DC firm - where to live? Forum

[FSK]

Silver Spring:
- Commute to center-city DC is better in terms of crowding (you're more likely to get a seat and have some breathing room).

The red line though. Honestly, this cannot be overstated.

Its also ~3 miles of above ground track from Silver Spring to union station. Its constantly fucked.

[Anonymous User]

Silver Spring:
- Commute to center-city DC is better in terms of crowding (you're more likely to get a seat and have some breathing room).

The red line though. Honestly, this cannot be overstated.

Its also ~3 miles of above ground track from Silver Spring to union station. Its constantly fucked.

Wait I don't completely understand. Does the Red Line frequently break down or something?

[BizBro]

Ehh if you sweat a lot, walking more than a few blocks in the middle of summer generally isn't a fun time

I was going to walk to work (20 mins total). I looked up public transportation on google map and it will still take 15 mins. I guess where I am is inconvenient. But I guess if there is nightlight or bars within 10-15 mins walk, I can't complain.

[FSK]

Silver Spring:
- Commute to center-city DC is better in terms of crowding (you're more likely to get a seat and have some breathing room).

The red line though. Honestly, this cannot be overstated.

Its also ~3 miles of above ground track from Silver Spring to union station. Its constantly fucked.

Wait I don't completely understand. Does the Red Line frequently break down or something?

Yes. Its the oldest and and the most in disrepair. Its a citywide joke.

[chuckbass]

Ehh if you sweat a lot, walking more than a few blocks in the middle of summer generally isn't a fun time

I was going to walk to work (20 mins total). I looked up public transportation on google map and it will still take 15 mins. I guess where I am is inconvenient. But I guess if there is nightlight or bars within 10-15 mins walk, I can't complain.

One summer I would always just get to work early and sit on the air conditioner in my office for a few minutes before having to interact with anyone, so there's always that option

[TLSModBot]

The red line is... not great. In my experience Orange line wasn't much better, but it's been a while.

I regularly commute from Shady Grove to Union Station and 99% of the time have no trouble. But that 1% is the literal worst. Also I don't metro on weekends - if I did the bad times percentage would probably be like 15% or so.

Metro is slowly collapsing in on itself. 10 years ago there were frequent enough issues, but now it's so bad Metro is doing a massive PR blitz just to say 'we're not THAT incompetent guys please we're trying here'. Overcrowding, trains unloading before you get to your stop, delays, and track work that promulgates all of the above - if you can imagine it, Metro is fucking you with it.

[XxSpyKEx]

Yeah I don't know how you people without cars in DC deal with the metro on weekends. It takes like a year to get anywhere via metro on the weekends. And the buses are even worse, where half of them seem to not show up, and the ones that do are always really late (in other words, you can wind up waiting over an hour for a bus that's supposed to run every half hour).

[TLSModBot]

Yeah I don't know how you people without cars in DC deal with the metro on weekends. It takes like a year to get anywhere via metro on the weekends. And the buses are even worse, where half of them seem to not show up, and the ones that do are always really late (in other words, you can wind up waiting over an hour for a bus that's supposed to run every half hour).

CR. I escaped to the suburbs and stay there except for school/work. Driving, Metro, and buses in DC are each uniquely awful. If you're really, really good (read: mad OCD) you can figure out what time to travel, which train car to select and where to stand on the platform to get it - minor fixes that improve chances of getting a seat on a train that will get you there on time. Sane people should not have to do this to get where they're going.

[jess]

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[jess]

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[chuckbass]

Oh and if youre looking into Silver Spring, you should probably also look into Bethesda. Pretty much identical IMO

Bethesda is way better, but I guess people avoid it because it's expensive/a little sleepy?

[TLSModBot]

Oh and if youre looking into Silver Spring, you should probably also look into Bethesda. Pretty much identical IMO

Bethesda is way better, but I guess people avoid it because it's expensive/a little sleepy?

Bethesda is muuuuuch more expensive. Better places, more to do, but you're paying for it. Honestly, though, you're paying for things like access to the best schools in Montgomery County (some of the top in the nation) - IMO if you're not raising kids anytime soon there's no reason to pay for it through higher rent (good schools and other services = higher property values = higher mortgages = higher rent prices to pay them off, in case you were wondering the logic at this).

The red line isn't catastrophically bad - as someone who rides the longest red line commute you can reasonably do on a daily basis, it isn't going to kill you to have to use a small part of it - I used to go from Silver Spring/Takoma to downtown DC and my total travel time was 20 minutes on good days.

I would say Grosvener to Twinbrook on Red Line is comparable to Silver Spring - decent prices, decent amount to do, but you need a car to get to most of it unlike downtown Silver Spring.

I haven't been living out that way for a long time but I strongly suspect Northern Virginia is the place to be.

[ZyzzBrah]

Oh and if youre looking into Silver Spring, you should probably also look into Bethesda. Pretty much identical IMO

Bethesda is way better, but I guess people avoid it because it's expensive/a little sleepy?

Currently in Silver Spring. Just some random observations, 1) the new apartments going up are super nice but wayyyy overpriced IMO (like 2200 for 1bd) 2) I really like having three grocery stores/a decent amount of places to eat in walking distance, 3) there's no real "bar scene" if you're into that you have to go to dc, 4) red line--it's the worst, no question. But you'd never want to drive to dc, lol at 16th street or rock reek park everyday, you'd go mad.

I'm moving to DuPont when I start fwiw

[TLSModBot]

Oh and if youre looking into Silver Spring, you should probably also look into Bethesda. Pretty much identical IMO

Bethesda is way better, but I guess people avoid it because it's expensive/a little sleepy?

Currently in Silver Spring. Just some random observations, 1) the new apartments going up are super nice but wayyyy overpriced IMO (like 2200 for 1bd) 2) I really like having three grocery stores/a decent amount of places to eat in walking distance, 3) there's no real "bar scene" if you're into that you have to go to dc, 4) red line--it's the worst, no question. But you'd never want to drive to dc, lol at 16th street or rock reek park everyday, you'd go mad.

I'm moving to DuPont when I start fwiw

3) is CR. Quarry House burned down and the Piratz Tavern is going out of business.

Silver Spring makes me sad now.

[FSK]

Quarry house is being rebuilt! But yeah, Piratz sailed its last voyage.

When I went out from silver spring, we would just go to U street. Its pretty close - only 4 stops w/transfer.

[XxSpyKEx]

Oh and if youre looking into Silver Spring, you should probably also look into Bethesda. Pretty much identical IMO

Bethesda is way better, but I guess people avoid it because it's expensive/a little sleepy?

Currently in Silver Spring. Just some random observations, 1) the new apartments going up are super nice but wayyyy overpriced IMO (like 2200 for 1bd) 2) I really like having three grocery stores/a decent amount of places to eat in walking distance, 3) there's no real "bar scene" if you're into that you have to go to dc, 4) red line--it's the worst, no question. But you'd never want to drive to dc, lol at 16th street or rock reek park everyday, you'd go mad.

I'm moving to DuPont when I start fwiw

Driving into DC from anywhere in Maryland seems like it's a nightmare. There's literally no highways that run in from Maryland past the beltway. Think the only way you can practically drive to DC everyday is if you're off I-395 (e.g. Pentagon City), or if you're commuting with a spouse (or something like that) and live off I-66 (which is entirely HOV-2 inside the beltway---one of the dumbest things I've seen anywhere). There's a real lack of highways into downtown DC, unlike most major cities.

Oh and if youre looking into Silver Spring, you should probably also look into Bethesda. Pretty much identical IMO

Bethesda is way better, but I guess people avoid it because it's expensive/a little sleepy?

Bethesda is muuuuuch more expensive. Better places, more to do, but you're paying for it. Honestly, though, you're paying for things like access to the best schools in Montgomery County (some of the top in the nation) - IMO if you're not raising kids anytime soon there's no reason to pay for it through higher rent (good schools and other services = higher property values = higher mortgages = higher rent prices to pay them off, in case you were wondering the logic at this).

The red line isn't catastrophically bad - as someone who rides the longest red line commute you can reasonably do on a daily basis, it isn't going to kill you to have to use a small part of it - I used to go from Silver Spring/Takoma to downtown DC and my total travel time was 20 minutes on good days.

I would say Grosvener to Twinbrook on Red Line is comparable to Silver Spring - decent prices, decent amount to do, but you need a car to get to most of it unlike downtown Silver Spring.

I haven't been living out that way for a long time but I strongly suspect Northern Virginia is the place to be.

Rockville's pretty nice as well, if you have a car. Downtown Rockville is meh, but there's a lot of really cool foreign food restaurants in Rockville. Imagine rent in Rockville can't be bad with how far out it is.

[Anonymous User]

I am going to be working at 15th and K - where should I live to walk to work?

[TLSModBot]

I am going to be working at 15th and K - where should I live to walk to work?

If you want an easy walk there you're gonna be paying dearly for it. Logan Circle seems pretty nice - but mostly you're in a nonresidential non-fun business area between Farragut and Metro Center. I wouldn't live that close if I could help it.

[kray]

Walking to 15th & K -- depends on what kind of neighborhood you want / how long of a walk you find reasonable.

Like zacharus said, Logan Circle is very nice and a close walk but $$$$. Same with Dupont. Basement apartments will be the most reasonable. A little bit further out there's Chinatown which can be slightly less expensive than Logan Circle. If you're willing to walk 1-2 miles, you should look around U Street / Meridian Hill Park neighborhood -- a lot of expensive options but some cheaper ones mixed in, and a fun neighborhood with lots of bars/things to do.

[ZyzzBrah]

I am going to be working at 15th and K - where should I live to walk to work?

above responses are good--also if you can find a place within your budget (whatever that is) west end is really nice/walking distance imo. You're right by GWU and Georgetown area which is fun. Just look at stuff on pad mapper-youll see a ton of rentals.

[Other25BeforeYou]

I am going to be working at 15th and K - where should I live to walk to work?

above responses are good--also if you can find a place within your budget (whatever that is) west end is really nice/walking distance imo. You're right by GWU and Georgetown area which is fun. Just look at stuff on pad mapper-youll see a ton of rentals.

I've been looking at moving to West End, and another pro is that it's walking distance to Dupont Circle and the metro station there. That gives you easy access to Maryland, while it's also close to the Foggy Bottom metro giving you easy access to Northern Virginia.

This may be less interesting to other people, but I have friends in both Bethesda and Arlington so for me it was exciting.

[XxSpyKEx]

Walking to 15th & K -- depends on what kind of neighborhood you want / how long of a walk you find reasonable.

Like zacharus said, Logan Circle is very nice and a close walk but $$$$. Same with Dupont. Basement apartments will be the most reasonable. A little bit further out there's Chinatown which can be slightly less expensive than Logan Circle. If you're willing to walk 1-2 miles, you should look around U Street / Meridian Hill Park neighborhood -- a lot of expensive options but some cheaper ones mixed in, and a fun neighborhood with lots of bars/things to do.

Is any working professional willing walk over a mile in a swamp like DC (where it's frequently in the 100s and horrendously humid)? Imagine if you're wearing a suit, you'd look like you just walked through a shower while wearing that suit by the time you get to work. Realistically, you probably need to be within a .5 mile if you're planning to walk to work in the summer. (Obviously, the more reasonable alternative is live near a metro stop and to take the metro on hot summer days, which is most summer days in DC.)

[Desert Fox]

I am going to be working at 15th and K - where should I live to walk to work?

Logan Circle, south part of DuPont, Chinatown/City Center, Shaw (kinda long), Foggy Bottom. I wouldn't live in one of those buildlings that is right on top of your office. That part of city blows after 7pm and is super expensive.

But I'd consider anywhere on the Orange and Blue. McPherson Square stop is right there.

[seizmaar]

anybody have first or second-hand info on those super-gentrification apartment buildings in shaw? or just shaw thoughts in general? my office is at L and 11th and i'm gonna be gov't (poor), if it aides your advice-giving. tyia.

[Anonymous User]

Previous poster who will be working at 15th / K.

So it looks like being able to walk to work may be out of the question.

Assuming that to be the case, what is the next best option for a single, 27 year-old guy looking for a reasonable commute with good access to bars / concert venues?

I know... I am not being particular at all