Can my sister afford this apartment?

[Anonymous]

She could also join a gym near work so she could commute early (less traffic) and work out before work, or work out after work and get on the road after rush hour.

People that age want to live near their friends. They don't want to live in south riding with their folks, or crash on friend's couches every weekend. I had friends that did that and overstayed their welcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My fellow DCUmers, please put yourself back in the mindset of a recent college grad. She wants to live with her friends in Ballston. Go out to happy hours. Go to the Clarendon Ballroom or wherever the kids go nowadays. Meet boys and make poor decisions after the Clarendon Ballroom or wherever the kids go nowadays closes. When you are 23, social life/boys are the priority. Not a short commute to work.

I remember looking at apartments in that area with friends in 2000ish when I was young, and it was $700ish/person for 3 of us, so I assume $1100 for 3 people in 2016 is a normal price. Yes, doing the quick mental math, her rent will be almost 1/2 of her take home pay, after taxes and deductions and retirement, but if she has no student loans or car payment, it is absolutely doable for a 23 year old.

My only advice for her, other than to enjoy being young and living somewhere fun, is to drive to work. I would rather take the GW Parkway to 495 to 270 to Ballston than deal with metro.

OP here. Sorry, just came back to reread everything posted. So location is really not going to change - Rockville is not an option. She's either going to live with our parents or live in Arlington where she knows people (not necessarily at THIS house but this is what she has available now). She has anxiety and she will never survive moving to MD where she knows no one to start a new job, new lifestyle, on her own. This is a completely separate topic for another day.

I'm just curious about the cost. This is actually the cheapest she has found among friends of hers - they're all around $1300/1400. It just feels like a LOT to me but that's because I compare it to the apt DH and I shared post-college that was $700/mo and huge... but that was in 2003.

The commuting issue - just tonight I was talking to her about how she should think about driving. Google says to take GW Pkwy, 495, 270. Not sure how bad GW Pkwy is as we don't live near there.

I do this commute every day, from Ballston to White Flint. I tried various ways to metro, but it didn't save any time nor any money. Its a solid $11 day in metro plus delays on Redline on the way home. 1 hour going and 1+hr afterwork. Driving, I would recommend taking 66W, 267, 495, than 270. Takes me between 35-45 min. morning and 45-50 min. in the afternoon.

I live near ballston closer to gw parkway. This commute would totally suck and will only get worse with the increased traffic when metro repairs begin this summer. Traffic in this entire area blows now and is getting worse.

[Anonymous]

1. She needs to start out in "real life" by following the 50, 35, 15 rule: (all fixed living expenses <50 of take home pay, all variable expenses < 35% saving at least 15%)
2. At 49K 1100 per month for rent is very close to 50% of her take home so I don't think she will be able to fit ALL her fixed expenses into 50% of take home.
3. 1100 per month for a shared sounds very high. While its a different market, I've been living in down-town Alexandria (walk to work) and my rent for a one bedroom by-my-self situation is 1300.
4. I earn significantly more than 49K and honestly.... my budget is tight and I do NOT have student loans or a car payment or credit card debt. Life simply throws expenses at me each month at isn't expected.

[Anonymous]

think about this.... she is planning or splitting rent with three people... at 1100 each.... that is 3,300 per month!! I've been renting a two bedroom condo above the wholefoods just across the street from the Alexandria metro stop with harbor views for 2250 for the past two years.

It sounds to me like she is choosing to live in a very up-end location because my building is very nice in a very nice location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:think about this.... she is planning or splitting rent with three people... at 1100 each.... that is 3,300 per month!! I've been renting a two bedroom condo above the wholefoods just across the street from the Alexandria metro stop with harbor views for 2250 for the past two years.

It sounds to me like she is choosing to live in a very up-end location because my building is very nice in a very nice location.

Yeah but people her age do not go out in Alexandria. Clearly, she's doing this for the social aspect, and I don't blame her. You're allowed to have some fun. Being a young professional was easily the most exciting time of my life. Going out to bars with my roommates, meeting boys, and ordering 2am Chinese takeout are some of my fondest memories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:think about this.... she is planning or splitting rent with three people... at 1100 each.... that is 3,300 per month!! I've been renting a two bedroom condo above the wholefoods just across the street from the Alexandria metro stop with harbor views for 2250 for the past two years.

It sounds to me like she is choosing to live in a very up-end location because my building is very nice in a very nice location.

I live in ballston and my entire 1 bedroom apartment is 1100 per month. If she's sharing and paying like $3k per month- it is definitely in a really nice high rise near the Ballston metro station. There are "garden" style apartments in the area that are less expensive. Personally, she's going to be spending a lot for transportation (either metro or car expenses) and if her whole point of living in ballston instead of near her job is to see friends- she's gonna need disposable income to do that- otherwise her life will suck spending 2+ hours commuting and then having no money to enjoy her young life in ballston.... Pick a cheaper apartment to share, then at least she has the ability to enjoy herself in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:think about this.... she is planning or splitting rent with three people... at 1100 each.... that is 3,300 per month!! I've been renting a two bedroom condo above the wholefoods just across the street from the Alexandria metro stop with harbor views for 2250 for the past two years.

It sounds to me like she is choosing to live in a very up-end location because my building is very nice in a very nice location.

Until 2 years ago, I lived in a shared townhouse with roommates in Ballston and paid $1,000 a month. This was pretty normal when I looked around and it was definitely not luxury. That's just what it costs.

[Anonymous]

That is a long commute. Better off living close to work and going out with friends on weekends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:think about this.... she is planning or splitting rent with three people... at 1100 each.... that is 3,300 per month!! I've been renting a two bedroom condo above the wholefoods just across the street from the Alexandria metro stop with harbor views for 2250 for the past two years.

It sounds to me like she is choosing to live in a very up-end location because my building is very nice in a very nice location.

I live in ballston and my entire 1 bedroom apartment is 1100 per month. If she's sharing and paying like $3k per month- it is definitely in a really nice high rise near the Ballston metro station. There are "garden" style apartments in the area that are less expensive. Personally, she's going to be spending a lot for transportation (either metro or car expenses) and if her whole point of living in ballston instead of near her job is to see friends- she's gonna need disposable income to do that- otherwise her life will suck spending 2+ hours commuting and then having no money to enjoy her young life in ballston.... Pick a cheaper apartment to share, then at least she has the ability to enjoy herself in the area.

+1 For instance, this complex:
http://www.glenayrapartments.com/Pricing.html
$1600/m for a 2 bedroom. Parking included. She could live there (share with one roommate).
Driving would be the best (ie, least bad) commute, since a big chunk of it would be against the typical rush-hour traffic flow.

I lived in this complex some time ago, before buying a house. It is not particularly fancy or modern--window-unit AC, no dishwashers, laundry in the basement, walk up--but it is (or was at the time) clean, well-maintained, and well-run. I always felt safe there. Some of the surrounding complexes are more downmarket, but many have been upgraded or converted to very nice townhouses.

For a year or two, even the $1,100 share would be OK, but I agree with the PP that she and your parents need to be exerting some effort to get her anxiety under control so that she can make rational decisions to support herself.

[Anonymous]

OP point your sister to this thread. She needs to grow up. She will be more miserable with a horrid commute than moving into a 1br near her office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My fellow DCUmers, please put yourself back in the mindset of a recent college grad. She wants to live with her friends in Ballston. Go out to happy hours. Go to the Clarendon Ballroom or wherever the kids go nowadays. Meet boys and make poor decisions after the Clarendon Ballroom or wherever the kids go nowadays closes. When you are 23, social life/boys are the priority. Not a short commute to work.

I remember looking at apartments in that area with friends in 2000ish when I was young, and it was $700ish/person for 3 of us, so I assume $1100 for 3 people in 2016 is a normal price. Yes, doing the quick mental math, her rent will be almost 1/2 of her take home pay, after taxes and deductions and retirement, but if she has no student loans or car payment, it is absolutely doable for a 23 year old.

My only advice for her, other than to enjoy being young and living somewhere fun, is to drive to work. I would rather take the GW Parkway to 495 to 270 to Ballston than deal with metro.

This poster gets it.

Y'all need to chill.

The question was can she afford it. No. She can't.

"Chilling" is how people accept and justify poor financial decisions.

[Anonymous]

The cost of the metro is going to be something like $10 a day during rush hour... That's $50 a week plus any extra riding she does... and I think I'm under-estimating it. So at least $200 a month on metro.

[Anonymous]

When I wanted to live in fun Arlington while I was making no money I lived in a DUMP of a place. Walk up, no ac, communal laundry, no services at all. It was great! Perfect for me at that time in my life. I had a roommate and our rent was cheap.

If she wants to live in Arlington, that's great. But she can find somewhere cheaper than $1100 a month. That's a HUGE amount to pay to live with 2 other people.