Washington, DC and Maryland suburbs

[Crucial BBQ]

On 3/10/2015 at 6:31 PM, elijahbaley said:

Most of the posts on these threads here seem to focus only on house rents. Can some people write about how much other expenses contribute to the cost of living? And what approximately is the average monthly expenditure. I will be attending UMCP from August 2015 and have been offered a stipend of about $30k before taxes for the first year. Everyone seems to be saying that Maryland is expensive. Considering this I want to know whether the stipend would be sufficient and whether I can may be start a small savings plan on this?

Maryland in general is expensive but it is really central Maryland that will charge you an arm and a leg. There is a lot of old money between Washington, Annapolis, and even up to Baltimore and a ton of Federal employees/contract workers.  PG County has a lot of problems with crime and poverty but it is also home to largest concentration of African-American wealth in the U.S. and borders Montgomery County, which is home to Silver Spring, Bethesda, and of course Chevy-Chase.  In terms of money, PG County is above both the Maryland median average per household and the U.S. median average per household but is below the Maryland median average per capita (but still above the U.S. average).  

 

Virtually everyone within the Beltway identifies with the DMV (the District, Maryland, and Virginia, but only within the Beltway) and considers themselves to be Washingtonians more so than Marylanders.  That is more of an aside than anything. 

 

Anyways, yes, it is generally more expensive to live here than other parts of the U.S.  Your vehicle registration is by weight; not year, not what you paid for it, etc.  I pay $187 every two years.  Not that bad really but considering that the year of make and what I paid for it are not considerations that $187 is ridiculous.   Here is something else, in Maryland vehicles get inspected before title is given to the new owner.  My vehicle was not inspected at time of purchase so I had to get a one-month temp registration that set me back $150.  The inspection itself was $94.  When I went to fully register my vehicle I was charged the full $187.  I thought the temp registration would carry over, but nope, it didn't.  This sort of thing is what you can expect from living here: you will get nickel and dimed for everything and no one will bother to tell you so until it comes time for them to collect on their dime. 

 

If you buy a pulled pork sandwich for $8/9, don't be surprised if all you get is the sandwich (which is likely itself  to only be a small handful of pork between a hamburger bun).  

 

With that, you could live in CP or thereabouts on $30K pre-tax for sure.

[Crucial BBQ]

Typically rents in central Maryland and DC are on the higher end--even for subsidized housing. 

There is nothing in Fort Totten, it is almost entirely residential.  To my knowledge there are no sit-down restaurants that I can think of in the entire neighborhood and the only food offerings I know of are a few take-out places and a Subway, despite Catholic University being nearby.   If you own a vehicle, trying to find on-street parking will be a PITA. There have been plans to revitalize the area but nothing has happened yet as far as I know.  Not gentrification mind you, just with the adding of more amenities to the community. 

Most people will tell you to avoid the NE and SE, but it is hard to make solid generalizations.  Things can get dicy on the eastern side of the Anacosta River, but in general NE DC is seeing a rebound with the housing market as it is one of the few places in DC where young, new, homebuyers can afford.  Typically, anything near Rock Creek Park is good, but the western side of the park is getting close to Chevy-Chase, Somerset, and Bethesda, so that means $$$$$.   Personally, if I were to move to DC I would want to live somewhere between the SW tip of RCP and American University. 

Also, a lot of apartment buildings in DC are mid-Century modern in architecture; something that people either really love or really hate it seems.

A friend lives in Greenbelt and went to American.  He currently works in DC and often commutes by bicycle.  Greenbelt is not the worst, but also not the best place to live.  The GFs family is from New Carrollton, and that area is generally okay, too, but has its rough elements. Most people lump New Carrollton and Hyattsville as one, and I don't understand why, but NC is its own city with its own municipalities and government.  A lot of vehicle theft and stolen vehicle dumping, though. 

If you will have a vehicle, you might want to look farther north.  Beltsville, Calverton, Burntonsville, and maybe even Columbia.

You can also look into Rockville or Gaithersberg.  Perhaps Takoma Park and Silver Spring if you can find something affordable.

DC may not be a college town, but keep in mind that it still does house American, Georgetown, Catholic University, Howard, George Washington, two military/intelligence colleges, and a few other universities.  So, combined with Maryland, there are a good number of college students in the area.  Also, with Government contractors and dignitaries included, a rather large portion of the population is transient.

[LittleDuke]

Hi, everyone. I'll be attending UMD in the fall. I've lived in various towns that use different approaches to rental properties. For some, it's best to drive through neighborhoods to look for rental signs, in others, it's Craig's List all the way. Ideas on how to locate available properties? Several listed online in College Park seem to be giant complexes with terrible reviews, so it seems like I should stay clear of those, but otherwise, can't seem to find much. I do realize it's super early, but I'd appreciate any advice anyone may have. Thanks in advance!

[missgord]

I went to Maryland for grad school (2010 - 2012) and lived near downtown Silver Spring in a house with 3 roommates.  We had a beautiful house with fenced yard, off street parking, granite in our [small] kitchen and we each paid $575 + utilities.  We were a mile from the metro to get downtown and we lived in a very safe (and busy) area.  I LOVED living there.  It was the perfect place to live for grad school because it was cheaper than Bethesda but much safer than CP.  My commute was only 15 minutes.  We found our house on craigslist - you can look early but it's hard to secure something more than a month before you move.  I was still on my parents health insurance and they paid for my phone and car insurance.  I was able to afford everything else with my 17,5 GAship.  I'd definitely recommend checking out SS if you're considering UMD for grad school.

 

EDIT: Maryland has this roommate finder website where people post profiles and can find each other.  It's a total lifesaver.  80% of the people on there are weird but 20% are just grad students moving to the area looking for other grad students to live with.  I'm still friends with the girls I lived with and one of them will be in my wedding party one day.  I'd highly recommend that site - I wish every school had something like that!!!

Edited March 16, 2015 by missgord

[artsmgrtt]

Hi everyone.  I'm an international student who will be starting at American U this Fall.  I'm looking for advice on areas/apt buildings I should check out for housing that's close to the university and safe.  I'm looking for a 1 br or studio.  I do not plan to share.  Also, when would be the ideal time to check out apartments in person?

Thanks in advance for all your suggestions.

[esotericish]

Pretty much everywhere within the immediate vicinity of American is pretty nice. it's also really expensive. A studio will run you easily $1500-1800 for a decent one. The only really affordable way to live in DC proper, especially NW DC where American is located, is to live with a bunch of other people in a row house.

[artsmgrtt]

Pretty much everywhere within the immediate vicinity of American is pretty nice. it's also really expensive. A studio will run you easily $1500-1800 for a decent one. The only really affordable way to live in DC proper, especially NW DC where American is located, is to live with a bunch of other people in a row house.

 

Thanks for your response.  It is really expensive.  After checking around online, apt buildings like Berkshire, Avalon and Greenbriar keep coming up.  Does anyone have any reviews on any of these or can suggest any other apt buildings?  Also, I'm thinking of coming to the US around mid Aug.  Is that a good time to look for an apt or will everything be filled by then?

 

Thanks again

[esotericish]

DC has so much turnover you'll more than likely be able to find a place on pretty short notice. That may not be the case for right around American though, but I would be surprised. You could easily call some places up and ask what usually happens around August.

[artsmgrtt]

Thanks for the info esotericish

[deletethisname]

Something to consider when living in DC is that it has one of the highest STD rates in the country

 

 

http://dcist.com/2015/03/report_dc_has_one_of_the_highest_st.php

[kaswing]

Just wanted to throw my hat in here and say that i'll be moving to MD to go to UMCP in the fall. I was planning to live in DC, but it's starting to look like it's out of my price range. Reading here helped, and so did going to the transportation section of Maryland's website, and (strangely) under the parking tab, and finding this interactive map http://maps.umd.edu/map/. if you go in to the menu, you can add all the shuttle routes, which helped me find some less proximate but still reasonable neighborhoods. 

 

how early in advance can we find housing? People in umd's reddit forum are saying for example that you need to find housing really early, but everything i can find so far wants someone to move in ASAP. thoughts?

[esotericish]

Something to consider when living in DC is that it has one of the highest STD rates in the country

 

 

http://dcist.com/2015/03/report_dc_has_one_of_the_highest_st.php

 

Don't you think this is skewed a bit by DC's sizable low-income population?

[mdheadley12]

So I'm considering moving to the suburban DC area for grad school soon and wanted to know if a car is an absolute must have. I've lived my whole life in major cities and have never needed to actually drive anywhere (except when first passing my driver's exam many years ago). Is the public transportation system reliable or will I have to get a car?

[esotericish]

What do you mean by suburban DC area? And will you be commuting to/from DC?

[mdheadley12]

No, I will be in Bethesda. Not commuting to and from city

[esotericish]

Then I'd say it's more likely you'll need a car. You may be able to rely on buses, but I'm not sure I'd want to. Bethesda is more drivable than some other close-in suburbs.

[pepsico]

You don't need a car to get around in/to/from Bethesda. It's extremely public transit friendly.

[as4300]

Hi DC folks,

 

I wonder if anyone has better and cheaper options than taxi for transportation from Dulles Airport to George Washington Univ/Washington circle area? Is Super Shuttle reliable? I read this trip advisor page and it seems it's not good. Looking for advice! Thanks.

[esotericish]

Yeah, unfortunately there is not a good way to do this. The only public transportation option involves taking a pretty long bus ride from Dulles to Rosslyn, and then hopping on the metro from Rosslyn to Foggy Bottom. Whenever I fly out of Dulles these days I just incorporate the cost of an Uber into the cost of the trip.

[usercat]

It may be too late for the OP here, but there are definitely good options from Dulles to GW. You can take a shuttle from Dulles to the last stop on the silver line. It runs regularly, is totally reliable, takes only about 10-15 minutes to the metro, and costs $5. Then you can take the silver line all the way into Foggy Bottom (about 30-40 minutes on the metro -- first stop in DC).

Shuttle: http://www.washfly.com/flyer_bus_schedule.htm

Metro: www.wmata.com

[as4300]

Yeah, unfortunately there is not a good way to do this. The only public transportation option involves taking a pretty long bus ride from Dulles to Rosslyn, and then hopping on the metro from Rosslyn to Foggy Bottom. Whenever I fly out of Dulles these days I just incorporate the cost of an Uber into the cost of the trip.

 

 

It may be too late for the OP here, but there are definitely good options from Dulles to GW. You can take a shuttle from Dulles to the last stop on the silver line. It runs regularly, is totally reliable, takes only about 10-15 minutes to the metro, and costs $5. Then you can take the silver line all the way into Foggy Bottom (about 30-40 minutes on the metro -- first stop in DC).

Shuttle: http://www.washfly.com/flyer_bus_schedule.htm

Metro: www.wmata.com

 

Thanks all for the infos!

[Ingster]

How is commuting from Oakton to Georgetown?

 

Anyone have an idea on how much it will cost daily (metro+parking)? 

[esotericish]

How is commuting from Oakton to Georgetown?

 

Anyone have an idea on how much it will cost daily (metro+parking)? 

If you have to drive, don't do it. Really. Not sure how much parking is, but metro during rush hour would probably be around $7 round trip.

[Guest]

After spending 4 days in D.C/NoVA and going through hell, I successfully found a place to live 3 hours before having to catch my flight back to my home area (16 hours away via car). I'll be catching the metrobus  from Arlington (Columbia Pike) to Pentagon City and then hopping on the blue line metrorail to get my graduate program @ GW in Foggy Bottom. I also will not have a car.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Guest

[esotericish]

After spending 4 days in D.C/NoVA and going through hell, I successfully found a place to live 3 hours before having to catch my flight back to my home area (16 hours away via car). I'll be catching the metrobus  from Arlington (Columbia Pike) to Pentagon City and then hopping on the blue line metrorail to get my graduate program @ GW in Foggy Bottom. I also will not have a car.

welcome to DC