Talk to me about Washington DC.

I might be taking a job in Crystal City (just south of the Pentagon) later this year.

Where to live, how much it's going to cost me to live there, mass transit, etc, etc

Any tips/ideas/cautions/don't-do-its would be greatly appreciated!

it does not snow there due to the constant updraft of hot air coming from congress...except on recess and breaks...

even a few flurries transform the entire area into a quivering mass of stupidity and panic. At the first snow forecast, people rush into supermarkets and buy a year's supply of toilet paper because, heaven forbid, they might get SNOWED IN for months. Everything shuts down, but the idiots in SUVs go out and speed on the Beltway as usual.

Also be forewarned that people in the DC area are not very friendly, at least at first encounter. Don't talk to anyone on the Metro or in a supermarket -- they will look at you as if you are nuts and quickly edge away or bury their faces in a newspaper.

To meet people, join a religious or social group. Approach people cautiously -- speak only when spoken to, or if they make eye contact first. I moved here 16 years ago from NJ and I was miserable at first because people seemed so cold here. It took some major re-adjusting. When I visit NJ, I love going to supermarkets and diners and having brief, enjoyable chats with complete strangers.

markets in the country in Northern VA.

What are your other requirements? Schools? Yard, etc?

There are still affordable pockets inside the beltway, but you'll be compromising on something. Crystal City is right on the Metro and VRE (commuter train) so that opens a lot of options.

I was thinking about Leesburg and other points in the country. I'd drive to a Park-and-Ride or Metro station and take that in.

About $300k to $500k for a home.

then you'd be looking at 30-45 min on Metro.

Here's the VRE map http://www.vre.org/service/systmmp.htm You might want to look along that.

www.homesdatabase.com Real estate listings

There are a lot of people that commute to DC from there. Just realize that living that far from the city means you miss out on a lot of the good things about DC (museums, restaurants, theater, etc.) because it is still quite a drive.

It's not hard to understand and has been on time for the most part. In my experience.

I'm not sure about the best areas to live, since I live in Baltimore, but I can tell you that if anyone says to live in Balitmore and commute to DC you should run away from that person. Fast. That is the Worst. Commute. Ever.

And development is not showing any signs of slowing down. What you buy in Leesburg "country" could easily turn suburban in a few months. I'd recommend an older neighborhood that's convenient to Metro. Prices are higher in VA, and cheapest in Prince Georges County in MD.

Check out some of the following places , and see what you think:
In MD:
Takoma Park
Bethesda
Kensington
Chevy Chase
Riverdale Park
Cheverly
Berwyn Heights
College Park
Hyattsville
University Park
Greenbelt

In VA
Falls Church
Arlington
McLean
Alexandria
Oakton

And Northwest Washington
Cleveland Park
Kalorama

Properties in older neighborhoods often sit on large lots with lots of trees, which helps make them seem a little further removed from the city than your average suburban development.

I have a colleague whose day gig is real estate. If you send me a message, I'll be glad to give you contact info. :-)

American Class-distinction at its most vivid and least gradiated.

I respectfully disagree.....

You want American Class Distinction, try Los Angeles - or New York.....

Or maybe just drive from the Frank Lloyd Wright homes in Oak Park down to Comisky......

In DC I haven't. It's a lot like Detroit.

Sixteenth Street NW up to the MD line

Capitol Hill east to RFK

Cleveland Park

Shepard Park

Friendship Heights


Just because they're not white doesn't mean they're poor, the DC area has the highest levels of income among minorities in the entire USA....

We're just not blue collar, no industry......

I sure as hell could never afford to live in any of those places. I'm lucky I can still just barely eke by around Mt. Pleasant...which I guess is technically NW just off of 16th, so it's on your list sort of.

I agree with what you're saying in spirit, though, anyway. My problem is that the places I used to think of as "affordable" -- Petworth, Shaw, Columbia Heights, Trinidad -- seem to be gentrifying right out of my price range.

:evilgrin:
rocknation

which should give you an idea of what your income requirements should be.

http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html

try to live near the Orange or Blue line on the Metro - On the Blue Line, Capitol Hill is a good neighborhood. On the Orange Line, Clarendon is my favorite neighborhood.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/metro/


Tips:

Avoid driving to work - especially to Crystal City.

And the town is basically really old powerful people and the really young sucking-up-to-power people that they are trying to bed.

That's pretty much the description my friends who lived there as interns give.

apt. So, I didn't really see much.

There is alot to enjoy here. If you are into history at all this area is the mother load. Within 3 hours eveything from the earliest settlement in America to Revolutionary War, Civil War, up to Cold War history...

Yorktown, Bull Run, Gettysburg, Mount Vernon...and on and one...all reachable in a couple hours.

The city itself is quite nice. Like any cities there are areas you don't want to go to, but no worse, and considerably better than lots of others...

Excellent night life.

The traffic sucks, but since you will be in Crystal City you will have access to the metro. The subway system is good....

If you're single...there are some great condo communities near Crystal City. If you have kids..that's different. You really need to be careful with schools in this area. There are some really great ones...and some awful ones..all within the same district. Same with neighborhoods. We rented here for a long time before finally deciding where to buy. Luckily, we bought before the prices skyrocketed.

I've heard its getting pretty bad down there. Does it usually flood at this time of year?

Just before all this rain arrived..we were actually in a near drought situation. About 6 inches or so below normal. We're usually pretty dry this time of year. Then we start to get hot weather during the day and brief thunderstorms in the evenings. Not like this though.

Thing is..I've noticed in the past five years that the weather here in SK, Canada is...well...sort of odd. Now, I'm not that old. I've only lived here 27 years (my whole life),so maybe I'm remembering things differently as a kid.

Lots of free stuff to do (Smithsonian, etc.) and it's exciting (although I lived there at the dawn of the Clinton years so it was a more optimistic time). The Metro (subway) system is clean and excellent.

Don't know about buying housing, though, I was a youngster then and just rented apartments in the NW quadrant of DC.

Bush and Cheney live there. Be particularly careful of Cheney.