UTMC

Here is an inquiry about housing in the DC area.
I'm a total ignorant noob when it comes to DC. I've been there once for an 8th grade school trip.

I've applied for a position at a big think tank with offices a block or so away from the White House (F Street). Being totally oblivious about such things, is there any chance of finding decent, not astronomically expensive housing near the Mall? Is Arlington a better option? Aimlessly surfing CL has only yielded vague idea of what prices are but I don't really have any idea of what/where I should avoid.

I would really love to be able to walk to work and remain car-less but I realize that is a luxury I might not be able to swing. Am I an idiot to think that is a possibility.
Transit options?
Who lives close? Could I stick a bike in your garage for a nominal fee?
Any other advice or heckling is appreciated.

Housing here is astronomically expensive. Accept that at the get-go. It's not as bad as, say, San Francisco or NYC, but it's pretty damn close (in the top 5 most expensive cities last I checked).

You can find "less expensive" places to live, but you may well find yourself living in a war zone. I'll be happy to provide a reality check for ya if you find places that look reasonable.

MD and VA are very viable options as the Metro runs to both. If you're trying to keep it more on the "affordable" end, I'd suggest you focus on the MD side. Tacoma Park, College Park, Hyattsville, Greenbelt, Silver Spring, Rockville, Gaithersburg -- all these are Metro accessible. Keep in mind, however, that east and southeast side of the Beltway gets... sketchy at times. Prince George's County ("Pee Gee County") is cheaper for a reason. Better to stay more on the north/northeast side.

Once you come on this side of the river it gets expensive quickly. There are some reasonable sections of Arlington, but not many. If it's close to a Metro stop it's likely prohibitively expensive, depending on your metric.

Living here without a car can be a real bitch. It's possible, but it's not easy. Just sayin'. Remember: we get snow. Quite a lot of it in recent years.

Anyway, feel free to drop me a line if you want some input on housing options.

--Jaeger

Ditto what Jager said about living on the MD side of things; that would put you close enough to your job to still be convenient whilst remaining affordable enough. I know several people that live down there, some of whom have internships at the white house/various depts of whatever, so if you give me some more deets on what your gig will be like, I can talk with them. College Park/Takoma Park is home to University of Maryland's main campus and lots of mexicans; not the nicest area but totally nice enough for someone our (20's) age. Living in Baltimore would be a cheap option for you, but it is 35-45 minute commute, and DC is mostly better, so don't do it, now that I think about it. Rockville, Silver Spring are nice too, and if you have a motorsickle you can totally commute (25 minutes in traffic from that part of town to the mall)...and it is home to our very own Beltway, who is coming out your way like, this weekend. So hook up with him and chat him up, he's a cool mother fucker.

Cool, thanks for the insight, broz. This is something I've just applied for so who knows if anything will come of it but I'll probably have some follow up stuff if I am considered for it.

I'll probably end up seeing Beltway tomorrow, didn't even think about that angle.

Dozer, position is at the Council on Foreign Relations as a research associate doing a variety of Japan focused work. I appreciate help making any DC connections since most of mine are political and more geared towards stuff at the state level.

Smokes and gas are cheaper in Va than in Md. If you are going to be carless...get something close to Metro as others have mentioned. If you were as far out as Fairfax, you'll have a 45 minute Metro ride into DC (Metro Center) from the Vienna/Fairfax/GMU station.

Live in Baltimore, take the MARC train. Housing is much cheaper, and it's a pretty nice city. That way you still avoid having a car, and get to read for half an hour commuting. You can pick up the subway in DC.

aikiboy wrote:Live in Baltimore, take the MARC train......................... and get to read for half an hour commuting. You can pick up the subway in DC.

Depending on where you live in Baltimore, (and I live in Hampden), it takes closer to 2.5 hours to get to DC using the MARC.

But, UTG, having made the Bmore-DC commute for 6 years now, It really drains the life out of you, so get closer is what I would say.

Davros wrote: But, UTG, having made the Bmore-DC commute for 6 years now, It really drains the life out of you, so get closer is what I would say.

Listen to the man. Driving here SUCKS. I'm one of the luckiest mothefuckers in the DC Metro area, as I live out in the 'Burbs, but I'm still less than 3 miles to the office. If I had to fight the Beltway (the road, not the Ootmic) I'd open a fuckin' vein.

You may think you've seen traffic before, but this place rivals NYC and LA. Just warning you if you didn't already know.

And MARC isn't really an option -- it only runs for rush hour, so if you work early or late you're screwed.

Only real problem with living in MD is some of the politics... which, to be fair, in some respects they're better than VA (e.g., gay rights) but in others (e.g., guns, privacy) they suck. Pick your poison.

--Jaeger