Hello Hello. So, looks like I'm moving to the DC area from August - May 2012. I haven't been traded to the Wizards, but rather got into a pretty good 1 year program that I can't pass up. Only thing is that since this is so last minute, I never got a chance to fly out there and look at the housing situation. Any tips? It will Mrs. Thabeet and I. From the looks of it, housing is A LOT. I'll probably end up living in Maryland or Virgina and just take the Metro line into the city.
Whatchu gon be doing there? Whats the program for? I may be wrong but I think dcalvo is there now for school and DCkid is a valuable source of info. Hopefully he posts some stuff for you.
I visited a friend in Hyattsville, Md/PG County once: we saw Forrest Gump and Natural Born Killers, had a Street Fighter Alpha mini-tournament, I impersonated the "heart attack" guy in the Coolio video and tried to convince them Shaq was as good as Jordan ("a point a freaking minute at the World Championships, guys!"). I think it's a little far, but seemed nice and diverse. For some reason I think the Maryland side is cheaper than the Virginia side.
My cousin and all of his side of the family lives in Maryland and about an 1 hour away from DC and from what I have gathered from our occasional vacations up there: 1. Housing IS very expensive , especially near the Baltimore and DC area. Don't know about apartments though 2. Traffic can get bonkers. 3. Nice mix of urbanization and nature backdrop (aka the Appalachians).
I'd be happy to help. First, will you have a car? Do you plan on just getting a one bedroom? Do you have a price range? You can't really go wrong with the four locations I list below, but they are very expensive. Virginia 1.) Arlington - Best urban living. Along the orange line is best, but along the blue line is nice too. 2.) Fairfax - Best relatively close suburb (near metro station) Maryland 1.) Bethesda - Best Urban Living 2.) Rockville - Best Relatively Close Suburb (near metro station) Montgomery County is the only place I would consider living in Maryland. I personally would stay away from parts of Maryland along the eastern side of DC, but I do know some good people who live there. Virginia has more nice places to choose from I would say.
I saw Bethesda and it blew my mind. I didn't realize Georgetown was so upper class! (my cousin works for the NIH near there so we got a little tour. He also lives in Frederick county, and from what I have seen , it seems to be mostly wooded with a lot of upper middle class/upper class housings with some mid-range looking apartments nearby too. The bad part if you want to go to VA or DC there is only one main highway that connects them
Man, isn't Bethesda kinda pricey(granted most places in the DMV are). What about Silverspring and Laurel? Still within a metro line of DC. Where do you live up there? Maryland?
In DC: Dupont Circle (lots of gays, that's okay), Georgetown, Capital Hill/Eastern Market (a little more affordable and not as nice). U-Street is getting recent run the way downtown Houston is trying to revitalize. Virginia: Arlington, Pentagon City, Roslynn, Crystal City...all close to each other and a bridge/metro stop away from DC. A good step down in price, but still close and nice imo is Alexandria VA, a mix of urban and suburbs. MD: Bethesda (mix of new money, old money, and college prep...common bond is money). Rockville is mostly suburbs with some urban areas (Rockville Townsquare and Rio / Washingtonian Center - which is technically Gaithersburg). Silver Spring is DC ghetto, but remodeled with a new downtown during the last decade. So living downtown is doable if you're okay w/ 90% black (no racist), mixed in with whites who hang at the Barnes n Noble and Whole Foods. What's your budget? What do you like, ex apartment/condo/tower/yard/walkability/restaurants/shopping/city life/suburban strip malls/hookers/drugs/parks....? What is your commute acceptability?
Stayed in Rockville for a few weeks and took the metro-train into D.C. Went to the museums around the White House, ate and watched a performance at Dupont Circle, shuttled to Georgetown to shop. I wish Houston had something like that..
I've lived all over the area, but currently in Bethesda. Silver Spring has a nice downtown, basically dropped in the middle of a not-so-nice area, so it's kind of an interesting mix of people. I imagine it's still pricey to live in downtown SS. As for Laurel...not much positive to say about it. It's a relatively close suburb to DC. Cheaper than the nice parts. I'm not a fan of that whole area (College Park, Laurel). Pretty rundown and old looking. Still, there are much worse parts in Maryland, and I know some families who live in nice new neighborhoods in Laurel (with cookie cutter homes). I'm sure the OP could find a decent enough place there, but would have to drive out for anything exciting. I also second the recommendation for Alexandria. If that's still too expensive...a little further south at the end of the blue and yellow lines is not too bad (Huntington ).
Haven't spent too much time in DC, but it is a really nice area from what I've seen. Excellent public transportation system, no real need for a car (unless you live outside the city in a more suburban area), and it's just a very walkable and pleasant city. Good luck.
House or apartment? I could give you info about the District, but anything outside of it, I don't know too much about.
