Would we regret moving to the DMV?

[Anonymous]

Do you have family in Philly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have family in Philly?

OP - We do not have family in Philly, and we haven't really put down roots here (probably because we moved during the pandemic and work remotely for NYC firms). Now that we have started a family, we're realizing it'll be much easier on all of us if we work in the city where we live. So we're trying to decide whether we want to commit to the Philly area and put down roots here (accepting that we will make some professional sacrifices) or move to DC (accepting that the COL is much higher and that we'll be able to afford much less house).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Double edged sword based on what you're saying. You love the lower COL that Philly and the surrounding area offers, but you're bored with your jobs, and the lack of options where your careers are concerned.

DMV is a very interesting area. A lot of Type-A personalities, super intelligent and well-educated people. Good job stability, career options. With that comes the feeling of needing to constantly keep up, or stay ahead - which is exhausting. At first it may feel exciting and invigorating, but after a while you start dreaming of leaving to a slower paced area.

With your budget, you have options - not a ton though unless you want to move outside the beltway (exburbs). You won't be alone though because many folks are now priced out of close in areas.

And you think that's not true of Philadelphia?

OP, I would add: A lot of people here who think DC is the center of the planet, and thus are oddly more provincial than people in other big cities.

DP and I disagree with the bolded. DC does attract a certain type of Type A person, usually more drawn to non-profits/politics/global affairs than, say, finance or tech. So, there's that. It's also a fairly small town, certainly compared to places like NYC or London, but even to Philly, in some ways. It's not more provincial though; IME, NYC is oddly provincial for such a large place, e.g., people who won't shut up about everything NYC and how nothing could possibly compare. It's bizarre.

DC is very international, in that it draws highly educated people from all over the world to work in politics/economics (State, IMF/WB) and also science (NIH). Given that it's a relatively small city, you feel this influence more than in larger cities, I think.

Your concerns about real estate aren't unfounded. You could certainly find a home for < $1.5, but you also need to think about how you define "good" public schools. Keep in mind, too, that public school systems here are county- rather than town-based, which drives many parents crazy. I grew up here so I don't mind, but a lot of people used to a different system get really worked up.

DC isn't a boring place. Small as it is, there's always something interesting going on, and you're close to places like Philly and NYC for day trips, it's easy to get to the beach or mountains, etc. There are three international airports to choose from. The hospitals/healthcare options are top-notch. As for where you ultimately settle, I think that comes down to commute, mostly. NoVA is more conservative than DC or Maryland, no matter what its citizens say. The recent COVID-related school decisions are perhaps the clearest example of that. VA went mask optional a month ago, MCPS just did this week, DCPS is still requiring masks. In case that matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have family in Philly?

OP - We do not have family in Philly, and we haven't really put down roots here (probably because we moved during the pandemic and work remotely for NYC firms). Now that we have started a family, we're realizing it'll be much easier on all of us if we work in the city where we live. So we're trying to decide whether we want to commit to the Philly area and put down roots here (accepting that we will make some professional sacrifices) or move to DC (accepting that the COL is much higher and that we'll be able to afford much less house).

In that case, yes I would move to dc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Double edged sword based on what you're saying. You love the lower COL that Philly and the surrounding area offers, but you're bored with your jobs, and the lack of options where your careers are concerned.

DMV is a very interesting area. A lot of Type-A personalities, super intelligent and well-educated people. Good job stability, career options. With that comes the feeling of needing to constantly keep up, or stay ahead - which is exhausting. At first it may feel exciting and invigorating, but after a while you start dreaming of leaving to a slower paced area.

With your budget, you have options - not a ton though unless you want to move outside the beltway (exburbs). You won't be alone though because many folks are now priced out of close in areas.

And you think that's not true of Philadelphia?

OP, I would add: A lot of people here who think DC is the center of the planet, and thus are oddly more provincial than people in other big cities.

DP and I disagree with the bolded. DC does attract a certain type of Type A person, usually more drawn to non-profits/politics/global affairs than, say, finance or tech. So, there's that. It's also a fairly small town, certainly compared to places like NYC or London, but even to Philly, in some ways. It's not more provincial though; IME, NYC is oddly provincial for such a large place, e.g., people who won't shut up about everything NYC and how nothing could possibly compare. It's bizarre.

DC is very international, in that it draws highly educated people from all over the world to work in politics/economics (State, IMF/WB) and also science (NIH). Given that it's a relatively small city, you feel this influence more than in larger cities, I think.

Your concerns about real estate aren't unfounded. You could certainly find a home for < $1.5, but you also need to think about how you define "good" public schools. Keep in mind, too, that public school systems here are county- rather than town-based, which drives many parents crazy. I grew up here so I don't mind, but a lot of people used to a different system get really worked up.

DC isn't a boring place. Small as it is, there's always something interesting going on, and you're close to places like Philly and NYC for day trips, it's easy to get to the beach or mountains, etc. There are three international airports to choose from. The hospitals/healthcare options are top-notch. As for where you ultimately settle, I think that comes down to commute, mostly. NoVA is more conservative than DC or Maryland, no matter what its citizens say. The recent COVID-related school decisions are perhaps the clearest example of that. VA went mask optional a month ago, MCPS just did this week, DCPS is still requiring masks. In case that matters.

There are still nice, smaller houses in that price range in a good, close in neighborhood, but they don't come up often, and when they do, they go fast. This house is in my neighborhood in Arlington and it was under contract in days. I'm interested to see if it goes over asking.

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/4501-19th-Rd-N-22207/home/11235162

[Anonymous]

If you have children, I would not and had been a major stressor for my family. Schools have been a nightmare here both public and private. Privates are very, very expensive and definitely not worth the price tag.

[Anonymous]

OP, it sounds like you’ve done a good amount of research on housing costs, but less so on career paths for lawyers in your specific situation — i.e., lawyers wanting to move, whether in the shorter or longer term, from a big-firm investigations practice to either a government job or something else. You might want to post on the jobs forum to ask how someone like you or your spouse would find an exit path from a big firm. That could help you assess whether DC would actually offer better professional options than staying in Philadelphia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, it sounds like you’ve done a good amount of research on housing costs, but less so on career paths for lawyers in your specific situation — i.e., lawyers wanting to move, whether in the shorter or longer term, from a big-firm investigations practice to either a government job or something else. You might want to post on the jobs forum to ask how someone like you or your spouse would find an exit path from a big firm. That could help you assess whether DC would actually offer better professional options than staying in Philadelphia.

OP - Good point! At this point, I'm basically just wondering whether it's even worth considering expanding our job searches to DC at all. We've been totally focused on our options in Philly to date. Colleagues in our groups at our respective firms have left to go to the SEC in both NYC and DC. Landing a job at the SEC or another financial regulator would be ideal, but I'm sure those jobs are extremely competitive.

[Anonymous]

Do not do it! 8 years later and we still hate the DMV area. Remote work is about to open up soon here (already put in my application) and we will be out so fast and back to the West Coast. Will never look back, wouldn't even visit this place.

[Anonymous]

Why not rent down in DC for a summer and see how you like it? Sell the house and rent working remotely for your NYC firms. That way you can go either way.

[Anonymous]

Not being cynical and in all honesty it is the least favorite place my family and I agree that we have lived and it’s been many. Would not do it over again easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do not do it! 8 years later and we still hate the DMV area. Remote work is about to open up soon here (already put in my application) and we will be out so fast and back to the West Coast. Will never look back, wouldn't even visit this place.

Sounds like OP has a small child and doesn’t want a remote job that requires travel to another city. My take is she wants a fin regulator job or the like and these are mostly on the east coast.

She is in Philly so everything is relative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not being cynical and in all honesty it is the least favorite place my family and I agree that we have lived and it’s been many. Would not do it over again easily.

Agree. OP, is there anywhere else you could consider? Besides the job situation, DC isn’t really any better than Philly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not being cynical and in all honesty it is the least favorite place my family and I agree that we have lived and it’s been many. Would not do it over again easily.

Agree. OP, is there anywhere else you could consider? Besides the job situation, DC isn’t really any better than Philly.

“Besides the job situation” is quite the caveat. “Besides whether you hate what you’re doing for most of your waking hours, you can’t even get a house with a double oven!”

[Anonymous]

I suggest you rent to see if you like it. Plus, I think the market will go under some correction in the next few years.

If/when you have baby #2, you may find you want to pull back a bit from your career. But, you may not be able to do that if you have a huge mortgage. We had that problem when we were living in the Bay Area.

It's good to have options and not feel tied down.