Going to George Washington (GW GWU)

[Erapitt]

how much do you think a place in northern va. for one person would cost?  (range)

I had a really nice studio (seperated bedroom area, walk in closet, wall windows) last year and paid $966/month.  However, you can definately do better.  The apartment complex my wife and I currently reside in has one bedrooms for around $950, including utilities.  You just can't be afraid to use the metro.  It is one 5 min bus ride to the pentago or crystal city and then just a couple of metro stops from there.  That metro trip would run you around $100/month max, so you are still saving much more money than if you lived in downtown DC. 

Have you checked out craig's list?  If you can deal with roommates you can get some amazing deals.  I mean, lets look at my wife as a roommate for a moment just for argument's sake....  Under our current lease we pay $525 per person/month including all utilities (minus cable, internet, and phone).  That is a damn good deal for around here.

It comes down to what YOU want.  If living in a doorm setting is alright with you, I say go for it.  However, I definately think being surrounded by other stressed out 1Ls will be a nightmare.  If I wasn't married then I would have a roommate, but it wouldn't be a law student.  Put a post on craigslist.org looking for medical students.  They are around even less than law students and it would be a happy break for the two of you when you were around each other.

[SCgrad]

yeah, i'm not sure i want a roommate for a variety of reasons.  i'm fine to use the metro.  why would someone not be fine to use it?  just wondering.  so could i get a decent place by myself and pay maybe 700 including utilities?  i mean, not a great place, but not a dump.

[4DClaw]

That's within range if you're OK taking a bus to the metro. You might be able to find a very small studio for that price within walking distance of the metro line for $700 or $800, but they usually start at around $900 minimum. The problem is that most of the buildings that are directly on the Orange line are newer "luxury" (not really), and they charge a premium. Also, area rents are rising pretty rapidly because the interest rate increases are slowing the growth in home purchases.

yeah, i'm not sure i want a roommate for a variety of reasons.  i'm fine to use the metro.  why would someone not be fine to use it?  just wondering.  so could i get a decent place by myself and pay maybe 700 including utilities?  i mean, not a great place, but not a dump.

[Erapitt]

yeah, i'm not sure i want a roommate for a variety of reasons.  i'm fine to use the metro.  why would someone not be fine to use it?  just wondering.  so could i get a decent place by myself and pay maybe 700 including utilities?  i mean, not a great place, but not a dump.

I agree with 4D.  It will not be easy to find a place for that price including utilities by yourself.  In fact, I'll go a step further and say it will be damned near impossible.  Around $900-1000/month is normal around the NOVA area for a studio.  If you want cheaper than that, you will be living in a 400 sq. foot tin can that was built 30 years ago.

Regarding your question of why someone would not want to use the metro:  Who knows?  I just attribute it to fear of that which they are ignorant about.  I see that most of the young people on here are trying to get as close as possible to the school when in reality, a 25 min. metro commute is well worth the thousands it will save you in loans.

[Flyboy]

I've spent a decent amount of time in DC so I've been on the metro, and I don't fear it. But I've always avoided it at rush hour, I guess I don't know how crowded it gets. I spent a summer in London and riding the tube everyday to my internship got old pretty quick. I guess the people in DC probably wear more deodorant though.

[potato]

I'm planning on living on the Metro, walking distance (that is less than 10 min) blue or orange line.  Take the bus to the Metro might work for some people, but not for me.   I'm not a morning person, so making a 9am class needs to be as painless as possible. Waiting for a bus, esp in the winter, and then the Metro is not something I'm very keen on.  However, rents do drop dramatically if you aren't walking distance to the Metro.

Sure, having an apartment right by campus might make things easier, but when I did my first round of grad school, it was nice not being right on top of campus, it made me feel like I could leave!   And in someways not having a place to nap a few minutes from class can be a good thing for productivity.  Also, if everything is online, you might  not need a law library right down the street. (I'm not sure how much research we can do online now, anyone know?)

I will have a roommate, but a non-law student, and we'll have our own bathrooms.  

How many people are bringing a car?  I'm planning on bringing mine, but just using it to run errands on the weekend.

[4DClaw]

Don't be so sure about the deodorant. The subway can get pretty stinky during afternoon rush hours in July and August. The most crowded trains are on the orange line because of all the housing construction in Northern Virginia. They run the most trains possible, and they're still packed.

I've spent a decent amount of time in DC so I've been on the metro, and I don't fear it. But I've always avoided it at rush hour, I guess I don't know how crowded it gets. I spent a summer in London and riding the tube everyday to my internship got old pretty quick. I guess the people in DC probably wear more deodorant though.

[SCgrad]

is there any reason i couldn't ride my bike to the metro instead of taking the bus?

[Erapitt]

is there any reason i couldn't ride my bike to the metro instead of taking the bus?

No, NOVA is major bike friendly.  Although with all your books, laptop, etc.... in the freezing cold.  Have fun with that lol.  The bus is only 1.25 and then a $0.35 transfer to the metro rail.  You just get a "Smartcard" and put your funds directly onto it and you can use them on the bus/rail and it knows when to charge $0.35 cents, etc.... 

[SCgrad]

is there any reason i couldn't ride my bike to the metro instead of taking the bus?

No, NOVA is major bike friendly.  Although with all your books, laptop, etc.... in the freezing cold.  Have fun with that lol.  The bus is only 1.25 and then a $0.35 transfer to the metro rail.  You just get a "Smartcard" and put your funds directly onto it and you can use them on the bus/rail and it knows when to charge $0.35 cents, etc.... 

yeah, i've done the winter time bikerides here.  i just figure it would be more convenient than waiting on a bus, i guess it depends how close you are to the bus stop and how close the bus stop is to the train.  just wondering about whether they get stolen at the station, etc.

also, i plan to put a big, gay basket on the back of my bike so i have nothing to worry about with books, computer, etc.