There are one-bedroom condos available in Brentwood for a bit over $200,000 - I have a friend who’s renting one, and they’re quite nice. The location is fairly convenient, too - it’s near Capitol Hill, so it’s fairly central. That being said, it isn’t a good neighborhood - not as bad as some places, but people do get shot there, and I prefer not to be walking around at night. Some people make it work - depends on your personal risk tolerance.
I respectfully disagree. This is certainly true of parts of NoVA, but Arlington County takes public transit very, very seriously - it even has its own extensive bus system in addition to MetroBus and MetroRail. You don’t need a car to live here - and I’d advise against bothering with one.
Cullain, yes, it probably is possible to see deer in Gaithersburg. That’s a long drive from College Park or Capitol Hill, though. In fact, if you live there, you should drive to the nearest Metro stop and take it to work or school rather than driving.
Don’t live in SE.
Don’t live in SE.
Don’t live in SE.
It’s worth sayng three times. I’ve lived in Loudon County and now Arlington. The latter is definitely preferred. Loudon is about 50 minutes commute, each way, and that’s only to the beltway. If you have to go to the White House, then you definitely want to live closer in. Also, I recommend moving on top of a metro station. It really makes life simpler. It’s like having every club and bar in DC on your street.
One-time must-sees include the Green Tree restaurant in Leesberg. It’s worth the drive and it’s pretty romantic out there. The whole town is civil-war era buildings and its gorgeous. Take a Saturday and spend the whole day seeing the town.
Check out Mt. Vernon too. No one ever thinks to go there because it’s not on the Mall like all the other tourist places. Take at least 4 or 5 hours though, as there’s a lot more to see than just a house.
A favorite restaurant of mine is Fogo de Chao, on Pennsylvania Ave. It’s about $60 a person but it’s totally worth it if you eat meat.
Might I recommend becoming a CouchSurfer? We’re very active in this city and there’s always something to do with them/us. If you and your girlfriend are new to the area, I suggest looking us up. PM me if you want to know more about it.
I’ll second (third?) the notion that if you want to go to UMD for classes, don’t move to VA. That is a hell of a commute during rush hour.
I moved from DC proper to College Park so that I could be close to the school while getting my master’s. Look at www.redfin.com for College Park listings…there are some decently priced listings there. I’ll warn you that CP has almost no social life unless you are an undergrad or like that type of scene.
This is not good advice. There’s a huge difference between Eastern Market and its $2 million homes and the despair of Anacostia. Yet both are in Southeast.
It’s as poor advice as telling someone to live in Northwest, and then they end up living in crime-ridden Petworth instead of tony Georgetown.
ETA: based on the OP’s preferences, I don’t recommend him living in DC at all.
Yeah, on the Orange Line. Yellow Line isn’t nearly as bad except during evening rush when the Nationals are playing.
I just saw a couple of (3 bedroom) houses for sale in my neighborhood - Rose Hill - for around $300K. I know for a fact that you can find raccoons in your trash and deer in your yard here because I’ve chased them off more than once. We are just south of Alexandria proper but there are tons of older neighborhoods like this around Northern VA. Del Ray (as someone mentioned) is a nice neighorhood near DC and I know it has wildlife problems too, if that is the kind of thing you look for, but the prices will be much higher for the same floor space.
“DC” is a huge area, depending you who you talk to. Place to live for me boiled down how far I had to drive to work (traffic here is, umm, not good.) My suggestion, if price is a concern, would be to look outside the beltway although, if I had it to do over again, I would take a good look the first four areas **nyctea scandiaca **lists.
We’re talking about the SE quadrant of the DC area.
IOW, everything east of the Potomac, south of U.S. 50, and presumably west of the Chesapeake. (Though commuting from east of the Bay Bridge is getting more common.)
That includes any number of quite safe and livable areas. And, by and large, cheaper than equally close-in areas in the other three quadrants.
Never go to Fogo for dinner! Exactly the same meal is almost half the price at lunch. And then one can sleep it off in the office afterwards.
I’d also like Fogo to recognize that steak should never be cooked to medium rare levels, and certainly never to the leatheriness that half their meat seems to achieve.
Agreed. Fogo de Chao absolutely values quantity over quality. Not that the beef is bad, it just isn’t great.
I respectfully disagree. I have lived all over the city - I started up by American University (very tony), and have lived in Silver Spring, Annapolis (MD), and McLean (VA). I landed here on the Hill somewhat by accident, and have loved it. I have never felt unsafe, I have easy and affordable access to restaurants, museums, shopping, bike paths and many other “desirable” neighborhood features, and my job. My son goes to DC public schools, which on The Hill are excellent.
I understand that DC proper may not be the OP’s cup of tea, and that’s understandable - but to write off an entire quadrant of the city is utterly foolish. My crime rates are actually LOWER than those of my peers who chose to live farther out (much lower for violent crimes, and surprisingly lower for “opportunity” crime like car theft and break ins).
That said, I would still stay west of the Anacostia for now - in time it will improve, but unless you’re a real block buster, it’s a complicated place to move to right now.
AL
I have nothing really to add, except to thank everyone for the input.
I think I’m going to have to get ready to deal with a much more urban environment than I’d prefer … because as much as I dislike crowded neighborhoods, I really really dislike sitting in traffic. Forced to choose, I’ll look for a more crowded place where I can hopefully at least have a yard. If I get into the UM program, it’ll be that side; if not probably NoVa.
Of course, a lot of it will depend on the future Mrs. thinks, but I’m usually a good salesman with her …
You’ll be able to find a yard no problem. I live in DC proper and I have a front yard and back yard.
If you like ethnic food, go to Tyler Cowen’s ethnic dining guide for recommendations, he has his finger on the pulse of ethnic dining in the region. The museum of american art is a great time. If you live in VA along 95 you can get to the White House area via slugging in less than an hour. Falls Church to DC is a very good commute.