Where to live in DC for a year
April 14, 2022 10:29 PM Subscribe
My partner and I will be moving to DC for about 1 year starting this fall - please give us your tips on finding a place to live (given our parameters inside)!
- We'll be looking for a furnished place as we'll be keeping most of our stuff in storage back home.
- We will probably have one car, so parking is a consideration.
- My partner will be spending most of their time around Georgetown, so a non-frustrating commute there and back would be good.
- I will be working remotely so commute isn't an issue for me, but I would prefer somewhere walkable/transitable, with access to green space and somewhere to ride my bike, in roughly that order of priority.
- Budget is flexible, for now (we are coming from the SF Bay Area so are used to eye-watering prices, and we know it won't be a long-term situation)
We've poked around on Craigslist a bit, but would appreciate suggestions from those in-the-know on neighborhoods to look at, prices to expect, etc. We would also be grateful for any general tips, seeing as we've only been to DC once, and that was only to hit all the big tourist sites. Thanks!
- We'll be looking for a furnished place as we'll be keeping most of our stuff in storage back home.
- We will probably have one car, so parking is a consideration.
- My partner will be spending most of their time around Georgetown, so a non-frustrating commute there and back would be good.
- I will be working remotely so commute isn't an issue for me, but I would prefer somewhere walkable/transitable, with access to green space and somewhere to ride my bike, in roughly that order of priority.
- Budget is flexible, for now (we are coming from the SF Bay Area so are used to eye-watering prices, and we know it won't be a long-term situation)
We've poked around on Craigslist a bit, but would appreciate suggestions from those in-the-know on neighborhoods to look at, prices to expect, etc. We would also be grateful for any general tips, seeing as we've only been to DC once, and that was only to hit all the big tourist sites. Thanks!
You could consider Arlington, specifically the Courthouse/Clarendon/ Rosslyn neighborhoods. It's an easy trip down the orange line to Foggy Bottom, parking is easier than in many places in DC, and it's very walkable with some green spaces depending on where you live. The Washington and Old Dominion bike trail takes you right into the city, and to a network of trails that circles the entire county. My husband actually used to walk from Courthouse to Georgetown for school regularly, it's pretty scenic going across the Key Bridge.
posted by _cave at 4:43 AM on April 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by _cave at 4:43 AM on April 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'd be looking at Airbnb and FurnishedFinder rather than Craigslist, which seems to have devolved in recent years. Facebook Marketplace is also pretty decent.
posted by ananci at 4:46 AM on April 15, 2022
posted by ananci at 4:46 AM on April 15, 2022
Ha I disagree with the last poster about Rosslyn apparently. I agree that you should definitely not plan to DRIVE across the Key Bridge regularly, particularly during rush hour. Metro, bike, and or walking are the way to go.
posted by _cave at 4:47 AM on April 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by _cave at 4:47 AM on April 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
Seconding Glover Park. If proximity to Metro turns out to be important to you, Woodley Park is a beautiful neighborhood with lots of green space.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 4:47 AM on April 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 4:47 AM on April 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Crossing the Key Bridge on foot from the Rosslyn Metro on a day with ANY wind, rain, or snow is downright painful.. and you're rewarded with a big hill up to the University. I did it for several years and grew to dread it ... so I usually planned on waiting ages for the Shuttle or driving - and parking - rather than taking the Metro at all. Perhaps I am a fragile little piece of porcelain, but I'll "nope" on that walk all day long.
posted by nkknkk at 7:56 AM on April 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by nkknkk at 7:56 AM on April 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
When my partner worked in Georgetown, we lived in West End. There’s a bunch of smaller and large apartment complexes there, and usually with a parking spot. He walked to work and I could easily walk to Foggy Bottom metro or take the bus. There’s a Trader Joe’s on 25th and plenty of accessible green areas, and the Kennedy Center.
posted by inevitability at 8:10 AM on April 15, 2022
posted by inevitability at 8:10 AM on April 15, 2022
If you need a place that is fully furnished (down to dishes &c), take a look at sabbaticalhomes.com.
Seconding living in Dupont/Woodley Park/Adams Morgan. We lived in AdMo/WP when my partner was working for Georgetown, and he just walkted to Dupont to catch the free Georgetown shuttle to get to work. It had easy access the metro, good restaurants, and Rock Creek Park for non-work pursuits -- really the best of everything, IMO.
posted by Westringia F. at 9:01 AM on April 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
Seconding living in Dupont/Woodley Park/Adams Morgan. We lived in AdMo/WP when my partner was working for Georgetown, and he just walkted to Dupont to catch the free Georgetown shuttle to get to work. It had easy access the metro, good restaurants, and Rock Creek Park for non-work pursuits -- really the best of everything, IMO.
posted by Westringia F. at 9:01 AM on April 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
Bay Area transplant here. We live a few blocks from Takoma Metro and partner car commutes to Georgetown 2-3 times a week.
A lot of NW provides a tolerable commute to Georgetown as long as you're near Rock Creek Parkway. Access to which also would satisfy your outdoor needs.
The west side of the park is less diverse, more sedate, and was built up earlier. Glover Park is still walking distance to night life, but the more NW you get the less of an option that is, if that's a concern.
I find the part of Arlington that would make sense commute-wise pretty meh, but I guess some people like it.
If you like Walnut Creek you'll be better off in Bethesda. Happy to come up with other bay area analogies . . .
posted by aspersioncast at 10:37 AM on April 15, 2022
A lot of NW provides a tolerable commute to Georgetown as long as you're near Rock Creek Parkway. Access to which also would satisfy your outdoor needs.
The west side of the park is less diverse, more sedate, and was built up earlier. Glover Park is still walking distance to night life, but the more NW you get the less of an option that is, if that's a concern.
I find the part of Arlington that would make sense commute-wise pretty meh, but I guess some people like it.
If you like Walnut Creek you'll be better off in Bethesda. Happy to come up with other bay area analogies . . .
posted by aspersioncast at 10:37 AM on April 15, 2022
Response by poster: Thank you all for your responses so far! Lots of fun Street View-ing going on now. Some thoughts I had this morning:
- Partner will 99.9% likely be car commuting to Georgetown, regardless of how inconvenient it would be (Californians amirite lol). Walking/transit access is more for me because I hate driving and don't want to go stir crazy at home while he's out with the car anyway.
- Relatedly, how is the bike infrastructure for actually getting around, in addition to recreational riding on trails?
- Re: nightlife, we are in our late twenties and occasionally like going to shows and book readings and such, but we are already used to "commuting" 40-60 minutes away by car for anything that passes as nightlife. Places that are open after 9pm that aren't strictly bars or nightclubs would be awful nice.
- For Bay Area analogies - I lived in SF (Mission/Noe) for while and loved everything except my rent and my commute. We often find ourselves around GG Park (Inner Richmond, etc) on the weekends now. (We live in the South Bay and... it's okay.)
posted by btfreek at 11:10 AM on April 15, 2022
- Partner will 99.9% likely be car commuting to Georgetown, regardless of how inconvenient it would be (Californians amirite lol). Walking/transit access is more for me because I hate driving and don't want to go stir crazy at home while he's out with the car anyway.
- Relatedly, how is the bike infrastructure for actually getting around, in addition to recreational riding on trails?
- Re: nightlife, we are in our late twenties and occasionally like going to shows and book readings and such, but we are already used to "commuting" 40-60 minutes away by car for anything that passes as nightlife. Places that are open after 9pm that aren't strictly bars or nightclubs would be awful nice.
- For Bay Area analogies - I lived in SF (Mission/Noe) for while and loved everything except my rent and my commute. We often find ourselves around GG Park (Inner Richmond, etc) on the weekends now. (We live in the South Bay and... it's okay.)
posted by btfreek at 11:10 AM on April 15, 2022
We have multiple friends who live in Glover Park and that'd be my first recommendation for Georgetown as well, with the proviso that I have very little first hand knowledge of what it's like to live there. And honestly one could walk to from Glover Park to Georgetown in less time than it would take to drive and park. Not kidding.
DC's bike infrastructure is OK and slowly improving. There are marked bike routes all over the city, but an unfortunate percentage of them are inadequately separated from car traffic. Downtown there are a few "cycle tracks" that are separated from car traffic by more than just paint and wishes (parallel eastbound and westbound tracks on L and M, a two-way track on 15th, and a somewhat protected track on Pennsylvania Ave that taxis still like to make U-turns through). In a lot of places there will just be a lane painted on the road that cars feel free to use for double parking, ride share pickup, or just cruising halfway into the bike lane because they feel like it. In some unfortunate spots there won't be even a painted bike lane, just "sharrows." Sharrows are bad.
I've been biking in the District for over 20 years and it's a lot better than it used to be, but I still get the same adrenaline fight or flight rush whenever I'm in an unprotected bike lane. Probably the best thing for biking around DC has been the advent of bike sharing programs, because it's put a lot more people on bikes and made the city more willing to do the politically unpopular thing of adding bike lanes even if they take away space for cars. Things still get stupid on that front, and some drivers are really aggressive when they feel a bike has prevented them from reaching the next red stop light two or three seconds faster, but the trends are at least moving the right direction.
Restaurant kitchens mostly seemed to be open until 10 PM before the pandemic, but we've not really been dining out lately so I don't know what survived or how hours may have been affected. What sort of non-bar late night place do you want? There are some diner type restaurants that serve food late (e.g. "The Diner," in Adams Morgan), and the stalwart Clyde's restaurant group (and its Old Ebbitt Grill) have raw bar happy hours starting at 11 PM on weekdays. Or at least they had them before the pandemic.
posted by fedward at 11:47 AM on April 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
DC's bike infrastructure is OK and slowly improving. There are marked bike routes all over the city, but an unfortunate percentage of them are inadequately separated from car traffic. Downtown there are a few "cycle tracks" that are separated from car traffic by more than just paint and wishes (parallel eastbound and westbound tracks on L and M, a two-way track on 15th, and a somewhat protected track on Pennsylvania Ave that taxis still like to make U-turns through). In a lot of places there will just be a lane painted on the road that cars feel free to use for double parking, ride share pickup, or just cruising halfway into the bike lane because they feel like it. In some unfortunate spots there won't be even a painted bike lane, just "sharrows." Sharrows are bad.
I've been biking in the District for over 20 years and it's a lot better than it used to be, but I still get the same adrenaline fight or flight rush whenever I'm in an unprotected bike lane. Probably the best thing for biking around DC has been the advent of bike sharing programs, because it's put a lot more people on bikes and made the city more willing to do the politically unpopular thing of adding bike lanes even if they take away space for cars. Things still get stupid on that front, and some drivers are really aggressive when they feel a bike has prevented them from reaching the next red stop light two or three seconds faster, but the trends are at least moving the right direction.
Restaurant kitchens mostly seemed to be open until 10 PM before the pandemic, but we've not really been dining out lately so I don't know what survived or how hours may have been affected. What sort of non-bar late night place do you want? There are some diner type restaurants that serve food late (e.g. "The Diner," in Adams Morgan), and the stalwart Clyde's restaurant group (and its Old Ebbitt Grill) have raw bar happy hours starting at 11 PM on weekdays. Or at least they had them before the pandemic.
posted by fedward at 11:47 AM on April 15, 2022 [3 favorites]
Mount Pleasant/Columbia Heights was a great neighborhood when I was living in DC in the mid-2000s. There are restaurants, nightlife, walkable grocery stores, the Metro, plenty of bus lines, and it's right next to Rock Creek Parkway for the car commute. I had street parking when I lived there and it was just fine (on par with SF neighborhoods).
I think I'd probably rather live in DC than Mountain View, even though the summer weather is atrocious.
posted by kdar at 12:34 PM on April 15, 2022
I think I'd probably rather live in DC than Mountain View, even though the summer weather is atrocious.
posted by kdar at 12:34 PM on April 15, 2022
As fedward says biking here has been improving for a long time. DC does have actual seasons, although they’re relatively mild compared to most of the US that *isn’t* the Bay Area. I bicycle commute all year from Takoma to Foggy Bottom.
Based on your update I would very much consider Mt Pleasant, the west side of Columbia Heights, and the North side of Adams Morgan as well. The North side of Mt Pleasant/admo has easy access to the parkway, isn’t a rough bike ride to a lot of town, and is easy walking distance to both metro and night life.
posted by aspersioncast at 7:50 PM on April 15, 2022
Based on your update I would very much consider Mt Pleasant, the west side of Columbia Heights, and the North side of Adams Morgan as well. The North side of Mt Pleasant/admo has easy access to the parkway, isn’t a rough bike ride to a lot of town, and is easy walking distance to both metro and night life.
posted by aspersioncast at 7:50 PM on April 15, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
Busses will be your only public transit in Glover Park... but Metro doesn't go into Georgetown anyway.
Alternatively, if you live in Dupont Circle, you'll have more transit (including a free shuttle to Georgetown if your partner is a student/faculty/worker there), less grocery stores, much less parking. Don't bother with Rosslyn or Crystal City, as some may suggest. There's a GU shuttle in Rosslyn too, but anything that makes you cross the bridge every day should be avoided, if you can.
posted by nkknkk at 3:59 AM on April 15, 2022 [8 favorites]