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Moving Across Country (CA --> MD)
StudioAudience
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I applied and got accepted into an internship in Bethesda, MD. The position starts in July, and I've told my current job that April will be my last month. This is mostly due to me being lazy and wanting to take some time off before I start this next gig.
I've been living in the Bay Area since forever, and wanted the change of scenery that accompanies this new job. This will be my first time living away from my family (I'm 23). I have no family in Maryland at all.
Firstly, does anyone have any tips for moving my shit cross country? At the moment, the most likely option is driving over there with my car. I don't have a lot to bring, just my pc, clothes, and my tv and other misc. items. My parents won't let me make the trip alone or w/ any of my friends, and are adamant that if I drive, they are going to tag along. I'm actually okay with this, but the only time they'll be able to make the trip is Memorial Day weekend. I'm not sure if I'll be able to find a place by then; I had planned on going over there the first or second week of May to scope out possible rentals.
Which leads me to my next question: Are there any other good resoures for apt. hunting besides craigslist? The most difficult thing would be finding a place allows pets. I have a ~70lb mutt (German shepherd mix we think). She's about 10-11 years old and has been used to living in our house, which has a decent-sized backyard and such, so I'm not quite sure how she'll take this change of environment. The reason that she has to come along is that I'm the only one in my family who currently walks her. My parents can't handle her. She'll have to chill in the apartment while I'm away at work in Maryland, but I think she'll be ok. She's a pretty mellow dog.
Which leads me to my last question: Does anyone have any services/tips for getting my dog to Maryland? From what I've read, I can either look for a carrier that allows me to bring my dog with me when I fly to Maryland in July, or I can look for a company who will take care of all that. I contacted one such company for an estimate, and was told that it'd be ~$1500 for them to pick up my dog, place her on an airplane (where she won't be exposed to the cargo air), and to drive her to my apartment. That seem's a bit pricey.
Any other tips/suggestions will be welcomed and appreciated. Thanks.
I've been living in the Bay Area since forever, and wanted the change of scenery that accompanies this new job. This will be my first time living away from my family (I'm 23). I have no family in Maryland at all.
Firstly, does anyone have any tips for moving my shit cross country? At the moment, the most likely option is driving over there with my car. I don't have a lot to bring, just my pc, clothes, and my tv and other misc. items. My parents won't let me make the trip alone or w/ any of my friends, and are adamant that if I drive, they are going to tag along. I'm actually okay with this, but the only time they'll be able to make the trip is Memorial Day weekend. I'm not sure if I'll be able to find a place by then; I had planned on going over there the first or second week of May to scope out possible rentals.
Which leads me to my next question: Are there any other good resoures for apt. hunting besides craigslist? The most difficult thing would be finding a place allows pets. I have a ~70lb mutt (German shepherd mix we think). She's about 10-11 years old and has been used to living in our house, which has a decent-sized backyard and such, so I'm not quite sure how she'll take this change of environment. The reason that she has to come along is that I'm the only one in my family who currently walks her. My parents can't handle her. She'll have to chill in the apartment while I'm away at work in Maryland, but I think she'll be ok. She's a pretty mellow dog.
Which leads me to my last question: Does anyone have any services/tips for getting my dog to Maryland? From what I've read, I can either look for a carrier that allows me to bring my dog with me when I fly to Maryland in July, or I can look for a company who will take care of all that. I contacted one such company for an estimate, and was told that it'd be ~$1500 for them to pick up my dog, place her on an airplane (where she won't be exposed to the cargo air), and to drive her to my apartment. That seem's a bit pricey.
Any other tips/suggestions will be welcomed and appreciated. Thanks.
GFWL: studaud (for SF4)
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also, tell your parents to fuck right the hell off and take some time to see the country. you should plan on about a week road trip (cmon man, 23 is way too late to start cutting the cord) and meander your way across the country, its something that you don't have time to do once you settle down.
When my wife and I moved late last year to New Hampshire from Sacramento, we took a route that went south to Arizona (to see my family), and then through the south until we hit Mississippi, and then up north to see some PA friends in Ohio until finally getting to our destination... and it is a blast. If you've never driven across the country before, it's definitely worth doing I think, especially if you have someone to go with you... or a pet in your case.
We had a cat in the car... had to have her in a cat carrier for the whole trip because we couldn't risk her doing something silly like climbing down to the foot pedals or something, but she survived it just fine. I would imagine if your dog is well behaved she could ride shotgun. Depends on the demeanor of the dog of course.
Don't expect life to get cheaper.
I know the Bay Area has a very high cost of living. Unfortunately, so does Bethesda. It is a very, very, very wealthy area.
On a student's living expenses, it will be pretty difficult for you to find a place in Bethesda, so be open to living a bit away.
If you do bring a car, be prepared for the traffic. The Beltway is one of the top five most congested highways in the country. It is absolutely horrendous.
-Terry Pratchett
Most complexes that even allow "large breeds" cap out at 60 lbs.
Most complexes also have breed restrictions that, nonsensically, German Shepherds are usually on. (We have a shepherd mix, so we've felt the pain.)
If you can afford it, I suggest looking into renting a house.
If he hasn't "hit Yosemite" by now, the drive across country is probably not a likely time to do so.
Yellowstone, on the other hand...
But Yellowstone is not on the interstate and will require him to detour at least 24 hours out of his way to see it.
There's a couple other resources, but craigslist is the most consistent. You can hunt some local papers as well, but since DC's craigslist is pretty massive almost everyone posts stuff there as well.
Be up front about the dog; that's the biggest limitation you have.
You are 23. What the fuck?
Just do it yourself or with a friend.
Is it their car?
edit: Or really awful parents...
Yea, I've been checking craigslist for a place, and so far have only found one possible location that allows large dogs. The place I will be working at doesn't really offer a relocation service, the lady just gave me a list of common apartment buildings that interns there have lived in in the past. Unfortunately, none of those places allow pets. I'm not very comfortable with the idea of living with a total stranger, so unless it becomes absolutely necessary, I'd like to shy away from the roommate idea. This also rules out the possibility of renting a house, however, because like Gork said, the prices over there are almost comparable to Bay Area living costs. Also, I thought the easy coast was cold as fuck. When I went over there for my interview it was like -20C colder than the Bay Area. So I take it the summers are quite different?
GFWL: studaud (for SF4)
During the winter, yes. During summer, not so much. DC/Northern Virginia/Southern Maryland is more "Southern" and less "Coastal" weather than you're probably thinking, at least compared to California's standards.
I live in the DC metro area myself, and yes, the summers are likely quite different than what you're used to - 90-100F days (and 100+ w/heat index added in) during the summer are not all that uncommon (though not every day either), and higher humidity.
And the beltway is only bad if you're going the wrong direction on it. It would definitely be worth it to find an apartment in a place so that you're going against the morning/evening rush-hour and stuff, even if it costs a little more--you'll save a lot of time and sanity.
I make the drive to work in like 15-20 minutes. My future mother-in-law lives near where I work and works near where I live, and it takes her over an hour on occasions.
PSN: SAW776
Yeah...While you (OP) may already be somewhat used to this sort of thing, don't underestimate the potential for congestion around here - we live literally 5 miles from my wife's workplace, and it still takes her almost 45 minutes to get home sometimes.
Holy crap, that's nuts. Can you recommend any decent towns? Places on craigslist include Germantown, Gaithersburg, and some other places that are ~15 mins or so away from Bethesday according to google maps. With congestion, who knows. But I'd be willing to put up with some traffic if it's a decent living spot. I just don't want to rent a place in a total shithole of a town.
GFWL: studaud (for SF4)
This is all under pretty optimal conditions, if anything goes wrong at all your travel time can increase very quickly. Any sorts of accident along your route, even a small one, will probably double your time. If it is raining people freak out for some reason so add a lot of time, etc.
Rush Hour(actually about 3 hours in length) is horrible here, some of the worst in the country I believe.
Well, I live in Virginia, and I honestly try and avoid going to Maryland as much as possible (besides the Renaissance Festival which is awesome, if you like that sort of thing), but what Lasgar mentioned sounds accurate as far as I know.
And if it snows more than a dusting, that's when people really start to lose it...Although being from western NY originally, it's pretty hilarious once i'm home away from the roads.
That said, not trying to scare you away, i'm really not, just that it may be a bit of a shock at first
This. So hard. Driving to work is a PITA.
Also, having a roommate can be a good idea if you are a chill person to live with who takes things in stride. It can be an easy way to make some new friends too.
If your parent's can't cut the cord enough to let you drive to MD with a friend, how are they going to deal with you living alone all the way across the country? And how do they plan on fitting into your car with you, all of your shit, and the dog?
Nope. According to 2008 data, Miami is #3, Detroit is #2, and Atlanta (where I currently reside) is #1.
D.C. ranks in at #7.
You have three months of summer, starting in about June, where it's hot and humid as fuck. It's hellish and miserable; temperatures around 90 degrees or so, with 80%+ humidity. It maybe cools down 5-10 degrees at night, but probably not. Then, you get September, which is fall, and pretty nice; D.C., it probably lasts into October. Then, mid-October to November-ish, winter begins, when it is cold as fuck, hellish, and miserable. This lasts well into April, and depending on where you are, potentially well into May (probably more April-ish in the D.C. area, I imagine). There will be weeks when the temperature doesn't get into the double-digits. Then, in late April/May, you have spring, which is quite nice, and lasts until June, when the hot hellishness starts all over again.
Well, I dunno, define expensive? I'm currently living in a one-bedroom in Courthouse, for which I pay a little over $1100/month. The place isn't perfect but it's not a shithole, either. Looking at Craigslist, I'm seeing plenty of apartments in DC and the close VA/MD suburbs (Arlington, Alexandria, Takoma Park, Gaithersburg, etc.) for $1500 or less, which isn't what I'd call particularly expensive, at least not compared to the Bay Area.
And people live there? Jesus.
Dude, tell the parents you'll be fine, take a roadtrip, just you and the dog. It'll be good for you.
I could have swore we where in top 3 but that may have been a few years ago, or I could just be wrong. Regardless I said some of the worst not the worst, being within the top 10 is still pretty bad.
Yeah, the numbers have been in flux the last few years because they keep fucking around with the way they measure it, but you're probably right. Anywhere in the top 10 is a miserable fucking place to be.
Spring and Fall in the mid-Atlantic are both pretty great. But ain't no one who moves here for the weather.
100% this. You don't want to have to drive to work if you can help it. Where exactly is your internship? The Red Line will probably cover you - the Medical Center stop is in the middle of NIH and the Naval Hospital, and the Bethesda stop is in the center of downtown Bethesda. You can either go north and look for a place near Shady Grove/Rockville or south and look for student targetted housing near AU or UDC. Technically you can come at it from the other side and find cheaper places in Takoma/Silver Spring/Wheaton, but having to ride through DC twice everyday is a big pain in the ass and not worth it except as a last resort.
The dog could be problematic - apartments almost never allow a dog that big. You may have to find a house to share with some other people.
Compared to California, yeah, it might be considered pretty rough....But otherwise you can definitely find worse, either deep south in summer or parts of New England in winter.
Atlanta actually has a pleasant balance of seasons from late September through April.
It's just May through August that sucks fucking goat scrotum.
But yeah, Louisiana's pretty unpleasant year round.
LOL, DC is not cold.
Maybe that's an accurate description of east coast weather coming from someone who lives on the West Coast (SEATTLE), but your portrayal of East Coast winter is hilarious.
In the summer, it sucks. 90 degrees, 99% humidity. In the winter, your average daily temperature is somewhere in the 30s. Winter is a joke here - it "snows" (an inch) maybe 3 or 4 times each winter, and that's usually gone in the next could days. This year was exceptionally cold by DC standards.
That's pretty much it...lord, if this area ever got a "real" winter like NY or New England, it'd be like the apocalypse...a white, fluffy apocalypse.
For conditions like that you'd be thinking Pennsylvania, New York, or farther north. Maybe extreme northern Maryland if there was a freakishly long cold snap.
I should have mentioned, but the stipend is ~27000 a year I believe. I also think it's non-taxed. So that amounts to ~2100 or so a month. I figure 1200 for rent/utilities, and the rest for food and whatever else. I'll be working a research position at the NIH, so I would totally take the metro if traffic is as bad as it has been stated. If necessary, I'll also try to get a gig at a bookstore or something as well; I've always wanted to try working in a bookstore.
The weather...oh well. It's just something that I'll have to learn to deal with. California's weather will be greatly missed, I'm sure. I went to Japan last summer for a vacation and the humidity nearly killed me. Thanks for the link toe the Renaisance Festival, I'm looking forward to going to events like that. Also, the museums in DC and New York and what not.
There is a yahoo group for people in the internship program that I'm in; I'll try to sign up and see if anyone is looking for a housemate. I'm a bit wary of rooming with strangers, but if I can't find an apartment, I guess that'll be my only choice.
GFWL: studaud (for SF4)
If you are working at NIH in Bethesda I would try to find something on the Red Line (metro) so look for places in Woodley Park, Cleveland Park, Van Ness, Tenleytown, etc.
Having a roommate is a good idea just because you can save some in rent. $1200 is a lot when you're only taking home $2100 before taxes...
however, if a place says 60lb limit, you could probably pass your dog off. Mine was 95 pounds and they didn't lift an eyebrow when the limit was 60lbs.
The weather here is really not that bad. Yeah, the summers can be brutal but usually there is a nice long indian summer afterwards. we've already had quite a few 70-80 degree days that were gorgeous. Winter is really not bad at all, except our preparedness for it. Usually officials freak out at the first snow and blow the budget, then they are reluctant to send the plows out the next time. also people can't drive for shit in bad weather here. aside from that it's great!!