Ok can we stop saying $300k is "rich" in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

$300k in high COL areas is far from rich. You get all the negatives of actually being rich like high taxes. But none of the support of being poor like college financial aid for children. $250-$500k is an economic death zone. Sure you may get a better annual vacation or nicer car than someone making $50k, but the day to day quality of life is not that much different.

You either have a warped world view or have a lot more debts than we do. We make $300K and have one nine year old. We went on several international vacations and are hosting a cookout for 15 of DD's friends this weekend at the pool that we belong to for no reason at all other than we feel like it. I think our life is quite different than someone making 50K. Now, granted, we only need to pay for college for one kid, but we've been funding her 529 since her birth.

1 kid? You just rebutted your own argument. That's $400k less you need to save for college. Enjoy the pool.

+1. You lost me at that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've learned something interesting from all this fighting, which is that apparently the people most convinced they *aren't* rich are conservatives. Some have argued here that people who think they have more than enough on $200k are "social justice warriors." This helps me understand why our republican senators are currently throwing sick children under a bus just so rich people can get tax breaks.

Not the conclusion I will make. I don't know about your healthcare costs, but mine grew astronomically with obamacare (9% for premiums per year and new coinsurance that makes you hit your deductible fast, which I never had till this year).

Are you actually on an Obamacare exchange plan? If not, the growth in premiums and coinsurance is thanks to your employer and the costs of medical care, NOT obamacare. #factsareyourfriend.

Not pp, but I was on an Obamacare exchange plan (until I got a new job), and the premiums were ridiculous and getting more so. However, much of the increase in costs for employer plans is also attributable to Obamacare. In particular, the minimum requirements for plans, taxes for "Cadillac plans," etc. #factsreallyareyourfriend

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
300k a year IS rich.

Half that is middle class.

We earn 100K in HHI combined (family of 4) and while we are obliged to be careful, we cannot by any stretch of the imagination call ourselves poor. It's still middle class, and in some part of the country, that would make us rich!

Yes, you are lower middle class in DC. 300k looks rich to you because it's more than double your income, but it's not rich. Your perspective is skewed. People making 50k here are straight up poor. The posters harping that people making 50k are middle class are delusional. We have plenty of medical assistants in our clinic with hhi 50-60k. Their finances are miserable. Zero retirement, perpetual renters, and they work like dogs for their wages. They splurge now and then, probably so they don't go crazy. Does that sound middle class?

+1

50k a year, post tax would be about 3k/mo, on top of that, minus health insurance, other benefits deducted. Rent around here is 2000/mo for *absolute crap* apts. So even if you shack up with roommates, you would have nothing. Left with nothing. This is poverty wages in DC, not middle class.

I suspect lots of people here don't live in DC, but chime in and swagger and talk like they know something.

I will chime in from metro coastal California. More expensive than DC, your houses look luxurious compared to the ones here for the same price. You really don't know what poverty is. I know plenty of people with 50k/year income. It's not poverty, they are not going to retire anytime soon, but it's not poverty by any means. If your mind wants to put yourself with poor, that's just sad, you will be never satisfied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$300k in high COL areas is far from rich. You get all the negatives of actually being rich like high taxes. But none of the support of being poor like college financial aid for children. $250-$500k is an economic death zone. Sure you may get a better annual vacation or nicer car than someone making $50k, but the day to day quality of life is not that much different.

If you didn't SPEND all of your income for an expensive house in the most desirable parts of town, you would realize that you are, in fact, rich.

If you bought the same size house you have in PG County as you have in MoCo or NoVa, or if you bought the same size house in SE instead of NW, then you would probably have a lot more disposable income every month and would have the various perks that would make you feel rich. You would be able to fully fund your retirement, your college funds, get better cars and take more vacations and not feel the pinch.

You are rich. But you have chosen to SPEND your wealth on competing with others for the most desirable areas of town. You made your choice. If you were truly middle class, you wouldn't even be able to compete for houses in those areas. You'd be lucky to compete for condos in those same areas.

So you admit that the only way someone in DC making 300k can afford to fully fund retirement and college funds, get better cars and take more vacations is to live in violent areas with lousy schools, and you think this proves they are rich?

PG County is not a "violent" area. Have you ever even been there? There are parts of PG County that have a crime issue, but it is a huge county spanning the entire eastern border of DC and has 700,000 people. Don't act like Bowie or Fort Washington is the inner city. PG is mostly lovely suburb with *gasp* a majority minority population. I call the prices in NOVA and Moco the "black people tax" because that is how much you are willing to pay to avoid black people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$300k in high COL areas is far from rich. You get all the negatives of actually being rich like high taxes. But none of the support of being poor like college financial aid for children. $250-$500k is an economic death zone. Sure you may get a better annual vacation or nicer car than someone making $50k, but the day to day quality of life is not that much different.

If you didn't SPEND all of your income for an expensive house in the most desirable parts of town, you would realize that you are, in fact, rich.

If you bought the same size house you have in PG County as you have in MoCo or NoVa, or if you bought the same size house in SE instead of NW, then you would probably have a lot more disposable income every month and would have the various perks that would make you feel rich. You would be able to fully fund your retirement, your college funds, get better cars and take more vacations and not feel the pinch.

You are rich. But you have chosen to SPEND your wealth on competing with others for the most desirable areas of town. You made your choice. If you were truly middle class, you wouldn't even be able to compete for houses in those areas. You'd be lucky to compete for condos in those same areas.

So you admit that the only way someone in DC making 300k can afford to fully fund retirement and college funds, get better cars and take more vacations is to live in violent areas with lousy schools, and you think this proves they are rich?

PP you are responding to. No, I don't "admit" what you say because you are wrong. All of PG County is not violent. The more violent portion is the part of the county inside the beltway which is about 30% of the county. The majority of the county outside the beltway has comparable crime and violence statistics with MoCo and NoVa. However, the lower housing prices are available throughout the county. Additionally while the county public school system in general is weaker than the expensive counties, the school system is still above average nationwide. And within the school district there are select schools that are significantly stronger than the average for the system.

You seem to only define "rich" as the international jet setting crowd. However, I contend that even having the choice to own property and live in the more popular and expensive areas of the region qualifies you as rich. You seem to want to characterize it as being able to live in the expensive parts of town without having to make any compromises at all. But the fact that you need to make more than about 95% of the region's households to even consider owning property in those areas, I think qualifies one as rich.

[Anonymous]

The difference between being rich and being poor is having choices.

Can you CHOOSE to forgo income to stay home with your kids?

Can you CHOOSE to move to a lower COL area if you get tired of DC?

Can you CHOOSE to retire before you drop dead?

Can you CHOOSE to pay for some/all of you child's college expenses?

Can you CHOOSE to live in a home in a safe neighborhood?

Now, none of those choices may make you feel rich, but believe me, just having the ability to make those choices means you're better off than most of the people I grew up with in my middle class midwestern town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

$300k in high COL areas is far from rich. You get all the negatives of actually being rich like high taxes. But none of the support of being poor like college financial aid for children. $250-$500k is an economic death zone. Sure you may get a better annual vacation or nicer car than someone making $50k, but the day to day quality of life is not that much different.

You either have a warped world view or have a lot more debts than we do. We make $300K and have one nine year old. We went on several international vacations and are hosting a cookout for 15 of DD's friends this weekend at the pool that we belong to for no reason at all other than we feel like it. I think our life is quite different than someone making 50K. Now, granted, we only need to pay for college for one kid, but we've been funding her 529 since her birth.

DP. Two extra kids is a big difference. More daycare costs, more food, clothing, and health costs, more college savings needed. So yeah, it's not warped, it's math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

$300k in high COL areas is far from rich. You get all the negatives of actually being rich like high taxes. But none of the support of being poor like college financial aid for children. $250-$500k is an economic death zone. Sure you may get a better annual vacation or nicer car than someone making $50k, but the day to day quality of life is not that much different.

You either have a warped world view or have a lot more debts than we do. We make $300K and have one nine year old. We went on several international vacations and are hosting a cookout for 15 of DD's friends this weekend at the pool that we belong to for no reason at all other than we feel like it. I think our life is quite different than someone making 50K. Now, granted, we only need to pay for college for one kid, but we've been funding her 529 since her birth.

1 kid? You just rebutted your own argument. That's $400k less you need to save for college. Enjoy the pool.

Paying for college is a choice.

Right. A choice which the truly wealthy can easily afford. And one that someone making $50k largley does not not to worry about because of need based financial aid. It's the family making $300k that gets hosed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The difference between being rich and being poor is having choices.

Can you CHOOSE to forgo income to stay home with your kids?

Can you CHOOSE to move to a lower COL area if you get tired of DC?

Can you CHOOSE to retire before you drop dead?

Can you CHOOSE to pay for some/all of you child's college expenses?

Can you CHOOSE to live in a home in a safe neighborhood?

Now, none of those choices may make you feel rich, but believe me, just having the ability to make those choices means you're better off than most of the people I grew up with in my middle class midwestern town.

+1. Many of the PPs are so delusional and entitled it is truly disturbing. Combined with the fact they're probably "liberals" and I'm really starting to see why Trump won. My HHI is $360K. I'm rich. I feel rich. My life is great. I *chose* to live in Rockville instead of DC where I work so my house didn't cost $1+ million but SO WHAT? Still rich. Life's great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

$300k in high COL areas is far from rich. You get all the negatives of actually being rich like high taxes. But none of the support of being poor like college financial aid for children. $250-$500k is an economic death zone. Sure you may get a better annual vacation or nicer car than someone making $50k, but the day to day quality of life is not that much different.

You either have a warped world view or have a lot more debts than we do. We make $300K and have one nine year old. We went on several international vacations and are hosting a cookout for 15 of DD's friends this weekend at the pool that we belong to for no reason at all other than we feel like it. I think our life is quite different than someone making 50K. Now, granted, we only need to pay for college for one kid, but we've been funding her 529 since her birth.

DP. Two extra kids is a big difference. More daycare costs, more food, clothing, and health costs, more college savings needed. So yeah, it's not warped, it's math.

It is a choice and a luxury to have 3 kids. There have been interesting articles about how a third kid is the new status symbol. Judging from my DC friends who make high 6 figures, I think many are opting for four now that three has become passé.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The difference between being rich and being poor is having choices.

Can you CHOOSE to forgo income to stay home with your kids?

Can you CHOOSE to move to a lower COL area if you get tired of DC?

Can you CHOOSE to retire before you drop dead?

Can you CHOOSE to pay for some/all of you child's college expenses?

Can you CHOOSE to live in a home in a safe neighborhood?

Now, none of those choices may make you feel rich, but believe me, just having the ability to make those choices means you're better off than most of the people I grew up with in my middle class midwestern town.

+1. Many of the PPs are so delusional and entitled it is truly disturbing. Combined with the fact they're probably "liberals" and I'm really starting to see why Trump won. My HHI is $360K. I'm rich. I feel rich. My life is great. I *chose* to live in Rockville instead of DC where I work so my house didn't cost $1+ million but SO WHAT? Still rich. Life's great.

This! We make $250k tops and have a lovely house in SS. Take international vacations, save for retirement and have a nanny (who bought her own house!) . No student debt and saved a ton before baby came a long. We are so so lucky and have a good quality of life. I'm from another country and grew up in a one bedroom apartment and one pair of jeans a year if that.

[Anonymous]

(PP above here -- and by "having 3 kids" I mean "have 3 kids with fully funded college, private schools often, fancy sports and camps, etc.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$300k in high COL areas is far from rich. You get all the negatives of actually being rich like high taxes. But none of the support of being poor like college financial aid for children. $250-$500k is an economic death zone. Sure you may get a better annual vacation or nicer car than someone making $50k, but the day to day quality of life is not that much different.

If you didn't SPEND all of your income for an expensive house in the most desirable parts of town, you would realize that you are, in fact, rich.

If you bought the same size house you have in PG County as you have in MoCo or NoVa, or if you bought the same size house in SE instead of NW, then you would probably have a lot more disposable income every month and would have the various perks that would make you feel rich. You would be able to fully fund your retirement, your college funds, get better cars and take more vacations and not feel the pinch.

You are rich. But you have chosen to SPEND your wealth on competing with others for the most desirable areas of town. You made your choice. If you were truly middle class, you wouldn't even be able to compete for houses in those areas. You'd be lucky to compete for condos in those same areas.

+100. Hello, people?!?! Wants are different from needs! Many PPs need to go back to kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not since just before the Great Depression has the income gap between rich and poor Americans been so vast. The top 1 percent of U.S. families has an income, on average, $1,153,293 a year — about 25 times the $45,567 earned on average by the rest of American families.

Those numbers are from a report, “Income Inequality in the U.S. by State, Metropolitan Area, and County,” by the Economic Policy Institute. EPI, a nonpartisan think tank, examined state-level tax data from 1917 through 2013 (the latest year available) to report the gap, the earnings and the trends in every state.

Overall, the top 1 percent of earners took home 20.1 percent of all income in the U.S. in 2013.

Virginia: $987,607 per year

Maryland: $1,024,110 per year

https://www.moneytalksnews.com/slideshows/what-the-richest-1-percent-earns-every-state/


******

The rich are getting richer and leaving us all behind in the dust and instead of doing something about THAT, we fight with each other.

you are still tich. it is the cost of living and how you spend your money that is the problem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

$300k in high COL areas is far from rich. You get all the negatives of actually being rich like high taxes. But none of the support of being poor like college financial aid for children. $250-$500k is an economic death zone. Sure you may get a better annual vacation or nicer car than someone making $50k, but the day to day quality of life is not that much different.

You either have a warped world view or have a lot more debts than we do. We make $300K and have one nine year old. We went on several international vacations and are hosting a cookout for 15 of DD's friends this weekend at the pool that we belong to for no reason at all other than we feel like it. I think our life is quite different than someone making 50K. Now, granted, we only need to pay for college for one kid, but we've been funding her 529 since her birth.

DP. Two extra kids is a big difference. More daycare costs, more food, clothing, and health costs, more college savings needed. So yeah, it's not warped, it's math.

But you chose to push out those three kids. You chose to sit your ass at home with them instead of earning income. You are still rich at $300k. Just because you cant have everything you want and you had a bunch of kids and you spend all your money doesnt mean you arent rich at $300k.