How are you able to afford the DC area - from an out-of-towner?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you interested in living in the city itself or a suburb?

Like several of the other posters, I grew up here (in a NoVA suburb), so the crazy COL always seemed normal to me. I moved into DC after college and lived the dirt poor nonprofit worker lifestyle. I love living in the city, and my now-DH and I decided early on that it was worth the trade offs. He makes about $125K. I was only making about $45K (again, nonprofit), and I became a SAHM after we had a child. You really have to know what sort of trade offs you are willing to make? We live in a 2 bedroom, 1,000 SF condo. We don't have a yard, but on the other hand there are tons of kids and parks around us, and with less than a 5 minute walk to the metro (and we only have 1 car), we pretty much consider the whole city to be our backyard. Even without the metro we can walk to the zoo, library, grocery shopping, 5 or 6 playgrounds and parks, and about 200 restaurants. Our condo is not fancy and our local school is average, but we love our fun, walkable neighborhood, and DS spends his days having fun at museums, parks, the zoo, etc. By DC standards we don't make a lot of money, but we love our lifestyle.

What is comes down to, OP, is what sort of lifestyle do you and your family want? What are your non-negotiables? What are you willing to sacrifice?

Btw, don't listen to the snarkers who hate living here. No place is perfect of course, but DC is a great place to live if you are looking for that lifestyle.

Sounds nice, but still waiting for you to name something we don't have, and for a quarter of the price. The salary bump is not close to the differential. I would understand if our HHI were going to quadruple, or even double, but it won't, so I am genuinely trying to understand what makes this worthwhile. Some of you must be in jobs that simply don't exist, or not in adequate numbers, elsewhere - but if you're not a wonk or a lobbyist, why?

Okay, so now OP is getting snarky!!

OP - I grew up in the midwest. I'm in my mid-30s recently married and no kids (yet). I make a lot of money, I've travelled a ton over the past 15 years, have been able to eat at amazing restaurants, drink at cool bars, go to museums, talks, parks, and have a lot of really awesome vacation spots within driving distance. On top of that, I've been able to meet really interesting people from a variety of places and in a variety of careers and have an amazingly cool and diverse group of friends. In contrast, my friends who stayed in the midwest have all been married 10 years, are friends with the same people we went to high school with, haven't seen the world, all have the same type of job/are stay at home moms, have kids in elementary school, don't really do anything on the weekends, and are quite frankly boring (and many of them have told me that they are bored). So despite the high cost of living here, I feel that I live a great life in DC that I could not get in the boring midwest.

As for salaries, most people in DC are NOT "wonks" as you say or lobbyists. Yes, we have an overabundence of lawyers and consultants here, but we also have a lot of people who get crappy staffer, non-profit or Fed salaries, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Exactly. I've lived her for almost 15 years and I still love wandering downtown to the White House, or Capitol Hill. That is part of what makes it worth it to me. But yes, if you are the kind of person who thinks the Library of Congress is just a big dumb library then you should probably stay put.

Hey I love it here and I could give a flying f' about the White House or the Library of Congress. I try to stay as far away as possible from the whole national government thing. I remember seeing my old congressman from back home in the local supermarket. While it was nice to see him, it made me think that it was time to pick up stakes and move further east in DC away from Congress. Do not want to see those people invading my haunts!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because I *don't* live here, I don't have the data you have. I am trying to understand what makes it worthwhile.

So, I'm asking people who *do* live here and love it what makes it worthwhile for them. In response, people keep describing what I already have, and in some cases, less than what I already have, as though it's a mindblowing urban wonderland.

So I'm pointing that out so that they will stop assuming that everything in flyover country is McMansions and Applebee's, and describe more specifically what they find attractive about DC. I don't have trouble understanding why Paris is worth living rough. I do have trouble understanding what's special about DC. And I've spent a lot of time here trying to figure out what people see in it, and coming up short.

I am hoping to see some genuine distinction that will clue me in.

Is this a difficult concept?

Let me get this straight: you don't live here, but you came on here to ask a bunch of people who DO live here, why it's so great? We don't have to sell this area to you. Either move here, or don't. No skin off our back. We have given you our best responses; you then got snippy and said you did not like our responses (b/c you too don't have cable or know people who do not or know people who do read or who do not or do live in McMansions or do not or do eat at Applebee's or do not). If you do not know why DC is great, from already being aware of DC as the nation's capital and what thsi city is all about them, ummm, you probably won't be sold one way or another by random responses on an anonymous internet message board. Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone done a national job search lately? What were your offers, in what field, and how did they relate to COL?

I ask because a friend in Ohio just did. She's well known in her field, earned $175K in her last job and expected there to be a bigger difference between coastal and inland offers, but the spread was less than $30K. She turned down the DC offer because the COL/QOL was just not there.

That's true, but if you were doing it the other way around. Going from your job here in DC to somewhere in the midwest, your paycut would likely be more than that $30K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because I *don't* live here, I don't have the data you have. I am trying to understand what makes it worthwhile.

So, I'm asking people who *do* live here and love it what makes it worthwhile for them. In response, people keep describing what I already have, and in some cases, less than what I already have, as though it's a mindblowing urban wonderland.

So I'm pointing that out so that they will stop assuming that everything in flyover country is McMansions and Applebee's, and describe more specifically what they find attractive about DC. I don't have trouble understanding why Paris is worth living rough. I do have trouble understanding what's special about DC. And I've spent a lot of time here trying to figure out what people see in it, and coming up short.

I am hoping to see some genuine distinction that will clue me in.

Is this a difficult concept?

Let me get this straight: you don't live here, but you came on here to ask a bunch of people who DO live here, why it's so great? We don't have to sell this area to you. Either move here, or don't. No skin off our back. We have given you our best responses; you then got snippy and said you did not like our responses (b/c you too don't have cable or know people who do not or know people who do read or who do not or do live in McMansions or do not or do eat at Applebee's or do not). If you do not know why DC is great, from already being aware of DC as the nation's capital and what thsi city is all about them, ummm, you probably won't be sold one way or another by random responses on an anonymous internet message board. Good luck to you!

I think we all agree with this PP. And I think this thread is over now!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone done a national job search lately? What were your offers, in what field, and how did they relate to COL?

I ask because a friend in Ohio just did. She's well known in her field, earned $175K in her last job and expected there to be a bigger difference between coastal and inland offers, but the spread was less than $30K. She turned down the DC offer because the COL/QOL was just not there.

That's true, but if you were doing it the other way around. Going from your job here in DC to somewhere in the midwest, your paycut would likely be more than that $30K.

You know who has a great gig? Those folks who started out at their jobs in DC and then were able to move to cheaper parts of the country, telecommute, and keep their DC salary! I'd hate telecommuting 100% of the time but I have to think that the money is sweet!

[Anonymous]

Home is where you hang your hat, where ever you go... there you are

Lots of interesting things to do here, smart people, job opportunities.... these things may exist elsewhere too. Do not move here expecting your life to be the same as it is in midwest or south or wherever. Do not move expecting the change of location to magically solve all of your life's problems.

14:44 stated some of the benefits very well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're doing OK. We make about 150K, own a house, drive two very old cars, and live very simply. We're saving at least 25 percent of household income. One kid, no cable TV...

Yeah, but you're DINK's. Try having a kid or two - this place starts to wear on you a bit after that. It did for me, anyway.

Huh?

What do you mean, huh? Dual income, no kids. Easy to live a nice life here and save 25% of your income if you don't have children. What, exactly, was unclear about that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because I *don't* live here, I don't have the data you have. I am trying to understand what makes it worthwhile.

So, I'm asking people who *do* live here and love it what makes it worthwhile for them. In response, people keep describing what I already have, and in some cases, less than what I already have, as though it's a mindblowing urban wonderland.

So I'm pointing that out so that they will stop assuming that everything in flyover country is McMansions and Applebee's, and describe more specifically what they find attractive about DC. I don't have trouble understanding why Paris is worth living rough. I do have trouble understanding what's special about DC. And I've spent a lot of time here trying to figure out what people see in it, and coming up short.

I am hoping to see some genuine distinction that will clue me in.

Is this a difficult concept?

My family and friends are here - that about sums it up.

If you're not impressed with what you've seen so far, stay where you are. I mean it with all sincerity. If you're just lukewarm now, the day to day living will only make you hate DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're doing OK. We make about 150K, own a house, drive two very old cars, and live very simply. We're saving at least 25 percent of household income. One kid, no cable TV...

Yeah, but you're DINK's. Try having a kid or two - this place starts to wear on you a bit after that. It did for me, anyway.

Huh?

What do you mean, huh? Dual income, no kids. Easy to live a nice life here and save 25% of your income if you don't have children. What, exactly, was unclear about that?

Maybe the fact that the poster clearly stated she already has a child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Exactly. I've lived her for almost 15 years and I still love wandering downtown to the White House, or Capitol Hill. That is part of what makes it worth it to me. But yes, if you are the kind of person who thinks the Library of Congress is just a big dumb library then you should probably stay put.

Hey I love it here and I could give a flying f' about the White House or the Library of Congress. I try to stay as far away as possible from the whole national government thing. I remember seeing my old congressman from back home in the local supermarket. While it was nice to see him, it made me think that it was time to pick up stakes and move further east in DC away from Congress. Do not want to see those people invading my haunts!

LOL -- fair enough! Different strokes! It does prove my point tho -- what makes living here in DC worth it is different for everyone. Seems crazy to even try and explain that to someone we don't even know.

[Anonymous]

Some recent study the other day stated that we are the #1 metro area with the most educated and most wealthy people in the US. I wish #2 weren't so true, b/c it drives up the COL here, but I do love the fact about #1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because I *don't* live here, I don't have the data you have. I am trying to understand what makes it worthwhile.

So, I'm asking people who *do* live here and love it what makes it worthwhile for them. In response, people keep describing what I already have, and in some cases, less than what I already have, as though it's a mindblowing urban wonderland.

So I'm pointing that out so that they will stop assuming that everything in flyover country is McMansions and Applebee's, and describe more specifically what they find attractive about DC. I don't have trouble understanding why Paris is worth living rough. I do have trouble understanding what's special about DC. And I've spent a lot of time here trying to figure out what people see in it, and coming up short.

I am hoping to see some genuine distinction that will clue me in.

Is this a difficult concept?

Damn! If only my psychic powers were working better I would know what you already have. Why don't you enlighten us to what perk and amenities you already have, and perhaps we can give answers more to your liking. (Are you the OP, btw?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're doing OK. We make about 150K, own a house, drive two very old cars, and live very simply. We're saving at least 25 percent of household income. One kid, no cable TV...

Yeah, but you're DINK's. Try having a kid or two - this place starts to wear on you a bit after that. It did for me, anyway.

Huh?

What do you mean, huh? Dual income, no kids. Easy to live a nice life here and save 25% of your income if you don't have children. What, exactly, was unclear about that?

The person you quoted clearly said they have one kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many people make well into the six figures. A typical house in Arlington with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths (one of which is in the basement) will be around $700k.
I can assure you that your quality of life is MUCH better in the midwest.

Commute and hours worked are better. Your cultural opportunities and opportunities to be friends with a diverse, very intelligent, very successful group of people? Lower QOL in the midwest.