Apartment Searching, again

Uhh. I hate searching for housing in D.C. I've done it so many times before yet it doesn't seem to get any easier over time. I'm hoping to find a shared space on Capitol Hill, near the metro. My rent ceiling is pretty low so my options are rather slim. I'm thinking about branching out to the areas surrounding the RI and NY Avenues metro stations, but living near Eastern Market or Potomac Avenue would be ideal. My goal is to not only save money on rent and transit but also have the opportunity of living downtown again. I loved, loved, loved living in Foggy Bottom for those six years that I was in school. I could walk to work/class and have easy access to all the cool bars and cultural attractions. I don't want to live in Foggy Bottom anymore. Those GWU students can be annoying. So hopefully, I can find digs on the Hill.

False or incomplete advertising on Craigslist and in the City Paper are so annoying and the one reason that I hate apartment searching in the city. So many ads are untrue or leave out crucial information. For example, a few years ago, I had back and forth emails with a woman who needed a roommate to share her condo. The area was okay and the price was right. I arrived to check out the place and see if she and I were compatible. Well, what do you know. She has two cats. She never mentioned pets—as most ads do, and I was so pissed to have wasted my time trekking to her place. I am totally allergic to cats and dogs (though that never stopped me from volunteering at a cat shelter in high school---asthma inhaler in hand) so it would have been a nightmare for me to live in such a place.

My Helpful Hint to Housing Ad Posters: Details, detail, details!
Add as much information as possible. It will cut down on the number of pesty emails from folks like me who need more information. Housing seekers need to know about the housing set-up, neighborhood, local transit, roommate backgrounds (especially gender and age—I do not want to live with immature 22 year old guys). Plus, by putting all the necessary information in the ad, you'll avoid wasting your time with potential roommates who aren't okay with certain features/conditions of the housing (e.g., in my case, not wanting to deal with cats).