I'm moving there in August. My car is paid off, so it's not an expense, but it looks like parking and so on can be a real hassle and expense. Do I want to start selling it now?
Also, anyone have any tips on moving to the area? It looks like the rental market is tight!
its nice to have one for things like grocery shopping, but depending on where you live it's really not necessary. If your apartment has free parking, I'd bring it along just for the convenience.
what kind of place are you looking for? location/price, etc? I've lived in a few really nice places that kind of cover a broad spectrum, so I might have some suggestions. PM me if you want. :)
Like the other girls have said, it is nice but not necessary. I wouldn't make up my mind, though, until I had a sense of where I'd be living. Two friends of mine who have cars in DC really regretted bringing their cars out with them and have now decided to sell them -- one girl couldn't find an apartment in the area she wanted that had a space so she ended up paying $300/month for a parking space nearby her apartment, the other girl lives in a less expensive neighborhood with street parking but has had her car broken into twice. Then again, I know a number of people who do have cars and haven't had a problem with them. Once you know the neighborhood you'll be in, I think it will be easy to make up your mind.
ITA that it's not necessary (if you live in the city) but it's definitely nice. I think if you live outside of the city, though, you do need one. I lived in Vienna and don't know how I would've survived without my car. Though if you live in the suburbs it's easy to have one in most cases.