Alright, so I'm currently in the process of browsing for apartments in the DC area, namely Springfield, VA since my job is located there
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I'm afraid a lot of the advice I've gotten is pretty inapplicable to you, because I'm fixin' to live in the center of the city and walk to work, and you're going to be commuting from one suburb to another. Night and day, man. But these are some general things that become common sense very quickly:
- Check Craigslist every half hour for leads (it moves that fast in the major cities). - Research every agency, building, address, and landlord before you bother making the trip. apartmentreviews.com can be useful, or you can just google the name of an apartment complex with the word "reviews." - Look into the parking situation and the crime stats for each prospective apartment. You probably won't have a problem with either in the suburbs, but you know. - If you're at all nervous about a neighborhood during the day, it's probably a good idea to go back at night and see if it freaks you out enough to rule it out. (Also good advice if an apartment you like happens to have a bar or a club very nearby.) - I don't suppose there's any chance of getting a place within walking distance of a Metro stop? Because that would be massively handy for you. - For the love of god do not try to commute to work via the Beltway. Last time I was on it was around 9:00 on a Sunday night, and even then it was a madhouse. I don't even want to know what it's like during rush hour.
I've found the forums at phillyblog.com to be extremely useful, so if you can find something like that for Greater DC that'd do a lot for you.
I'm planning on living close to work actually, given that I hear pretty unanimously that long commutes during rush-hour will drive you nuts. :P
Springfield, VA is pretty small, so Craigslist ads for apartments are pretty stable, but there likely aren't as many of them, so I guess it balances out.
- Check Craigslist every half hour for leads (it moves that fast in the major cities).
- Research every agency, building, address, and landlord before you bother making the trip. apartmentreviews.com can be useful, or you can just google the name of an apartment complex with the word "reviews."
- Look into the parking situation and the crime stats for each prospective apartment. You probably won't have a problem with either in the suburbs, but you know.
- If you're at all nervous about a neighborhood during the day, it's probably a good idea to go back at night and see if it freaks you out enough to rule it out. (Also good advice if an apartment you like happens to have a bar or a club very nearby.)
- I don't suppose there's any chance of getting a place within walking distance of a Metro stop? Because that would be massively handy for you.
- For the love of god do not try to commute to work via the Beltway. Last time I was on it was around 9:00 on a Sunday night, and even then it was a madhouse. I don't even want to know what it's like during rush hour.
I've found the forums at phillyblog.com to be extremely useful, so if you can find something like that for Greater DC that'd do a lot for you.
Other than that, godspeed, young doggie. =;)
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Springfield, VA is pretty small, so Craigslist ads for apartments are pretty stable, but there likely aren't as many of them, so I guess it balances out.
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