It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7 pages in and everyone is contributing their own version of “screw you, I got mine” while ignoring OP was focused on those under 35 buying $2-3M homes.

We get that many of you saved aggressively and traded up between mid 30s to 50s. You all keep repeating the same story that ironically was only possible for most of you because of unprecedented property appreciation in this country since 2008. Yet you all think you’re brilliant for benefitting from a macroeconomic trend.

How many PP’s bought a $2-3M home under 35 with kids without parental support or a trust in the DC area?

My 28-year-old son and his 27-year-old wife just purchased a $2M home in McLean with $1.2M down and an $800K mortgage. He graduated in 2020 and is currently working as a senior software engineer for Amazon for a cool $350K/year. His wife graduated in 2021 and is currently working for Google for a cool $300K/year. They got married in 2020 and lived with my wife and me for five years to save the $1.2M down payment (with some luck in the stock market) prior to purchasing the home. They plan on paying off the mortgage in the next two years. It is not that difficult.

Your son wouldn’t have been able to do that alone though, he not only needed to make 350k/year in his 20’s but also meeting a woman who makes a similar amount, and depend on family in the area to give rent free housing for 5 years. That’s 3 unlikely events happening simultaneously that gave him this opportunity. Now think about what if he was earning 350k, with a spouse working as a teacher making 50k, no free housing. Not to mention SWE jobs aren’t exactly stable these days (Amazon is famous for PIPs and burnout). Get laid off or replaced by AI, and that mortgage payment is going to hurt.

But mommy and daddy will step in if that happens! No generational wealth here. Nothing to see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7 pages in and everyone is contributing their own version of “screw you, I got mine” while ignoring OP was focused on those under 35 buying $2-3M homes.

We get that many of you saved aggressively and traded up between mid 30s to 50s. You all keep repeating the same story that ironically was only possible for most of you because of unprecedented property appreciation in this country since 2008. Yet you all think you’re brilliant for benefitting from a macroeconomic trend.

How many PP’s bought a $2-3M home under 35 with kids without parental support or a trust in the DC area?

My 28-year-old son and his 27-year-old wife just purchased a $2M home in McLean with $1.2M down and an $800K mortgage. He graduated in 2020 and is currently working as a senior software engineer for Amazon for a cool $350K/year. His wife graduated in 2021 and is currently working for Google for a cool $300K/year. They got married in 2020 and lived with my wife and me for five years to save the $1.2M down payment (with some luck in the stock market) prior to purchasing the home. They plan on paying off the mortgage in the next two years. It is not that difficult.

Sounds like a piece of cake!

it is, with the right life choices around employment, having children, and saving vs spending. All actions have consequences, some more favorable than others. And, people prefer different things, which is also fine, so they make different choices. None of it necessarily depends on "generational wealth", though.

Getting two FAANG jobs straight out of school and having parents with a literal guest house in a major city is not something anywhere close to a “piece of cake.” And if you think access to a guest house in a major city isn’t tapping generational wealth, you’re out of your mind.

You're extrapolating from one anecdote. Plenty of young physicians, BigLaw attorneys, and entrepreneurs who saved diligently and limited their family size have expensive homes at relatively young ages, all without generational wealth paying for anything. If you obtained an education which qualified you for only low income employment, or if you spend wantonly, you're not going to be in that group. If you have a large family at a young age, fail to save and invest diligently, or engage in other asset-sapping behaviors, you're not going to be in that group.

Two big law attorneys married to each other are not buying a $2-$3 million house as their first home unless they have generational wealth. Why? They typically have at least 400k combined in loans. And they're usually not graduating from law school until they're 28. Starting salaries in big law are still much lower than your FAANG child's salary (250k first years vs. 350k). HHI of 500k-600k plus 400k in loans cannot afford a $2 million house.

Source: Am biglaw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7 pages in and everyone is contributing their own version of “screw you, I got mine” while ignoring OP was focused on those under 35 buying $2-3M homes.

We get that many of you saved aggressively and traded up between mid 30s to 50s. You all keep repeating the same story that ironically was only possible for most of you because of unprecedented property appreciation in this country since 2008. Yet you all think you’re brilliant for benefitting from a macroeconomic trend.

How many PP’s bought a $2-3M home under 35 with kids without parental support or a trust in the DC area?

My 28-year-old son and his 27-year-old wife just purchased a $2M home in McLean with $1.2M down and an $800K mortgage. He graduated in 2020 and is currently working as a senior software engineer for Amazon for a cool $350K/year. His wife graduated in 2021 and is currently working for Google for a cool $300K/year. They got married in 2020 and lived with my wife and me for five years to save the $1.2M down payment (with some luck in the stock market) prior to purchasing the home. They plan on paying off the mortgage in the next two years. It is not that difficult.

Do you have a guest house? It would be a cold day in hell that I would agree to live with my in laws or future daughter or son in law. Share a kitchen, family room, and laundry room? Have sex with them down the hallway?

They lived in our guest house, which features a full kitchen, family room, and laundry room. Fortunately, we spend our winters in Florida and Vietnam and travel extensively between spring and fall, so we really only saw them during the summer. FWIW, I get along great with my daughter-in-law; she has actually been my younger daughter's best friend since first grade.

I’m the PP. Nice deal. The guest house set up would work well even for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7 pages in and everyone is contributing their own version of “screw you, I got mine” while ignoring OP was focused on those under 35 buying $2-3M homes.

We get that many of you saved aggressively and traded up between mid 30s to 50s. You all keep repeating the same story that ironically was only possible for most of you because of unprecedented property appreciation in this country since 2008. Yet you all think you’re brilliant for benefitting from a macroeconomic trend.

How many PP’s bought a $2-3M home under 35 with kids without parental support or a trust in the DC area?

My 28-year-old son and his 27-year-old wife just purchased a $2M home in McLean with $1.2M down and an $800K mortgage. He graduated in 2020 and is currently working as a senior software engineer for Amazon for a cool $350K/year. His wife graduated in 2021 and is currently working for Google for a cool $300K/year. They got married in 2020 and lived with my wife and me for five years to save the $1.2M down payment (with some luck in the stock market) prior to purchasing the home. They plan on paying off the mortgage in the next two years. It is not that difficult.

Sounds like a piece of cake!

it is, with the right life choices around employment, having children, and saving vs spending. All actions have consequences, some more favorable than others. And, people prefer different things, which is also fine, so they make different choices. None of it necessarily depends on "generational wealth", though.

Getting two FAANG jobs straight out of school and having parents with a literal guest house in a major city is not something anywhere close to a “piece of cake.” And if you think access to a guest house in a major city isn’t tapping generational wealth, you’re out of your mind.

You're extrapolating from one anecdote. Plenty of young physicians, BigLaw attorneys, and entrepreneurs who saved diligently and limited their family size have expensive homes at relatively young ages, all without generational wealth paying for anything. If you obtained an education which qualified you for only low income employment, or if you spend wantonly, you're not going to be in that group. If you have a large family at a young age, fail to save and invest diligently, or engage in other asset-sapping behaviors, you're not going to be in that group.

Two big law attorneys married to each other are not buying a $2-$3 million house as their first home unless they have generational wealth. Why? They typically have at least 400k combined in loans. And they're usually not graduating from law school until they're 28. Starting salaries in big law are still much lower than your FAANG child's salary (250k first years vs. 350k). HHI of 500k-600k plus 400k in loans cannot afford a $2 million house.

Source: Am biglaw.

I didn’t have any law school debt (thanks mom and dad), and one big law salary plus another similar salary was enough to buy the equivalent of $1.5m
house twenty years ago after only a few years of working, renting and saving. Also, I was 25, as were my closest friends, when I graduated law school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7 pages in and everyone is contributing their own version of “screw you, I got mine” while ignoring OP was focused on those under 35 buying $2-3M homes.

We get that many of you saved aggressively and traded up between mid 30s to 50s. You all keep repeating the same story that ironically was only possible for most of you because of unprecedented property appreciation in this country since 2008. Yet you all think you’re brilliant for benefitting from a macroeconomic trend.

How many PP’s bought a $2-3M home under 35 with kids without parental support or a trust in the DC area?

My 28-year-old son and his 27-year-old wife just purchased a $2M home in McLean with $1.2M down and an $800K mortgage. He graduated in 2020 and is currently working as a senior software engineer for Amazon for a cool $350K/year. His wife graduated in 2021 and is currently working for Google for a cool $300K/year. They got married in 2020 and lived with my wife and me for five years to save the $1.2M down payment (with some luck in the stock market) prior to purchasing the home. They plan on paying off the mortgage in the next two years. It is not that difficult.

Do you have a guest house? It would be a cold day in hell that I would agree to live with my in laws or future daughter or son in law. Share a kitchen, family room, and laundry room? Have sex with them down the hallway?

They lived in our guest house, which features a full kitchen, family room, and laundry room. Fortunately, we spend our winters in Florida and Vietnam and travel extensively between spring and fall, so we really only saw them during the summer. FWIW, I get along great with my daughter-in-law; she has actually been my younger daughter's best friend since first grade.

I mean, this is great and I congratulate you. But I find it pretty sad and weird that you know exactly how much money that both your son and DIL make and how they fare in the stock market. It sounds like you are a very money driven family and that you have few boundaries with each other.

Referring to their salaries as a "cool" this and a "cool" that is pretty pathetic as well. And with Amazon and Google? Yuck.

I know how much they make and how much they saved because they told me. I couldn't care less either way. I used to work in private equity, and my wife was a CPA, so they trusted us to invest their money wisely and advise them on how to pay the least tax possible. FWIW, don't you have better things to do with your miserable life?

Yea, right, you "couldn't care less." That's why you're on here naming their employers and their salaries. And you used to work in private equity and your wife's a CPA. And you know exactly what they paid for their house and what their mortgage is. And you "helped them invest" and save on taxes.

But no, you "couldn't care less" about what they make.

Right.

It's OK. It keeps this guy off the school threads for a while. He's a long-time DCUM poster and very weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7 pages in and everyone is contributing their own version of “screw you, I got mine” while ignoring OP was focused on those under 35 buying $2-3M homes.

We get that many of you saved aggressively and traded up between mid 30s to 50s. You all keep repeating the same story that ironically was only possible for most of you because of unprecedented property appreciation in this country since 2008. Yet you all think you’re brilliant for benefitting from a macroeconomic trend.

How many PP’s bought a $2-3M home under 35 with kids without parental support or a trust in the DC area?

My 28-year-old son and his 27-year-old wife just purchased a $2M home in McLean with $1.2M down and an $800K mortgage. He graduated in 2020 and is currently working as a senior software engineer for Amazon for a cool $350K/year. His wife graduated in 2021 and is currently working for Google for a cool $300K/year. They got married in 2020 and lived with my wife and me for five years to save the $1.2M down payment (with some luck in the stock market) prior to purchasing the home. They plan on paying off the mortgage in the next two years. It is not that difficult.

Sounds like a piece of cake!

it is, with the right life choices around employment, having children, and saving vs spending. All actions have consequences, some more favorable than others. And, people prefer different things, which is also fine, so they make different choices. None of it necessarily depends on "generational wealth", though.

Getting two FAANG jobs straight out of school and having parents with a literal guest house in a major city is not something anywhere close to a “piece of cake.” And if you think access to a guest house in a major city isn’t tapping generational wealth, you’re out of your mind.

You're extrapolating from one anecdote. Plenty of young physicians, BigLaw attorneys, and entrepreneurs who saved diligently and limited their family size have expensive homes at relatively young ages, all without generational wealth paying for anything. If you obtained an education which qualified you for only low income employment, or if you spend wantonly, you're not going to be in that group. If you have a large family at a young age, fail to save and invest diligently, or engage in other asset-sapping behaviors, you're not going to be in that group.

Two big law attorneys married to each other are not buying a $2-$3 million house as their first home unless they have generational wealth. Why? They typically have at least 400k combined in loans. And they're usually not graduating from law school until they're 28. Starting salaries in big law are still much lower than your FAANG child's salary (250k first years vs. 350k). HHI of 500k-600k plus 400k in loans cannot afford a $2 million house.

Source: Am biglaw.

I didn’t have any law school debt (thanks mom and dad), and one big law salary plus another similar salary was enough to buy the equivalent of $1.5m
house twenty years ago after only a few years of working, renting and saving. Also, I was 25, as were my closest friends, when I graduated law school.

Isn’t that generational wealth?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7 pages in and everyone is contributing their own version of “screw you, I got mine” while ignoring OP was focused on those under 35 buying $2-3M homes.

We get that many of you saved aggressively and traded up between mid 30s to 50s. You all keep repeating the same story that ironically was only possible for most of you because of unprecedented property appreciation in this country since 2008. Yet you all think you’re brilliant for benefitting from a macroeconomic trend.

How many PP’s bought a $2-3M home under 35 with kids without parental support or a trust in the DC area?

My 28-year-old son and his 27-year-old wife just purchased a $2M home in McLean with $1.2M down and an $800K mortgage. He graduated in 2020 and is currently working as a senior software engineer for Amazon for a cool $350K/year. His wife graduated in 2021 and is currently working for Google for a cool $300K/year. They got married in 2020 and lived with my wife and me for five years to save the $1.2M down payment (with some luck in the stock market) prior to purchasing the home. They plan on paying off the mortgage in the next two years. It is not that difficult.

Sounds like a piece of cake!

it is, with the right life choices around employment, having children, and saving vs spending. All actions have consequences, some more favorable than others. And, people prefer different things, which is also fine, so they make different choices. None of it necessarily depends on "generational wealth", though.

Getting two FAANG jobs straight out of school and having parents with a literal guest house in a major city is not something anywhere close to a “piece of cake.” And if you think access to a guest house in a major city isn’t tapping generational wealth, you’re out of your mind.

You're extrapolating from one anecdote. Plenty of young physicians, BigLaw attorneys, and entrepreneurs who saved diligently and limited their family size have expensive homes at relatively young ages, all without generational wealth paying for anything. If you obtained an education which qualified you for only low income employment, or if you spend wantonly, you're not going to be in that group. If you have a large family at a young age, fail to save and invest diligently, or engage in other asset-sapping behaviors, you're not going to be in that group.

Two big law attorneys married to each other are not buying a $2-$3 million house as their first home unless they have generational wealth. Why? They typically have at least 400k combined in loans. And they're usually not graduating from law school until they're 28. Starting salaries in big law are still much lower than your FAANG child's salary (250k first years vs. 350k). HHI of 500k-600k plus 400k in loans cannot afford a $2 million house.

Source: Am biglaw.

I didn’t have any law school debt (thanks mom and dad), and one big law salary plus another similar salary was enough to buy the equivalent of $1.5m
house twenty years ago after only a few years of working, renting and saving. Also, I was 25, as were my closest friends, when I graduated law school.

You also benefitted from generational wealth! You (and your generation) also benefitted from lower educational and housing costs (controlled for inflation).

Most T14 students have at least 2 years between undergrad and law school. At Michigan, for example, the average entering age is 24.6. Most people are graduating at 27-28. Then a good chunk take a clerkship (where the pay isn't great). Then you start in biglaw as a second year at 30 making 275k (including bonus).

If you borrow the entire cost of your T14 education, you'll graduate with around 400k in debt. If you choose a standard repayment plan with a ten-year term, you'll pay $5,000 a month servicing your debt. And it would be idiotic to only pay down the minimum, especially if your goal is to buy a house. If you had two biglaw incomes and wanted to live really frugally, it would still take ages to save up the 500k down payment. You take home after the minimum debt payment is only $9,500. Subtract necessary expenses for a 1BR apartment, utilities, food, clothing (for work), medical, emergencies, and it would likely take you at least 5 years making only minimum debt payments to save 500k for a down payment on a $2 million house on TWO biglaw salaries.

So no, it is not reasonably possible to buy a $2-3 million house in your early 30s, even with biglaw, without generational wealth. Fortunately, there are many other excellent houses you can buy in this area for far less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7 pages in and everyone is contributing their own version of “screw you, I got mine” while ignoring OP was focused on those under 35 buying $2-3M homes.

We get that many of you saved aggressively and traded up between mid 30s to 50s. You all keep repeating the same story that ironically was only possible for most of you because of unprecedented property appreciation in this country since 2008. Yet you all think you’re brilliant for benefitting from a macroeconomic trend.

How many PP’s bought a $2-3M home under 35 with kids without parental support or a trust in the DC area?

My 28-year-old son and his 27-year-old wife just purchased a $2M home in McLean with $1.2M down and an $800K mortgage. He graduated in 2020 and is currently working as a senior software engineer for Amazon for a cool $350K/year. His wife graduated in 2021 and is currently working for Google for a cool $300K/year. They got married in 2020 and lived with my wife and me for five years to save the $1.2M down payment (with some luck in the stock market) prior to purchasing the home. They plan on paying off the mortgage in the next two years. It is not that difficult.

Sounds like a piece of cake!

it is, with the right life choices around employment, having children, and saving vs spending. All actions have consequences, some more favorable than others. And, people prefer different things, which is also fine, so they make different choices. None of it necessarily depends on "generational wealth", though.

Getting two FAANG jobs straight out of school and having parents with a literal guest house in a major city is not something anywhere close to a “piece of cake.” And if you think access to a guest house in a major city isn’t tapping generational wealth, you’re out of your mind.

You're extrapolating from one anecdote. Plenty of young physicians, BigLaw attorneys, and entrepreneurs who saved diligently and limited their family size have expensive homes at relatively young ages, all without generational wealth paying for anything. If you obtained an education which qualified you for only low income employment, or if you spend wantonly, you're not going to be in that group. If you have a large family at a young age, fail to save and invest diligently, or engage in other asset-sapping behaviors, you're not going to be in that group.

Two big law attorneys married to each other are not buying a $2-$3 million house as their first home unless they have generational wealth. Why? They typically have at least 400k combined in loans. And they're usually not graduating from law school until they're 28. Starting salaries in big law are still much lower than your FAANG child's salary (250k first years vs. 350k). HHI of 500k-600k plus 400k in loans cannot afford a $2 million house.

Source: Am biglaw.

I didn’t have any law school debt (thanks mom and dad), and one big law salary plus another similar salary was enough to buy the equivalent of $1.5m
house twenty years ago after only a few years of working, renting and saving. Also, I was 25, as were my closest friends, when I graduated law school.

You also benefitted from generational wealth! You (and your generation) also benefitted from lower educational and housing costs (controlled for inflation).

Most T14 students have at least 2 years between undergrad and law school. At Michigan, for example, the average entering age is 24.6. Most people are graduating at 27-28. Then a good chunk take a clerkship (where the pay isn't great). Then you start in biglaw as a second year at 30 making 275k (including bonus).

If you borrow the entire cost of your T14 education, you'll graduate with around 400k in debt. If you choose a standard repayment plan with a ten-year term, you'll pay $5,000 a month servicing your debt. And it would be idiotic to only pay down the minimum, especially if your goal is to buy a house. If you had two biglaw incomes and wanted to live really frugally, it would still take ages to save up the 500k down payment. You take home after the minimum debt payment is only $9,500. Subtract necessary expenses for a 1BR apartment, utilities, food, clothing (for work), medical, emergencies, and it would likely take you at least 5 years making only minimum debt payments to save 500k for a down payment on a $2 million house on TWO biglaw salaries.

So no, it is not reasonably possible to buy a $2-3 million house in your early 30s, even with biglaw, without generational wealth. Fortunately, there are many other excellent houses you can buy in this area for far less.

It is possible actually. I went to a T14 and got a merit scholarship that covered 200k. My parents helped me with groceries in law school - about $150 a month. They make under 150k. I graduated law school at 24 (turned 25 the summer after law school).

I paid off 100k very quickly within 2.5 years. Saved aggressively almost my entire big law income while living off my DH’s non-lawyer income (140k in our mid 20s, 200k by our 30s). Covid ramped up our savings significantly because all of our disposable income for travel, eating out, etc went to savings. By the time we were early 30s (I was 6 years into big law by then and making 500k), we had saved more than enough for a 20% down payment and bought our forever home for 2M.

It’s certainly not common but it is doable without generational wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7 pages in and everyone is contributing their own version of “screw you, I got mine” while ignoring OP was focused on those under 35 buying $2-3M homes.

We get that many of you saved aggressively and traded up between mid 30s to 50s. You all keep repeating the same story that ironically was only possible for most of you because of unprecedented property appreciation in this country since 2008. Yet you all think you’re brilliant for benefitting from a macroeconomic trend.

How many PP’s bought a $2-3M home under 35 with kids without parental support or a trust in the DC area?

My 28-year-old son and his 27-year-old wife just purchased a $2M home in McLean with $1.2M down and an $800K mortgage. He graduated in 2020 and is currently working as a senior software engineer for Amazon for a cool $350K/year. His wife graduated in 2021 and is currently working for Google for a cool $300K/year. They got married in 2020 and lived with my wife and me for five years to save the $1.2M down payment (with some luck in the stock market) prior to purchasing the home. They plan on paying off the mortgage in the next two years. It is not that difficult.

Sounds like a piece of cake!

it is, with the right life choices around employment, having children, and saving vs spending. All actions have consequences, some more favorable than others. And, people prefer different things, which is also fine, so they make different choices. None of it necessarily depends on "generational wealth", though.

Getting two FAANG jobs straight out of school and having parents with a literal guest house in a major city is not something anywhere close to a “piece of cake.” And if you think access to a guest house in a major city isn’t tapping generational wealth, you’re out of your mind.

You're extrapolating from one anecdote. Plenty of young physicians, BigLaw attorneys, and entrepreneurs who saved diligently and limited their family size have expensive homes at relatively young ages, all without generational wealth paying for anything. If you obtained an education which qualified you for only low income employment, or if you spend wantonly, you're not going to be in that group. If you have a large family at a young age, fail to save and invest diligently, or engage in other asset-sapping behaviors, you're not going to be in that group.

Two big law attorneys married to each other are not buying a $2-$3 million house as their first home unless they have generational wealth. Why? They typically have at least 400k combined in loans. And they're usually not graduating from law school until they're 28. Starting salaries in big law are still much lower than your FAANG child's salary (250k first years vs. 350k). HHI of 500k-600k plus 400k in loans cannot afford a $2 million house.

Source: Am biglaw.

I didn’t have any law school debt (thanks mom and dad), and one big law salary plus another similar salary was enough to buy the equivalent of $1.5m
house twenty years ago after only a few years of working, renting and saving. Also, I was 25, as were my closest friends, when I graduated law school.

You also benefitted from generational wealth! You (and your generation) also benefitted from lower educational and housing costs (controlled for inflation).

Most T14 students have at least 2 years between undergrad and law school. At Michigan, for example, the average entering age is 24.6. Most people are graduating at 27-28. Then a good chunk take a clerkship (where the pay isn't great). Then you start in biglaw as a second year at 30 making 275k (including bonus).

If you borrow the entire cost of your T14 education, you'll graduate with around 400k in debt. If you choose a standard repayment plan with a ten-year term, you'll pay $5,000 a month servicing your debt. And it would be idiotic to only pay down the minimum, especially if your goal is to buy a house. If you had two biglaw incomes and wanted to live really frugally, it would still take ages to save up the 500k down payment. You take home after the minimum debt payment is only $9,500. Subtract necessary expenses for a 1BR apartment, utilities, food, clothing (for work), medical, emergencies, and it would likely take you at least 5 years making only minimum debt payments to save 500k for a down payment on a $2 million house on TWO biglaw salaries.

So no, it is not reasonably possible to buy a $2-3 million house in your early 30s, even with biglaw, without generational wealth. Fortunately, there are many other excellent houses you can buy in this area for far less.

It is possible actually. I went to a T14 and got a merit scholarship that covered 200k. My parents helped me with groceries in law school - about $150 a month. They make under 150k. I graduated law school at 24 (turned 25 the summer after law school).

I paid off 100k very quickly within 2.5 years. Saved aggressively almost my entire big law income while living off my DH’s non-lawyer income (140k in our mid 20s, 200k by our 30s). Covid ramped up our savings significantly because all of our disposable income for travel, eating out, etc went to savings. By the time we were early 30s (I was 6 years into big law by then and making 500k), we had saved more than enough for a 20% down payment and bought our forever home for 2M.

It’s certainly not common but it is doable without generational wealth.

I got a full-ride to a T14, so yes, I'm aware it's possible. But it's a tiny fraction of law students who get aid this substantial (and an even smaller fraction who get these scholarships going straight through from undergrad--it's harder to get in with no work experience). And I still couldn't have saved 500k cash before 35. My spouse didn't have close to my income, and we had an emergency that drained our savings. There's a reason buying your first house in your early 30s for $2 to $3 million with no family support is nearly unheard of.

[Anonymous]

I live in Springfield, VA, my kids run around my neighborhood like it's 1985, and our school is great. People's standards have changed. I wouldn't want to live in Mclean or Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the posters in this thread responding negatively to OP about how they did this in their late 30s or 40s missed the key part of OP's original post which is the focus on people under 35 buying $2-3M+ homes.

Of course if you save for 15-20 years and get paid a lot and maybe inherit a bit too you can buy that high.

OP was focused on those doing it BEFORE 35 which seems like a much narrower pool. Eg even if you're a big law partner, that isn't kicking in until 35 at the earliest. Lobbyists also don't hit close to $1M until mid/late 30s. Tech $ / appreciating RSUs will get you there but we don't have a critical mass of that in the DC area.

This. So many people pooh poohing DC, that they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, lived in the smallest crappiest house in a nice neighborhood, drove a crappy car, bought at age 40, etc.

That's not the point of OP's post. The point is that when you look around bethesda or mclean in 2026, there are a shocking number of 35 and under people with 3 kids, and 2 bmws and a stay at home wife who are buying all the new and nice homes for $3m+.

This makes absolutely no financial sense and obviously these people are using family money.

OP's point is that that life is certainly locked out to people at age 30 unless you have family money.

millennials are using the IRA and 401K money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Springfield, VA, my kids run around my neighborhood like it's 1985, and our school is great. People's standards have changed. I wouldn't want to live in Mclean or Bethesda.

Same! We also like the neighborhood gatherings and how people will just stop to chat. No need to focus on such expensive homes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Springfield, VA, my kids run around my neighborhood like it's 1985, and our school is great. People's standards have changed. I wouldn't want to live in Mclean or Bethesda.

Same! We also like the neighborhood gatherings and how people will just stop to chat. No need to focus on such expensive homes.

I wouldn't want to live in any of the three.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Springfield, VA, my kids run around my neighborhood like it's 1985, and our school is great. People's standards have changed. I wouldn't want to live in Mclean or Bethesda.

Same! We also like the neighborhood gatherings and how people will just stop to chat. No need to focus on such expensive homes.

I wouldn't want to live in any of the three.

Why not? Just curious. What is preferred?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:7 pages in and everyone is contributing their own version of “screw you, I got mine” while ignoring OP was focused on those under 35 buying $2-3M homes.

We get that many of you saved aggressively and traded up between mid 30s to 50s. You all keep repeating the same story that ironically was only possible for most of you because of unprecedented property appreciation in this country since 2008. Yet you all think you’re brilliant for benefitting from a macroeconomic trend.

How many PP’s bought a $2-3M home under 35 with kids without parental support or a trust in the DC area?

My 28-year-old son and his 27-year-old wife just purchased a $2M home in McLean with $1.2M down and an $800K mortgage. He graduated in 2020 and is currently working as a senior software engineer for Amazon for a cool $350K/year. His wife graduated in 2021 and is currently working for Google for a cool $300K/year. They got married in 2020 and lived with my wife and me for five years to save the $1.2M down payment (with some luck in the stock market) prior to purchasing the home. They plan on paying off the mortgage in the next two years. It is not that difficult.

Sounds like a piece of cake!

it is, with the right life choices around employment, having children, and saving vs spending. All actions have consequences, some more favorable than others. And, people prefer different things, which is also fine, so they make different choices. None of it necessarily depends on "generational wealth", though.

Getting two FAANG jobs straight out of school and having parents with a literal guest house in a major city is not something anywhere close to a “piece of cake.” And if you think access to a guest house in a major city isn’t tapping generational wealth, you’re out of your mind.

You're extrapolating from one anecdote. Plenty of young physicians, BigLaw attorneys, and entrepreneurs who saved diligently and limited their family size have expensive homes at relatively young ages, all without generational wealth paying for anything. If you obtained an education which qualified you for only low income employment, or if you spend wantonly, you're not going to be in that group. If you have a large family at a young age, fail to save and invest diligently, or engage in other asset-sapping behaviors, you're not going to be in that group.

Two big law attorneys married to each other are not buying a $2-$3 million house as their first home unless they have generational wealth. Why? They typically have at least 400k combined in loans. And they're usually not graduating from law school until they're 28. Starting salaries in big law are still much lower than your FAANG child's salary (250k first years vs. 350k). HHI of 500k-600k plus 400k in loans cannot afford a $2 million house.

Source: Am biglaw.

I didn’t have any law school debt (thanks mom and dad), and one big law salary plus another similar salary was enough to buy the equivalent of $1.5m
house twenty years ago after only a few years of working, renting and saving. Also, I was 25, as were my closest friends, when I graduated law school.

You also benefitted from generational wealth! You (and your generation) also benefitted from lower educational and housing costs (controlled for inflation).

Most T14 students have at least 2 years between undergrad and law school. At Michigan, for example, the average entering age is 24.6. Most people are graduating at 27-28. Then a good chunk take a clerkship (where the pay isn't great). Then you start in biglaw as a second year at 30 making 275k (including bonus).

If you borrow the entire cost of your T14 education, you'll graduate with around 400k in debt. If you choose a standard repayment plan with a ten-year term, you'll pay $5,000 a month servicing your debt. And it would be idiotic to only pay down the minimum, especially if your goal is to buy a house. If you had two biglaw incomes and wanted to live really frugally, it would still take ages to save up the 500k down payment. You take home after the minimum debt payment is only $9,500. Subtract necessary expenses for a 1BR apartment, utilities, food, clothing (for work), medical, emergencies, and it would likely take you at least 5 years making only minimum debt payments to save 500k for a down payment on a $2 million house on TWO biglaw salaries.

So no, it is not reasonably possible to buy a $2-3 million house in your early 30s, even with biglaw, without generational wealth. Fortunately, there are many other excellent houses you can buy in this area for far less.

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