MBB apartment considerations

To some degree, you're splitting hairs here. Gallery Place isn't that far from Dupont, it's not like you're talking about moving to Reston (which I wouldn't do unless I was married...in which case I also would not get a studio).

That said, 2,000 for a studio seems like an upper limit in DC, i.e. what you might pay at the Archstone two blocks from Dupont Circle.

I'd advise you to talk to people a class ahead of you at your office to get some input on specific neighborhoods (or feel free to PM)

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Check out Columbia Heights...around a $5-10 cab to bar areas (Dupont, U Street, and Adams Morgan).

get roommates

Agree with all the comments here. As a Reston resident who commutes into the city everyday, its a huge time commitment. Metro is supposed to be operational by December, so that will hopefully cut down the commute significantly, but its just more fun in the city. I second Columbia Heights. And yes, get roomates.

Find somewhere you're going to be comfortable. Everything in that area is pretty easily accessible with the metro/bus/cabs. I went to school down there and it was relatively easy to find a place to go for fun or dinner even though I was a few metro stops away from Gallery Place. You'll have plenty of options with most places you choose since you'll have downtown DC and I always found the metro ride to Bethesda worth it.

Just get roommate(s). Can't be that hard.

Thanks for all of the comments. I'm avoiding getting roommates as I'd rather have my own place.

Post or Pre MBA?

You won't be there to enjoy it Monday-Thursday.

Do somewhere in the Ballston-Rosslyn corridor. Easy access to DC and DCA via car or public transit and your housing $ will go farther.

This seems almost completely driven by personal preference/situation. Do you party a lot? Are you cheap? Are you single?

A few important considerations in my opinion... *Waking up early Monday morning to catch a flight can be an excruciating process *Saving a few hundred $/mo in your 20s has no impact on your life in the long run *You probably have the option of doing alternate travel on your weekends

Rent the place you want to live, as though you are going to be there (and commuting to the office) all the time.

If you skimp on an apartment with the logic that you'll be on the road M-Th, you will get staffed on local projects for the next two years. That's just how life works.

Thanks for the insight.

I'm post grad degree and so a bit older, and I'm also very recently single after a long relationship (hence not wanting roommates).

I think the main debate for me was whether it would make sense to have a nice place if I'll be gone Mon-Thurs but devildog makes a nice point about the possibility of local staffing (as does Michael Scoffield re: 7am flights).

Thanks everyone, this is was helpful.

Crazy, I had the exact same dilemma up until a week ago (i.e. Logan/Thomas or Gallery Place, alone or with a roommate). Ended up moving into a 2BR/2BA luxury rental with a roommate. That being said, I would completely understand if you wanted to live on your own.