Finding an apartment in DC help.. Forum

[schooner]

Also, one of my friends who commuted to Foggy Bottom from Columbia Heights said the bus was actually faster for her than the metro, so YMMV.

Generally speaking, if there is a bus that goes within a couple blocks of a "door-to-door" commute that will be faster than having to take the Metro with 1+ transfers (such as in the above example). Also remember that DC has multiple bus lines (WMATA, Circulator, etc).

This can depend on traffic though. I once had a door to door bus commute that took 8 minutes on Saturday mornings but 40 minutes during rush hour traffic on weekday mornings. Also, it's been my experience that if you have 1+ transfers, and you're not downtown where there are buses everywhere, the delays in between can add up to 20-30 minutes or more to your entire trip. It really depends on the bus route and where you're going.

[Anonymous User]

If you have an Android download an app called D.C. Metro. It updates the train arrival times to various stations, contains a map of what stations the lines stop at and has updates for the buses too.

Commuting isn't bad, especially on the metro because you'll find you can get a lot done on the metro in of a morning and you can sleep on the metro out of a night (or sleep both ways if that's more your speed).

Also, one of my friends who commuted to Foggy Bottom from Columbia Heights said the bus was actually faster for her than the metro, so YMMV.

Wow that app sounds really useful. Any idea if there's a similar iPhone app?

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Thanks for all the useful info all.

[schooner]

Wow that app sounds really useful. Any idea if there's a similar iPhone app?

If there isn't (and I'd be shocked if there isn't - google it), just go to wmata.com on your browser. You can even bookmark the next arrival times for a particular train or bus route.

[Aston2412]

There is a similar app for iPhone. My brother has it but I don't know what it's called - apologies. Shouldn't be too hard to find though.

[Anonymous User]

There is a similar app for iPhone. My brother has it but I don't know what it's called - apologies. Shouldn't be too hard to find though.

It's called Next Bus. I don't even have an iPhone - Google this stuff people.

[Anonymous User]

There is a similar app for iPhone. My brother has it but I don't know what it's called - apologies. Shouldn't be too hard to find though.

It's called Next Bus. I don't even have an iPhone - Google this stuff people.

Thanks.

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One more question- are $3-4 train fares (one way) typical? I was did a couple quick searches and they showed up as between $3-4. Seems like it might close to the same cost to just drive into DC and park in a lot with some kind of an early bird special (not sure if they do this in DC, but I know we can park in Downtown Chicago all day for around $10, assuming we get into the garage before 10am). Is there a way to get cheaper fares through some monthly pass ordeal on the trains?

[Aston2412]

3 dollars isn't as uncommon as you might think. I feel like my morning commute from Pent City to Farragut West was close to 3 dollars - admittedly this was during rush hour. I think going back it was usually 1.45 or something like that. Metro rates fluctuate depending on how far you are travelling and what time of day.

[schooner]

SmarTrip is great. But there is no discount for using it on the trains. You get a $0.20 discount if you use SmarTrip for the bus.

OP, you can order a SmarTrip card online at http://www.wmata.com and even use a credit card to add money to it online.

[gators88]

Hi all, I'm a rising 2L at GULC and was just approved for an awesome 4BR U street house along with 2 other rising 2L dudes. I'm from FL, the other two are from LA and we are all pretty chill, social, interesting people. We go out and have a good time but we also all care about school and did pretty well. If anyone is looking for a place in DC, we have 1 BR available in the house.

I can provide pictures and more info if you PM me. Feel free to pass along to any other normal people you know who are looking for DC housing.

[Anonymous User]

I've been looking at places in Arlington and Alexandria (because they aren't too far away, I need to bring a car, and they're cheaper). Are there certain neighborhoods/areas in those towns that are good and certain neighborhoods/areas to stay away from?

Also, what are some other close neighboring towns of DC that would be good to live in and not too difficult to commute to and from DC everyday? Looking for something under a 30 minute commute (i.e. under 30 mins from the time I walk out of my apartment to the time I'm at work).

[xcountryjunkie]

In Arlington, I would recommend Ballston, Clarendon, and Courthouse (ordered there in terms of distance from DC). Ballston & Courthouse are more residential with less to do. Ballston seems to be the more popular place of the two to live, despite being further away. Courthouse has a great farmers market every Saturday. Clarendon has the most night-life of any of the three, with still plenty of residential options.

I wouldn't recommend Crystal City. Sure, it's cheaper, but it's not very nice (everything is dated) and is more inconvenient in terms of travel to DC.

Don't know about Alexandria, other than that it's a further commute than Arlington would be.

[Anonymous User]

Been looking at apartments all day today. A little torn at this point between a couple options. One apartment is a studio in Adams Morgan for $1600 /month, factoring in a reserved parking spot, internet, and all utilities. The apartment is really nice (relative to others in the area). Based on the wmata trip planner, it looks like it will take around 45 mins to get to work from there (including my estimated walking time to and from the metro, etc). The other apartment is a large 1 bedroom in Alexandria fully furnished apartment for $1225 /month, factoring in a reserved parking spot, internet, and all utilities. The apartment is really, really nice, and substantially nicer than the adams morgan apartment. Based on the wmata trip planner, it looks like it will take around 60 mins to get to work from there (including my estimated walking time to and from the metro, etc). Realistically, I would probably just drive to work from Alexandria (there is parking for $12 /day - which would be about a $1,200 /year more than taking the metro), which would take about 45 mins in traffic.

As of right now, I'm leaning towards the apartment in Alexandria because it saves me a lot of money, and I am thinking that I can simply take the train into adams morgan when I want to be there. What is everyone else's thoughts on this? Is living in adams morgan really worth $375 /month more? (FWIW, I'm not the type of person that's going to be going out all the time, and realistically, I probably would only be going out during Friday night/Saturday because of work).