Sounds like you should stay in VA

Why are you even considering DC? If you have social commitments in NoVa you won't enjoy schlepping between there and DC all the time. Plenty of places outside of DC that are more likely to fit your budget and won't require you to drive in DC if you hate that.

So right off the bat, you will have a hard time finding a one bedroom for that rental price in DC, so if you're looking at keeping your rent reasonable you would either need roommates, live further away, or stay in Fairfax.

Here are my other bits of advice to help:

1. if you're committed to keeping your classes, I'm assuming those are 3 or more days/evenings of the week that you're going to be driving to fairfax. While definitely doable, it'll start to add up, in gas and, more importantly, time. I would think about what you really want to prioritize your time.

My inclination would be to find a place in the middle so you can access both.

2. having a work from home setup that you enjoy and effective is unique to everybody. If that means you need your own space to do your work that's outside your bedroom, might want to reconsider roommates.

3. finally, having a car in DC can add up the expenses, make sure to do your research on that.

Hope that helps and best of luck with your choice

You work from home so youd only be commuting to those classes. You can probably find all those classes in DC...not the same people obviously.

But if you're looking to expand your social scene and just not be in the town your parent are in, the obvious answer seems to be DC.

If you're not willing to drop the classes, then the answer is Fairfax.

I found that making 120000+ not enough to rent in DC kind of hilarious to be honest, especially considering that OP is only 23.

DC for sure. Logan Circle / 14th St. area is a good start. I'm sure all of those classes can be found in town.