ok, screw all that.
look for a group house. you can easily get away with living with other messers/vegans/whatever for $500 a mo or so. It's out there. Some of the group houses are listed on City Paper (www.washingtoncitypaper.com) classifieds and some on craigslist. Most affordable group houses right now are in Columbia Heights or Shaw or the farther reaches of Mt Pleasant.

Lots of messer co's here. I would suggest stopping folks who are riding about and asking 'em-- they all have a lot to say about their work. The holy grail is to work for Bega, but you won't get hired there unless you have like 3 -4 years experience, incl. winters (i.e. if it doesn't snow where you're comin' from, that doesn't count).

Ciity Bikes in Adams Morgan gives messers a 5% discount and has lots of friendly stuff like a water cooler and a free local phone. Most of the staff is ex-messers and can clue you in, too. I actually think they're still hiring too.