Where to live? Wld love advice!

lsb79 · August 2011

Good morning! I've recently relocated to the DC area following my husband's new job. We are temporarily living with family in Arlington, VA, but will be moving once I secure a job.

My husband's office is in the District near McPherson Sq, and I am interviewing for a job in Silver Spring. I would love any metro-accessibleneighborhood recommendations on where to live that would work for both commutes. Thanks so much -- I'm glad to be here!

babygirlpriest · August 2011

Welcome to the area. I know some others here work downtown/live in the SS area and can make great recommendations but wondering a few things:

How long a commute time are you willing to deal with?
Condo/townhouse/house?
Kid friendly with a yard in the suburbs or urban living ok?
How much are you hoping to spend?
What are you hoping for in a neighborhood?
Will you and DH both be using metro for commute?

cheekywife · August 2011

if you are a city person, i'd recommend living in the district. we live near logan circle and really like it. we're closest to the mcpherson metro and even metro center isn't that far. with most DC neighborhoods, DH would have a minimal commute and hopefully wherever you get a job wouldn't be a bad commute either.

we just moved here last spring and looked at logan circle, columbia heights, dupont circle, foggy bottom, U street, cleveland/woodley park, and eastern market. if you want more info on these areas, let me know.

WinesNot Whines · August 2011

Welcome! If you end up working in Silver Spring, I'd try to find housing near there, too. I live in Silver Spring and I really like it. Your husband could take the Metro downtown.

Do you have a price point?

lsb79 · August 2011

Thanks for the words of welcome! To give you a bit more info...

How long a commute time are you willing to deal with? Up to an hr, but would prefer less!
Condo/townhouse/house? Totally open, probably not a whole house
Kid friendly with a yard in the suburbs or urban living ok? We don't have kids, so really just looking for a 2bdrm or 1bed plus den or study
How much are you hoping to spend? Rents here seem to be comparable to Boston, where we just moved from. I'd say we could spend between 1800-2300.
What are you hoping for in a neighborhood? Would love to be able to walk to shops and restaurants.
Will you and DH both be using metro for commute? Ideally we would both use the metro.

living_insanity · August 2011

Maybe wheaton or silver spring. I really like the area around Forest Glenn metro (is that still Silver spring?)

soprano87 · August 2011

lsb79:
Thanks for the words of welcome! To give you a bit more info...

How long a commute time are you willing to deal with? Up to an hr, but would prefer less!
Condo/townhouse/house? Totally open, probably not a whole house
Kid friendly with a yard in the suburbs or urban living ok? We don't have kids, so really just looking for a 2bdrm or 1bed plus den or study
How much are you hoping to spend? Rents here seem to be comparable to Boston, where we just moved from. I'd say we could spend between 1800-2300.
What are you hoping for in a neighborhood? Would love to be able to walk to shops and restaurants.
Will you and DH both be using metro for commute? Ideally we would both use the metro.

Welcome to DC! I lived in Cambridge for two years and loved it

I second the recommendation for Logan Circle, but I think anywhere on the 14th St corridor or U St would be great.

WinesNot Whines · August 2011

I'm going to amend my response based on your follow-up post. If you're really ok with a 1-hour commute, I'd consider living in DC, Arlington, or certain parts of Alexandria (Old town or Del Ray). I've lived in all of those places, and my favorite was Old Town Alexandria. It's a fabulous area, lots of things to do, lots of fun shops/restaurants/bars within walking distance, and very close to DC. Commiting to Silver Spring would take an hour by car, however. I also lived in Pentagon City (which is in Arlington, close to the Pentagon) and while that wasn't quite as fabulous as Old Town, it was still a great area and easy to commute by Metro. There are also a lot of great neighborhoods in DC, but I haven't lived in the city for many years, so I don't know pricing there.

kiahj · August 2011

Welcome Big Smile Everyone is so wonderful and helpful on this board....

We live in the Colesville section of Silver Spring, and it's nice, but the closest metro stop is Glenmont and that's a long trip in. We moved up this way because we wanted to be in a single family home. If I had a do-over, and was not looking for a single family home, but would live in an apartment or a townhome, I'd definitely have chosen Bethesda (or Alexandria/Arlington but we wanted to stay in MD for ease of commute reasons). A friend of mine had a cute 2 bedroom in Bethesda, walking distance to the metro, for $2400, so perhaps you can find something close to your pricerange there.

Good luck!!

CLaNa · August 2011

My husband and I live in Dupont Circle and I highly recommend it. We used to live outside of the city and the commute was eating away at our lives plus it just wasn't as fun. Our place is much smaller, but it's really nice and the neighborhood is great. He walks to work and I take the metro to Penn Quarter (just 3 stops) and we can walk to lots of bars and restaurants. We pay $2,400 a month.

We will move outside of the city once we have kids (probably Bethesda or Silver Spring), but right now we just want to enjoy the city life while we're young (we're both 30) and carefree.

I would also recommend anywhere around U St/14th, Logan Circle, Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights.

soprano87 · August 2011

I'm clearly biased, since I live in the city, but I have lived in the 'burbs too. Don't forget to take time and commuting costs into account. In addition to gas, I had to pay $150 a month in parking when I lived in SS, plus a dog-walker b/c I was gone for so long and my commute was unpredictable. When we moved in, yes, our rent went up, but other costs went down.

CLaNa · August 2011

soprano87:
I'm clearly biased, since I live in the city, but I have lived in the 'burbs too. Don't forget to take time and commuting costs into account. In addition to gas, I had to pay $150 a month in parking when I lived in SS, plus a dog-walker b/c I was gone for so long and my commute was unpredictable. When we moved in, yes, our rent went up, but other costs went down.

Exactly. Our rent went up, but a lot of other costs went down and our quality of life is infinitely better. Take advantage of it while you can!

cheekywife · August 2011

we moved here from new york and while our rent went up, our commuting time and expenses no longer exist. i'll take the smaller apartment and higher rent for the extra two hours not spent commuting each day.

Where to live? Wld love advice!

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