<p>Hi, I've been trying to look at potential places to move to while I attend um at college park. I do not want to live in a small town. From what i have been able to tell, I should be able to live closer to the d.c. area than college park. I do not know what area is safe to live in but still affordable. I live in missouri, so I will probably only get the chance to go up and visit once before I move. I would like to have an idea of the places I need to look at. Can somebody give me some advice? Thanks!</p>
<p>You might want to have a look at a map of the area. College Park most definitely is not a small town. It is well within the Washington beltway and a part of the suburban D.C. sprawl. The only area in D.C. that I (personally) would live in is Northwest which is not all that close nor is affordable and not that convenient to College Park. I think your best bet is staying in College Park or Greenbelt or somewhere close to a Metro stop unless you want to deal with the horrendous Washington traffic. I live in the NY suburbs and I think D.C. is much worse. I take it you are not an incoming freshman?</p>
<p>if you live in college park, avoid riverdale!</p>
<p>To be fair Sn0flake, College Park was farmland in the 1850’s and it was expected to be the perfect place for an agricultural school. Nobody expected the kind of development that has occurred since then 
</p>
<p>As with most real estate decisions in the DC area, what is affordable and desirable depends on how much commute you’re willing to put up with and how much you can afford. Since you’re coming from Missouri, prepare for a sticker shock if you try to find a place outside of PG county. If you’re really intent on living closer to or in the city and still want a straight shot to the school, anything up and down route 1 is where you want to look.</p>
<p>No, I’m a returning student and a transfer. I was going by population on the small town thing.</p>
<p>See, our suburbs here don’t really sprawl that bad into the city. I know that “affordable” there is not anything like what we have here. I’m going to miss living in a house by myself lol. I was hoping that I could stay close to $800 a month, but I feel like that is wishful thinking. I don’t want more than an hour commute if possible. It’s just so hard to try and figure this stuff out when I’m so far away. =) Thanks for the help</p>
<p>I’m from St. Louis, MO (Webster Groves to be exact) – welcome to the area! There are some great communities around the University that are affordable but affordable here may still come as a surprise to you coming from Missouri. As a graduate student, I lived in the historic district of the municipality of Hyattsville and continue to live there with my spouse and a toddler and infant. It’s a very safe walkable community (not to be confused with the unincorporated parts of Prince George’s County known as “Hyattsville”). [Hyattsville</a>, MD - Official Website](<a href=“http://www.hyattsville.org%5DHyattsville”>http://www.hyattsville.org) is the City’s website. There are many young families, older folks and graduate students. Not too many undergrads. Most of the municipality is served very well by public transit and the UMD shuttle. In general, though, with Prince George’s County, I’d recommend living in a municipality rather than the general unincorporated County. It’s just such a large place and you’ll get better services (police, trash, etc.) in a smaller community within such a large place.</p>
<p>Hiya STL. I love St Louis. =) Would you say that the area you live in is similar to STL? I"ve been looking at prices of places, so I’m aware of how much it costs. I’m in Springfield, where all the houses are cheap lol Right now, I"m in a nice sized two bedroom house by myself for $550/ month. That is what I will miss about Springfield… well that and the cashew chicken =) </p>
<p>What I will not miss about Springfield:
The overt oppression of people who are different than the WASP community that lives here
Everything closes after 10pm
City Transit (the bus) stops running after 10pm
The serious lack of real activists
The only night life is frat bars
We have 1 independent movie theater that can only show like 2 movies at once
aaanddd… that’s about all there is to do around here 'cuz I am not driving to Branson to listen to horrible music</p>
<p>The only other thing to do is drive 3-4 hours to hang out in STL or KC. </p>
<p>Is it fairly easy to get 6 month leases up there because it’s pretty hard to down here. I think I would rather get a 6 month to kinda feel out where I have moved to in case I find someplace that I like better.</p>
<p>The Historic District of Hyattsville very much reminds me of Maplewood if you’re familiar with that close-in StL suburb – we even have our own great local brewpub (Franklin’s) which I’d put up against Schlafly’s! It’s just more walk-able and better served by transportation.</p>
<p>The diversity in the DC area is overall very different from what I’m sure you’re finding in Springfield. For some that might be a challenge but in our community, at least, it’s just…normal. </p>
<p>One of the many things I love about Hyattsville is the active community. I think that’s kind of the norm out here in any of the older streetcar suburbs. </p>
<p>If you’re interested, you might want to post your request for housing on our local listserv – [url=<a href=“Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos”>Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos]HOPE_in_Hyattsville</a> : H.O.P.E. Hyattsville, MD<a href=“I%20think%20anyone%20can%20post”>/url</a>. Folks looking for housing post there all the time. I think you may be able to get a room in a shared house for $550-$600 but I’m not certain.</p>