Manhattan vs. DC..i need help

i am so desperate for help is sickening. i am relocating for my job, and i cant decide between moving to manhattan or washingtion DC. i love both places, but im having a hard time deciding where to live. both cities have great night life and i have friends in both locations so thats not really an issue. here are the options i have weighed out so far....

-manhattan pays more, but the cost of living is higher.
-manhattan is closer to my home/family
-i wouldnt take a car if i moved to nyc
-washington DC is further, but it is less congested
-nyc is congested and full of people (both good and bad)
-in DC i'd have a car


when i try to picture myself living in both, i feel like if i moved to NYC, i'd be single until my 30's just because the guys up there dont seem to be too into relationships (sterotypical, i know)
and in DC i picture myself settling down quickly for some reason. i dont know why but both scare me. im looking for some unbiased advice on what to do about relocating. is there anyone that lives or is a nurse in either location and hate it or love it?? please let me know!

Washington DC is MORE congested than New York and your car is worth squat unless you like getting stuck in traffic.

DC has the second worst traffic in the U.S. Let me say that again.. DC's traffic is worse than New York City's.

Also, the Metro is alot more expensive and doesn't go nearly as far and they're about to hike fares up.

Most of the jobs in D.C., you work for the government. If you're OK with that, great, but... keep that in mind.

I've lived in the DC area for 2 years and don't plan on leaving anytime soon.  I love it here!  

There is a HUGE young professional population here and I NEVER run out of things to do.  I meet new people all the time, but have also made some great friends.  Most of the people I've met are transplants just like me.  Maybe it's me, but its like there is this vibe that makes me feel like I am at the right place at the right time. 

Why do you think you will settle down quickly?? 

if you live in the city of DC, it's awesome...if you stick yourself out in the suburbs, you'll find a lot of complaints regarding traffic, metro fares, etc.

NYC train still costs more than DC's metro (if you live in the city proper).

And as for most of the DC jobs being government, that's bull. Out of my 50+ close friends, only one of them works for the government.

I grew up in DC proper, and moved back after college. I love it here. I love that there are more trees and random little parks throughout the city. I love the DC culture (and i'm not talking about the lobbyists or government employees). I don't have a car, and honestly, I don't need one. I live 2.5 miles away from my office and my bus ride is an easy ten minutes.

I love NYC too...i love visiting my friends, going to galleries, staying out to all hours of the night, having random 3am adventures, etc...but it's never felt like home to me (no matter how many times i wished it did).

If you can swing the cost of living in NYC, I'd choose it, hands down.

And DC is just a short train ride away...

:)

Firstly, please remove the swear word. You can make your point without it.
EDIT: Thank you :)

Secondly, sure.. living in the city is great.. if you can afford it. The housing market in DC is still pretty unreal right now, even if the Bubble has supposedly popped (I'm not buying realestate). Renting down here is expensive due to the area.

And if you don't live in DC, the traffic is a real concern. Doesn't matter if you live in Alexandria, Fairfax, Springfield or Laurel, the traffic is pretty omnipresent and it's BAD. Very bad.

And the jobs thing isn't bull. It's true. Even if you don't directly work for government, most of the jobs are government-based jobs. Please prove me wrong, if you believe you're right.

housing in NYC is still twice as expensive as DC proper (this is backed up by the rents that my friends pay in both places).

and government-based jobs are far different than government jobs. yes, my office is located in DC because the federal government is here, but it's definitely not a federal government office environment.

EDITED TO ADD: DC traffic isn't that bad if you aren't driving during rush hour.  take public transportation to/from work, but use your car at night/during the weekends, and it won't be horrible.

I've lived in both cities, and both have their charms!

I would suggest that you look at quality of life issues. Where would you be able to afford to live in NYC, and how close is that to the areas in which you want to work and play, and how long (and how expensive) would it take (be) to get you into/out of that area from home?

Ditto with DC.

How much disposable income are you likely to have in each place? I loved living in NY, but never had much money when I did so.

When I lived in NYC, I lived in Manhattan, and it took me an hour to commute (by subway) to school and to work. The area in which I lived (Upper West Side, 99th and West End) had a lot going for it. It was undergoing gentrification at the time, and was within walking distance to Lincoln Center and other places I liked to go. The subway was filthy back then, but I still loved it; it goes tons of places, and a car is not necessary.

In DC, you may not need a car, either; I know folks who live in the city who don't own one, relying on Zip Cars when they need wheels instead (typically, a few times a year, and they find this less expensive than owning a car).

I don't live in DC, but in its suburbs, and my commute to work, by car, is 60 minutes during most rush hours. By public transportation, my commute to work is 75 minutes most rush hours.

I don't know what kinds of things you like to do, but DC has a lot of free events. Not that NYC doesn't, but not like DC does.

Think about open space, too; how important is it to you to be able to walk in the woods? In a park? Watch wildlife? Central Park is a GREAT place to birdwatch, for example, but the rest of Manhattan... not so much in most places. DC, on the other hand, has good wildlife close at hand... sometimes a little TOO close at hand! There are lots of green spaces more readily available to city dwellers in DC than to Manhattanites.

What kinds of physical activities do you like to do? Biking is better, generally, in DC, but NYC is a fabulous walking city.

For all this, I'm assuming the job situation would be about the same for you so far as hours and shifts and working environments are concerned, but if not, take those things into consideration, too. DC and NYC are close enough to one another that unless you want to see your family every day or every week, I don't see where distance from your family is a huge issue.

They are both great cities; have fun, whichever you pick!

DC, on the other hand, has good wildlife close at hand... sometimes a little TOO close at hand!

that would explain the deer on the lawn at my parent's house in the city! i thought they just got new pets to replace my brother and me.

I have some experience in both cities, and currently live just outside of DC. The good thing about DC is you can get anywhere in the city in less than 15 minutes by car and 30 by metro(not during rush hour). And You can get OUT of the city in around the same amount of time. In NYC it takes FOREVER to get anywhere, any time of day. My best friend lives there and leaves and hour and a half early for work in order to take the subway.

If you live outside of DC that's another story. It takes me 45 minutes to get to work in the morning if I leave at 7. I work 10 miles from home, and even farther from the actual city.

Stupid Tyson's!!!

You have lots of good advice and things to think about here!

All I can say is that its so exciting for you to be making a move like this!  Something about being 20-something and living in Manhattan (potentially) is just... surreal.  Good luck!

Oh, one thing we don;t have in the DC area...places that deliver food after midnight ;P

I should mention that my commute to work in DC can be as short as 35 minutes in off hours (though 45 minutes is more typical) and I can get from my house (outside the Beltway) to the Smithsonian in 35 minutes, both of these by car. In NYC, I'd have to allot an hour to get almost anywhere if more than one subway line was involved, no matter what the time of day or night.

It's easier to find free parking in DC than in NYC, too, outside of business hours. :-)

wow thank you so much everyone for these responses, there is a lot of great advice here, all of which i am taking into consideration. i think i did the right thing by coming here, you guys are really helping me out. my friends can only offer so much help, without it being biased.

as far as activities are concerned i love to run currently i run on kelly drive in philly, i like that aspect of DC...the open space. im more of an outdoors type of person. my friends are making about 60-65,000 in nyc and seem to be doing ok with living expences, which is roughly what ill be making...but then again, they are always poor.

here's an idea...read DCist and Gothamist...both blogs focus on local city events/news/etc....see which one excites you more, and where you can best picture yourself.  Either city is great, it's just about what's best for you right now.

 

 I've moved for work several times.  Try this website for things like crime rates, cost of living, taxes, school ratings etc. 

 

 

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