Anyone live near D.C. or in the city? I have been looking at jobs and trying to figure out what I want to do and I would love to get a job and live in or around the D.C. area. I have a degree in criminal justice, but want to work somewhere where I can work with American History or History in general. Im crazy about early American History and the such (1600-1800's) and would love to try and get some kind of work in that field.

I currently live near Cincinnati, but would have a problem AT ALL if I found a job and an apartment.

I applied for a fall internship at the Smithsonian American History museum so we'll see where that goes, but would like to hear from you guys and gals who live either in the area or near D.C.

Thanks!

Not sure what the cost of living is like where you're currently living, but you may be in for a bit of a shock. If you plan to live in the city, don't expect to find a 1 bedroom 500 sqft junk hole for less than $1500 a month. The further away you get the cheaper it gets, but you have to deal with the traffic. A 10 mile drive during normal rush hour could take up to an hour, longer if it's raining or snowing.
You can find 1 bedroom apts out in fairfax or a little further west for about $1k a month. You should also be able to find a basement apartment from between $500 and $1k depending on the size and whether or not it has it's own kitchen, private entrance, etc.
The metro system is pretty good if you live near one of the lines. In the city it isn't a problem, but they're spread out in Va and Md.
Avoid living in south east DC like the plague.
Aside from the traffic and cost of living, this is a great area. I've been here for 4 years now and am pretty happy here. There's a lot to see and do.