I'm from one of the cities in the south that people say has a lot of opportunity, but one of the first things I noticed when I moved here was how many people with disabilities seemed to be living independently (commuting to work on the Metro, hanging out at bars and restaurants, etc).

Normally I'd tell someone not to move on that salary, but in OP's case there could be a lot of benefits that aren't available in 98% of the rest of America.

Amtrak from DC to Durham … not terrible (have done it myself)

There’s also MegaBus

[deleted]

Just to let you know that’s a very irregular ladder, I was a 5 in DC five years ago and it was rough. Just be prepared to not be able to afford much, but if you can transition to a different ladder and series after your first year shoot for something that at least leads to a 12.

Love this attitude. As long as you’re willing to tolerate roommates and generally stick to dive bars, you’ll be fine. Btw, that’s the best way to do DC anyway. At least it was. Fuck the wharf.

[deleted]

I started as a GS-7 at $40K in a job that had a guaranteed 7-9-11 promotion.

(My previous job I was making $80K)

It sucked but I had to work 2 jobs to make up the difference for 2 years.

Eventually after 4 years I was making the money i left and from there it was off to the races.

I guess what I am saying is you are going to start with another job and a roommate but eventually it will work out. Feds provide great opportunities for promotion.

Yeah man thank you, Maybe a few months ago, during the summer, a woman had her whole car put on cinderblocks and they took all her tires. Its pretty crazy to me that people do this shit during the day. I dont think the parking garage has cameras either.

What about living in Rockville or surrounding areas with a roommate? You’re right on the metro and rent is much cheaper.

Guaranteed promotion

I made this account simply because all the advice you are getting saying not to do it or it’s not possible is flat out wrong.

Yes. You 100% can live in/around Washington DC for 40-42k a year. There are thousands of federal employees and others who do just that. Every other GS-5 for example. Almost every congressional office pays staff assistants and legislative assistants less than that. Sometimes significantly less than that.

I’m not saying it will be easy. You will have to be intelligent with your money. The easiest way to make it work would be with roommates. If you know people up here. Otherwise, many people use Facebook, Craigslist and other sources to find roommates. If you want to live alone that gets harder but a quick apartments.com search for apartments under $1,200 (~1/3 of your monthly salary) came up with 240 results. Options exist.

In terms of where to look that is metro accessible, look near stops on the green/yellow line in the north like columbia heights, Georgia Ave-Petsworth, Fort Totten. You may also have luck on Green Line in the SE like anacostia. Red line look north again in the east (Noma, Rhode Island Ave, Brentwood, Takoma). I don’t think Virginia will have good walkable and price conscious options near the metro stops.

Good luck, don’t listen to people trying to discourage you. Many of them don’t even live here. DC is a great city and can always use more people who want to be here and are willing to grind it out in the government to do so.

To be honest when I'd get off at stations my immediate assumption was that those buildings were all offices. Cool to know that TOD is taken at least somewhat seriously. Regarding nightlife, yeah I don't really mind if its lame. That it exists at all is nice from where I'm sitting right now.

Busses would be an option, its just about whether they have signage/accurate schedules. Currently, my area has no busses other than to take tourists around, and the paratransit is only available by calling.. if you're within .5 miles of an unmarked station.

> If you find a higher paying job after a few years, then you can move closer to your place of work or perhaps you'll find you don't mind the train commute that much.

Indeed. And hey, at least after that point I'll be able to have made connections at work and built a life for myself.

Yes, you can live here on that salary. Yes, you will need roommates. If you eat at home and spend modestly, you'll be fine. Plenty of college students and interns live here. I find this forum to be quite discouraging when it comes to questions like this. Like... how are people supposed to get their foot in the door with such negativity. Plenty of people move to big cities with little money and make it work.

The mental health boost of being able to navigate a city.. my god it'd be great. I am totally fine with the bohemian poverty, right now I barely make 1,200/month without the chance for friendship or anything. I'm in more of a retirement community than a college town, which makes things markedly worse for meeting people around my own age.

The only slight concern I've got is affording medical treatment/travel to Duke hospital but my family could likely chip in, and there wouldn't be the need for a 6 hour drive each way anymore.

I'd say most of the suburbs are generally car dependent but the stations that run through them often have housing built within walking distance. The North Bethesda and Grosvenor stops have at least 2 apartment buildings within short walking distance of each. This area isn't people's first choice because the night life is lame and you might have to take a bus to the grocery store but if those aren't a priority, I would check it out.

Are buses an option for you? If so, Montgomery County is also very accessible by bus routes and you could expand your search out a few miles from the red line on that stretch. The North Bethesda stop has a grocery store at the base of one apartment building. Generally I'd prefer struggling in this area and saving a couple hundred a month instead of living paycheck to paycheck down to the last dollar in downtown DC. You can find cheaper rentals in DC than the suburbs but it'll be at the cost of safety and/or grocery access. In the suburbs you might be able to swing renting a studio or just having one roommate instead of sharing a group house.

If you find a higher paying job after a few years, then you can move closer to your place of work or perhaps you'll find you don't mind the train commute that much.

Look for an available room in a rental house. Definitely doable on $40k to live near metro, maybe farther out from downtown or in MD but still by a metro station.

That is FUCKED!

That said, I doubt anybody is going to dig deep and check the cameras and track down this scofflaw.

file a police report, insurance will put it towards your deductible or take care of it based on your policy.

so sorry this happened. People are doing some crazy shit these days for no gawdang reason.

so sorry for this bullshit.

Good luck! Happy to have another car-free member in the community. Check out Greater Greater Washington when you get here!

Edit: fixed my recommended org to something more appropriate for a person with vision difficulties.

0304 iirc?... and I am not sure. I'd probably jump into another series if that would be possible without taking a huge pay cut, or try to contract if everything else fails.

If you get a roommate you can do it. You'll be skrimping and probably rent burdened, but you'll live.

What job series? Is there opportunity to jump onto a higher ladder after GS7?

That's great! Then yeah I mean.. I think I'll be fine? As long as I can work a side job(or two) and work out something with my medical situation, I think I'll be just fine.

The one thing you’ve got right is that you won’t need a car if you live in DC. And busses within DC are free beginning in July and I believe city residents will also get a $100/mo subsidy to use on Metrorail.

Still, a GS-7 is sort of the bare minimum I’d consider for DC (with roommates). You might need to look far outside of the district on a metro line to live a manageable lifestyle.

> How come you're considering Baltimore and not the DC suburbs off the metro trains? The area between North Bethesda and Shady Grove on the red line has high rises at slightly lower prices than DC while still being accessible to downtown by train.

Interesting.. I honestly hadn't noticed after living in the area for 4 years a few years back. I always thought the inner ring of suburbs was still very car dependant, so it was a wash between DC and Baltimore. Sure, you're closer, but my life would still be bound by whatever car dependant place I happened to end up in. Your commentt opens up a lot more options, than you.

I used to live in Arlington out of a group house and it was a mental struggle.

You can definitely work side jobs as a fed provided they don’t conflict with your day job and you go through the appropriate channels to get them approved.

It's 0300, on a 5-7 ladder. I'm in the worse Carolina, I'll put it that way. I have looked into Charlotte, but it's much more of a car dependant place than the District, so it feels like a non-starter as someone who can't drive.