DC Lawyers: Where Do You Live Forum

[AllAboutTheBasis]

I used to live in Arlington and work in D.C. I'd focus on where your firm is and which metro lines are most convenient. If my firm was near Gallery place I'd consider living in Alexandria. But if my firm was further West, near the White House, I wouldn't want to live in Alexandria because I'd have to transfer to get there. Keeping your morning commute transfer-free is a consideration.

I don't like to drive so I never considered driving even though my firm provided free parking near the White House.

Couldn't you take the blue line from Alexandria to the offices near the White House? I understand that you have Blue, Orange, and Silver in Arlington so it is a little easier but it seems like commuting from Alexandria would be reasonable. This is just based on maps, so the real-world experience could be the opposite.

[Anonymous User]

I live in Georgetown and think it is great during COVID times. It isn't as expensive as you would think (compared with other nice places in DC), but rather you just get a smaller place. Go out to the burbs if you want space and a house. Go Dupont if you want stuff to do, nice neighborhoods, and Metro convenience. Admo is cool, but I wouldn't live there unless I was really young or had lived here for a long enough time aka not within the first few years.

As an Adams Morgan-devotee, I was first annoyed by this comment then ended up agreeing with it. I was in DC for college so by the time I got back to DC after law school, I was tired of the Georgetown/DuPont routine and settled in AdMo. I love living in AdMo 100x better than other places I lived in DC, but only think that's because I actually had the opportunity to get to know other DC places first.

All that to say: you can't go wrong with AdMo. I live in super neighborhood-y part of it, and I love it, but it just depends what you're looking for.

[semperfi1860]

A lot of good advice in this thread. FWIW, I lived in Adams Morgan for five years when I first moved to DC and loved it. I then bought a condo in Dupont, left biglaw, and am still happily living Dupont.

Just chiming in on the having a family/kids in DC vs. MD/VA. Don't assume that the burbs are necessarily better if/when you have kids. I have a one year old and see many other kids when out and about going to parks etc. DC has universal pre-k3, which can save quite a lot of daycare money if you're ok with putting up with a potentially strange commute. And depending on where you are the schools can be great. I'm zoned for a fantastic elementary and middle school, and I don't think I'll be compelled to leave Dupont unless I need more space for more kids. Finally, don't assume DC is a lot worse tax wise (particularly compared to MD), especially if you buy a place since DC has lower property tax rates.

[mwells_56]

I'm not a DC associate but a GULC 3L who just moved to Rosslyn-Court House-Clarendon since my girlfriend works in Falls Church. I think it's great here, if I were a young associate in DC I wouldn't want to leave my current apartment.

[wwfeds]

Is living in Baltimore an option?

[bob311]

Is living in Baltimore an option?

Yes, but enjoy never being home. I know a number of associates and staff that live in Baltimore and commute each day (pre covid obviously). Depending on where your firm is, it’s a 1.5 hour or so commute by Marc and metro each way. For staff on a fixed schedule, it seems to be fine. But for the associates I know, they all hate it. They leave their house at 7 or so and usually aren’t back until 9 or 10pm each day. On days you have really late work, they have to Uber back to Baltimore. I would say it’s a lot of hassle for not a lot of benefit.

[polareagle]

Is living in Baltimore an option?

During Covid? Maybe.

During normaltimes? That would be terrible.

People do it. The best way to commute would be the MARC train, as you could do some work while heading to the city. But the train ride takes an hour, and you have to commute on both sides of the train trip. If your firm's not on the red line, it takes even longer.

You can also drive. But the trip takes an hour *without* traffic, and 95 and the B/W parkway can both get really backed up.

The people who I know with one spouse working in DC and one spouse working in Baltimore tend to live in Takoma Park/Silver Spring and have the Baltimore spouse leave early and take advantage of the somewhat reverse commute. I would never want to do it.

[Anonymous User]

I've been in DC for about 10 years now, I'm starting at a firm near downtown/foggy/Farragut area next fall. In the before-corona-times, I would not want to live outside the city. Traveling to and from nova can be a real pain unless your office is immediately off the blue and orange line. Even then though, the problem is with access to everything else. Most of the social life of the city isn't too close to any of those stops. You'll have a hard time getting people out to that side of the Potomac and will end up taking a lot of ubers.

I've lived in in many different parts of the city (from NE to Deep NW), and I think for a young associate you'll be best either
A. walkable to the office
B. somewhere on the red line (for general access to the city), or
C. on any line that your office is immediately off of.

[Sporty1911]

Has anyone in here biked to work? Obviously, with COVID, we won’t be going into offices for the foreseeable future, but I have recently been thinking more about biking to work. Office is near the White House—anyone have any ideas on what that would be like?

[papermateflair]

Is living in Baltimore an option?

Others have said this more nicely, but I'll just say...no. No it is not.

Everyone I've known who has attempted this has either switched jobs to be in Baltimore, or moved to DC. I've tried to do a DC/Baltimore commute for a few months and it was a total nightmare. If you want to use your commute to work and take the train, the big issue is that once you get to Baltimore on the MARC (or Amtrak) you aren't actually anywhere near where you live, so it's not an hour on the train and then you walk 5 minutes home - it's really an hour and a half to two hours all in just one way. And if you end up with delays (like, every time it rains) then your day is ruined (I once had a 3 hour MARC train trip from DC to Baltimore).

You can't save enough money living in Baltimore to make it worth it, and if you truly want to live in Baltimore long term you should work at one of the Baltimore firms anyway, because Baltimore is super insular. If it's a question of figuring out a place to live because your partner is in Baltimore, then do what you have to do, I guess. But absent some compelling family needs I wouldn't do it.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone in here biked to work? Obviously, with COVID, we won’t be going into offices for the foreseeable future, but I have recently been thinking more about biking to work. Office is near the White House—anyone have any ideas on what that would be like?

I haven't bike commuted, but pre-COVID I would run commute from Virginia to my office in Gallery Place. I packed in a bunch of clothes at the outset, kept a bunch of shoes in the office, and would bring in smaller things in a running pack (there's a ton of helpful info out there about bike/run commuting for getting started, like what kinds of things you should keep in the office etc.). My reasoning behind the run commute is that I'm going to be running that distance anyway, so might as well fold my commute into it. It's one of the only things I miss about working in the office - a run every morning along the Mt Vernon trail to the 14th street bridge and then up the Mall is a great way to start the day

Biking would be easier just because you can carry more things on your bike, and could port your laptop back and forth (I just left my in the office and worked on my personal device at home). I think how successful you would be at it long term would depend on how far you're going and how committed you are (and what your options are if the weather is bad or you get held up at work). I lived and worked close to the metro, so if the weather turned awful I could still metro home, or take an uber if I ended up working until like 9 PM. But if you're using your bike in order to live further out, then it could be less convenient if you don't have a ton of backup options if the bike commute doesn't work out that day.

(Anon because everyone in my office will know who I am)

[semperfi1860]

Has anyone in here biked to work? Obviously, with COVID, we won’t be going into offices for the foreseeable future, but I have recently been thinking more about biking to work. Office is near the White House—anyone have any ideas on what that would be like?

Been bike commuting in DC for more than 5 years (pre-covid of course). It's very doable. DC has a relatively good bike lane network, and there are a lot of options (including protected lanes) to get near the White House. Not knowing where you'll live, some of the more popular options are the 15th Street lane that goes north-south passing a lot of neighborhoods including Logan Circle and Dupont Circle; M and L Street protected lanes are good for getting around downtown; Capital Crescent Trail goes from Bethesda to Georgetown; Mount Vernon Trail and Custis trails can get you from Arlington or Alexandria; Metropolitan Branch Trail goes from Silver Spring through Brookland and Noma to Union Station.

I would keep my suits and shoes at work and bring a change of clothes (shirt, socks etc.) plus my laptop every day. I wasn't going far enough where I got super sweaty, but if you are most firms have gyms with showers. I would also echo the prior poster--it helps to have an alternative if you really don't want to deal with bad weather or if you work really late (though I personally enjoyed the stress relief from a midnight bike ride after a long day at work).

The biggest benefit IMO is exercise and stress relief. But there's also a little side benefit: you develop a camraderie with the other people who bike to work, including a few partners in my case that led to good working relationships.

[12YrsAnAssociate]

I would also echo the prior poster--it helps to have an alternative if you really don't want to deal with bad weather or if you work really late (though I personally enjoyed the stress relief from a midnight bike ride after a long day at work).

Biking home on the Capital Crescent Trail after 9 pm gets a little spooky. Lots of critter eye balls reflecting your bike light back at you.

But there's also a little side benefit: you develop a camraderie with the other people who bike to work, including a few partners in my case that led to good working relationships.

Your relationship with big dog partners definitely changes once you see them prance around in their onesie bike shorts or walk around butt naked after a shower.