Mara Lee: A Tough Initiation to D.C.

Renting a place on a limited budget in the Washington area is already hard enough. Most young college grads can’t afford more than $1,000 a month, and even most basement apartments and studios cost more than that in the neighborhoods young people are attracted to.

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Searching from out of town and having never lived in this city makes it even trickier. Many new arrivals are ignorant — or apprehensive — about cheaper neighborhoods like Petworth, Brookland and Takoma, so that leaves living with roommates. And those roommates are going to want to meet you — and compare you to the 10 or 20 other applicants they’ve got.