Cost of living in DC

NOC-Ninja

I currently live in california. It seems that the job opening are mostly in dc. All my family and friend are here. I got a call today for a job in dc. The salary is very nice. I guess my problem is the cost of living(tax,gas,toll,rent). Did you move to maryland yo cut cost? Was it worth it to say money? What about time? Also, my girl will be going with me. I would need to pay all the bills until she finds a job.

Has anybody here did the same thing? How much are the rent and which place Are safe? Ty

aftereffector

This is a very basic cost of living comparison tool that I've used a few times:

Cost of Living Calculator: Compare the Cost of Living in Two Cities - CNNMoney

It seems to hold up for broad comparisons but obviously doesn't take everything into account. Unfortunately I can't give you anything specific as I have never lived in DC

Xavor

Rent in my area for a townhouse is about 1350/mo on average in an alright area about 30 minutes outside of DC. Cost of living goes way up if you try to live really close.

shodown

Depends on if you want to live in the District or not. If you are single and progressive you want to live in the city, lots of hot chicks, cool places to go and lots of fun when work is done. Can be very expensive, I wouldn't live in DC with a salary of less than 120K if you plan on living alone. I use to live in the city with a salary of 67K back in 2009 and had to have roommates.

If you have a family you can live in the burbs, but the first tier suburbs can rival DC in prices(Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda), you can move further to fairfax, Laurel, Woodbridge, but then you deal with traffic and commuting which sucks.

I moved to baltimore a few years ago to start my company up, I miss DC, but I'm close to the train station so I can get to DC in 1 hour on the train, which beats people who sit in there cars in some locations.

ArabianKnight

I will be moving there soon job searching, I have looked at places such as Reston, Laurel, Springfield, Ft. Meade. Apartments go for between $1300-1500 for a studio up to 1 bedroom. I am shooting for at least $75k for my salary and would be living alone.

Mr. Meeseeks

Here is a better COL calculator. Shows a lot more demographics to consider when moving to a new location (economy, housing, health, crime, education, religion, etc.)


Cost of Living Comparison
Compare Cities

ramrunner800

I live in NoVa, and you couldn't pay me to live in Maryland. In Fairfax/Springfield/Burke/Oakton/Vienna, which are true suburbs, you can get a 1 bedroom for mid 1200's, but that's really bottom of the barrel. On average you're looking at more like 1700-1800. Arlington is a suburb in name only, it's really a high end urban area. If you have money and want to live in an urban area you move to Arlington, not the district. It's more expensive, but puts you in the heart of great restaurants/bars, and within walking distance of the metro.

Reston is a great suburb that strikes a balance between Arlington and Farifax. There is good nightlife, and it's a bit younger than Fairfax. It's farther out, and I personally think the commute is quite a bit more challenging from there, but they did just open a new metro line that goes to Reston. If you want to be near Reston also consider Herndon, which is adjacent, but less expensive.

Please just don't let anybody talk you into moving to Maryland. *shiver*

Sources: I grew up here, and happen to be apartment hunting right now.

shodown

@ram why do you prefer not to live in the city? Not looking to attack, but curious from your prospective.

ramrunner800

Arlington seems to have all the good parts of being a city, without the bad. It has very high levels of education and income among the residents. It's pretty much a wealthy young adult's playground. I actually live in Fairfax right now, as I'm not a wealthy young adult, though in almost any other part of the country I would be. I enjoy going to Arlington for a night out though.

The government would be the second part. DC's income tax is nearly twice as high as Virginia's, and Virginia does a far better job of delivering basic services to residents. You get much better bang for your tax dollar. It seems that every time DC gets some elected leadership that is starting to improve things, that person is immediately voted out of office.

NightShade03

I love all the people here bashing Maryland lol I used to live in North Bethesda (MD) and it was great. I had an apt with direct metro access, I was 15 mins from the heart of DC (no traffic), and there was so much night life and things to do in the area. Now I will say that the downfall to living really close to the MD border and closer to DC is that my rent was $2400 / month. Not a huge deal with dual incomes, and I also had 2 bed / 2 bath with a balcony so it was really nice.

Spent a ton of time in VA for work too...lots of great living choices there as well. Reston definitely gets my vote too.

I would also second staying out of DC. There is little to do after 5pm because everything closes down with the government. Truly the definition of a commuter city.

shodown

What are you talking about there is little to do after 5pm? I go to DC a few times a week and I always have a place to go to after work. But it could be a strong possibility that we look for different things after work. I like going to happy hours flirt with the girls, talk trash to my friends have have a few drinks and appetizers. Sometimes we go to someone's home and have a BBQ, I guess it depends on what your looking for.

NightShade03

I agree that it does depend on what you are looking for...being married and no longer allowed to flirt with girls there wasn't much to do after 5pm for me Everyone is different though.

ArabianKnight

Why does MD suck so Bad? I may get a position at Meade, am I missing something? MD seems like a nice state along with VA.

ramrunner800

It's not that MD sucks so bad. If you work at Ft. Meade, it's pretty much your only option with a reasonable commute. Given an choice I would live in Virginia, but if it's the only option, it's definitely not a bad one.

joneno

I've lived in Silver Spring, Baltimore, Haverhill/Boston (Massachusetts) and Woodbridge(VA); all these states or cities have one common denominator - they are expensive place to live in. As a naturalized American I don't see anything special or different between Rockville, Bethesda, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg (Maryland) vs Fairfax/Springfield/Burke/Oakton/Vienna (VA). They are all overpriced if you ask me. If you're worried about cost of living move to the south.

I do love DC night life, good lawd! You have tons of things to do.

hellolin

Rent in DC? Is too damn high!

no!all!

I shudder when I think of 495 traffic.... ughhhh

dave330i

Used to live in Potomac, MD, then moved outside of SF, then moved back to Fairfax, VA. Decided not to go back to MD because the taxes in MD are too high (it's among the top 10 in overall taxes). As for overall CoL, SF and DC metro area is about the same. Traffic is about the same as well. Both have great dining. Weather is much worse in DC area.

Rakurai

I'll chime in real quick to give you some prices to think of the area. I live in Springfield, for me it is 18 miles to cross into DC on the 95/395, in good traffic it could take you 25-30 minutes, in bad your looking at a hour or more. Metro can sometimes be easier, but for that your looking at 8-10 dollars a day for metro fairs (I'm guessing, I don't ride the metro). Gas here is about around $3.30 at the moment (if you have Costco and use the one in Woodbridge it is most the time the cheapest, that's another 6 miles south)

For where I live 2 bed, 1 1/2 bath townhouse I pay $1,575 (renting). Water is around 20 a month, billed quarterly. Power I stay at about $60/month. Internet/cable I have FiOS in the area, so you can price out for that with what you need.

Taxes and whatnot I have no clue, I am still a legal resident of CA so I don't pay taxes.

zxbane

My biggest complaint about living in the NOVA/DC/MD area is probably the COL and traffic. Having to listen to people methodically plan a trip that is under 10 miles is depressing.. It seems like everyone is a prisoner in their home because driving anywhere at nearly any time of the day is a nightmare.. Truly considering moving somewhere like Texas with a strong job market and lower COL.

I currently live in MD and the taxes suck and everything is expensive, my car insurance doubled just from moving to MD from VA and that is without getting into any accidents or anything.

BradleyHU

hellolin wrote: »

Rent in DC? Is too damn high!

FloOz

I heard Herndon VA is a good spot to live since it is only a train ride away from DC

richnewman

zxbane wrote: »

My biggest complaint about living in the NOVA/DC/MD area is probably the COL and traffic. Having to listen to people methodically plan a trip that is under 10 miles is depressing.. It seems like everyone is a prisoner in their home because driving anywhere at nearly any time of the day is a nightmare.. Truly considering moving somewhere like Texas with a strong job market and lower COL.

I live and work in Crystal City (Arlington) and I do the methodical trip planning. I'm out of work about 5pm and if I have to drive instead of walk, I sit around until 630pm or so until I leave to avoid the heavy traffic.

I was recently checking out Austin TX, and there are areas where you don't want to drive during rush hour. The problem with the Austin/Houston area is there are pockets, and getting between those pockets is pretty far at times (15 miles is "close"). Lots of potential for rush hour traffic.

I'm trying to move to California and understand it's roughly the same for COL and traffic.

Ukimokia

Hey, I live in Arlington within 5miles from central DC, and for a 1BR I only pay $1095 with all utilities included and it's not a bottom of the barrel appartment or area. From what I know and my research the only thing about Maryland is that the south eastern Washington DC and Maryland is a fairly poor area. Basically don't go anywhere with "Hill" in the name. Western Maryland (Bethesda/Rockville areas) are pretty nice but high price. Though I make less than $40K and do just fine in Arlington.

22306

MD is ghetto! stay in VA.. well i live by fort belvoir..its also some what ghetto as well. but i grew up here so this is home for me!

PS: i work in MD

broli720

I wouldn't say Maryland is ghetto. Everywhere has it's good and bad. The nice parts of Maryland that are reasonably close are quite expensive. Your best bet is Reston, Herndon, or Arlington.

NOC-Ninja

shodown wrote: »

Depends on if you want to live in the District or not. If you are single and progressive you want to live in the city, lots of hot chicks, cool places to go and lots of fun when work is done. Can be very expensive, I wouldn't live in DC with a salary of less than 120K if you plan on living alone. I use to live in the city with a salary of 67K back in 2009 and had to have roommates.

If you have a family you can live in the burbs, but the first tier suburbs can rival DC in prices(Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda), you can move further to fairfax, Laurel, Woodbridge, but then you deal with traffic and commuting which sucks.

I moved to baltimore a few years ago to start my company up, I miss DC, but I'm close to the train station so I can get to DC in 1 hour on the train, which beats people who sit in there cars in some locations.

So far the offer is more than that. The only thing that is holding me back is my family. My whole family is in socal. Its going to be a tough to deal with moving all our stuff. If we move, then my girl will follow. Im going to end up paying for all the bills when we move until she finds a job. I backed out on the deal because of this. Ill be patient and wait for the right offer in socal.

Ryuksapple84

I live in North Potomac, MD closer to DC. My rent is $1750 because it is a good school district and that makes everything expensive. I would recommend living out in Germantown. Great little city and not as expensive.

dave330i

Ryuksapple84 wrote: »

I live in MD closer to DC. My rent is $1750 because it is a good school district and that makes everything expensive. I would recommend living out in Germantown. Great little city and not as expensive.

Commuting from Germantown to DC. There's a good way to kill 4 hours/day.