Does anyone live & work in/around D.C.? What's it like?

I have a job offer (Post-doc at Georgetown University) which I'd like to accept, but like most academic jobs the salary isn't great (around $41,000).

Can I live in commuting distance of Georgetown (I don't drive)? Will life be miserable? It'd be nice to afford to go out once in while!

Any advice would be appreciated.

thanks,
Lea

I'd say 41k will be miserable if you are on your own

you will take home about $2400-$2500 a month

not driving may also in itself make you miserable

Why will $41k be miserable? And why will not driving be miserable? I resent that here in Rochester, I have to drive everywhere, and can't take the Metro like I used to do in Baltimore (read the paper, take a nap etc).

If lpilgrim was contemplating a move to numerous other cities (Detroit, Buffalo and almost anywhere in the south), not driving would be a definite disadvantage as there is little/no public transportation. Whereas the DC metro service is great - be very easy to move to somewhere in Maryland (Georgetown will probably be WAY too expensive) and commute in every day. The Metro is very extensive, and will connect you to the airport and with a quick change, Baltimore.

D.C. is a fun city (world class museums for FREE, theatre, concerts, sports, nightlife) and Baltimore is a 45 minute train ride away. And Georgetown U is a good school. I'd say do a bit more research, but go for it.

if the OP is similar to most people in the fact that they like to buy clothes/stuff for the home/go out for dinner/drinks, then I don't think that living in DC will be comfortable on the income indicated once you factor in accomodation and associated bills - why move continents when things aren;t going to be appreciably better or at least the same? (i don;t know how the OP lives right now obviously)

I used to live in London, but would have been frustrated without a car - but thats just me - needing a car is not just about commuting etc, its the day to day aspects of life etc.

True...but it's still a pain doing anything in this country without a car, and getting a car is a good start to getting credit...especially as OP won't have any, so any credit cards, loans etc will be more pricey for the first couple years...and after taxes, medical insurance, rent, there's not much change to be had...but it's still a do-able salary I hear.

Hope you can speak Spanish and don't mind MS-13 thugs on your doorstep. Suburbs of DC are full of Hispanic gangs it seems.

thanks for the input.

I've happily lived in Chicago for the last two years - on less money (& no car) - but it's a much cheaper city.

I think the rents for the DC area that I saw on Craigslist etc kinda freaked me out (you can get a decent one-bedroom in Chicago for around $800!) - but I'm thinking that I'd be able to do a house-share and survive.

Anyone have opinions on which areas might be fun/affordable to live in?

Cheers,
Lea

My sister-in-law lived for two years (until three months ago) in a decent shared house in Arlington (near the Ballston Common mall) and she was able to survive on a salary of approx $35,000pa. Her house was in walikng distance to the DC metro, which I think is vital.

$41K would not be miserable at all. We have survived for the last year and a half since my wife stopped working on $35K with three mouths to feed, a mortgage and two cars. Things were extremely tight (and fortunately I've just had a couple of good raises) but for one person it would be fine.

Georgetown doesn't have a Metro station but I have made the walk from Foggy Bottom station before and it's not too bad. There are buses too. The commute would not be a problem at all without a car (far better not to drive IMO) but as others have said, if you're living in the suburbs it would be miserable. The US wasn't made for walking. I think there are some mixed-used developments around some of the Virginia Metro stations which could be a possibility though.

Have you considered Baltimore? It is 40 minutes on the Express MARC train from downtown DC and probably cheaper rent than DC. I'm biased though because I love B-more!

I don't think $41K will be miserable, I lived in DC till a last year and it is manageable, admittedly I was on $50K I could still afford to live at the Berkshire which was in a nice part of town and the transport system is excellent so you don't really need to have a car. I rarely drove mine. Living in Maryland or Northern Virginia will cut your costs but increase your commute so there is a trade off.. In my opinion look for an apartment (studio ? ) in DC.. before moving to the suburbs..

Rents/housing costs in B'more are quite reasonable (compared to DC), and you could even live in the suburbs, take the Metro/Light Rail to Camden Yards (Go O's!) and then the MARC to DC. Plus, you can take the Light Rail all the way out to BWI airport if you need to leave town.

Living without a car would be tough, but B'More/DC are very walkable towns with good (connected) transportation systems.

Baltimore to Georgetown on the DC Metro will probably take an hour I'd estimate. The OP should check the DC Metro website. There was a page to calculate journey times between destinations/metro stations.