Moving to DC
 

So it looks like I will be moving from Chicago to DC for a couple years.

I am trying to get a sense of the area, right focusing on where to live. However, craigslist and internet searches just turn up these large complexes. Anyone have a suggestion on how to find (or at least consider) other living arrangements?

Thanks!

Keep checking Craigslist. Really, it's where all the apartment listings are. There are smaller buildings (and basement units, if that's your thing) out there. They just get a little buried.

If you have a specific neighborhood in mind I can maybe recommend sites for specific management companies specializing in smaller buildings and single-family homes (like yarmouthm.com for Capitol Hill, or chatelrealestate.com for Dupont and Adams Morgan), but most of them cross-post to Craigslist anyway.

Relative to Chicago, DC has fewer apartments, many fewer small apartment buildings, more rowhouses, and much tighter supply in general. The result is that $1000/month might get you an okay apartment in Chicago, but within better parts of the District it's the baseline rent for a room in a shared apartment/house. A lot of these are unadvertised and get filled socially, but Craigslist is probably the best bet for advertised ones.

You may also want to look at the Washington City Paper website. They sometimes have properties not listed elsewhere.

Thanks all.

I have been using padmapper.com, which really helps parse out the CL postings to unique units. Right now, I am focusing on Capital Hill/Eastern Market or U Street/Columbia Heights.

I am hoping that I will be able to rent my 2 bedroom condo in Chicago for a similar amount that I pay for a 1 bedroom in DC. Then that part of my cost of living will remain static.

You've forgotten about taxes. Welcome to DC.

before you settle in, you should check the neighborhood for parking, and commute to and from your workplace during rush hour. frequently, things are not as they seem in the bright sunshine.

Indeed. As a student & young professional who moved to Foggy Bottom a few years ago from TX, I've found that a car is not necessary and ZipCars come to the rescue every once in a while.

+2 for ZipCars. I commute into DC daily for the past 10+ years and finally gave up driving in 2010 and commute via the train. When I need a car while in DC, ZipCars is my answer.

i live in DC and rent an apartment in a split up row house.

how much are you looking to spend?

And what general area will you be working in? Near a metro stop on the work end?

I would love to keep it sub 1600, which I am well aware is pinching it very tight in the DC area.

Work is near a Metro stop on the Blue and Yellow lines. So I am looking at Cap Hill, U Street, Columbia Heights, etc. in DC proper. I am also debating just doing NoVa to be cheap.

One curious thing you'll find is that Metro-accessible Northern Virginia can actually be more expensive than DC, partly because there are many more job centers on the west side of the region than on the east side and also because the schools are better in the western counties.

I commute to Alexandria from Southwest Waterfront and it's usually about 45 minutes, door to door, via various combos of transit or bike. Crystal City is a very quick trip from here.

Keep in mind that the Yellow Line only runs through U Street and Columbia Heights during _non_ peak hours; there is no Yellow Line service past Mt. Vernon Square/Convention Center between 5 and 9:30 a.m. and 3 and 7 p.m. on weekdays.

This is changing as part of the yellow/blue/orange service revamp. Six "yellow" trains per hour will go from Greenbelt to Franconia, supplementing the existing Green Line service:
http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/new...ReleaseID=5062

In any case, it's a straightforward, same-platform transfer from green to yellow at Archives or Mt. Vernon. Taking the Blue Line all the way around from Capitol Hill to Alexandria/south Arlington would be painful.