<p>My D recently started a new job as a Patent Examiner at the US Patent and Trade Office in Alexandria, VA. She’s currently living in Bowie, MD, which makes for a rather long, crowded, and complicated commute. She takes the MARC train into Union Station, then transfers to a DC Area Metro train for two stops, and then yet another Metro train to her Old Towne Alexandria office. It’s getting old fast, so she’s seriously considering finding an apartment closer to Alexandria that would entail a less complicated commute. Can anyone familiar with the area suggest where she might look for a one bedroom apartment won’t cost an arm and a leg, yet might only entail a single Metro train to work and back?</p>
<p>A friend of mine’s son recently started a job in Old Town Alexandria. He couldn’t find any apartment within his price range. On Craig’s list he found an apartment in a house in Alexandria. It is a seven minute walk to the metro. The owner is a 27 year old girl. She just bought the house. He gets the whole second floor with a full bath and can use the kitchen. She is also apparently renting out the basement with the same deal. It is nice because there is a driveway and he can park his car and leave it there. She might want to check out Craig’s list. Apartments in Alexandria are on the expensive side.</p>
<p>The US PTO is on the Yellow line. There may be some reasonably priced walk-to-Metro apartments further south on the Yellow line. Also look into apartments on Metrobus or the city of Alexandria Dash bus lines. Apartments walking distance to Metro stops are expensive. Places on bus only lines will cost less.</p>
<p>My S used to commute from Bowie as well. (Have relatives who live there.) Now he lives in Georgetown with 3 other guys, and takes a bus. He works next to the Capitol. He found his townhouse through his church. Periodically one of the guys gets married and moves out, but they haven’t had any trouble finding replacements. I don’t think he knows anybody who doesn’t have atleast one roommate. It’s just too expensive.</p>
<p>There are tons of new housing built at the Gallery Place (yellow line) stop. She can look at Craigslist to find something. The area is safe and very popular with young professionals. If she wants to buy, there may be some developers trying to unload units at more reasonable (compared to 2 years ago) prices.</p>
<p>Look around the Petworth/GA Avenue Metro Station and maybe two or three stops south (Columbia Heights, U-Street). It’s on the same Metro line as Old Town Alexandria. Neighborhoods like Columbia Heights, ParkView, and Petworth are gentrifying at an explosive rate. These neighborhoods are becoming safe as development takes place. Safe enough for walking during normal commuting hours or even late into the night for a group.</p>
<p>You can find nice rooms in a fully-restored three or four bedroom group house brick townhouse for $800 a month – modern kitchens, hardwood floors, etc. Not sure about one-bedroom apartments, but still affordable (compared to other DC neighborhoods). The just out of college kids seem to prefer group arrangements both from a cost standpoint and social life standpoint, with intersecting groups of friends. This is where the single under-30 crowd is moving these days, moving in droves from Adams Morgan, which has become pricey.</p>
<p>There’s a lot of high-end development around the Columbia Heights station – which had been empty lots since it was burned to the ground in the '68 riots. Massive new shopping mall with Target/Best Buy, etc. These neighborhoods hit rock bottom during the crack epidemic of the 1980s after having been very prosperous African American neighborhoods around Howard University in the 50’s and 60s. They saw a wave of Latino/a immigration in the 1990s and started to turn around in 1999 when the subway stations started opening. The commercial development has been staggering in the last two years.</p>
<p>My S lives in a house in Columbia Heights and works in DuPont Circle. He doesn’t even deal with the Metro, he walks or rides his bike. Prices mentioned by interesteddad are right in line with what he found when he moved last February. He found his space in his group house via Craigslist. He shares the house with a varied group of twenty-somethings working at the variety of jobs that are common in DC for that age group!</p>