Please explain how to live here on $70k / yr

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do I need a roommate? Does anyone live comfortably alone on this gross pay in this metro area?

You don't. You have no life. Its work, beans, sleep, work...and don't dare get sick.

LOL I hope that is sarcasm. It’s fine. Very good salary for a singleton.

Not very good. It is barely entry level at my company.

Get over yourself PP. This salary is better than most teachers, Hill staff, civil service workers, etc.

[Anonymous]

I’m 26 making 95k but at 22 I was making $45k (then spent a couple years at $60k and a year at $75k). All of these salaries were absolutely easily doable in DC (as a singleton). Having a roommate will make things easier.

[Anonymous]

When I first moved here 6 years ago I was making $48k/year and getting less than $6k/year in child support for one kid (who at the time was 2 and in daycare). $70k is plenty for a single person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do I need a roommate? Does anyone live comfortably alone on this gross pay in this metro area?

You don't. You have no life. Its work, beans, sleep, work...and don't dare get sick.

LOL I hope that is sarcasm. It’s fine. Very good salary for a singleton.

Not very good. It is barely entry level at my company.

Ugh, so what? It’s a perfectly respectable salary, OP.

[Anonymous]

Probably easier in a suburb. i think you can if you don't have debt.

[Anonymous]

I had a roommate and we both paid $800 a month. I had lots of savings and still went on trips. Without kids it's easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do I need a roommate? Does anyone live comfortably alone on this gross pay in this metro area?

I lived well in DC for way under $70k for a long time. I had housemates (but my own bedroom) and lived in a not-fancy group house in the Columbia Heights / Petworth area. I biked a lot too for my transportation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Not very good. It is barely entry level at my company.

Don't be a jerk. A 70K salary means the person probably does something that is pretty cool or pretty good for the world.

A 70K entry level salary at your company means your company probably pays you well to sell out.

I can't judge -- I went from a non profit to a for profit and got a big pay boost, but I understand that I basically had to sell a bit of my soul to do it. Won't be here forever either.

[Anonymous]

Um, im making 53k before tax, own a condo, and single parent to one. Granted I live in moco but you can make it work if I can

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Not very good. It is barely entry level at my company.

"The median annual Public School Teacher salary in Arlington, VA is $60,849, as of March 01, 2018, with a range usually between $53,122-$70,251."

PP, you don't think public school teachers can live in this area? Where do you think they live?

[Anonymous]

Are you single? You're fine. I make that for a family if 3 (spouse is job searching but my salary pays the basics in the meanwhile). We live in Alexandria in an older building (no dishwasher or w/d in unit) and pay $1000-1500 month less than we would for a new building or an old one in DC. You might not be able to max out your retirement accounts though so DCUM will warn you about dying in poverty.

[Anonymous]

You can't. 70k is below the poverty line in this area according to DCUM.
The median salary here is 350k and that's just enough to get by.
You are at the wrong place here.

[Anonymous]

Super easy. Just don’t expect a upper middle class lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not very good. It is barely entry level at my company.

Don't be a jerk. A 70K salary means the person probably does something that is pretty cool or pretty good for the world.

A 70K entry level salary at your company means your company probably pays you well to sell out.

I can't judge -- I went from a non profit to a for profit and got a big pay boost, but I understand that I basically had to sell a bit of my soul to do it. Won't be here forever either.

Yea. Really cool! LOL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Not very good. It is barely entry level at my company.

"The median annual Public School Teacher salary in Arlington, VA is $60,849, as of March 01, 2018, with a range usually between $53,122-$70,251."

PP, you don't think public school teachers can live in this area? Where do you think they live?

As a public school teacher myself? I moved out of the area. Many of us lived in group homes, or were married, and a few still lived at home. It's not easy and many people leave the profession to make more money. It gets very old to be 30 and still have roomates.