Fingers crossed, your search is almost over! There must be something out there that suits your needs. Keep looking and talking to people as the locals really do know what’s best. Good Luck!

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Oh man, I feel your pain. I go to college in DC and it took my friends and I 3 months to find a house for the upcoming school year. We literally stalked Craigslist everyday. It was so challenging to find a place that
1. in our school’s neighborhood (Tenleytown)
2. that was 3-4 bedrooms
3. that we could afford
4. would rent to students! no one wants a bunch of 21 year olds in their house when they could have a nice family instead.

So I definitely sympathize! For next alternatives, I’d recommend Bethesda. It’s close and it has a really great restaurant scene. Check it out in the daytime, it’s a nice place.

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Good luck you guys!! There IS something out there for you, it’s just a matter of finding it. Crossing my fingers for you! :)

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I’m sure this is a draining experience. But Le Pain Quotidien is my favorite spot, too! I go there every time I’m in DC. My best friend lives near Eastern Market in the Capitol Hill area – 6th & G – it’s such a nice neighborhood. I know you’ve already got lots of people helping you, but if you nee another resource, let me know. I could put you in contact via email. Good luck :)

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I agree with Anne above. As I’ve mentioned, we have been on the apartment hunt for the last month or so in Baltimore and I totally relate to feeling overwhelmed with trying to find a place in a city you don’t know. It’s so frustrating. One thing that we did that helped was to make a list of things we HAD to have (for you, dog-friendly), would like to have, and “wish-list” (special bonus type things). This helped in prioritizing what was most important and helped in comparing places. I think we found a place that has all of our HADs and a few would likes and wishes. I’m not over the moon, but it’s an apartment and we’re not spending the rest of our lives there. GOOD LUCK and stay positive.

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This sounds like such a tough part of your journey right now. . . whine away! It’s hard to keep a positive outlook when all you can see is the negative (plus being physically tired doesn’t help). Chin up- it will all work out in the end. . . there is no other way except it will all be ok eventually.

(Wish I had words to really help. . . I’ve never been to DC so I can’t even recommend anything!)

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Oh girl, I totally feel your pain. Two months ago my hubby and I decided that our current apartment had enough flaws (including the landlord) that we’d look for a new place in Denver. 25 places later, we still found nothing we liked. We were sitting at a table at a friend’s house, bawling our eyes out b/c we had only housing choices we didn’t like to choose from, when our landlord called and said we could sign another lease with him even though he was selling the house. We finally decided to just stay, even though our current place isn’t awesome either. I don’t understand how in a big city like Denver (or D.C.) in your case, we couldn’t find something we loved. It is a tough, tough process and I totally feel your pain.

You WILL find something. The odds are in your favor. :) (Isn’t Casey a math guy? He could probably even calculate your odds! hehe)

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Hang in there! I know it TOTALLY sucks, but you WILL find a place. In the meantime, we’re all sending good vibes your way!

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Don’t lose hope! Finding the right place is hard work…I must have looked at about 20 “duds” before finding the place where I live now. I didn’t think I’d ever find something, and there were lots and lots of tears! I can’t even imagine doing that in a new city with limited time. But you guys have each other and your family, and you’ll find the right place eventually, and it will be worth the hunt.

I think you mentioned this before, but are you working with a realtor at all? I lurve Craigslist, but it definitely has its limits, and it can be really hard to find things on foot if you don’t know the area very well.

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Aww, try and stay positive. At least you are going to viewings, even if you don’t like any of them. It’s still progress and the more houses you see, the more chance there is that one of them will be perfect for you. Hang on in there!

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Im sorry you are having such a hard time finding a place:( Have you tried Glover Park? It is in NW, north of Georgetown off of Wisconsin. It is a very dog friendly area with dog parks and Rock Creek park nearby. About 10 mins to G’town, 10 mins to Dupont, etc. It is not metro accessible but the bus stops are everywhere and it is so easy to take one to the Dupont metro, Foggy Bottom or Tenleytown. There are row houses to rent, plus tons of great 4 unit “garden style” apt bldgs. I have a chocolate lab and live in a 1 br apt + den (essentially 2 brs on the first floor of one of these blgs. It is super easy to let him out in the backyard. So dont rule out apts…this type is really easy to do with a dog. Good luck!!

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I completely understand how frustrating the search is. On the other hand, we lived in Portland for a year and had an apartment in a high rise building with our 2 50 lb hound dogs and it was actually much better than I anticipated. Granted, Portland is super dog friendly, so that option may not even be available to you in DC, but just thinking that maybe you shouldn’t rule it out completely. Riding an elevator for midnight pee walks is no picnic, but on balance it was awesome to be right in the neighborhood we wanted, with tons of parks and other human and dog amenities.

Good luck!!

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Sorry you’re so stressed, I hope you can find something soon!

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Hang in there Emily! I totally know how you feel. Having Chloe made it really hard for us to find a place here. And we wanted to find a house but ended up in a pretty nice condo. We looked at a lot of places.

Are you only looking at craigslist? Have you tried remaxrentals? That’s where I got most of the places to look at. Again Ill boost Alexandria because from what I have heard its mostly town homes/condos….was there nothing in that area you liked?

Good Luck!

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are you guys going through a realtor or just craigslist? i lived in clarendon for almost 4 years in an apartment. i found it through a realtor, but i didn’t have pets. i agree that it is difficult to find something in that area, especially if you need a house. i have a lot of friends in the northern VA area as i went to college in state. if you want a recommendation i would be happy to put out a word to see if anyone has any leads.

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I’ll be praying that the perfect place finds you! I just found out that I have to move within the next month and I had no idea! While one day I hope to have dogs, it will make finding a place easier now.

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Have you thought about using a realtor service? Lots of them handle rentals/leases… Good luck! I know you guys will find the perfect place!

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My daughter owned a home in Cheverly, MD. There is a metro station nearby and houses with yards. Don’t know if that is too far out for you.

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Hang in there! You WILL find home sweet home.

As an aside – your dress is ADORABLE. Where is it from?

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Aww, I SO know how you feel. I had such a hard time too. I was constantly stressed and crying when we flew up here to find a place back in May. Whenever we find a place on craigslist, it’d already be taken or it would be a mess. I have a dog too, which complicates things. After DAYS of nothing, we finally found a place on the last day just hours before our flight back that was decent.

Not sure what your price range is, but are you looking at townhouses? I’m not right next to a metro stop (as I would have liked to be), but it is on a bus stop. It will do for now anyway until I get more of a chance to explore the area.

I hope you find a place! :/

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WHat about Takoma Park? Have you looked there at all. It’s near Silver Spring.

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It does stink trying to find a place for 2 big dogs. I have a 55 lb dog and finding an apartment that accepts large-ish dogs was tough, but for 2 is tougher. But take heart that *you will find a place*. It just seems really hard right now. :)

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I love your dress Emily! Anyway, if you decide to live in a suburb Silver Spring, Bethesda, Rockville, Gaithersburg and Germantown are all great!! My sister lives in Germantown and works in Gaithersburg… plus it’s really easy to take the metro into DC when the occasion arises! Ohh and Olney is an awesome little town too!

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Oh Emily, keep your chin up. It can be so frustrating and overwhelming when you make changes like this. Honestly, we live in Atlanta and while my husband and I are both over it, we stay here because of our boys. Change is never 100% easy. Just keep your chin up…you will find the right place. I hope you have a good evening!

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Sorry to hear about the house hunting :( It can certainly be stressful :(

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I’m sorry that you have to go through such a draining experience!! I can imagine how frustrated you are and you are allowed to talk about it!! Sending good luck your way. I know you will find something perfect eventually.

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Ok — I gotta make a case for Glover Park, my old stomping grounds. It’s super dog-friendly, runner-friendly, has an amazing community vegetable garden, and is one of the safest neighborhoods in the city. It doesn’t have a metro (which keeps prices down compared to other nice areas) but it is only a 15 minute bus ride from the DuPont North Metro stop! I think it would be much easier to find a house out there, or an apartment that would allow dogs. You take the D2 bus straight from the DuPont North metro stop, and it you’ll be in Glover Park in no time. Might as well check it out, right?

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Have you checked with the local humane society about big doggie friendly rentals? Often they have a list.

Also have you tried checking the print listings? The only time I lived in DC I found my place through my college alum association and I didn’t have any pets at the time so no personal advice, but maybe there is stuff that gets listed in the papers and not on craigslist.

Good luck! It’s insanely stressful looking for a place to live as far as I am concerned. I just arrived in Portland with my backpack from Europe and am staying a sublease while looking for a place to live. I feel your pain about not knowing the city and liking neighborhoods that have nothing available. My mother keeps talking me off the ledge so I will pass along her advice “every no gets you closer to a yes.” You guys will find a place.

Totally different note, your dress is adorable.

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I feel your pain — I have a large dog too. And I can’t even imagine doing the house hunt from out of town. If I can help at all, let me know! I’m also going to keep my ears open in case I hear of anything renting in my neighborhood for you!

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so sorry to hear the search is not panning out as quickly as you like it. i understand that, completely, because i just bought my house 3 months ago and it took about 7 weeks to find it (because it had to have a yard & etc for our dog).

i’m sure this has been recommended but it might help to consider a realtor or a headhunter (for homes). there are a lot of “placement” services that are not expensive and may have better insight. additionally, if you do buy a house or condo, you don’t pay your realtor – the seller does. that 4% was worth it to us because our closing costs were waived (prime market)

it would be a stress reliever and a realtor knows the area and can define searches based on your exact needs… (plus they have access to the MLS database which lists homes/condos the MINUTE they go on the market) just something to think about? either way, good luck to you two. i will knock wood for you!

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I think I’m in love with you. You know – in a non-creepy, blog friend sort of way. You are just so cute and reading your blog makes me smile :smile: I’ll say a little prayer for you that all works out and you receive some good news!!

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We had exactly four hours to find a place when we came up from Nashville before the big February “Snowpacolypse” storm hit, so I know it’s stressful, especially when you don’t really know much about the area.
We looked in Prince George’s County because it was more affordable, yet close in to take the Green Line metro in to DC. I’d recommend taking a look at rentals of single family houses in Hyattsville, Takoma Park, Cheverly, Mount Ranier, Riverdale (food co-op in Mount Ranier, Riverdale and Takoma Park have nice farmers markets).

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[...] both Ashley and Emily go house hunting… which is tougher than it [...]

Love the blog and read it a lot… and just wanted to ask whether y’all have considered hiring a real estate broker? Those I’ve talked to who have lived in DC say this is the only way to go… The fee is usually 1 or 1.5 times the first month’s rent, depending on who you call. BUT they will help you find something that meets all your needs and in an area you like (most of which probably won’t have “for rent” signs or be online). Best of luck!!

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I grew up in Northern VA outside DC. Have you checked there too? Lots of ‘suburbia’ with yards for dogs and lots of access to the Metro. Just a thought. Same as living in MD on the other side.

Good luck!

:)
Jen

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I love Le Pain Quotidien. I visit there every time I go to NYC.

I know it can be frustrating looking for a place. In the end you will find something you like and those tears will all be a distant memory. Good luck!!!

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When I lived in the D.C. area I lived in Rockville. It is a reasonable sized area with lots of subdivisions and condo style apartments. On the Red Line. It is almost all the way out to Shady Grove though. My metro ride to Farragut North took about 35ish minutes every morning.

Or Bethesda or Friendship Heights. Those are a little closer to Downtown and have lots of suburban areas.

Good Luck!

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I hope you find something soon!!! I am sending positive vibes your way. I know people who live in both Rockville and Silver Spring, and they both love it.

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So sorry for your apt troubles. You might have some luck in Silver Spring, but overall, I would think that parts of NoVa would be more likely to rent townhouses and the like. I take it you’ve looked at Georgetown? Lots to rent there because of the university, but the prices are a bit steep.

Also, I want to say a big THANK YOU for going to Eastern Market. My family owned the pork stand in EM for decades (my mom used to help out as a part time job through college & grad school). It was sold about 30 years ago, and ironically, I don’t eat pork, but it warms my heart to see people go there and enjoy it. Keep your chin up. You WILL find something!

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I went through the same things 6 months ago and am now going through them again! We’re moving 1 hour north to Fort Collins in a month. It’s a smaller city but still the same problems and not as much to choose from. We have 2 big dogs too, so I seriously know exactly what you’re feeling. We also moved to Denver in the middle of winter, which did not work to our advantage. It somehow always works out though. I just got let down pretty bad because this PERfect, adorable 100yr old house was for rent at a great price and now it’s up for sale instead. We were looking at possibly buying too but it’s out of our price range. Totally bummed. Can’t wait to see you next week!!!

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