Moving from Europe, need to rent in DC area

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8:27 here
when I came to DC I rented an apt and had not problem beign a foreignerjust with an offer of a job in DC and no real credit history in the USA. however, I remember paying the deposit with a check. I doubt you can pay with credit card (I guess you could cancel the card or contest the payment), my experience is that the deposit must be in some kind of equivalent to money (so check, money order, cash or similar stuff). tons of people like you live in DC so you should not have any problems in finding a house. my neighborn across the street until recently was a family from CH with two little girls, rented for 4 years.
I live in Chevy Chase DC and love it. very walkable, close to the metro at Friendship Heights and the shopping area, close to the Avalon theater on Connecticut avenue - an out of the mainstream movie theater, look at the web site - lots of playgrounds, lots of families, really a great place for a family with little kids. I have two kids 3 and 6 and we have only one car. I would never go to the suburbs if I were you, try one day in rush hour traffic and you will see yourself. even in Bethesda you may need a car per adult in some areas, or you are stuck. anyway, good luck in your house hunting, with your budget you should not have any problem

We rent out our Georgetown rowhouse on craigslist. We mostly get Europeans looking for long-term leases. We do not take credit cards--but will take echecks. We do rent to the individuals---unlike some neighbors that have deals with the embassy and the embassy rents out their home. We like the control and prefer to do the screening and background/financial checks ourselves. References are a must. Our last two tenants were both multi-year.

Georgetown has loads of Europeans and it is a lifestyle much like the one we had when living in Europe. My son was one of the few 'americans' at his preschool there.

Btw--WIS is in Georgetown and if you rent on the East side/east village...foggy botttom is walking distance. they also have bus that goes there.

[Anonymous]

Given your husband's work in Foggy Bottom and your son's school in Georgetown, Georgetown or Dupont would be top picks.
Walkable, easy access to public transit. You could get along without a car, and both offer a walking life similar to Europe, with residents of all nationalities.

[Anonymous]

Can you rent a 4 BR house w/ a yard in Georgetown or Dupont for $4700 a month? I would have thought that size house w/ yard would cost more in those neighborhoods, but I don't know the market.

[Anonymous]

I would not live in Dupont with 2 and 5 old kids. I never saw as many playgrounds and green areas as in Upper NW. Georgetown would be better but homes can be small, I am not sure $4700 would be enough for a larger one, but I do not the rental market there. I would explore more Cleveland Park, Forrest Hill and Chevy Chase, those are areas close to transportation and downtown, with tons of playgrounds, tons of families with young kids, easy to walk with young kids, a lot of green, nice yards and not that much traffict except for the main roads. I would take walks around and see

[Anonymous]

I'd try Reston.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd try Reston.

Joke, right?

[Anonymous]

If your child is going to WIS and your husband works in Foggy Bottom, your best bet is somewhere in upper NW (I would NOT recommend the Hill). Somewhere in the Connecticut Avenue/Wisconsin Avenue near a metro station would be my suggestion.

[Anonymous]

If you live in Georgetown you can walk to WIS and Foggy Bottom. Not so at any other location. Your budget though won't get you the size you describe in Georgetown. Check craigslist.com and search for Georgetown or the neighborhood you desire to get an idea. Good places rent very quickly. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

20008 or 20015 easy commute down Connecticut

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your child is going to WIS and your husband works in Foggy Bottom, your best bet is somewhere in upper NW (I would NOT recommend the Hill). Somewhere in the Connecticut Avenue/Wisconsin Avenue near a metro station would be my suggestion.

Agree! Your commute to school and work would be ridiculously long if you rent on the Hill. You want to make it as easy of a transition as possible. I would try Cleveland Park for the metro and proximity to WIS (both upper and lower). $4700 should be able to get you enough space for a family of 4. There are plenty of preschools and parks within a 5 min drive from Cleveland Park too for your 2 yo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd try Reston.

Joke, right?

no. you can get an awesome house on the lake for that price, and it would be walking distance to the new metro station opening in 2013.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd try Reston.

Joke, right?

no. you can get an awesome house on the lake for that price, and it would be walking distance to the new metro station opening in 2013.

right. and because OP is moving to DC for only 2 years in the summer of 2012, she can just walk all the way to DC from lovely Reston every morning to take her child to WIS while she waits for the station to open. or she can brave lovely rush hour traffic on 66 with the only are they have..............way to experience DC

[Anonymous]

WIS is in Cleveland park neighborhood, also near Woodley Park/Zoo to the east and AU Park area on the west. Capital Hill is a whole 30 minute drive away with tons of traffic lights and through 3 different office districts (cap hill, downtown, dupont).

[Anonymous]

I lived in Europe for about 8 years as a grad student postdoc and worried about credit checks, too, when I moved to DC. Not, that it would be a bad credit report, but that it would be nonexistent (I didn't have a U.S. bank or credit card in that time). The credit check wasn't an issue at all - I think they were looking for bad credit or a history of failure to pay, rather than an accumulated good record.

They probably will want a check, but you probably can get a bank to prepare a cashiers check for you. There may be some benefits to opening a $ account when you're here, anyhow. (This is a lot easier than in Europe - minimum balances requirements are small).

On the bright side, it was easier than renting a flat in Germany, where I needed a local account to pay a deposit but needed an address to register with the Auslanderamt in order to open an account...

The biggest nuisance with Washington is that it's hard to find a rental weeks in advance of starting a lease. I kept an eye on craigslist.com but I don't know if that's as useful looking for a larger property.

Google suggests WIS lower school is in Georgetown/Glover Park. It's quite pretty there and not that convenient to transit, so you might want to try and rent nearby. Have a look at "Foxhall", "Palisades" and "Glover Park". They're not great for transit accessibility, but they have some nice neighborhood restaurants, are an easy drive to WIS and your spouse can take a bus straight to Foggy Bottom.

One last thing - if you end up sacrificing an option, sacrifice the fourth bedroom over air conditioning. I lived through the 2003 heatwave in Europe without a/c and didn't think the heat was that big a deal. But moved here the next year and found a couple days of DC heat and humidity conquered me. As a German friend said, "It's like the reptile house at the zoo, here" (Which is true in more ways than one, but that's another issue.) Also get off street parking if you're in a busy part of town - it just saves so much time.

[Anonymous]

Oh, I'm the previous poster. Another thing to keep in mind is that buying properties in the U.S. is, generally, a lot easier than in Europe and your $4700 a month would pay for quite a mortgage. If you have a down payment and buy in an area where it's easy to rent the place later, you could make a nice investment by buying rather than renting.