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[quote=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.

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