Immediate room needed for ca. 3 and a half weeks in DC.
Feb 3, 2011, 5:37 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: ZRH
Programs: LX HON Circle
Posts: 3,242
Immediate room needed for ca. 3 and a half weeks in DC.
Dear Flyertalkers
My girlfriend, 23, is currently following an English course at the International Language Institute (ILI) downtown Washington at the 1337 Connecticut Ave NW. Currently she stays at a horrible place with other roommates whose only intention seem to be drinking and partying the whole night which of course are not the best conditions to prepare seriously for that English exam. Additionally, this place is somewhere in a not so safe area in the suburbs according to her description and she feels very unsafe there. That's why I want to take her out of that place if I find a way how to do that. I've checked the youthhostels but they don't seem to have availability for single rooms for the remainder of her stay. Her flight back to Switzerland is on February 27th.
So and now comes my question: Do you have any idea what else we could try? I've checked pricline and hotwire for cheap hotels. Will try betterbidding as well today. I even thought about couchsurfing. Since she's a student her budget is limited but of course she's still willing to pay what ever needs to be paid. We tried to find her a host family through the housing program offered by her language school but hey would only accept students with a specific visa that she doesn't have. The strange thing about that is that her visa is theoretically even higher ranked (she has a business and student visa IIRC) but it's not the specific visa the school wants. On a side note; I don't see why they are making such a fuss for people coming from a civilized country such as Switzerland...
Anyway, I know this is a bit strange to ask but this is flyertalk where people help each other (
) so I give it a try:
Do you have an idea where she could stay? The best would be a family or a couple/invidiual somewhere close to the school (and public transportation). Basically she just needs a room where she can sleep and prepare for the language tests. Also it would be an additional plus if she could interact with the people living there in order to improve her English skills. She's already fluent in English so a normal conversation is no problem at all
. Also maybe you have friends in DC who would be interested to host an international student for 3 and a half weeks? If nothing can be found she can just stay at her current location for the remaining couple of weeks. But of course we'd prefer to find a better alternative in the meantime. I will keep on searching even though being based in ZRH this is not so easy.
I truly appreciate your help. Many thanks for your time and consideration. I will be looking forward to your reply. Dont hesitate to drop me a PM please if you have further questions or ideas.
Cheers,
f4freeJunior
My girlfriend, 23, is currently following an English course at the International Language Institute (ILI) downtown Washington at the 1337 Connecticut Ave NW. Currently she stays at a horrible place with other roommates whose only intention seem to be drinking and partying the whole night which of course are not the best conditions to prepare seriously for that English exam. Additionally, this place is somewhere in a not so safe area in the suburbs according to her description and she feels very unsafe there. That's why I want to take her out of that place if I find a way how to do that. I've checked the youthhostels but they don't seem to have availability for single rooms for the remainder of her stay. Her flight back to Switzerland is on February 27th.
So and now comes my question: Do you have any idea what else we could try? I've checked pricline and hotwire for cheap hotels. Will try betterbidding as well today. I even thought about couchsurfing. Since she's a student her budget is limited but of course she's still willing to pay what ever needs to be paid. We tried to find her a host family through the housing program offered by her language school but hey would only accept students with a specific visa that she doesn't have. The strange thing about that is that her visa is theoretically even higher ranked (she has a business and student visa IIRC) but it's not the specific visa the school wants. On a side note; I don't see why they are making such a fuss for people coming from a civilized country such as Switzerland...
Anyway, I know this is a bit strange to ask but this is flyertalk where people help each other (
) so I give it a try:Do you have an idea where she could stay? The best would be a family or a couple/invidiual somewhere close to the school (and public transportation). Basically she just needs a room where she can sleep and prepare for the language tests. Also it would be an additional plus if she could interact with the people living there in order to improve her English skills. She's already fluent in English so a normal conversation is no problem at all
. Also maybe you have friends in DC who would be interested to host an international student for 3 and a half weeks? If nothing can be found she can just stay at her current location for the remaining couple of weeks. But of course we'd prefer to find a better alternative in the meantime. I will keep on searching even though being based in ZRH this is not so easy. I truly appreciate your help. Many thanks for your time and consideration. I will be looking forward to your reply. Dont hesitate to drop me a PM please if you have further questions or ideas.
Cheers,
f4freeJunior
Feb 3, 2011, 7:04 am
#2
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: WAS
Posts: 339
The William Penn House doesn't do singles (except for the handicapped), but it seems to have dorm availability for at least the first week or two for $40-45 a night. It's a Quaker boarding house, but you don't have to be Quaker to stay there. It should be able to provide a nice quiet place to study. No alcohol, drugs, or smoking are allowed on premises, and they take their quiet hours (10-8) pretty seriously.
Feb 3, 2011, 7:23 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: south of WAS DC
Posts: 10,131
has she checked B&B's?
http://www.bedandbreakfastdc.com/index.php?id=68
is about 50 of them. i do not know if they meet her safety concerns. capitol hill is a hell hole. what's the money problem. i thought all swissies were rich?
these look pretty expensive to me. maybe you find cheper if you look at a lot of the b&b.
http://www.bedandbreakfastdc.com/index.php?id=68
is about 50 of them. i do not know if they meet her safety concerns. capitol hill is a hell hole. what's the money problem. i thought all swissies were rich?
these look pretty expensive to me. maybe you find cheper if you look at a lot of the b&b.
Feb 6, 2011, 3:38 am
#5
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Programs: UA MM, MB LifeTit
Posts: 1,829
Boston University has a dorm on the 2800 block of Connecticut Ave. I don't know if it's available to non-BU students, but it's worth a try (maybe they can recommend something if they don't have any rooms):
http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/webph/index.php?index_id=X3541
http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/webph/index.php?index_id=X3541
Feb 6, 2011, 7:27 am
#6
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: UA Million Miler
Posts: 1,358
Not an easy question as DC is not cheap.
Could try the housing offices of local universities: Georgetown, George Washington, American
Could drop by the Swiss embassy and ask for advice. Maybe a staffer would rent (for cheap) space for a few weeks.
Could try the housing offices of local universities: Georgetown, George Washington, American
Could drop by the Swiss embassy and ask for advice. Maybe a staffer would rent (for cheap) space for a few weeks.
Feb 10, 2011, 1:06 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: ZRH
Programs: LX HON Circle
Posts: 3,242
Dear Flyertalkers
Many thanks for all your kind advices!! I certainly appreciate all of them.
In the meantime some of the roomates moved out and the situation there has become much better. But for a next potential stay in the US (maybe this Summer again) we will certainly consider all these advices and ask this board before.
Again, thank you all for your efforts and good ideas! That's true FT spirit ^.
Cheers
Many thanks for all your kind advices!! I certainly appreciate all of them.
In the meantime some of the roomates moved out and the situation there has become much better. But for a next potential stay in the US (maybe this Summer again) we will certainly consider all these advices and ask this board before.
Again, thank you all for your efforts and good ideas! That's true FT spirit ^.
Cheers
