DC Region not on the top 10 list of million dollar homes, we are still very affordable stop whining

[Anonymous]

Many of the cities on the top 10 list have factors (nice weather, NYC nearby) which make them inherently attractive places to live, even if you did not work there. That often attracts foreign buyers looking for a U.S. home, and drives up the prices. The DC area is not necessarily as inherently attractive a place to live if you do not have to work here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's just, like, your opinion, man.

(I've also lived in both cities, but I would never have the nerve to assert one is better than the other without qualifying something like "IN MY OPINION." I think DC is the nicer place to live, but I understand YMMV.)

+1. Far prefer DC but could use some LA sunshine right about now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many of the cities on the top 10 list have factors (nice weather, NYC nearby) which make them inherently attractive places to live, even if you did not work there. That often attracts foreign buyers looking for a U.S. home, and drives up the prices. The DC area is not necessarily as inherently attractive a place to live if you do not have to work here.

Then why is it so expensive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the cities on the top 10 list have factors (nice weather, NYC nearby) which make them inherently attractive places to live, even if you did not work there. That often attracts foreign buyers looking for a U.S. home, and drives up the prices. The DC area is not necessarily as inherently attractive a place to live if you do not have to work here.

Then why is it so expensive?

Obviously because so many people do live and work in DC.

[Anonymous]

The pithy answer is supply and demand, but I'll take a different tack:

Perhaps it's not so expensive. There aren't many regions/cities that can support this many six-figure salaries.

It's about changing your perspective.

Here's a realization I recently had. 300k is a lot of money. A lot. But, conditional on being in a city in which you can earn 300k doesn't go that far.

[Anonymous]

I think you're mistaken in thinking DC is not inherently attractive. It has tons and tons of cultural attractions. The scope of museums are largely unrivaled, and they're mostly free. The city itself is very green. Very, very green. Quality of life in DC is high.

Sure, you can counter those aren't "inherent" advantages of DC, but I think it's hard to separate what's inherent and what's not at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you're mistaken in thinking DC is not inherently attractive. It has tons and tons of cultural attractions. The scope of museums are largely unrivaled, and they're mostly free. The city itself is very green. Very, very green. Quality of life in DC is high.

Sure, you can counter those aren't "inherent" advantages of DC, but I think it's hard to separate what's inherent and what's not at this point.

Those are all wonderful things to be sure, and I certainly like DC very much, but they are not necessarily the type of things (like beautiful weather) that would inspire an out-of-area purchaser, or a foreign buyer, to invest in a having second home here if they did not work in DC. Luckily for the Washington area, we continue to suck from, and receive the benefits of, a majority of our federal tax dollars and spending. That highly-subsidized business environment and unlimited, 'stimulus' job creation will keep house prices here high, higher, and highest for as long as space is infinite; or until the rest of the country catches on.