Elliott School 2014

[KevinDosi]

Who out there has decided on the Elliott School for 2014? I've all but sent in my deposit. I'm just curious what some of your backgrounds are, what you're doing about housing, work, etc.

 

I'm from Texas and have been teaching French for the last few years, so this will be a bit of a change for me.

[marwanslm]

 

Who out there has decided on the Elliott School for 2014? I've all but sent in my deposit. I'm just curious what some of your backgrounds are, what you're doing about housing, work, etc.

 

I'm from Texas and have been teaching French for the last few years, so this will be a bit of a change for me.

 

Hi there! I've decided to join the MA IA Program. I'm a senior studnet from China and my undergraduate major is Arabic. I don't have full-time work experience but did internship in the government and some NGOs. I guess life in D.C. could be a bit challenging yet exciting for me.

 

I've been searching for houses and that seems something tough. All the rooms near the campus seem quite expensive.

 

Hope to see you at school!

[Gov2School]

GWU is located in a very expensive part of DC.  But keep in mind that DC has an excellent subway system and a pretty good bus system, so it's possible to live in less expensive areas and still commute to campus.  The WMATA website has a trip finder application, where you can put in your starting address and your destination and it will show you how you would get there using public transport, how long it would take, and how much it would cost.  

[KevinDosi]

Thanks for the tip. I'm hoping to get something under 800, and hoping to share an apartment or a house with others. My girlfriend lived in Columbia Heights and I really liked it there, but I don't know DC well. Anyone have recommendations of where to find roommates? Is there a facebook group?

[HerrDBoo]

Yeah, I am looking in the DC area too as I will be going to Georgetown in the Fall. If anyone can point us in the right directions it would be much appreciated. I've made very little headway.

[WinterSolstice]

Yeah, I am looking in the DC area too as I will be going to Georgetown in the Fall. If anyone can point us in the right directions it would be much appreciated. I've made very little headway.

 

Edit: This info will mostly be helpful for those going to GW, as Georgetown will be tricky given there are no metro lines out there. I have some friends who go to Georgetown now and I'll ask them what their thoughts are.

Edit 2: Oh, duh. Just remembered the Key Bridge. If you can't find anything in the outlying Georgetown areas, you should look into VA. You could literally walk across the Key Bridge from Rosslyn and be in Georgetown. 

 

---

 

I can speak to this, as I currently live in DC (though this is all only my opinion -- other DCers will probably have a different take on things). So first thing to note is that yes, Foggy Bottom is crazy expensive (though you can manage to find deals, if you don't live in the city, it will be very difficult for you to snatch these up). So you're left with a couple of options: 1) pay the crazy rent prices, 2) live very far out on the orange/blue lines (foggy bottom is on the orange/blue) or 3) live in a developing area that is not on the orange/blue.

 

So option 2: One option, which is a semi-popular one, is to live in virginia. However, the parts of virginia you'd actually want to live in will also be somewhat pricey (but definitely less than foggy bottom). Clarendon is popular with yuppies. Another option is to live on the orange/blue in the other direction around eastern market or capitol south (or "the hill") which are very nice neighborhoods, kinda expensive, but it's possible to find deals, especially if you're able to go in on a place with friends. A few stops beyond that, you start getting into SE DC, which is considered a kinda dicey neighborhood. I wouldn't put it on the same level as some parts of NE DC, but it's not the best. However, you could find housing deals there for sure. Now, with this option, it's important to remember that in DC, the cost of riding the metro increases the further you go. It's not a flat rate like it is in NYC. So bear this in mind when thinking about commutes!

 

Aaand, option 3: This is the option that I, and most other people I know, pursue. Developing neighborhoods, like SW DC and Columbia Heights are prime yuppie hotspots. SW (whose metro stops are SW Waterfront or Navy Yard) is right by national stadium, close to the water, and is having a bunch of money poured into it for development. So you could snag a decent-priced apartment in this area. Columbia Heights is also a developing area, but has a best buy, target, etc. which is super convenient because DC itself is small and those kinds of stores are a rarity. If you have roommates, there are great deals to be had here. Columbia Heights itself doesn't really have nightlife to speak of, but it's right by U Street, which has good nightlife. Both Columbia Heights and SW are on the green line. Also an option you might want to look at is Woodley Park, which is by the zoo. It's further up on the red line, but you can always take the red line to farragut north and walk 10-15min to campus. Woodley Park is a nice area - I wouldn't even call it a developing neighborhood - but rent prices probably haven't caught up to it just yet. I have some friends who live up there who have good deals on apartments.

 

That's just what I can think of off the top of my head. As always, having a roommate will cut down on costs. Especially if you happen to find an apartment whose layout is a "true" one bedroom, but can be converted into a two bedroom using partitions, screens, etc. When I moved to DC, I found a true one-bedroom apartment, but the living room was so easily converted into a bedroom, because the main hallway had a big alcove, which became a tiny den. This coupled with living in a developing area and having a roommate in the converted bedroom, I pay $650 a month and my commute to downtown DC is around a half hour depending on how trains are running. As for where to find apartments, I used craigslist or padmapper. 

 

Hopefully this was helpful at least a little bit! If you have questions about DC, feel free to ask.

Edited May 15, 2014 by WinterSolstice

[Gov2School]

You should keep in mind too that not all parts of every quadrant are the same.  For example, when people say "SE DC is dicey,"  they mean areas in DC south of the Anacostia river.  Much of Capital Hill is also in SE DC and it's a very nice area (also kind of expensive, but there are group house deals).    And when people say "NW DC is a nice area" they generally mean places like Woodley Park, Cleveland Park, Georgetown, etc.  Whereas there are some parts of NW that also have a lot of crime.   Ditto for SW and NE, so it can be hard to generalize by quadrant.  Even in so-called dicey areas, it can vary a lot block to block (there are parts of Petworth I would definitely live in and parts where I'd feel unsafe, ditto for Bloomingdale, Truxton Circle, H st NE etc).   You should really try to carve out some time to come and visit DC and look at apartments in person, so you can get a good sense of the neighborhood and your personal comfort level.  Ideally you'd come for a few days a month before you move in and try to set up appointments to see several places.   Or at least come a few weeks before school starts.  Apartment hunting, especially for rooms $1000 and under, is very competitive, and most people will only rent to people that they meet in person.  Expect to be disappointed a few times before you find the right place. 

 

Also, keep in mind that you don't need to be tied to metro stations.  The bus system in DC is pretty good, and we also have Bikeshare city wide (and car share programs).  Smartphone apps make it easy to navigate both the bike and bus systems.  The closer you are to a metro station, generally the more pricey things will be, so being willing to use buses will save you a lot of time.  DC is a small city and it's relatively flat so it's very easy to get around without needing to rely on metro. Georgetown is not by a metro station anyway, so most likely you'll be walking/biking/taking the bus there.  GWU is by foggy bottom, but it's also connected by bus to almost every other neighborhood in the city. Much more important than the metro station is to find out where the nearest grocery store is.  DC has food deserts, so places close to grocery stores (especially upscale ones like Trader Joes or Whole Foods) are highly valued. 

 

The 14th and 16th St Corridors, stretching from SW Waterfront to Columbia Heights are very popular areas, especially in the Logan Circle/U Street/Columbia Heights portion (also I disagree that CH doesn't have a nightlife, I go out there all the time!). That's sort of the center of young/hip/fun DC right now, so when you're not in school, you'll be spending a lot of time in these areas anyway.  You can find good housing deals there if you're willing to share a group house.   If you want to live on your own or with one other person, these areas will still be pretty expensive.   NoMA, Bloomingdale, Petworth, and the area by the Convention Center can also be good places to look, but again, those are "up and coming" neighborhoods, so you may need to visit to see how you like a particular block.   

 

Woodley Park, Cleveland Park, and the upper NW areas (Friendship Heights, etc) are nice areas, but they tend to be more family oriented and IMO are a bit far from the center of the action, but 1) that may not matter to you and 2) that may be my personal bias.  But they have their own vibe, and it might suit you.  You can live in Virginia, but chocolatecheesecake is right that honestly, you don't save very much money living in VA unless you have a car and are willing to live waaaay out.  Places in Clarendon, Courthouse, or Old Town that are close to the metro and in desirable areas are pretty much just as expensive as DC, and you have to spend more time commuting in.  

 

If you want to spend under $12-1400 per month on rent, you'll need to plan to live with a roommate.  If you want to spend under $1000, you'll probably have to live with more than one roommate, unless you find a good deal. It's expensive, but don't be discouraged! There's lots of options out there.   

[HerrDBoo]

I just checked back in on this and I wanted to thank you guys for the input! I am not discouraged so much as I just want to get this done. It is basically the last piece of the puzzle before I start school next year.

[BJT]

I echo what's already been said about Virginia. It's really not worth it to live in any of the Orange Line Arlington neighborhoods. Yes, they're very accessible from Foggy Bottom but on average, your options there are just tad bit less expensive. The exception to this might be Ballston, the last of the metro-accessible, car-not-necessary Orange Line stops (though even here, still firmly within the Arlington city limits, is pretty suburban) I live in D.C. and spend very little time in Virginia but I know some people who have great deals in Ballston (2 BR apartments around well under 2k, group houses of four people where each person pays 700ish). I don't know anyone in places like Clarendon and Rosslyn, though, that don't pay less than or around what they would at a comparable place in D.C.