relocating to DC - budget for family of 4
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Anonymous
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The car is crucial for getting kids to activities. If one spouse isn’t working and has the time, the bus/metro and/or Ubers can work. But you will have to plan very well and find housing that is decently close to shopping etc.
As previous posters have said, families without cars are rare in dc — most people I know who don’t own a car are either single or young couples or are retired and live in the central neighborhoods. |
Anonymous
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These are very UMC answers. We lived and rented in the Deal zone with a HHI of $150k (lived in a smaller place and with one car). If you want a nice house, yes, it can cost much more.
For walkability, I’d actually suggest living in/near downtown Bethesda, walking distance to Bethesda Elementary. |
Anonymous
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With no car are you expecting that your kids won’t be doing activities? Very difficult to do in DC without a car. You’d be living a LMC lifestyle in a UMC budget.
Even my sister who lives smack in Manhattan with her 3 kids has one car. Her kids play sports that requires her to take them all over the place and often they are renting an extra car because they have to divide between the parents to get the kids to their respective activities. |
Anonymous
| For food, budget 300-350 a week for groceries (posters are going to say they don’t spend that much and you can go to cheaper stores etc…but this is what you should budget for your estimate. If you spend less fine but don’t count on it) |
Anonymous
When was that? |
Anonymous
| I cannot imagine getting by without a car. |
Anonymous
| I'm reading a lot of nonsense here. Of course, you can get by without a car even if your kids will be doing activities. There are plenty of activities in DC. Just pick the right place to live and you won't need a car to get there. Even if you want to drive your kids to activities, buying a car for that sole purpose isn't worth it. You would drive your kids maybe once or twice a week. Uber rides would be cheaper than a 500 a month car payment plus insurance and maintenance costs. |
Anonymous
They are UMC answered because the OP is suggesting she wants an UMC life. Of course you *can* live in bounds for deal much cheaper, but OP didn’t say she wants to live in an 800 sq ft condo… |
Anonymous
| Op, I am giving you an answer you won't like. Try to avoid moving here. It is expensive but not worth expensive. Off all the places I have lived in the world, DC is my least favorite. To answer your actual question: 400k minimum. |
Anonymous
OP, it sounds like you’re hoping to have a similar lifestyle in DC as you do now. Is that a requirement? When we had kids going into elementary school we moved outside the Beltway and have enjoyed the suburban life just fine. Could you consider Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville instead? Plenty of places are more affordable (especially if you stick to 2000sqft) and you can use public schools and get by on one car. We manage just fine and so do others with incomes of $200K or so, not $400K. |
Anonymous
| OP, you don’t need private school if you can live in a nice suburb. That will save you 50k+ per year. Enough to entertain having a car. Rent is cheaper in suburb too. 5-7k can get you a 5,000 sqft nice house in great school area. Try the American lifestyle (big house big car). Maybe you will like it. We also moved from a dense European city to here, and found having a car is quite liberating as you don’t need to rely on public transport which is always shared and limited no matter how good it is. Also DC public transport sucks. 100 years backwards compared to Asian cities like Singapore, HK or Shanghai . |
Anonymous
This. Don’t try to recreate the live you’ve been living. Try to create a life that is easier to obtain in your new location. America has a lot of land, huge houses and cars are inexpensive compared to most other countries. You might be shocked how much you enjoy living in a large comfortable home with a private yard! I know I was. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Many thanks to all who responded. The insights and different points of view are all very helpful. I don't mind driving, just not a big individual car aficionado, but as some suggest when in Rome might as well do as the Romans do. One point that wasn't immediately clear to me - are the salary ranges quoted gross or net of taxes? They seem higher than the living costs discussed, but I assume that this is because the figures factor in a substantial level of savings to deal with some of the more expensive aspects of long term living in America, like healthcare, higher ed, etc.? |
Anonymous
| You could try north bethesda or old town Alexandria for family friendly townhouses and good public elementary. They both have good metro accessibility and walkability for groceries. |
Anonymous
+1. One idea is to just embrace the suburban lifestyle if you live in the DC area for 3-4 areas. The cities in the US are not as nice or pedestrian friendly (or safe) as cities in other parts of the work, especially compared to cities in Asia (if you're talking about Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc). In the US, the suburbs are really nice and you can have a great quality of life, while close to a lot of amenities. I recommend living in Bethesda, Maryland, 20816. Here is a house on a wonderful street that feeds to wonderful schools. There are parks nearby and lots of amenities. https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5226-Elliott-Rd_Bethesda_MD_20816_M62254-88385 In Bethesda, there are a lot of World Bank / IMF (expat) families, and they seem to enjoy it. Many of them are only in the US for 5 years. There is proximity to the Capital Crescent Trail, which would allow you to bike to work (if you work downtown). Maybe just view the 4 years as an experiment in suburban living -- it's really nice for kids and quality of life. (I say this as a former city dweller for many years.) |