, Petworth, Mt Pleasant, U Street Corridor...if you're very "crunchy," you'll dig Takoma Park. Eastern Market and Capitol Hill are interesting - a cross between very wealthy and some rather poor sections - parts of it wonderfully beautiful alongside parts than still look a bit rundown. It's technically SE though, which is a no-no on some people's lists. My dad is a retired DC firefighter, and not to freak anyone out, but he had a lot of bad stories about fire stations in SE (probably beyond the Capitol Hill section). But things are changing, and many of the places I've mentioned were considered bad neighborhoods until a few years ago. Even where I live in Silver Spring was unfathomable to me 10 years ago.
Maybe some of these blogs might help you decide:
http://dcist.com/
http://www.princeofpetworth.com/
Good for figuring out what to do in DC:
http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/ (look for walking tours! if you visit, a walking tour might help you decide)
To compare what I've said to my actual situation (and let you gauge what you find against my hometown): I live in a 580 square foot studio apt in SS. I'm a 5-7 minute walk from the metro / tons of buses (due to construction - we're getting a new library and a travel depot thing next to the metro), close to tons of places to eat, 2 movie theaters (AFI, anyone?), Whole Foods, Safeway, Giant, and all my utilities are included for $1140 / month. This will sound crazy to some people and pretty damn reasonable to others. I refuse to live in a swankier place (or have a separate bedroom) because I don't see the point. I have a pool and a gym in my building - what more do I need? For the people who are looking to pay $1500 or less for an apt that's not part of a house, you'll probably end up a little further from the metro than you'd like, and you'll need to live in a less ritzy neighborhood, but it's entirely do-able. I don't know if you'd really want to travel all the way from SS to Gtown or GWU - you'll probably find the equivalent to what I have in Arlington and have a happier commute. But if your heart is set on a neighborhood in DC, go for it! There are so many lovely places to live, and so many things happening everywhere.
Almost forgot - I noticed some people were wondering about living expenses in general. I don't have a lot of amenities that others can't live without, but we're all gonna be grad students, right? We're used to this
I use Netflix instead of cable ($10/month). I have a pay-as-you-go phone (I am THAT cheap - I have unlimited texting for $15 / month cuz what the hell - that's what Skype is for ). I have no car, and pay about $100 / month of public trans (using the metro a couple days a week, but mostly using the bus). My renter's insurance is about $130 / year, cuz $20,000 was the lowest I could go. I don't smoke, don't go to bars too often (couple times / month ish?). However, I go out to eat A LOT and I like to buy groceries at Whole Foods (I spend just as much at Safeway because I'm not buying all junk food so I might as well stick to Whole Foods). I easily drop $600-700 / month on groceries and eating out (this is WITH my bf - so it would be less for someone on their own, and a lot less for someone who is conscientious about cooking at home more often). Of course, most of my purchases are in MD, where sales tax is 6%. The 10% tax in DC feels enormous! VA is 3%...just FYI. My eating habits are going to change considerably once I'm in school! Everything else is almost as low as I'm willing to go
I know I've repeated myself a bunch throughout this forum - just trying to put all the vital info in the response. Hope it helps to clarify the picture in your mind - I'm doing the same thing - except for cities in the UK! Finally, living in the same place for almost 30 years pays off

Ohhh, I LOVE Sephora, my heartbeat quickens when I'm in that store. Someone was asking about mineral make-up before, I've used Bare Essentuals for the longest time (I have olive skin tone) but recently they haven't been shipping it to Canada b/c of the offical SPF label on the packaging. I was advised to switch to the Sephora Brand Mineral Make-up and although I was apprehensive at first, I find it to be better than Bare Essentuals. It's not as glowy, and more matte, so I can get away with using a bit more in certain areas where I need it without looking too made up. It's also cheaper and you get more for a lower price. It also has all the perks of BE (i.e. the SPF, etc.).

On topic: I can't believe I didn't find this thread sooner! I have been struggling with this 'issue' for awhile. I'm a feminine typical "city" girl who likes to wear boots in the Fall (I'm from Toronto) along with blazers and blouses layerd with cardigans. I also experiment quite a bit with jewellery (I recently splurged on a Michael Kors goldtone watch). Being in the sciences though, I feel I have had to tone down my feminity in order to fit in. During my MSc, I was the only girl in the lab with guys who wore nothing but tshirts and jeans and I always felt too dressed up (even though by regular standards of professional attire, I was just well-dressed). So, I ended up not wearing A LOT of my clothes just so I didn't appear too girly, or someone who was too interested in her appearance to actually be able to 'do' science.

Suffice it to say, I regret a lot of who I became during the last 2 years. I'm moving to the west coast for a PhD (UBC), and refuse to let other people dictate how I'm going to look or what I'm going to wear. What is the point of having all those nice clothes when I seldom get to wear them. For fellow science female graduate students, wear ALL your nice clothes, and embrace your femininity. People who are going to take you seriously, will do so regardless of the way you dress, and those who are going to judge, aren't worth your time anyway.

Having said that, some of my favourite stores are Club Monaco, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters and Banana Republic, along with any good thrift store. I don't believe in bargain shopping but rather paying the price for clothes that are staples (and not trendy) and will last me a couple of seasons. For shoes, I generally wear pointy flats in the summer (comfy but dressy enough for work), leather boots in the Fall, and waterproof boots for the snowy/rainy winters (Burberry has some very nice patterned rubber boots for $200 that will last you a long long time!).

I am currently living on less that $19,000 a year and have even managed to save up ~$4000 over the last 4 months for my move and my paycheck gap as I transition to a phd program. Whether this is possible really depends on cost of living. I currently live in a low cost-of-living area and live with roommates in a very nice house. My rent ends up being ~$450 a month with an extra $100 put into our general utilities account most months - so housing for me is about $6,500 (overestimate). I own my car without car payments at this point so am just paying car insurance ~$120 a month so thats an additional $1500 (again over estimation). I probably average $50 in gas a month so thats $600 (I live walking distance to campus). I probably average $200 in groceries a month, ~$2,400. So with these essentials I am up to $11,000. Being a 20-something I am able to get away with staying on my parent's family plan for my phone (I'm not upgrading to a smartphone b/c I would have to pay), and until I'm 26 I can stay on my parents insurance, so I do have some help. But I have about $8000 here that is 'unclaimed' by the essentials allowing me to eat out semi-regularly, to take small vacations, to buy clothes and home goods on occasion - if I wanted to sacrifice a bit of that or not be saving I could probably afford the smart phone.

Depending on location, it is possible. Some sacrifices might need to be made - live in a less nice apartment than you are used to, get a roommate to afford the nicer place, etc. Coming straight from undergrad, $19,000 is the most I have ever made and it is easy to continue my habits of not spending that much on non-essentials. I realize for you, coming from the opposite where you are used to making much more than that and being able to spend money on non-essentials it will be a much harder transition. Advice from the 'get out of debt' segments on shows like Today and Good Morning America I use as stay out of debt advice. I pay close attention to my budget and what I spend a few dollars on here, a few dollars on there. A Starbucks coffee or tea is simply not worth the money on a grad student's salary - invest in a quality coffee maker at home and even at the office if that is a vice of yours. Bag lunch regularly instead of buying. I don't know your spending habits at all, but I've noticed that we collectively spend a lot of money on convenience - not having to make lunch the night before, not needing to keep a coffee bean supply at home, taking the first good apartment rather than doing the legwork to find an equally good and cheaper one, stopping at the gas station along our fastest route and not driving the extra half a mile to save, etc. Living on the cheap is a mindset, $5 and $10 purchases have to be debated rather than thought of as change - even $2 purchases if the budget is tight enough.

Anyway, that's how I get by - hope that helps.

Just got into Georgetown for theory! Received an email from the graduate coordinator. No word on funding though, but I'm still ecstatic!

I heard from a few grad students at Toronto that Orwin has altered his research focus over the past few years. He now does Old Testament and Jewish thought almost exclusively (Jerusalem over Athens for my Straussian friends out there).

Just got into Georgetown for theory! Received an email from the graduate coordinator. No word on funding though, but I'm still ecstatic!