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I'm starting at a firm in D.C. in a few months and I'm wondering if anyone here has any apartment recommendations. I'm married and I have children, so I'd like to find somewhere safe, relatively quiet, and close to a metro station. If anyone has recommendations, I'd appreciate them.

stilljammin wrote:I'm starting at a firm in D.C. in a few months and I'm wondering if anyone here has any apartment recommendations. I'm married and I have children, so I'd like to find somewhere safe, relatively quiet, and close to a metro station. If anyone has recommendations, I'd appreciate them.

Depending how old your kids are, I'd recommend the Archstone building in Ballston (--LinkRemoved--). I think the biggest apartments they have are two bedrooms though, which roughly go for $2500-2800 (still much cheaper than DC prices).

stilljammin wrote:I'm starting at a firm in D.C. in a few months and I'm wondering if anyone here has any apartment recommendations. I'm married and I have children, so I'd like to find somewhere safe, relatively quiet, and close to a metro station. If anyone has recommendations, I'd appreciate them.

I'd recommend the Pentagon City and Crystal City areas. Archstone's properties are usually a safe bet, though if you do a little homework you can usually find something just as nice for a little cheaper.

I'm a OL, but I am currently renting a 2BR place in Rosslyn (only two Metro stops from my law firm office at the Farragut West stop) for only $1450 a month total. So that means I only pay $725 a month. It's an amazing deal. I've been living here for almost 2 years now, and I love the neighborhood I live in. Lots of families live in my building. It's nice and quiet, has a lot of parks, and yet it's very easy to walk to the metro and to downtown Arlington where I live. I live close to the Arlington Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Memorial. If you PM me, I can give you the contact info for the real estate agent who helped me find this (amazing) place. Good luck!

fanmingrui wrote:

stilljammin wrote:I'm starting at a firm in D.C. in a few months and I'm wondering if anyone here has any apartment recommendations. I'm married and I have children, so I'd like to find somewhere safe, relatively quiet, and close to a metro station. If anyone has recommendations, I'd appreciate them.

I'd recommend the Pentagon City and Crystal City areas. Archstone's properties are usually a safe bet, though if you do a little homework you can usually find something just as nice for a little cheaper.

Agreed. It's a very safe family friendly area near the Metro.

Quick question. Is your destination stop for work Farragut West, McPherson Sq, or some other destination?

Having previously spent a few years commuting by Metro, it can be a nice advantage if you can avoid the need for a line transfer as part of your commute.

echamberlin8 wrote:I'm a OL, but I am currently renting a 2BR place in Rosslyn (only two Metro stops from my law firm office at the Farragut West stop) for only $1450 a month total. So that means I only pay $725 a month. It's an amazing deal. I've been living here for almost 2 years now, and I love the neighborhood I live in. Lots of families live in my building. It's nice and quiet, has a lot of parks, and yet it's very easy to walk to the metro and to downtown Arlington where I live. I live close to the Arlington Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Memorial. If you PM me, I can give you the contact info for the real estate agent who helped me find this (amazing) place. Good luck!

Seconded. Also lived in Rosslyn for a couple years pre-law school and really liked it. Great transportation options: on both the orange and blue, plus there's the circulator that runs to dupont. I lived in a condo building called the Atrium which was perfect for us and definitely family friendly. Definitely look into condos in addition to just apartment buildings, as that's where you can find a deal if you're patient.

As for Archstone - ehh. I'd put them in the reliable if unspectacular category. They're slightly overpriced for me (especially since you pay all your utilities including trash/sewer) and just not quite as nice as they claim. They're perfectly fine, but they claim to be luxury and they're just not luxury (they're simply new). It's a safe enough choice, but better options can be found.

You can check out the Dolley Madison Towers apartments in Shirlington (South Arlington). They're probably the least expensive quality apartments in all of Arlington.

Where do people find openings for condos? I'm sure many are listed on Craigslist, but are there any other places to look?

Anonymous User wrote:Where do people find openings for condos? I'm sure many are listed on Craigslist, but are there any other places to look?

You may want to look at http://www.padmapper.com, which pulls from multiple sources including Craigslist (although I heard there may be a cease and desist letter in play). You also may want to look at http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate-Search.aspx, while the website is a bit clunky it pulls MLS listed rentals which could help expand your search.

Thanks for the tips, I've been using Padmapper but it's become much less helpful since they removed all of the craigslist ads.

Anonymous User wrote:Thanks for the tips, I've been using Padmapper but it's become much less helpful since they removed all of the craigslist ads.

http://www.housingmaps.com pulls from Craigslist and has coverage for the DC area.

haus wrote:Quick question. Is your destination stop for work Farragut West, McPherson Sq, or some other destination?

Having previously spent a few years commuting by Metro, it can be a nice advantage if you can avoid the need for a line transfer as part of your commute.

+1. If your office is in Penn quarter you should be looking at Alexandria too. Yellow Line ftw.

I'd seriously check out places like Potomac, Bethesda and Silver Spring, MD, also Fairfax,VA. What about living in DC? It has gotten a lot safer in certain areas.

sundance95 wrote:

haus wrote:Quick question. Is your destination stop for work Farragut West, McPherson Sq, or some other destination?

Having previously spent a few years commuting by Metro, it can be a nice advantage if you can avoid the need for a line transfer as part of your commute.

+1. If your office is in Penn quarter you should be looking at Alexandria too. Yellow Line ftw.

+1 this is a really good point. you can save up to 30 mins at times by not having to switch lines

I've focused on Arlington because I've been told that income taxes would be much higher if we were to live in DC or Maryland.

Anonymous User wrote:I've focused on Arlington because I've been told that income taxes would be much higher if we were to live in DC or Maryland.

Much higher seems to be a bit of an exaggeration. I lived in Bethesda for a few years (now i live in Leesburg, VA) and I my rate was higher, but it was not earthshaking. I would be more concerned with finding someplace you and your family would be comfortable, and hopefully with a commute that would actually allow you to see them from time to time.

Some of the associates at the firm where I'll be working said the difference was about $10,000 for a new associate, is that exaggerated?

Anonymous User wrote:Some of the associates at the firm where I'll be working said the difference was about $10,000 for a new associate, is that exaggerated?

As with most things in life the truth will be dependent upon the details. If someone is making say 160,000/year and no dependents, with nothing to deduct then you may lose even more than 10k/ year. But if I recall correctly you (or someone) stated that they had a spouse and child. With these deductions the diffrence drops to something like 2k/year.

The later number is small enough that choices in housing could obscure the diffrence all together. There are several sites online that you can go to and play with the numbers yourself. One example is, http://www.yourmoneypage.com/withhold/fedwh1.php

TrialLawyer16 wrote:You can check out the Dolley Madison Towers apartments in Shirlington (South Arlington). They're probably the least expensive quality apartments in all of Arlington.

If by "close to a metro station" OP means "walking distance," Shirlington would not fit the bill. Nice neighborhood, but you gotta take a bus to the station.

Anonymous User wrote:

TrialLawyer16 wrote:You can check out the Dolley Madison Towers apartments in Shirlington (South Arlington). They're probably the least expensive quality apartments in all of Arlington.

If by "close to a metro station" OP means "walking distance," Shirlington would not fit the bill. Nice neighborhood, but you gotta take a bus to the station.

Yeah you're right, I should have clarified that. You have to take a bus to the metro, but it's only a 5 min bus trip to the Pentagon City metro that plenty of people take each morning. It may be preferable to living in say Ballston, being able to walk to the metro, but paying a lot (emphasis on lot) more in rent for an apartment.