Thinking of moving to Washington D.C.

[HydeParker]

Really feel for a lot of reasons I need to pick up stakes and give DC a shot at least for a while.  The chief reason being that my career is going no where fast.  Does anyone have any experience with DC ?  I am concerned with how much I will have to pay for an apartment even a studio reasonably close to the heart of DC and what would I do with my car ?  Do people have to store them ? 

Thanks.

[warwickland]

Really feel for a lot of reasons I need to pick up stakes and give DC a shot at least for a while.  The chief reason being that my career is going no where fast.  Does anyone have any experience with DC ?  I am concerned with how much I will have to pay for an apartment even a studio reasonably close to the heart of DC and what would I do with my car ?  Do people have to store them ? 

Thanks.

i can't really say much towards living there, but i have spent time around dupont circle. my car was a pain in the ass to store (good sign). in any case, the metro has been changing DC back towards the urban, and it is becoming a vital city on all fronts. now, i'll say i don't like it as much as laid back (it is what you make of it town of the east coast) baltimore or *surprise at every turn* philadelphia, but i was impressed.

rambling - i didn't find a brewpub or beer bar i liked (found some that reminded me of the worst of the midwest...but i only was there less than a week), but i found a fine pizza joynt in georgetown with a great beer selection (can't remember name). d.c. is very walkable, and again, the metro (and bus) is nice. i'm thinkning you would want to take advantage of this and get rid of your car (at least try it for a set time).

i only had time to scratch the surface, i was coming from the mosquito infested maryland coast and glad to have a shower and a beer.

[kcdcchef]

Really feel for a lot of reasons I need to pick up stakes and give DC a shot at least for a while.  The chief reason being that my career is going no where fast.   Does anyone have any experience with DC ?  I am concerned with how much I will have to pay for an apartment even a studio reasonably close to the heart of DC and what would I do with my car ?  Do people have to store them ? 

Thanks.

i lived there for almost a decade. loved it and miss it, great town. one of americas best with regards to cultural diversity, and general acceptance of all.

car- you will pay. just a few short years ago i was paying $285 a month to park, but that was at my apartment. you will be able to find parking within 2-4 blocks of any apartment for $150+. actually lots of street parking in dc, as long as you get your dc tags and parking permit, but most spots are not long term. always street cleaning, and restrictions on hours you can park. one of the best transit systems in the world. you will only need to keep your car if you really have to. i had to because my company shuttled me between dc and new york all of the time. but there are subway stops like every 4 blocks all over downtown, and it is clean, safe, and runs late. you really will be able to lose the car unless it is a necessity.

rent, get ready for a culture shock. a place in northwest, really, the only place in the city for apartments that are safe and affordable, you will pay no less then $1200 even for a studio. you want one bedroom, you will be well over $1500. well over. southwest has mainly homes, northeast is more homes and shit, and southeast is ghetto. so really only nw, that is where actually 80% of the rental units are ( that is from the dc housing authority )

dc got my career on the fast track. one of the top 5 cities in the us i would say to help a career, or just to live. great town, god i miss it. but it will do wonders for any career, or social life. you will miss kansas city, because of all the unique stuff kc has, but do dc if you can. i reccomend to anyone to do dc or new york if you can.

now pittsburgh on the other hand..........................dont do it unless you have to.

[Maitre D]

i lived there for almost a decade. loved it and miss it, great town. one of americas best with regards to cultural

now pittsburgh on the other hand..........................dont do it unless you have to.

what don't you like about the burgh?

[kcdcchef]

what don't you like about the burgh?

it to me is like a pretty version of kansas city. a real beautiful town, but really not that much going on. the food sucks here, downtown is like kansas city's downtown at nite, actually, MUCH SLOWER, and believe it or not, is actually behind kc in terms of getting people to move back to the city.

real pretty city, but to me rather vanilla and boring. but the wife likes it here, and i can drive to dc and ny within 4-5 hours, so good enough for me.

[FangKC]

Do it.  Just make sure you at least double your salary though to compensate for the different cost-of-living.

[bbqboy]

hydeparker, what's your career? Is it something that there's a demand for in DC? Or going there just sounds cool?
My sister has lived there (Va. burbs) for almost 40 years.

[HydeParker]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. 

bbqboy: I am an attorney which adds a whole other layer of complexity on to the decision.  There is the issue of getting a DC license, that the city is already chockful of lawyers, lawyers have to pay a lot of professional dues, do I want to work in government, private firm, lobbyist, not-for-profit.  Decisions, decisions.  Anyway, I do not have to make a decision right now.  I am just starting to collect info.  Thanks.

[KCMax]

DC is cool. Just tons of young people, most everyone is well-educated, even your cab driver has a Master's. Lots of people that are full of themselves. Lots of striped shirts. You'll run into CNN reporters at the grocery store, Congressmen walking around, my sister stood behind Karl Rove at the checkout counter once. But it is fun and exciting.

I worked in Northern Virginia, so I got an apartment in Alexandria. It was about a grand a month, so living in actual DC is way more expensive than that. It was a suburb, but it was still really easy to use mass transit. Old Town in Alexandria is a pretty cool place, although not really for young people. 

I would highly recommend ditching the car. Getting a car space can cost you several hundred extra dollars on your place. And street parking can be a pain in the ass. The Metro is one of the best mass transit systems I have ever used and it goes pretty much anywhere you want to go (except Georgetown for some reason, but its not a bad walk, and there's also a shuttle from Rosslyn). The bus system is pretty good too. And if you really need a car, they have those Zip Cars.

I believe the DC bar has reciprocity with every other state, or at least, Virginia and Maryland. My sister is taking the Maryland bar, because its a bit easier than Virginia, but she will practice in DC.

There are just a ton of jobs out there though, in every sector. You should have no problem. Best of luck!

[nota]

Are you young and single with no strings?

Gather up and go tomorrow. Otherwise, you'll have to do a lot more thinking about a lot more things. Cost of living being the biggest one.

I love DC-it's a happening place. I don't know how I would like living there day to day, but there sure is plenty to do day or night. I know some young people who live there and love it.

Do you happen to work for one of the firms that has branches in DC? Then you could transfer??

Good luck-

[HydeParker]

NOTA, thanks for the response.  I have a dad who is getting on in years but otherwise no dependents or other partners.  And Dad is cool with it - he knows I did not go through all of my schooling to shuffle papers at a place that drains me of my energy. 

My current firm is not a free ticket to DC.  Which is probably good because I otherwise might be tempted to drag it out with them.  I am not a "gather up and go tomorrow" type of person however.  If and when I make a move I will have put a lot of planning into it (I am a lawyer after all) but once that decision has been made I WILL do it. 

Thanks bunches.

[chrizow]

i dont know what kind of law you want to practice, but if you are at all interested in a big firm job, you should try firms based in KC or that have offices here that also have offices in DC - blackwell, lathrop, shook, bryan cave, etc.  that way you can work in DC, make DC money, but have a MO employer (which can make a big difference in office atmosphere, particularly in law firm life). 

[nota]

NOTA, thanks for the response.  I have a dad who is getting on in years but otherwise no dependents or other partners.  And Dad is cool with it - he knows I did not go through all of my schooling to shuffle papers at a place that drains me of my energy. 

My current firm is not a free ticket to DC.  Which is probably good because I otherwise might be tempted to drag it out with them.   I am not a "gather up and go tomorrow" type of person however.  If and when I make a move I will have put a lot of planning into it (I am a lawyer after all) but once that decision has been made I WILL do it. 

Thanks bunches.

Best wishes to you. While you are young and no strings is the time to make a move like this if you arent' sure where it will lead you because you won't have others to uproot.

The only thing I can say is that when your aging parents are many miles away, it's hard to be on top of things with and for them.

Beyond that-shoot for the stars. I'm a big believer in spreading wings. And you are right to take your time and make sure you know the details first.

Good luck to you.

[ComandanteCero]

I have to ask, why DC?  Why not NY, Boston, Chicago, L.A or San Francisco?  Is there a particular reason for DC and not any of these other biggies? 

D.C is now at the center of a massive sprawling megalopolis, but personally, if i was going for the big city life, with the high rent, transit friendly, balls to the walls people and culture, D.C wouldn't be my first choice.

[FangKC]

I can personally recommend NYC.

[bbqboy]

The West is the Best. Follow the Kings Highway. C'mon down.

[warwickland]

Washington D.C. is really an interesting and vibrant town. But.

If I was going to do a Big Exciting Move, I think if the monies were there, it would be Manhattan.

Period.

Also, I am biased as I use the number and quality of good beer bars as a sort of barometer when things like the pedestrian life and transit are there, and Philly destroys D.C. Myopic, I know.

Of course, the subway in Philly looks dirty and crappy compared to the D.C. Metro, but what subway doesnt?

[FangKC]

I happen to like that New York's subway system is so ancient. It evokes another era.

[ComandanteCero]

Riding the Chicago train (the blue line) during the underground portion there were points when i honestly thought the train was going to jump the track it was shaking so bad (i was on the last car).  it was pretty scary (especially since a train had jumped the tracks the week before), some people were ignoring the shaking, others were visibly concerned.

That was one case when the "local flavor" was a bit much. 

[warwickland]

Riding the Chicago train (the blue line) during the underground portion there were points when i honestly thought the train was going to jump the track it was shaking so bad (i was on the last car).  it was pretty scary (especially since a train had jumped the tracks the week before), some people were ignoring the shaking, others were visibly concerned.

That was one case when the "local flavor" was a bit much. 

i think i know what you are talking about...i kept thinking, well it's not as bad (close, though) as the broad street subway in philly (or whatever it was that i remember a-rockin').

i sat on a northside train stranded in the air (don't recall what color) fairly recently for 30 minutes, staring at back decks, cta has some issues...