Washington, DC and Maryland suburbs

[jaywalker]

Hi everyone! I'm starting a PhD program at GWU in the fall, and I'll be moving to the DC area in August. If anyone is looking for a roommate, let me know!

[GreenePony]

Hi everyone! I'm starting a PhD program at GWU in the fall, and I'll be moving to the DC area in August. If anyone is looking for a roommate, let me know!

There is a housing site for GW students, but you need to claim your ID/email before you can log on. I think it has a roommates section. It may even be a link from the my gwu site

[jaywalker]

There is a housing site for GW students, but you need to claim your ID/email before you can log on. I think it has a roommates section. It may even be a link from the my gwu site

Yeah I made a profile there, and I already sent some requests. But I've only heard back from one person (who already had a roommate)...I get the feeling that a bunch of profiles there are old and inactive. So I figured I would ask here to hit a different angle.

Have you used the housing site? if so, any luck?

[GreenePony]

Yeah I made a profile there, and I already sent some requests. But I've only heard back from one person (who already had a roommate)...I get the feeling that a bunch of profiles there are old and inactive. So I figured I would ask here to hit a different angle.

Have you used the housing site? if so, any luck?

That makes sense then.

I've only given it a cursory look. I don't need a roommate and my husband and I have decided to try to stay out of the district in a more family-friendly/young professional area.

[CalSeeker]

The neighborhoods on the orange line are generally far superior with more interesting things to do and places to go. The blue line has Alexandria and that's about it, since the airport and the pentagon are on it. So it's (to some extent) older neighborhoods (orange) versus new more strip mall type places (blue).

I agree that there are more Orange metro stops that have interesting walkability/nightlife. Note this only really applies to the closer-in stations, in my opinion (which are far more expensive).

I live on the Blue line in Alexandria and will say that one advantage is that it seems way, way less congested on than the Orange line during rush hour. Even though there are often 2 Orange trains for every Blue, the Orange trains always seem packed. Plus, my station is also on the Yellow line, which allows for quicker access to downtown DC. These are pretty big benefits for me, though obviously everyone has different priorities.

[Dengue2011]

Hi, everyone

I'm an international student and I'll be attending the University of Maryland at College Park for my graduate studies. I've been offered a research assistantship (US$22,000/year). I have a few questions and I appreciate if people currently living in the area could help me out.

I'm not familiar with the US income taxes rates and I wonder how much I should expect to pay in taxes. From what I read, I have to pay state (US$ ~1,000) plus federal (15% of my income) income taxes, is that correct? It's seems a little too much, but I'm not sure.

I started to look for housing options, but I don't feel confortable making a deposit or signing a lease without seeing the place personally when I get there. I planning to arrive at College Park with 1-2 weeks in advance. Will I still find a good place to live at a reasonable price? I'm hoping to spend US$ 500-600 in rent for a room in a house or apartment (up to 800 depends on what's included in the rent). Where should I look at? I'd prefer to stay near College Park in my first year, but I'm open to take a look in other places/areas. Are there any other options?

Any piece of advise for an international student traveling to the US for the first time?

[annieca]

From what I've discovered, there is no way you're going to find something close to College Park without a roommate for anywhere close to $500. In fact, I would say you would be lucky to find a two-bedroom, with a roommate for less than $800 a person. But, that's just been my experience in searching.

I wish you luck!

[OregonGal]

@Dengue2011

So the way that income taxes works is a bit complicated. I find the easiest way to figure out tax withholdings is to use a calculator like this one. You can plug in relevant info that affects tax withholdings (income, number of dependents, etc) to see what your take home pay will be, approximately. If you're single, no dependents, and your payments are spread out evenly through the calendar year instead of academic year, it looks like you'll be living on about $1400/month.

While it won't be fun, you can definitely live on that much in College Park/Silver Spring (I live on even less, but it means no going out and lots of brown bag lunches). You'll definitely need to share an apartment, which if you don't have a car and need to be Metro-accessible will cost you, at minimum, $600-800/month (as I've stated in other posts/threads, I share a 3 bed/2 bath older apartment in Silver Spring, Metro/bus accessible, for $610 including utilities but that is the absolute floor pricing for such apartments). As for the timing of your move, I think you can find an apartment in 1-2 weeks especially if you start looking before you arrive on Craigslist and such, so you can schedule visits for right after you arrive, but you're more likely to find an apartment opening at the start of the month (i.e. September 1 or October 1) than on a day in the middle of the month.

[atamin21]

Incoming GTU PhD candidate looking for roommates/housemates starting this August. Please PM me if you are looking for a male roommate.

[Dengue2011]

From what I've discovered, there is no way you're going to find something close to College Park without a roommate for anywhere close to $500. In fact, I would say you would be lucky to find a two-bedroom, with a roommate for less than $800 a person. But, that's just been my experience in searching.

I wish you luck!

I can't afford to live without roommates. According to UMD's Off-Campus Housing Services, there are a lot of listings of houses with 4/5 bedrooms where the rent for a private room is between $400-600. Most apartment complexes are more expensive. Some houses look nice on photos, but I have no idea about the condition of them. Have you looked at those places? What do you think?

@Dengue2011

So the way that income taxes works is a bit complicated. I find the easiest way to figure out tax withholdings is to use a calculator like this one. You can plug in relevant info that affects tax withholdings (income, number of dependents, etc) to see what your take home pay will be, approximately. If you're single, no dependents, and your payments are spread out evenly through the calendar year instead of academic year, it looks like you'll be living on about $1400/month.

While it won't be fun, you can definitely live on that much in College Park/Silver Spring (I live on even less, but it means no going out and lots of brown bag lunches). You'll definitely need to share an apartment, which if you don't have a car and need to be Metro-accessible will cost you, at minimum, $600-800/month (as I've stated in other posts/threads, I share a 3 bed/2 bath older apartment in Silver Spring, Metro/bus accessible, for $610 including utilities but that is the absolute floor pricing for such apartments). As for the timing of your move, I think you can find an apartment in 1-2 weeks especially if you start looking before you arrive on Craigslist and such, so you can schedule visits for right after you arrive, but you're more likely to find an apartment opening at the start of the month (i.e. September 1 or October 1) than on a day in the middle of the month.

Thanks for the calculator, it helped a lot. In my admission letter, it doesn't say if the amount of my stipend is before or after taxes (I believe it's before taxes, though). I plan to stay in a hotel while looking for a permanent place to live, so I have a more flexible move-in date.

Edited May 8, 2012 by Dengue2011

[temple12]

I will be attending Howard in the fall for speech pathology, I do not know anything about the area. Can anyone tell me what type of neighborhood Howard is in? Is it safe enough to walk around and get to and from the metro? Any suggestions where to live?

[GreenePony]

Anyone have any thoughts on a commute from the Franconia metro station to city center? I was shocked to find a townhouse (with a basement for DH's man cave!) in our price range out that way but the hour commute worries me.

[spacecase618]

I can't afford to live without roommates. According to UMD's Off-Campus Housing Services, there are a lot of listings of houses with 4/5 bedrooms where the rent for a private room is between $400-600. Most apartment complexes are more expensive. Some houses look nice on photos, but I have no idea about the condition of them. Have you looked at those places? What do you think?

Thanks for the calculator, it helped a lot. In my admission letter, it doesn't say if the amount of my stipend is before or after taxes (I believe it's before taxes, though). I plan to stay in a hotel while looking for a permanent place to live, so I have a more flexible move-in date.

It depends a lot on the house as far as how accurate they are. Im an undergrad at UMD and also going here for grad school. I've noticed that its really a grab bag. What was initially my first pick house before visiting turned out to be the last because the pictures made it seem a lot bigger and nicer than it was. But the place I signed a lease with was pretty spot on. It really depends.

And at least for my dept, the award amount is listed before taxes.

As far as housing goes, avoid anything on Knox Rd. which are very affectionately known as Knox Boxes here. They're typically old, run down, and very very overpriced for what they are. That and theres typically more crime reports from that area of college park than other neighborhoods.

If your ok with a house, try looking in College Park Woods, down Rhode Island Avenue, or Berwyn House Rd. etc. Old Town CP can also be hit or miss depending on where you are.

[Dengue2011]

It depends a lot on the house as far as how accurate they are. Im an undergrad at UMD and also going here for grad school. I've noticed that its really a grab bag. What was initially my first pick house before visiting turned out to be the last because the pictures made it seem a lot bigger and nicer than it was. But the place I signed a lease with was pretty spot on. It really depends.

And at least for my dept, the award amount is listed before taxes.

As far as housing goes, avoid anything on Knox Rd. which are very affectionately known as Knox Boxes here. They're typically old, run down, and very very overpriced for what they are. That and theres typically more crime reports from that area of college park than other neighborhoods.

If your ok with a house, try looking in College Park Woods, down Rhode Island Avenue, or Berwyn House Rd. etc. Old Town CP can also be hit or miss depending on where you are.

Thank you for your reply. I sent you a PM.

[totheleft]

Anyone have any thoughts on a commute from the Franconia metro station to city center? I was shocked to find a townhouse (with a basement for DH's man cave!) in our price range out that way but the hour commute worries me.

I've lived in Northern VA my entire life - so the commute seems easy to me. It's nice because you can just sit on the metro with your iPod or a book, or get work done or whatever.

Anotehr option would be to move toward Burke - there's a great VRE (train) station in Burke and the VRE is a little nicer, above ground, bathrooms, can drink/eat on it, etc. But no metro near there so if you won't have a car, you may not like that (but if you don't have a car, I may not recommend Franconia either.)

[jeffster]

I'm moving to DC with my wife this summer, to attend AU in the fall. Originally we were looking for large studio/small 1br places outside of DC with access to bus/metro, but then I started looking more at the DC transit system. We live in Prague right now, and the mass transit in DC looks like it will cost as much in a month (if I ride it maybe twice a day) as we pay in a year for unlimited rides here!

It seems like we would be better off paying $1200 or $1300 somewhere in walk/bike distance to AU than we would paying less and having to ride the metro in from outside the center. Does anyone living there now have experience that matches this?

[OregonGal]

The cost of transportation really depends on a lot of factors--time of day (there's a rush hour surcharge for subway), type (subway is more expensive than bus), etc. I take the bus to and from work so that's $3/day, 5 days a week, for around $70 a month. If I go into DC on the weekend via subway or Metro that adds a few dollars. However the bus fare is going up in July so it'll be $1.60 a ride with the SmartCard (reloadable plastic fare-card, can also be used to pay for transit center parking). You only get a 50 cent discount transferring bus-subway but you get free bus-bus transfers.

Subway fare is definitely spiking, unfortunately--there's also a lot of construction going on late at night/on weekends because they delayed upgrades/repairs until they needed to overhaul the entire system. That's part of the reason behind the fare increases. Now, for some commuters who tend to park at transit centers and take Metro into the city it's becoming equally or even less expensive to pay for gas/on-street parking and drive in.

However, I would be surprised if you could find a studio or 1-bedroom near AU that is only $1200-1300; that's more the price a few stops up the Metro at Bethesda or Medical Center. If you're commuting from a Red Line Metro stop within the Beltway to Tenleytown, you'll only pay $1.70/ride excluding the rush hour surcharge.

[GreenePony]

Anyone know of good dog-friendly walking trails in NOVA? I know there are couple of dog parks in Alexandria but I don't trust my new darling puppy off leash quite yet, even in a fenced in area. The parks website is good for listing dog parks but I don't see walking trails

[kcaz]

Attending GWU in the fall; if anyone is looking for a roommate still let me know.

Also, I'm thinking about possibly getting a bike to ride around the campus and surrounding areas with - in general how viable is cycling in DC (are there bike racks, am I in any major danger of getting said bike stolen, etc.)?

[shockwave]

Hi everyone.

I am applying to UMD College Park for doctorate programs this fall. I just had a few concerns about traveling, community, and safety.

I have heard CP is not in the greatest area. I'd prefer to live in a safe and comfortable area even if the commute is a bit longer and/or it is a bit pricier. I would be a 24 y/o doctoral student, so I am over the undergraduate scene but would like some more adult options for dining and nightlife.

I was wondering what everyone thought would be a suitable neighborhood to live in for me and how the commute was. I do plan to use a car and was wondering what the commutes from such neighborhoods were like and also what the traffic and driving was like.

Thanks everyone!

[Mai]

HI shockwave,

if you have a car,i would suggest you to move wherever you feel comfortable. There are amazing places around College Park, from urban areas to rural areas. Some nice places to look around within 20 min of driving distance: Silver Spring, Bethesda, Laurel, and obviously DC if you can afford it. Greenbelt is also 10 minutes away from the campus.

You can check the graduate handbook and in off-campus housing website there is also a document with more information.

Finding housing is time consuming, and the area is known for the mold problem.

Prices? it will depend on the area, but if you want to live in an apartment/condo with some facilities, rent starts in about 1000. In DC.. multiply by 1,5...2

My 2 cents.. ask me whatever you need. housing is a real issue1!

[hungrybookwrm]

Hey Shockwave,

College Park is a pretty sketchy town but there are safe places to live. If you are trying to save money on rent, I would suggest moving about 10 minutes outside of campus (by car), the rent will be about 600 dollars. If money is not an issue there are apartment complexes such as the Varisty and the View that are bordering campus. The apartments are nice and safe and there is easy access to campus, via bus, bike, or walk. However the rent for these places is around 1000 a month.

 

The bar around campus that caters to graduate students, professors, and upperclassmen is called Looneys. It's pretty nice and they are strict about ID-ing so it's hard for underage people to get in. As far as nightlife and dining goes I would suggest going into DC/Bethesda/Rockville.There is a metro station about 2 miles away from the campus, and a free shuttle that takes you there. You can use that to get into DC or other nicer parts of Maryland. Most of the places around CP cater more towards undergraduates, even though some pretty good food can be found. 

 

For Food check out:

Ledo Pizza

Fishnet (This place is delicious and really nice)

Aroy Thai

Lime

TenRen (if you like bubble tea!)

 

I am not gonna lie, traffic is a bitch especially around rush hour. If you can afford to live close enough to campus I would suggest investing in a bicycle to get around. Use the car only for shopping and traveling out side of the city.

 

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask anymore questions

[Kevin1990]

I live in the Washington DC area and know some things about College Park.

 

College Park has a higher crime then average and Prince George's County MD has some of the worse crime statistics in the country. IMO you should def avoid housing in the areas within the Southwestern or Southeastern areas of Prince Georges County inside the beltway. As these are the some of the worst areas of the state in terms of crime rates and overall quality of living. The cost of living within these areas are cheap, however keep in mind they are cheap for a reason.

 

Even though PG has it's problems and College Park is not excluded from this, many college towns around the country( such as Berkley, New Brunswick, NJ, and Cambridge, MA) have similar urban problems and this doesn't prevent them from having vibrant student oriented environments in and around their campuses. The only area within the vicinity of college park that has the most issues is Langley Park(and the worst parts of this area are on the Montgomery County side), most of the communities around UMD tend to be quiet suburban areas.

 

All this being said, you should experience no problems in College Park if you just take the typical precautions one would take in any area. I.e. being aware of your surroundings, keeping valuables hidden from plain view in your home or car, and not going for lengthy strolls around isolated parts of town late at night-you will be fine.

 

College park does have plenty of housing options both in and around it although much of this tends to be oriented towards undergrads like mentioned above or in nearby areas if your looking to get away from that(Greenbelt, Takoma Park etc). College Park also has pretty good public transport access as well, the local metro(subway) station is not too far from campus, and there are plenty of metro bus/local one's ad shuttles linking all around College Park too. College Park unlike the rest of the Wash DC area actually functions as a college town in the true sense of the word as there is alot of bars, clubs, restaurants , and businesses around the campus catering to UMD students. Don't be discouraged about the undergrad centered nature of things though as there is a pretty active Grad community in College Park too(a grad student studying for his Phd was elected to the town council).

 

This is what insight I have to offer about College Park I hope it's helpful to you!

Edited December 28, 2012 by Kevin1990

[Yem2808]

i've been a grad student at UMD for 5 years now and have only met a handful of grad students that actually live in College Park. I actually did live in CP my first two years -- there's some nice apartments down route 1 that are mostly rented to grad students and are reasonably priced. Most of my colleagues are in Washington DC or downtown Silver Spring, which are a bit more on the expensive side. I live in Takoma Park now and love it.

[i.am.me]

I am local to the area and I would say that Kevin1990 is pretty spot on.

 

There are crime alerts that you can sign up for that are sent out by the University. Most of the times, you will notice that it is  usually drunk students or solitary students walking around between 1:00 am to 4:00 am who are getting mugged. Well, there have been isolated incidents where students have been caught off guard between 7 to 8 pm but those are rare. Frankly, I've gotten my bike stolen...a couple of times by kids in the neighborhood and...and some college students but that is as serious as I've experience. I've been in the area for 26 years so there is not a lot I am scared of. I live in a residential area about 8 minutes driving from the campus so I can tell who is local and who is not...so can my neighbors.

 

College Park is most def a college town...as in most of the town is the University of Maryland. If you are a doc student, consider getting a car because you might be here for a while and there is much to see in the DMV area if you have a car.