MONICA CONCEPCION did her research, checked references and even consulted the Better Business Bureau before hiring a moving company. So, why, a week after moving, was she still waiting for her stuff to arrive?
Concepcion, 26, just moved from Arlington, Va., to Houston, Texas, after finishing her master's. After extensive research, she finally settled on a moving company that had good reviews from former customers and was cleared through the BBB.
But while the company, America's Moving Services, had a high rating, the third-party carrier failed to live up to its reputation.
The movers picked up her belongings in Virginia but failed to arrive at the designated time in Texas. After several frantic phone calls, they finally told her they would arrive two weeks late. When she complained, they said it would only be one week.
The movers finally arrived, and Concepcion began to unpack, only to discover broken dishes and a missing bookcase. But after all that, she decided not to complain.
"It wasn't anything that was irreplaceable," she says. "Maybe this is a defeatist attitude."
Continue Reading "On the Move? Not So Fast: Prevent A Moving Disaster" »
PICKING A PLACE TO LIVE is hard! Sure, you could think about property value and crime statistics, but wouldn't you rather focus on revolving restaurants and other important things like that when you're thinking about what to look for in your new neighborhood?
1. COLLEGE PARK, MD.
Relive your misspent youth, and your WWII days, just off the Green Line.
You may have gone drinking at the college bars — like the cavernous Town Hall, the dive bar with pinball machines and a colorful, cheap-beer-enjoying clientele — of College Park. The neighborhood combines suburbia with cozy bungalow houses, bikes parked on the porches, all screaming of academia.
You can rent a one-bedroom place starting around $1,050, take the Green Line anywhere you want to go, take in a physics lecture at the University of Maryland, and then play pinball all day and night while swilling affordable suds. Yes, yes, yes — but you can also do something far more exciting in College Park: You can eat at 94th Aero Squadron, a World War II-theme restaurant that sits next to College Park Airport, the country's oldest continuously operated airport. There is weekly hand dancing at the 94th Squadron, too. That's D.C.'s answer to the jitterbug, in case you didn't know.
» 1 br: $1,050-$1,100
» 2 br: $1,300-$1,500
2. DEL RAY, VA.
Serenity off the Yellow and Blue lines
Del Ray is either the calmest or most stressful place on Earth, depending on what you make of the more than of six "relaxation" or "stress-relieving" shops on its small, quaint and entirely charming main street. Massage shops, day spas, a place advertising "authentic" pilates — if you need stress relief, this is your place.
But also, if you need custard, the Dairy Godmother is there to fill that need. Buy cheeses from Cheesetique, local meats (Let's Meat on the Avenue) or hats (try Tops of Old Town). Del Ray also has a number of gift shops, a gallery featuring monthly rotating exhibits of local artists, an upholsterer, a handful of tasty restaurants including the famous St. Elmo's Café and the less famous Al's Steak House ("no cell phones permitted"), a dog bakery and other amenities that make this charming neighborhood a way to live in a great small town right next to a Metro stop.
It also lets you buy comics and exotic plants from one of the greatest shops ever: the Exotic Planterium and Card & Comic Collectorama, a dusty, treasure-filled store whose owner, Dennis E. Webb, grows many of the plants from seed, and collects everything from Sweet Valley High dolls in their original packaging to old Spiderman comics. Webb has operated the shop right on the main drag for 34 years. So, go buy a plant from him. Plants are relaxing, too.
» 1 br: $1,050- $1,350
» 2 BR: $1,500-$2,200
Continue Reading "Renter's Guide: Check Out These Six Hot D.C. 'Hoods" »
Addison Road