New to NW DC area - Where are the nice/affordable places?

Answer 1

Nice and Affordable don't go hand in hand in DC too much.

If you are looking for an apartment and want to Metro in town or to work, look into the Clarendon Corridor or Crystal/Pentagon City.

The Condo Market has cooled off a ton, and there are half a dozen large buildings downtown (like Ten Ten Mass) or in Alexandria (like Post Old Town) or Rockville that aren't even complete yet so the owners missed their opportunities to sell the spots at a premium. If you are looking for something this year you might find a building with a bunch of vacants.

If you want a townhome or Single family, you can go 30 miles in any direction out of town and there is a ton of building going on.

Otherwise you can look to take advantage of the commuter trains in Virginia or Maryland to get more for your money and not have to sit in traffic for three hours a day. The north west section of Anne Arundle county is still quiet yet you can get to Downtown DC or Downtown Baltimore in 30 minutes (except rush hour of course).

Answer 2

If you want to stay in NW DC, I would look in Petworth, Columbia Heights and 14th Street Heights. These neighborhoods are cleaning up very nicely but still have some bad blocks so make sure you visit your possible new homes at all hours of the day and night. I've been living in 14th Street Heights for over 5 years now with no problems.

Housing outside of the city, especially in the close-in Northern Virginia suburbs, like Arlington and Alexandria, is beyond expensive, with rents on a 1-bedroom apartment well over $1300 and new condos starting in the $350k range for a shoebox.

It all depends on what you consider affordable, too--- the Woodley Park neighborhood of NW DC is a wonderful place to live but a 1br will run $1500 and up... DuPont Circle is even more expensive!

Answer 3

Depending on what your definition of affordable is, nice & affordable may be a bit hard to find. The popular areas are always more expensive, but the city as a whole is expensive in general.

More affordable areas with easy access to the city are the NOVA regions (Arlington & Alexandria). Other options are the places in MD - Friendship Heights, Bethesda, & Silver Spring.

The DC Craigs List page is popular place to find ads for housing &/or housemates. The housmates needed section has a high turnover, so it's best to get to DC and do inspections/interviews when you arrive as opposed to trying to arrange things from a distance.
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/

Answer 4

As others have said, nice and affordable are basically mutually exclusive in DC. If the rent is low for an area, there is a good reason for that. If you don't want to spend $2000/mo for a 1-bdrm place that doesn't have cockroaches and drug dealers, you're going to have to live outside the beltway. There are some hidden treasures in Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, Greenbelt, and Laurel, but make sure you check them out thoroughly. The leasing agents are complete con-artists.

Sublets are often a great way to get a good deal, but make sure you visit the place yourself, and come back a night, before you sign.