What HHI does a family of 5 need to feel comfortable: NW DC or close-in Bethesda/Nova

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:600k? That is idiotic. 350k HHI, 1.5M house with 2 bedrooms per person, private school for 1, vacation whenever and where ever we feel like it, and feel plenty comfortable.

Where are you spending/wasting all your money OP?

when did you buy your home? Given the size you mentioned there is no way it's close-in Bethesda if purchased recently.

People don't get it is irrelevant what your home is worth as you could have purchased it for 500k. Sure, if i am making 350k with a 200k mortgage because I bought 20 years ago, then great.

For a young couple (late 20s/early 30s) even with our high income (500-600k), it's difficult to find a reasonable home to support a growing family

[Anonymous]

A middle class life has financial strain of course.

[Anonymous]

Our HHI is $1m+ and I drive a Subaru. It's so good in the snow and mountains and is small enough to zip around but big enough to fit my kids' sports gear. I keep looking at options to upgrade but there isn't that much out there that I like better. Maybe a Volvo?

For me, it's more about NW than income. I'll feel truly comfortable when our mortgage is paid off, the kids' 529 plans are done and we've got $4m in investible assets. Getting there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone's definition of comfortable is different. Some people are comfortable driving a Subaru or Ford. I would shoot myself. Some people think 4000 sqft house is needed to be comfortable. That's way too big for me. Op, your question is unanswerable

I can’t begin to understand your car comment. You’d shoot yourself if you drove a Subaru?

NP

You really can’t understand that comment? I totally can. A boring car, especially if you have a long commute, is god awful. I like luxury when I drive far.
I’m not really sure what’s so hard to understand about that. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

PP is just overly dramatic. Shoot yourself for driving a Subaru? Tell us that you're privileged without telling us that you're privileged. Please.

For PP, it's a status thing. Many people convey their car as a symbol of status and wealth, or something that they can easily show off to neighbors. If you're secure in where you're at, it's not that big of a deal. To each his own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does everyone need to live near DC when there are good public schools out in Loudoun and more affordable houses? Don’t you guys have remote work options? And not everyone is buying a house in 2022 lots of us have owned for 5-10 years so we aren’t paying these inflated prices. Additionally not everyone cares about muh culture or social scene which is the only reason I can think to want to live in DC besides your career. I have a remote tech job that pays 400k and live out here in Loudoun with a 2k mortgage payment on a SFH. Life is very comfortable

Not everyone wants to live in Loudoun. I do not live in DC or close in. We live in Fairfax. I like it here. It has a calm sense of suburbia and we're happy with our housing and schools. We have family in Loudoun so we looked out there but it was just too far. No trees. Didn't have a neighborhood feeling. For some, feeling of a neighborhood > new construction.

[Anonymous]

Our HHI is about $160K, two kids, close-in Bethesda (near Friendship Heights), house worth $1 mil (bought it for $600K a decade ago, $330k mortgage, no other debt, ten-year-old Hondas, public school, maxing out 401ks, savings thru 529s etc.

I actually don't get how this is even a question. The tough one is finding a house you can afford -- you may not get your DREAM house -- but the rest is basic living within your means.

We may not go to Europe in the summer and Vail in the winter, or buy Canada Goose jackets, but we do not feel deprived in the slightest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does everyone need to live near DC when there are good public schools out in Loudoun and more affordable houses? Don’t you guys have remote work options? And not everyone is buying a house in 2022 lots of us have owned for 5-10 years so we aren’t paying these inflated prices. Additionally not everyone cares about muh culture or social scene which is the only reason I can think to want to live in DC besides your career. I have a remote tech job that pays 400k and live out here in Loudoun with a 2k mortgage payment on a SFH. Life is very comfortable

Not everyone wants to live in Loudoun. I do not live in DC or close in. We live in Fairfax. I like it here. It has a calm sense of suburbia and we're happy with our housing and schools. We have family in Loudoun so we looked out there but it was just too far. No trees. Didn't have a neighborhood feeling. For some, feeling of a neighborhood > new construction.

Exactly, why in a million years do you think Loudon would be a great solution. I would rather live in a town home close in that out in Loudon. For the most part it's all cookie cutter new builds with no trees and strip malls.

Compare that to the wooded, leafy, neighborhoods of Moco close in...Kenwood, Westmoreland Hills, CCMD/CCDC, Somerset, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone's definition of comfortable is different. Some people are comfortable driving a Subaru or Ford. I would shoot myself. Some people think 4000 sqft house is needed to be comfortable. That's way too big for me. Op, your question is unanswerable

I can’t begin to understand your car comment. You’d shoot yourself if you drove a Subaru?

NP

You really can’t understand that comment? I totally can. A boring car, especially if you have a long commute, is god awful. I like luxury when I drive far.
I’m not really sure what’s so hard to understand about that. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

What do you drive?

Porsche Cayenne.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone's definition of comfortable is different. Some people are comfortable driving a Subaru or Ford. I would shoot myself. Some people think 4000 sqft house is needed to be comfortable. That's way too big for me. Op, your question is unanswerable

I can’t begin to understand your car comment. You’d shoot yourself if you drove a Subaru?

NP

You really can’t understand that comment? I totally can. A boring car, especially if you have a long commute, is god awful. I like luxury when I drive far.
I’m not really sure what’s so hard to understand about that. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

What do you drive?

Porsche Cayenne.

The phrase "Eat the rich" comes to mind.

[Anonymous]

We are at $350k and are considering a third kid. Currently have a $600k house and looking at houses around $950k, planning on enrolling kids in Catholic school, save comfortably for retirement and college, average cars (Honda/VW) and annual vacations (historically ambitious/big but likely to change).

If $600k is a cutoff, then we are screwed.

[Anonymous]

We have 600k HHI, live in 2 million house in NWDC, and drive a Subaru. We do feel comfortable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our HHI is about $160K, two kids, close-in Bethesda (near Friendship Heights), house worth $1 mil (bought it for $600K a decade ago, $330k mortgage, no other debt, ten-year-old Hondas, public school, maxing out 401ks, savings thru 529s etc.

I actually don't get how this is even a question. The tough one is finding a house you can afford -- you may not get your DREAM house -- but the rest is basic living within your means.

We may not go to Europe in the summer and Vail in the winter, or buy Canada Goose jackets, but we do not feel deprived in the slightest.

Again, the fact that you bought your house is irrelevant to the discussion. Yes, the value is 1M but you bought it for 600k. Your 160k income can not afford your house now..hence you couldn't afford to live in FH if you were looking to buy a place

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone's definition of comfortable is different. Some people are comfortable driving a Subaru or Ford. I would shoot myself. Some people think 4000 sqft house is needed to be comfortable. That's way too big for me. Op, your question is unanswerable

I can’t begin to understand your car comment. You’d shoot yourself if you drove a Subaru?

NP

You really can’t understand that comment? I totally can. A boring car, especially if you have a long commute, is god awful. I like luxury when I drive far.
I’m not really sure what’s so hard to understand about that. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

PP is just overly dramatic. Shoot yourself for driving a Subaru? Tell us that you're privileged without telling us that you're privileged. Please.

For PP, it's a status thing. Many people convey their car as a symbol of status and wealth, or something that they can easily show off to neighbors. If you're secure in where you're at, it's not that big of a deal. To each his own.

Not everything in life is about status sweetie. If I was the last person on earth I still wouldn't wear walmart clothes and drive a subaru. Besides, that wasn't the point of the post. The point of the post was that different people have different preferences and there is absolutely no remotely agreed upon definition of "comfortable." Hence this entire thread is pointless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone's definition of comfortable is different. Some people are comfortable driving a Subaru or Ford. I would shoot myself. Some people think 4000 sqft house is needed to be comfortable. That's way too big for me. Op, your question is unanswerable

I can’t begin to understand your car comment. You’d shoot yourself if you drove a Subaru?

NP

You really can’t understand that comment? I totally can. A boring car, especially if you have a long commute, is god awful. I like luxury when I drive far.
I’m not really sure what’s so hard to understand about that. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

PP is just overly dramatic. Shoot yourself for driving a Subaru? Tell us that you're privileged without telling us that you're privileged. Please.

For PP, it's a status thing. Many people convey their car as a symbol of status and wealth, or something that they can easily show off to neighbors. If you're secure in where you're at, it's not that big of a deal. To each his own.

Not everything in life is about status sweetie. If I was the last person on earth I still wouldn't wear walmart clothes and drive a subaru. Besides, that wasn't the point of the post. The point of the post was that different people have different preferences and there is absolutely no remotely agreed upon definition of "comfortable." Hence this entire thread is pointless.

Do Subarus and Walmart really belong in the same category? I would've lumped Kia or Chevy and Walmart together, and Subaru with Patagonia or LL Bean? I'm truly starting to feel self conscious about driving a Subaru now if that's what people think about me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone's definition of comfortable is different. Some people are comfortable driving a Subaru or Ford. I would shoot myself. Some people think 4000 sqft house is needed to be comfortable. That's way too big for me. Op, your question is unanswerable

I can’t begin to understand your car comment. You’d shoot yourself if you drove a Subaru?

NP

You really can’t understand that comment? I totally can. A boring car, especially if you have a long commute, is god awful. I like luxury when I drive far.
I’m not really sure what’s so hard to understand about that. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

PP is just overly dramatic. Shoot yourself for driving a Subaru? Tell us that you're privileged without telling us that you're privileged. Please.

For PP, it's a status thing. Many people convey their car as a symbol of status and wealth, or something that they can easily show off to neighbors. If you're secure in where you're at, it's not that big of a deal. To each his own.

People who don’t understand the mind of some car buyers always drop the status canard. No, some people like to drive nice cars. And if you ever drive a nice car, you may understand the difference how getting into a rental Toyota or Honda or Subaru just sucks. They feel insubstantial, they have no road feel, they have no modern conveniences or only a few. Drive an up brand car for a little. If I had a long summits I’d much rather be surrounded by a BMW X5 with some nice features. (And around here you aren’t impressing anyone in an X5.).

Come to think of it, I have not recently (since maybe high school) heard an adult be impressed by another person's car other than one car guy to another saying he likes someone’s M3 or whatever.

TLDR - people who drive nice cars mostly DON’T do it for the flex - and there are a bunch of people who like to repeat that belief as a way of expressing jealousy of whatever.