<p>I would suggest that he bring his down jacket and other warm clothing. Washington, DC does get real winter weather – but usually not periods where the temperature stays in the single digits for days on end. However, even if DC is not as cold as what your son is used to, he’s going to be outdoors and walking a lot. That’s what city people do. Good outerwear will be helpful.</p>
<p>One thing that your son will probably notice is that DC people are ill-prepared to cope with winter weather. It does snow here – but not as often and usually not as heavily as it does farther north. So we don’t have as much practice in dealing with it. Many people don’t know how to drive in it, and The Powers That Be are not as quick and efficient about getting it off the roads as their counterparts in areas farther north. Also, because our winter temperatures often hover around the freezing mark, we sometimes get ice storms, which are actually more of a problem than snow.</p>
<p>Therefore, the people of the DC area – who have shown their ability to deal with almost every other type of disruption with aplomb – panic at the sight of snowflakes. The schools close for flurries (sometimes, even for rain). The federal government often sends its workers home as soon as the flakes start to fall. Three inches of snow can paralyze the entire area. </p>
<p>Ask your son to please try not to laugh too hard.</p>
<p>Growing up in CT, my son couldn’t believe what shuts down DC. A couple of years ago they had no college classes for a week after a snowstorm because it took that long to clear the streets. </p>
<p>Marian is right about the weather. It can get cold in DC, but it doesn’t tend to last as long as cold snaps further north.</p>
<p>Ditto on the approach to weather in DC. My D, who grew up in Westchester, NY and spent her 4 years of college on the south side of Chicago was laughing last weekend in DC. She said everyone was freezing and in coats, scarves, hats and gloves. She was wearing a fleece – it was 50+ degrees! But given weather patterns of the last few winters there is as likely to be a blizzard at some point in DC as there is in Buffalo, so being prepared clothes wise is probably a good idea. She’s home for the holidays but will return with her down coat, and boots.</p>
<p>I moved to DC from MA for 4 years for my H’s job. It’s not an understatement to say that folks in DC really don’t understand driving in snow or ice, even though DC does sometimes get snow and ice. The first year I lived there, I was leaving a shopping center when it started snowing–not blizzard-like conditions or white out–just a few flurries. I had to get my daughter from school and it took me 4 hours to travel 8 miles. People were abandoning their cars and leaving them on the side of the road. I’ve never been in such gridlock.</p>
<p>Update: The owner of the studio “approved” son to rent her place. Son received the lease for the studio today (via email) and signed it. I’ll mail it tomorrow along with the refundable deposit (will be refunded in full when he moves out if he leaves the place in good condition). Everything is included in the rent (utilities, internet, cable tv, garbage removal, fully furnished, linens). He also gets a key to a mailbox within the building.</p>
<p>Housing—check
Internship attire—check
Plans to get down to DC—check</p>
<p>Thanks again everyone. You really helped to take a good amount of the stress away in the DC housing quest. </p>
<p>He (and you) can breathe easier now that he’s found a place. </p>
<p>Make sure he goes over the place taking pictures and informing the landlord of any issues upon move-in - stains or wear on the carpet, holes in the walls, stains/marks on the walls, broken items, etc. so he doesn’t get dinged for it upon move-out. Some landlords like to hang onto some of that deposit.</p>
<p>^I agree. The landlord will meet him at the studio when he moves in to go over the place and give him keys. His Dad wants to join him in DC for a couple of days so he’ll meet the owner too. She sounds very thorough and professional. She always got back to my son ASAP to answer his questions about the place. </p>
<p>I googled the name of the owner of the studio. According to Google, she has a very well respected job with a very big well known corporation in DC.</p>
<p>The Smartrip card is a good idea. There’s a slight discount on fares using the card & you can add $ to the card online (if the card is registered) which is very convenient. Sounds like your son is off to a good start.</p>
<p>Yes. The SmartTrip card is the only way to go if you are using the Metro in DC. Otherwise, you have to buy exact fare tickets for each trip, which is a major pain in the butt.</p>
<p>SmartCard = big yes. If his employer provides a commuting allowance, that can be added on to the Smart Card, too.</p>
<p>Yes to heavy winter clothing, and yes, people here get utterly stupid about snow. He will want snowboots if he has to walk to work; the Metro has been known to shut down in the snow. Parts of it are aboveground and too much snow will cause problems.</p>
<p>Have your son take photographs of everything before he moves in. EVERYTHING. I know too many people who’ve been charged for damage they didn’t do when moving out of an apartment.</p>
<p>OP’s kid is unlikely to be traveling where the metro is above ground, but that is a good point. Metro, above ground, does close at 8 inches of snow, and obviously the buses can have trouble on the roads. Boots that you can walk in are a good buy, and will probably ensure that he does not need to wear them =P</p>
<p>This will be S’ first winter since living in DC where he needs to take the bus to get to work. We’ll see how it goes. Fortunately, he can telecommute for work & his job has very generous vacation/sick/personal days.</p>
<p>I think my daughter has more shoes at work than she does in her apartment She takes a pair to work, decides to leave them there at the end of the day as she isn’t going straight home. Next day she does the same thing, but brings a different pair for the day. I think you can see where this is going! My guess is the shoes return home when she realizes she might need a pair for the weekend :)</p>
<p>Working from home was not useful for my daughter last year during the snow due to the power outages. While work had power, her area didn’t; it took her hours to get into work, not that work expected her to arrive if she couldn’t get there. She is just a hard worker and wanted to go in.</p>
<p>While OP’s son may not be riding aboveground, if the Metro trains can’t get out of Shady Grove (i.e., the Red Line), they won’t be running many trains underground, either. DH has had issues with Metro in just this scenario.</p>
<p>According to the maps (yahoo, google), son will have about a 12-15 walk to the internship.
I’m pretty sure he’ll walk to and from the internship and use the metro system when he wants to go somewhere else (shopping, visiting friends who have relocated to DC, entertainment, etc.).</p>
<p>The snow and cold won’t faze him in the least. Between spending time in Plattsburgh and Syracuse, DC’s weather will feel tropical :).</p>
<p>this is also a fair idea. While it is much more common for women, there are men on the metro in suits and sneakers. There are even some men in the Pentagon walking around in suits and sneakers (civilian only, obviously… lol)</p>
;)</p>
She takes a pair to work, decides to leave them there at the end of the day as she isn’t going straight home. Next day she does the same thing, but brings a different pair for the day. I think you can see where this is going! My guess is the shoes return home when she realizes she might need a pair for the weekend :)</p>