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.

My only advice is to consider living right across the river in VA. Lower taxes and crime and can take advantage of all the benefits of DC without having to mess withthe black hole that is DC government......

if your move is work/school related, ask people at your work/school. don't take advice from random people, as residents of MD and VA often have very strong, yet very irrational, opinions.

The reason you're seeing listings dominated by the complexes is probably the time of year. I imagine it's the same in Chicago— you'd see a lot more options in May than November. Right now, it's mostly big properties still trying to fill space.

Craigslist is your best bet. Most places you'd have found in the City Paper a decade ago will only be found online now. The apartment rental websites and magazines are only going to list the large management company-owned complexes because that's who's paying the advertising bills.

I often receive requests for housing referrals from my college alumni association and my church, so you might try those avenues. Another source is university newspaper classifieds, but of course they're usually renting for next August at this time of year.

If you're willing to share, your options open up considerably. I have a friend sharing a 4-BR, 4½ BA townhouse, 3 blocks from the Court House Metro (Orange Line) for about $1000 each. Group houses are extremely common for the under-40 set because that population is so large and transient.

All that said, live close to work/school. The Metro is open late on weekends and cabs are easy to find, but There Is No Good Way To Get There From Here during rush hour if going more than a mile. Driving is impossible unless you get to work before 7am or after 10am. Metrorail is overcrowded and costly, the buses unreliable. As a pedestrian, I have been struck three times by bicylists, of which DC has one of the largest and most self-righteous populations I've seen anywhere. And cyclists endure sticky summers, windy winters, and hatred from motorists, train riders, and pedestrians alike.

You may want to call around to DC realtors, as there is a glut of owned-but-not-occupied condo's on the market. Folks bought them when the market was still strong and couldn't flip them in time. Property managers in DC are expensive compared to other areas and some people are having the realtors fill the vacancies--- the realtor isn't going to sell the condo any time soon, so might as well help the owner get a tenant, and make at least something. I know quite a few folks who have found a place to live or someone to live in their place, via a realtor.

If you have down-payment money and the credit, you might also consider buying a condo, as the DC house market has remained more or less stable compared to the rest of the country but the condo market has tanked hard. If you can afford $1600/month you will get more bang for your buck as an owner than as a tenant.

I would say that you need to keep checking Craigslist. When I last posted my rental property, I was inundated pretty quickly with responses so my listing did not stay up for long...

Craigslist is your best bet, but only if you are there in person (or can have a friend stand in for you). DC has a very competitive rental market right now, so good apartments get snapped up within hours.

There was a large glut of investor-owner properties snapped up in Ballston and Clarendon/Courthouse (all in Arlington County). Those are two terrific neighborhoods for the younger set - especially Clarendon which is eye-candy central.

Wouldn't the people at work/friends already in DC have the same strong and irrational opinions?

Right now, I found a complex that would be workable. So I am going to keep that in my back pocket, head out there and see if I can find something better via CL, just walking around, or whatnot. If I find a better place I will grab it. If not, the complex near work will be fine.

yes, but they are more likely to know what's convenient to or practical for that work/school. for example, i know a couple of people who bought or rented places near metro stops, only to find themselves driving to work every day.

If you are renting in DC, look for an apartment with rent control. Any building built before 1978 and larger than 6 units has to be under rent control. Most of the larger buildings in NW tend to be on Wisc and Conn Avenues, NW. And the further away you live from the Metro, the cheaper your rent tends to be.

As for taxes, DC has a high income tax but low property tax rate. Virginia has lower income taxes, higher property taxes, and they nickel and dime tax you on just about everything, including food bought in a supermarket and your annual car tax.

Oh, and DC has no "nickel and diming"? 10% meals tax. 2 cent "plastic bag tax". Lets not even start mentioning the parking enforcement division....

i recall a few years back when marion barry was the guy with the hand in your pocket, the city was a few million or billion short. he resolved the issue by hiring about 100 meter maids.

It's actually 5c per bag although most supermarkets don't charge you. But Arlington has an 8.5% meal tax, so what's the real difference between DC's 10% and that (unless your meals run in the $1,000 range). And car tax - what the hell is that? I already bought my car, paid sales tax on it, so why do I need to pay it again every year. And why would you tax unprepared food? That just hurts the poor more than anyone else. As for parking tickets, I'd rather get one in DC than NoVA where the fines are higher and they tow your car on the spot.

NOVA is painfully dull and anywhere outside of Old Towne Alexandria, you are going to see awful suburban sprawl, a complete lack of zoning, and unfettered commercial development.

Except for Rosslyn-Ballston (and Pentagon City) in Arlington, probably the most successful examples of smart growth in the entire country.

The tax on unprepared food is 2%, which mostly balances out with the lower overall sales tax, meal tax, and income tax. Much of NoVA has better public facilities if that matters to you. Car tax only applies to those who own a car :) Business taxes are also lower in NoVA.

There have been a few reports put out that show that DC and VA total tax burdens are comparable - that is, some people will come out ahead in one state or the other depending on specific circumstances including income level, whether you own property, number and types of owned vehicles, etc.

I am not interested in getting into a DC versus Virginia battle. The car tax - which is common in many states - frankly is no different than property tax. "I already bought my house, paid tax on it, so why do I need to pay it again every year."

As for parking tickets, I have lived in Northern Virginia for 15 years. I have never received a parking ticket in Virginia. I have, however, received three parking tickets in DC. I have also had my car broken into twice in DC. My wife was also mugged in DC. I know neighbors in my area who leave their car doors unlocked at night and leave the house doors unlocked during the day. Can you say that about almost any locality in the District?

Do you see the inherent contradiction between the first sentence in your post and the rest of it?

I have a bicycle, wide screen TV, and a multitude of furniture: All of which are my property, so why don't I pay annual property tax on them? Since when are automobiles "real property?"

I have received far more tickets in NOVA than DC, and they are inevitably higher priced than the District. And I have known far more people to get towed in the NOVA burbs than DC. As for car breakins, I had my first one last year after 19 years in the city. And now I'm going to have to visit your neighborhood to rob as many cars and houses as possible since you guys are so naive and such country bumpkins.

It's funny that you NOVA country bumpkins are such victims of crime. I can't say I know any DC residents who have been mugged (unless you count federal tax and no representation). You guys must have a big "SUCKER" tattoo on your foreheads.

(I will admit that I like the fact that VA allows for concealed carry permits)

I think the point was not that all owned property is taxed annually, but some is. Like real estate. So there is a precedent for annual car tax.

But in the right places of NoVA AND DC, it can be a moot point. Live near the Metro and without a car, and avoid all car "taxes" - whether they be gas taxes, registration, parking fees, or annual fees.

Good point. I live 2 1/2 blocks to the metro, so it saves me countless gallons of gas, parking tickets, and garage charges. My point would be that living within walking distance to the metro is far more feasible/convenient in DC than it is in even Arlington and Alexandria. Cars are much more a part of life out in NOVA than in the city.

Sadly, this sort of condescending outlook is prevalent amongst DC residents. Apparently to them crossing the river is like descending into some rube-filled wasteland (Godspeed to those brave residents heading to DCA!).

NOVA is not a homogeneous area. Areas adjoining DC like Rosslyn are really just extensions of the urban environment, with similar exorbitant rents. As you move further from the city into actual suburbs (like Falls Church), you will find strip malls and such, but you'll also find large immigrant communities with a variety of accompanying stores and restaurants, with nary a "bumpkin" in sight (and it's still metro accessible). You have to get out to places like Ashburn/Sterling to get places that will remind you of the hit show "Suburgatory". To actually find "bumpkins", you'll need to head out to the Blue Ridge (about 60 miles from DC).

It's amusing yet annoying that DCites manage to lump these different areas into one "surburban/bumpkin/wasteland". Just a heads up to the OP, if you choose to live in NOVA, you'll have to deal with this stigma from our more enlightened neighbors.

Nah, we city slickers do it primarily to get a rise out of you suburban folk. And with the big inferiority complex you NOVA guys have, it's always easy to get a bite.

[Interestingly enough, this little goading isn't usually aimed at Marylanders. Must be the fact that Maryland is connected to the District by land borders???]

Arlington is pretty much indistinguishable from DC in terms of livability. In fact, in many ways it exceeds DC in terms of urban amenities. Yes, not all parts are Metro adjacent, but the same is true for DC - both have very usable feeder and transit bus systems.

and, wjhen you are in nova, you are never lonesome. you have lots and lots of traffic to keep you company.

Mass is another car tax state. In the good old days the local government would assess your worldly possessions (like furniture) and tax it every year. I guess that at some point they gave up on that in the early 1900s (1940s or 1950s?) and it devolved into an automobile tax. I also know that it was common in Mass that you would bribe the town clerk and he would lose your file.

I moved from Mass to VA around the time that they were getting rid of the car tax in 1998-2002, which was a key plank of VA's Republican governor at the time. Unfortunately the new Democrat governor in 2002 stopped the final cut from being enacted and it remains that you get a 70% (?) rebate on the "real" amount owed.

However, in Fairfax County the rate is 4.5%, which is very high so I still paid more (with the 70% discount) than in Mass where it was the same (I think) as the real estate tax. Also the assessed value was much lower for the same car in Mass than in VA.

The rebate is also capped at $20,000 so if you have a ~$50k car then you are paying a pretty penny.

p.s. It's 5% in Arlington and they still have stickers that set you back another $30. They are also more "progressive" and provide full refund on the first $3k valuation and then apply a reduced rebate from $3k to $20k.

Oh yeah, I totally forgot that DC bans cars and traffic. It's a land-locked Venice! :confused:

Even the walkable Metro corridors in Arlington aren't known for their charming historic architecture. The county was largely rural until the New Deal; there are "maybe a dozen" pre-1930 houses in the entire county, per their historic preservation staffer. Still, you'll pay as much per square foot for real estate there as you will in all but the choicest bits of the District.

Here's a study that compared the relative tax burdens of the three states for different theoretical households. DC comes out ahead, although the commenters correctly point out that it assumes that people drive rather nice cars (which even "ghetto"-dwellers do around here).