UrbanTurf Reader Asks: The Search For a DC One-Bedroom Apartment

• January 12th 2011

by UrbanTurf Staff

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In this week’s installment of UrbanTurf Reader Asks, a reader asks for advice about the best way to find a one-bedroom apartment in DC for $2,000 a month or less.

I moved to DC with my boyfriend at the end of May 2010. Before we moved, we only had a couple days to find a place to live, and we settled on a studio in a high-rise apartment. I'll be blunt in the interest of getting good help: we pay $1,785/month without parking, and got one months' free rent when we moved in. Starting June 1, we will need a new apartment to live in, as we are sure the rents where we are currently living have gone up significantly since we moved in. Although the building is nice, we already feel we're paying quite a bit of money for a studio. We absolutely want to stay in DC, and like many young couples, our ideal unit would also be: close to a Metro, in an area that has some walkable amenities (grocery, restaurants), and a unit that is at least somewhat updated. We will each have gotten small salary increases by the time we move, so we are hoping we can find a one-bedroom apartment for slightly more than our studio currently costs.

Is this a pipe dream? Given our wish list and a willingness to spend roughly $2,000/month, are we relegated to a studio? Our move is still five months out and I'm already feeling dejected. Should I be looking at high-rises? Craigslist? We're pretty open minded about neighborhoods, so any help/advice would be appreciated.

Post your thoughts in the comments section. If you would like to submit a question for UrbanTurf Reader Asks, send an email to editor2011@urbanturf.com.

**Small clarification in this post: The individual is not limited to a "downtown" one-bedroom apartment.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/urbanturf_reader_asks_is_finding_a_one_bedroom_for_2000_a_month/2829.