<p>I am only familiar with DC as a tourist, not as a local. Looking for areas for a couple of 23 year old girls to live while working in DC. I know many live in Arlington, Alexandria, or Chevy Chase; why one area over another?</p>
<p>Given their choice, the girls would like a short commute; while they will each have a car they would take the Metro into DC, but could drive to a station if necessary. An area that might have other young singles (maybe an area like Park Slope in Brooklyn) would be nice. The girls will have two dogs that will need to be walked, so a dog friendly area that is safe and maybe a nearby dog park and/or doggie daycare would be wonderful. They would love to rent a small home with a yard, but I don’t think that will work with their budgets unless the parents help out! Where I live, some homes have cottages in the back that would be perfect for a young adult starting out, but I have no idea of that is something available in the Virginia/Maryland area.</p>
<p>I am thinking the girls will go into DC some weekends to visit and play with friends, but it would be nice if they could stay and play in their own town also. I don’t want them to feel they have to be in DC on order to have something to do. While living in DC would be wonderful, they know with the money they are making and the dogs that is not really a viable option.</p>
<p>If a house is not a possible, would they be better looking for a condo over an apartment? I know the dogs will be an issue finding a place that is willing to take both. One of the girls is already in Arlington in an apartment with one of the dogs, but she moved there quickly without having time to really look. Since I am the research queen, I offered to get a list together of areas and maybe apartment complexes for them to look into. There is no better place that CC to start my search, so bring it on!!!</p>
<p>Lots of singletons live in the Ballston area of Arlington. Right on the orange line, great shopping and tons of new apartments and condos, I would start there - there are also a number of older neighborhoods with small houses that might just fit the bill. Chevy chase is too family oriented, foggy bottom (near GW) or Georgetown are also great options but limited dog walking (except for the canal) and very expensive.</p>
<p>snowball,
Do the girls already have jobs? The location of the jobs will dictate the areas with easier commutes. My DD was in a job in the ‘DC area’ but it was in Herndon - out in suburbia and not on the Metro line!</p>
<p>I would’ve suggested Ballston, too, but I think having cars might make it cost prohibitive. For instance, my apartment last year in the Pentagon City area charged $100/mo for parking. </p>
<p>I have no experience with houses, but there are many apartments in South Arlington and Alexandria that are dog-friendly, have parking, AND offer shuttles to nearby metro stations. Remember that pet deposits can be rather large ($500+) and many places will charge an additional fee per month. That said, I live in a building that has a metro shuttle, has inexpensive underground parking, and it accepts dogs of all sizes, all for what I consider to be a great price.</p>
<p>They might take a look at Bethesda–I know a couple of 20-somethings who are sharing houses there. Bethesda is on the Red Line. There’s a nice downtown area with shops/restaurants/movie theaters, etc. </p>
<p>My D and her husband will be in DC next year and they’re looking at the Adams Morgan and the West End neighborhoods. I’m not all that familiar with either but know that both are near metro lines and that you walk to Georgetown from the West End.</p>
<p>mominva, one of the girls does have a job and currently lives in Arlington; the other is still looking. The one that lives in Arlington is on a Metro line with a shuttle from her apartment to the station. I do not know what area she lives in, but will find out.</p>
<p>My goal here is to find all the possible locations that would fit their needs. For all I know, they will stay in the same complex where the first girl currently lives; but it is nice to have options.</p>
<p>My D lived in Dupont Circle near the metro stop. It’s expensive but it is safe and within walking distance to any nightlife venues. Have the girls check out Dupont when they visit. I know they will like it.</p>
<p>OP wrote:
“Given their choice, the girls would like a short commute; while they will each have a car they would take the Metro into DC, but could drive to a station if necessary”</p>
<p>They need a reality check right about here, and maybe a list that distingushes between “need” and “want.” If they are out in the medium to far distant suburbs, two parking spaces may be affordable, but if they are near a transit line, why would they each have a car?</p>
<p>Also, don’t they need their workplace to be close enough to come home and walk the dogs on occasion? If they haven’t rented before, except as college students, they might watch the young singles on “For Rent” on HGTV as it would help them to decide between location, price and other amenities.</p>
<p>To address midwesterner’s comments- I said given their choice, I didn’t say that would be where they land; we are just exploring all options. I did not know there might be a charge for parking spaces; that might change the car idea for the second girl. The one girl that is already there has her car as her family lives an hour away and she goes home sometimes on the weekends. Ideally, both girls would be able to keep their cars.</p>
<p>As far as the dogs, they will either have a dog walker, or take the dogs to doggie daycare. While it would be terrific to find a place in DC that fit their budget, we know that will not happen which is why they are looking at Virginia and Maryland.</p>
<p>My daughter’s boyfriend has been subletting in Arlington. He is moving to the Glover Park neighborhood and considering giving up his car. My daughter says that the cab ride back to Arlington after hitting the bars is expensive. </p>
<p>As far as the dogs, I think some places are okay with dogs, but it really depends on the size of the dogs. And the fact that there are two dogs, might make it more difficult.
(Do they really have to take the dogs with them? If they are in doggie day care most places have a closing time. What if they stay late at work?)</p>
<p>There should be a lot of options near the Red Line in Montgomery County Maryland. Have the friend who now is in Virginia pick up a copy of one of the free apartment guides the next time she’s at the Metro station, and compare prices. Two bedroom apartments in my complex start around $1500/month. We are three blocks from the Twinbrook station, and have all kinds of shopping in walking distance.</p>
<p>Many young people in DC live in “group home” rentals. That might be something else your daughter and her friend could consider. Often they are in older (but safe) neighborhoods that are accessible to bus lines if not the metro.</p>
<p>An update on my daughter- She ended up taking a short term rental in an apartment near the Pentagon Metro station. This was not her first choice, but the girls she was going to live with and where they had decided to move fell apart; this all 6 days before she was to begin work! Not liking the idea of being 400 miles away from DC, still working at her current job, and wanting to know where she would live, she decided to go with a 3 month rental and will decide where she wants to be after getting settled. My daughter has a few friends that have leases ending in June and a few more moving to the area this summer, so she figured a short term lease would be better than getting stuck with people she didn’t want to live with in an area she didn’t want to be in. </p>
<p>When it is time to move she would prefer to stay on the orange or blue line, although the red line would work also as she works by the Foggy Bottom station and could easily use the Dupont station. We were only in DC for 2 days, so not a lot of time to fine the perfect home. With more time to look, she is hoping to find something in Adams Morgan or Dupont; she also likes the Clarendon area in Virginia. </p>
<p>The apartment she found has a huge grassy area where people are always out with their dogs. Her dog is still at home with us, but will join her soon; we thought it would be better for her to get settled before he made the trip. I was surprised with the number of owners with dogs we ran into at each apartment building when we were looking. Some apartment only allows dogs on certain floor, but she had no trouble finding a place that allowed dogs. Yes, most charge a $500 pet deposit and an additional $50 a month in the rent. That said, we also found several condo rentals that did not charge the monthly and only a $250 pet deposit. If you love your dog, you do what you have to do!!</p>
<p>The car was left at home, but if she decides she needs or wants it, we will take it to her.
She decided to go without it and get it later if she wants it. A friend of hers took her car and then ended up taking it back home to her parents. After being car dependent, it was hard to think about being without a car, but she didn’t want to pay to park it and then find she never used it. A couple of her close friends have cars there, so if she really needed to do something that required a car, her friend would be happy to take her.</p>
<p>People who need a car only occasionally should also check out Zipcar and other car sharing services. They work well for people who only need a car once or twice a week for shopping or social events and cost a lot less than maintaining a car. My son uses Zipcar in San Diego and loves it; Zipcar also serves the Washington, DC area.</p>
<p>Yes, she is going to sign up for Zipcar; her work has a discount of some sort. There is also a few within walking distances to both work and her apartment.</p>
<p>Yet another update: Daughter finally made her move from the temporary apartment to something more permanent. She loves the Glover Park area; great for dog walking and tons of young people. She focused her search to just Glover Park and found a great place, a smallish condo building with several rentals. She has meet many people with dogs in her building and several young couples with small children; she hopes to grab a few evenings of babysitting as she has nannied for years. Her landlord is not charging her anything for the dog, whereas most apartment complexes want a $500 non refundable deposit and and extra $50 a month rent for pets.</p>
<p>My husband and I drove her dog and car to her a few weeks ago and she is able to park on the street. There is also a space in the complex that the landlord charges for that we have rented that for the first month, just to give her time to check out how easy the street parking will be to find. Some people say it isn’t a problem, others say it is. She will take the bus to work, so only use the car in the evenings and weekends. She has friends in Maryland and Virginia, so it is nice to be able to go visit on the weekend. Having a car also allows her to come home and visit with the dog, saving tons of money on airfare and dog boarding. My husband really wanted her to have the car and he treated her to the parking spot; he would like for her to rent it every month, but my daughter says that is a waste of money when she can park nearly free on the street.</p>
<p>I didn’t get to really tour the area of Glover Park, but what I saw was a nice neighborhood. We made many visits to the ACE Hardware as we helped the girls set things up and it was nice to have stores, restaurants, groceries within walking distance. I think my daughter will be happy here, unless she gets tired of the bus vs the metro. One nice thing is the bus is much cheaper than the metro and she likes to save money!!</p>
<p>My d. lived in Alexandria, which she liked, but she now shares an apt. on K Street, between Chinatown and Union Station, which she LOVES. Walking distance to Eastern Market. Easy trains to everywhere. Parks nearby. Never needs a car, never has a metro ride of more than 20 minutes.</p>