Relocating to Washington D.C.

[JPN4265]

Okay Disney Family, I need your help and advice. My daughter (Military) is being relocated to Washington D.C. She knows that she does not want to live in D.C. Can you give her advice on where to look in the surrounding areas. She is not looking to buy. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Okay here is what I know:

1. Single. No kids.
2. Will be at the Coast Guard HQ. in D.C. Southern point where the Potomac and the Anacostia River merge.
3. Officer with a good housing allowance
4. Must be large dog (Golden Retriever) friendly
5. Use to spending over $1500.00 per month in last locations.
6. No more then 20 minutes out.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Difficult to say without some information:

Where will she be assigned?

Married?/Children?

Available budget to pay rent?


My husband rented an apartment in Falls Church which was nice--but pricey (company paid for it) and his friend is up there now and lives in the complex across the street from it.

I loved the area when we stayed there--but depending on her needs, it can be quite expensive.

Usually--the shorter the commute, the more expensive the rent.

 

[Dictator]

depends on what she's looking for with regards to environment. the MD/DC/VA region widely varies. Both in prices and environment.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Ewww, that is a wicked expensive area to relocate to. My uncle had a job down there a few yrs ago to which he commuted form PA because even though it was a VP position he still couldn't afford housing in the area. And he has a really nice nest egg saved up too. I don't know much about the myself, but if were here I'd probably look into MD about as far out as she can for commuting.

 

[4Seasons]

depends on what she's looking for with regards to environment. the MD/DC/VA region widely varies. Both in prices and environment.

So true.
We live in Southern maryland (St. mary's county) and housing is less expensive than closer in but still high compared to other areas of the country.
Where will she be based? That will have alot to do with where would be the best place for her to live.

 

[rwdavis2]

I've lived here from almost 30 years. But as other have said, you need to be more specific on the particulars. Costs can vary greatly over the region. Schools run from horrible to great. Where will the military person be stationed is the best start, rent budget, and # kids.
Bob

 

[JPN4265]

Okay here is what I know:

1. Single. No kids.
2. Will be at the Coast Guard HQ. in D.C. Southern point where the Potomac and the Anacostia River merge.
3. Officer with a good housing allowance
4. Must be large dog (Golden Retriever) friendly
5. Use to spending over $1500.00 per month in last locations.
6. No more then 20 minutes out.

 

[rwdavis2]

The 20 minutes out may be impossible. The parts of DC that are that close you don't really want to live there. That leaves PG County in Maryland or Virginia.
BD

 

[4Seasons]

Okay here is what I know:

1. Single. No kids.
2. Will be at the Coast Guard HQ. in D.C. Southern point where the Potomac and the Anacostia River merge.
3. Officer with a good housing allowance
4. Must be large dog (Golden Retriever) friendly
5. Use to spending over $1500.00 per month in last locations.
6. No more then 20 minutes out.

Hmmm, traffic around the area is a killer in rush hour. She may want to consider finding a place that's convenient to Metro. I would say if she needs to be that close Alexandria vicinity would be her best bet. I'm not too familiar with the neighborhoods and housing costs there (other than they are more than where I live!).
I would NOT recommend PG County maryland.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Parts of Alexandria and Woodbridge are nice but the 20 minutes out is out the window. You can sit in traffic for 1 hour just to drive 10 miles. I've done it. I miss living in the area at times but I do not miss that traffic one bit. It's the worst I've ever seen in my life and I've lived in some major metros.

The $1500 might be doable but that's going to cut it real close too. Very high cost of living. We lived on base, with kids there was just no way we could afford off post.

I also would avoid PG county MD at all costs. It's not that close and it's not a good place to be.

 

[Cuttersftbll]

Okay Disney Family, I need your help and advice. My daughter (Military) is being relocated to Washington D.C. She knows that she does not want to live in D.C. Can you give her advice on where to look in the surrounding areas. She is not looking to buy. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Okay here is what I know:

1. Single. No kids.
2. Will be at the Coast Guard HQ. in D.C. Southern point where the Potomac and the Anacostia River merge.
3. Officer with a good housing allowance
4. Must be large dog (Golden Retriever) friendly
5. Use to spending over $1500.00 per month in last locations.
6. No more then 20 minutes out.

Thank you all for the quick responses so far, and thanks Dad for starting this! I would never had thought to ask here. My houseing allowance will be over $2000 so not too worried about the money. What time does traffice start in DC. 6am, 7am, ...? We have to be into work early anyways, so not too worried about traffic, we're from ATL!!

 

[lovemygoofy]

My husband and I relocated to this area about 4 almost 5 months ago. It is very expensive but doable. When are they going to be moving as it is prime PCS season now and all the really good stuff will be gone soon.

Two great websites to look for housing is militarybyowner.com or ahrn.com. I certainly didn't understand the scope of distance in relation to traffic before moving here. Just because something is 20 miles away doesn't mean about 20minutes unless it's 5am and then it's still dicey lol. We lived in temporary lodging at Ft Belvoir(which they are eligible for because it's all services post) and had 25 places to check out and would plug them in to the GPS unit. Driving around Alexandria really gives you an idea of where you'd like or not live. In the end we pay for location and a great neighborhood to the sum of $2400 a month.

Feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to email her or vice versa. It's always nice to have someone around that can be of some help. I'm no where near an expert but do understand the pain of trying to relocate lol.

 

[Quiksilvr]

I'm curious why she is reluctant to live downtown. I live downtown and I love it. Granted, I spend about $4000/mo for housing, but (i) I have a huge mortgage, (ii) I have a hefty condo fee built into that figure, and (iii) my place is 4BR/2BA. Some of my friends from work live alone in nice 2BR apartments and I think they spend around $2000/mo. One friend had a 1BR in a great neighborhood and I think she was paying around $1500. If you have a roommate it in a 2BR it could get cheaper.

 

[Cuttersftbll]

I am not reluctant to try it is more there are less opition that allow large dogs over 80lbs in the downtown area. It is still an opition, just have had less luck finding things that fit price, and allow large dogs in the DT area.

 

[4Seasons]

I am not reluctant to try it is more there are less opition that allow large dogs over 80lbs in the downtown area. It is still an opition, just have had less luck finding things that fit price, and allow large dogs in the DT area.

When you say downtown, what areas are you looking at?

 

[disney1990]

Parts of Alexandria and Woodbridge are nice but the 20 minutes out is out the window. You can sit in traffic for 1 hour just to drive 10 miles. I've done it. I miss living in the area at times but I do not miss that traffic one bit. It's the worst I've ever seen in my life and I've lived in some major metros.

The $1500 might be doable but that's going to cut it real close too. Very high cost of living. We lived on base, with kids there was just no way we could afford off post.

I also would avoid PG county MD at all costs. It's not that close and it's not a good place to be.

Thanks for the opinion, but I disagree. We live in Bowie which is a wonderful place to live. It is a town with a great sense of community. We are not far from the New Carrollton Metro station or the Greenbelt Metro station. There are several very nice apartment developments here: Meridian at Bowie and Heather Ridge.

http://www.heatherridgeapartmentsmd.com/HeatherRidgeHome/Index.aspx

http://www.meridianatbowie.com/

 

[golfgal]

I am not a DC expert by any means but we just spent a week in Alexandria and with the metro right there it was an easy hop into DC. Do you need a car? I would look for something on the metro if not-it is SOOO easy to use the metro in DC.

We really like the Alexandria area and it is a very walkable town so very dog friendly. I have no idea what an apartment rents for there but there were plenty of vacancies so my guess is you could probably get a deal.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Thank you all for the quick responses so far, and thanks Dad for starting this! I would never had thought to ask here. My houseing allowance will be over $2000 so not too worried about the money. What time does traffice start in DC. 6am, 7am, ...? We have to be into work early anyways, so not too worried about traffic, we're from ATL!!

When does it stop is probably a better question. Seriously.

We are in Atlanta now and it's nothing like DC. Atlanta is like the 80 mile an hour parking lot, tons of people on the road but you are moving. DC is like stop, go, sit for an hour, drive one mile, sit for a bit longer, almost get hit by 3 people and maybe make it somewhere before you rip all your hair out. Heading to/from Fredricksburg is awful. We found the most trouble trying to go anywhere outside of DC and going anywhere in woodbridge past maybe 2pm.

AS for my opinion of MD, for some people it may work, some parts may have changed. I personally didn't like the area and the few other military families I know that lived/currently live there didn't either.

 

[MJMouse]

I lived at Post Carlyle Square in Old Town Alexandria... not inexpensive by any means, but very dog and miliatry friendly!! She may also want to look at Carlyle Mill Apartments... they are popular with the dog loving crowd too.

There are also some dog friendly apartments by the Van Dorn Metro Station... can't remember the name right now.

 

[Cuttersftbll]

I lived at Post Carlyle Square in Old Town Alexandria... not inexpensive by any means, but very dog and miliatry friendly!! She may also want to look at Carlyle Mill Apartments... they are popular with the dog loving crowd too.

There are also some dog friendly apartments by the Van Dorn Metro Station... can't remember the name right now.

Thank you! As of now, I think VA is #1, DC #2, and MD is #3 just by what other military have told me. Alexandria is on the top of the list because of the large pet friendly apartments that I have seen.