Move to DC on 150K income?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people in my neighborhood in Silver Spring have HHI around that. The only caveat is that most of us bought our houses a while ago when they were $200K and under -- now you'd have to spend $400+.

Anyway, you get MoCo schools, wonderful neighbors, a real sense of community, and a short commute. There are fewer restaurants etc. (beyond local joints) but that's changing with downtown Silver Spring, etc. and you can always go into DC or over to Bethesda.

Sure the crime is a bit higher than western MoCo but you can control that by choosing where in SS to live. It's very friendly, usually very liberal, with a diverse representation of races and cultures.

I love it here. I could afford to go west but I don't want to leave!

Thanks PP - which areas in SS do you recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you all think is a reasonable mortage/rent on a 150k year income?

Sounds like OP has pets and kids, and she wants a fenced yard,she also wants good schools. That definitly does not sound like apartment living would be for her (as for many people apartment life is not appealing).

We live on 150k yr and were in transitional housing between houses. I'm in Loudoun County and we cannot afford more than $2,500/mo and even WAY out here it was almost near impossible to find someting at that price. What we did settle on while in transition was a horribly scummy townhouse, until our house was ready.

It is very easy for you all to say "move to Fairfax" or "move near a metro" if you are looking for good schools, then it is VERY VERY difficult t find a reasonably priced rental.

As far as Vienna goes, my mom rents her SMALL ranch out in vienna for $3200/mo. This is expensive for people who have not built up equity due to the formally booming real estate market.

3200? That is = to the mortgage on my 530K home. Our 3200 includes taxes, homeowners, etc but the base mortgage is 2800. The split level like house down the street from me is going to rent for 2400/month. We make 160K combined and can easily afford our mortgage, but we only have one car payment. 3200 is high for Vienna overall--that is more in line with McLean rentals or MAYBE high end Vienna homes.

[Anonymous]

Another Silver Spring family here. We have a combined income (both working full-time of about $140 and we have high child care expenses. Yes, it is expensive, but I would feel extremely wealthy if one of us had a $150 income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people in my neighborhood in Silver Spring have HHI around that. The only caveat is that most of us bought our houses a while ago when they were $200K and under -- now you'd have to spend $400+.

Anyway, you get MoCo schools, wonderful neighbors, a real sense of community, and a short commute. There are fewer restaurants etc. (beyond local joints) but that's changing with downtown Silver Spring, etc. and you can always go into DC or over to Bethesda.

Sure the crime is a bit higher than western MoCo but you can control that by choosing where in SS to live. It's very friendly, usually very liberal, with a diverse representation of races and cultures.

I love it here. I could afford to go west but I don't want to leave!

Thanks PP - which areas in SS do you recommend?

It depends on what you want. As far as the close-in neighborhoods, if this is a house that you will stay in through middle school, you probably want to look at neighborhoods that feed into Silver Spring International Middle School (SSIMS) or Takoma Park Middle School (so downtown Silver Spring) over Eastern or Sligo Middle School. These have the better reputations and personally, I know lots of kids who are happy in both schools.

I live in Four Corners/Northwood Park and we love it here -- very close to parks, sections with really nice old houses, lots of trees, etc. You might choose to be closer to the metro, in which case you might look at Forest Glen or again at downtown SS. If you are downtown, there are more issues with crime and congestion but you can walk to lots of interesting restaurants, the movie theater etc. Woodside is also really nice, although parts are expensive and there's the issue of the middle school. but the elementary school for Woodside has a great reputation. Indian Spring is a great neighborhood for families and you can walk to the Y. The neighborhoods off of Dale Drive south of Colesville are wonderful.

I recommend finding a real estate agent -- if you are buying -- who knows SS really well and can help you look at different neighborhoods. Catalina Shrader is great, and Liz Brent has a great reputation too.

[Anonymous]

How old are your children?

[Anonymous]

OP, just be warned the rental market here right now is very very tight. My MIL in Springfield just rented out one of her homes--a very small, modest ranch-- and within about 8 hours of posting on Craigslist received 36 emails. The person who she rented to came over, left notes on her windshield etc. begging to rent it and offered to paint the interior. So be forewarned.

[Anonymous]

$3200/mo sounds high for a rental in Vienna.

I just found this one on Craigslist for much less, looks nice & has a fenced yard, and the elementary school is Louise Archer, one of the best elementary schools in the county.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/2449668050.html

[Anonymous]

Check out 22025. Not surrounding areas -- that specific zip.

Direct bus to the pentagon that continues on to metro center. Typically about an hour commute. I understand if that is too far for you, it is to many -- but the HOV lanes allow for us to live much further away for that commute than many who commute the same length of time from much closer in and more expensive housing. Lovely place for children, as well.

[Anonymous]

You talk about wanting a SFH and being 'okay with a ranch.' I'm thinking DC proper may not work for you.

Case in point: in Vienna, 1950s ranch homes (3 BR/1 BA, ~1000 SF) that have barely been touched since the 1950s go for 440-450k. If previous owners have bothered to do anything with them, it's 480-500k.

I'd be wondering about any part of DC (or heck, even inside the Beltway) where you can get a 1000sf detached home for 450k and under.

Best case, it's a place that hasn't been touched since the first time Nixon ran for President (might be the case in areas like Pimmit Hills in VA). Worst case, it's a neighborhood that will sour you on urban/close-in living forever. (Don't worry, there's always a nice spot in Howard or Loudoun County for you.)

You might get folks coming on here boosting a neighborhood that even other folks on here ignore/warn you about, but most of the time they either don't have kids or their kids are not yet school age.

[Anonymous]

In VA, I think the best options for affordable housing /good public schools are in the West Springfield/Burke/Fairfax area. It means taking the VRE downtown, but if your DH can get any kind of transit subsidy it can be a low cost, stress free way to commute. I know less about MD, but Silver Spring and Olney are probably where I would focus.

[Anonymous]

I make less than $90K and raise my daughter here with financial help from her dad. We do just fine. You won't be able to buy an awesome house close-in, but you should be able to find something decent. It's a really great area - even though we sometimes feel "poor" for the area, we're happy here. I'd suggest renting first, for 6 months to a year, until you figure out where you want to live. Just the MD vs. VA vs. DC choice can be hard, even before you get into "which suburb?"

[Anonymous]

OP, how much debt do you have? How much money do you have in savings and investments?

[Anonymous]

$3200/mo sounds high for a rental in Vienna.

I just found this one on Craigslist for much less, looks nice & has a fenced yard, and the elementary school is Louise Archer, one of the best elementary schools in the county.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/apa/2449668050.html

We used to live just down the street from that house...great safe friendly little neighborhood. And... it always gets streets plowed first since the town mayor lives in the neighborhood (and on that street)

[Anonymous]

Well, I think it all depends on the amount of OP's student loan payments and how much they'll be spending in childcare. Without that information, we can't say what she can afford.

[Anonymous]

OP, don't rule out renting in a family friendly DC neighborhood--there are affordable rentals in Capitol Hill, Glover Park, and Brookland. More row houses than ranch houses but would give you a short commute and good public transport access for a few months to explore the city.