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Moving to Maryland/DC! Like, I need to be there March 1st
schattenjaeger
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You might recall (I'd be surprised if anyone did) several months ago I posted a topic saying I might get moved to Boston around the March timeframe. Well, in my defense, in that topic I mentioned nothing was certain and I was getting ahead of myself. I was right, and that fell through. Long story short, this has come up instead, and IS happening, and is happening on like a super short timeframe. Neat!
So anyways, I'll be working in Greenbelt, MD, and was wondering what areas around there would be good selections. I'll be living in an apartment. I've been living with a roommate in a 2br/2bath nice 1200 sqft apartment for about 1200 bucks (600 each) a month for the past 3 years. I'm keen on living alone for a little while now, even though it looks like I should count myself lucky to get a decent 1br for 1200 in the area.
I've lived in the Clear Lake area near Houston for the last 5 years, about 20-30 miles from downtown Houston, really. As much as I've complained about my remoteness from the actual city (Clear Lake not really being...the ideal place...for a 26 year old single guy) I'm not sure I'm keen about diving right into the middle of Washington, D.C. proper. It'd be nice to have easy access to DC, and the places I've eyeballed so far seem fairly close. I have a friend there who used to live in Hyattsville, though he doesn't powerfully recommend it. He's in Tenleytown now, but that would put me on the other side of D.C. and I'm thinking that's not a clever idea. Places that people have suggested so far include Silver Spring, Bethesda (looks maybe too expensive...like their games! ehhh I tried), Montgomery County in general really, Greenbelt itself, even Laurel and Colombia (those seem a little remote). I know precisely nothing about the area (so why did I agree this? Hey I'm the one asking questions here!), so your comments on those places and other suggestions are super helpful, especially with the short time-table.
Anything unique to the area that will confuse and infuriate a life-long Texan? I've been hearing about this "pubic transport" but I don't get how you transport that
Dammit, I have a host of questions that cycle through my head, and I can't recall them all. I guess the key is I find a place. I'll be heading out there for a week in early Feb to meet people and scout the area, so in a perfect world I guess I'd pick some options before then and then choose a place there.
So anyways, I'll be working in Greenbelt, MD, and was wondering what areas around there would be good selections. I'll be living in an apartment. I've been living with a roommate in a 2br/2bath nice 1200 sqft apartment for about 1200 bucks (600 each) a month for the past 3 years. I'm keen on living alone for a little while now, even though it looks like I should count myself lucky to get a decent 1br for 1200 in the area.
I've lived in the Clear Lake area near Houston for the last 5 years, about 20-30 miles from downtown Houston, really. As much as I've complained about my remoteness from the actual city (Clear Lake not really being...the ideal place...for a 26 year old single guy) I'm not sure I'm keen about diving right into the middle of Washington, D.C. proper. It'd be nice to have easy access to DC, and the places I've eyeballed so far seem fairly close. I have a friend there who used to live in Hyattsville, though he doesn't powerfully recommend it. He's in Tenleytown now, but that would put me on the other side of D.C. and I'm thinking that's not a clever idea. Places that people have suggested so far include Silver Spring, Bethesda (looks maybe too expensive...like their games! ehhh I tried), Montgomery County in general really, Greenbelt itself, even Laurel and Colombia (those seem a little remote). I know precisely nothing about the area (so why did I agree this? Hey I'm the one asking questions here!), so your comments on those places and other suggestions are super helpful, especially with the short time-table.
Anything unique to the area that will confuse and infuriate a life-long Texan? I've been hearing about this "pubic transport" but I don't get how you transport that
Dammit, I have a host of questions that cycle through my head, and I can't recall them all. I guess the key is I find a place. I'll be heading out there for a week in early Feb to meet people and scout the area, so in a perfect world I guess I'd pick some options before then and then choose a place there.
schattenjaeger on
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Basically, if you have a 9-5 and don't want want to have a stupid commute, I would avoid having to take 95 to work in the morning, if possible. The Metro is nice, though, and if you can live close enough to a station to utilize it, DC is a pretty interesting city.
Silver spring was a nice-ish area when I grew up, and Montgomery county is mostly known for its extremely well funded schools. For a single 26yr old, the downtown is revitalized and I'm sure the costs will reflect that. Bethesda is a great place to eat and a horrible place to park.
I am less familiar with that area of the state now. I grew up there but Im in Baltimore now, but thats my 2 cents
If you want to do DC, live near a metro stop. Silver Spring and Bethesda are both going to be nicer and be better for young people; Northern VA and DC proper have much better scene for 20-somethings, though. I'd recommend living somewhere such that you can go out at night in DC without having to drive.
Ok, and that should be possible in places like Silver Spring and such, right? As far as northern VA, I'm guessing the commute would be murder?
Even if I am wrong, ask them about this now. And ask if they have a shuttle from the metro stop if this is a large company. If they do, you have more flexibility in getting to work. The Greenbelt stop is at the end of the Green Line. Silver Spring/Takoma would be roughly 5 stops with a transfer at Ford Totten. However, living right next to a metro stop can be pricey.
Northern VA to Greenbelt would probably be set on fire to burn murder, if we classify the murder.
If you do have the money to spend, Silver Spring would be a pretty good option. Lots of stuff around there, and pretty close to Greenbelt. I would point out though that Silver Spring is as urban as just about anywhere in DC, so if that's what is keeping you out of DC you might want to consider somewhere else.
But yeah, live as close to work as you can. Don't worry about money if you can afford it. It's a matter of how much your time is worth to you. You can spend 1200 on rent and have a 2-3 hour commute each day, or you can pay 1600 on rent and only commute 15 minutes. For anyone I know who can afford it, cutting off the commute is worth it. There is no luxury greater than having your TIME back.
Granted, this is not as advantageous for going out and what not, so if that's more of a priority for you then Silver Spring is probably the way to go.
My boss at work suggested (with the disclaimer that he doesn't live there and just stayed at hotels in the there a couple of times...) the NoMa area. I was a little concerned by his use of the term "up-and-coming neighborhood," and my friend in DC was like "uhh...no."
My early Feb trip has turned into a two-week stay now so I'll have lots of time to scout (and for those keeping track, not much time to actually pack and move O_O). I guess for starters I'll focus on Silver Spring, Greenbelt, Hyattsville, etc. It seems like all those places are just so close that they couldn't possibly be very different, but that might be the Texan in me (everything bigger, etc.).
Anybody who's lived in apartments in the region, do you have any specific recommendations?
EDIT: Oh right, finally remembered to ask. Does anyone have any experience with moving companies? I figure google and looking at reviews might work, but I'm always suspicious of public reviews given the various issues (only mad people review, small sample sizes, etc.)
also, 410's a mess for commuting anywhere involving bethesda
if you're working near/at goddard, there's lots of buses that make stops around there, but like any bus route they can be slow. you might want to look at places near the green line. it rolls through college park, so you might find some lower prices there. dunno.
silver spring's got some really nice shops/entertainment now, and it's all situated near its red line stop.
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I would second not living in PG county,
i was offered a job at NOAA near goddard, and the place is not accesible to public transportation at all. if you rely on the shuttle service you need to be aware of their hours and they are usually limited. a car is almost a necessity with our crappy interconnection of public transportation.
i come from baltimore down into dc at union every day and spend 4.5 hrs a day commuting. sucks a massive fat one. feel free to PM me with specific questions as i own a house in laurel grew up in PG county and Columbia and know this area very well.
Having lived in Howard County (Columbia, specifically) for several years I can say that yes it is way expensive. They seem awfully proud of their gasoline around there too. Anne Arundel County (Annapolis, Severna Park, Arnold) is also fairly expensive unless you get into the crummier areas (Pasadena, Glen Burnie).
I currently live and work in St. Mary's County (about the southern tip of MD that juts out into the Chesapeake) but I grew up in the Baltimore/Annapolis corridor and I spend most weekends either in that area with my friends/family or in Bowie with my gf's friends/family.
TLDR: I've spent 28.5 of my 30 years in MD, so feel free to PM me with questions.
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I used to commute to Goddard from Falls Church, VA and it was awful, like 3-4 hours in the car a day, so you are correct in assuming that VA is not the way to go.
Goddard has free parking as far as I remember. Driving will save you tons of time and hassle.
The only genuine complaint I have is that the utility costs are much higher than my last place, but I don't know how much of that is due to the apartment and how much is due to Maryland (my last place was in Virginia).
Err, how sketchy is not too bad? I said I didn't want to try DC proper, but I am trying to step up the urban living a bit since I am a suburb baby. And if you don't mind me asking, just how bad have the utilities been?
I think my on paper winner before I have actually been anywhere is Silver Spring Towers. 1400 for their biggest 1 br with utilities included, a maneagable walk to the metro, and small cost for the pets. Does anyone have any familiarity with that particular place?
Pretty crazy, two weeks up there and if I can find a place I will be moving in before March!
Personally, I haven't had any trouble. Also, the crime statistics that I looked over before moving didn't look any worse than other urban areas, such as Bethesda and Arlington. So, like I said, maybe a bit sketchy but certainly no slum.
My gas and electric for the past month has been about 170. Winter is usually expensive, but I don't think it has been particularly cold.
Ah, here. http://www.washingtonpost.com/real-estate/neighborhoods/crime.html
Remember that these are not scaled. Areas like Silver Spring have huge numbers of people in a small area.
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I just moved out of one of the busiest areas in NoVA (Tysons Corner) after living there for about six months. I was in a townhouse and paying about $2100/month. The rent was pretty high, but it was well worth it. It was ~10 minutes away from my office, on a bad day. Let me tell you, the traffic in NoVA/MD/DC is no joke (I came from a mid-west town of about 300,000 people). Live as close to work as possible (pay extra) and/or live near a metro stop that will take you there in short order. While extreme, during some of the horrible snow several years back, it took one of my neighbors almost 12 hours to get home from work. During a flood while I was living in the area, it was taking people 4 to 5 hours to go about 10 to 15 miles. In other words, if there's a major traffic impact, you're pretty much done for the night. Honestly, the traffic is the only thing I can complain about - living in the area is a blast. It's a cultural melting pot and there's a ton of stuff to do. Good luck and have fun!
Might be a bit far to commute, though. I can't imagine the red to green line transfer is any fun, and I suppose it counts as "DC proper". Silver Spring seemed like a nice area, too.