What's a decent household income to live in Bethesda?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello,

My wife and I moved to Bethesda last year and I have really been struggling with this decision ever since.

Together we have a combined income of about $350k and I have never felt so poor in my life. We bought a cheap fixer upper house (800k with reno) and drive older cars but still we are not able to put much in saving or max out our retirement accounts. We have 1 son in pre-school and my wife wants another kid but i am freaking out about not being able to afford it.

Anyways i am just wondering if other people feel poor around here (even on reasonably high incomes) or do they all make $500k+.

Maybe we should move to Rockville or Silver Spring? It's just sooo extremely blend over there, and we are told that the shools are bad.

Yes, because Bethesda is so interesting and unusual, as suburbs go.

Everyone in Bethesda thinks that the schools are "bad" anywhere other than Bethesda. Maybe you should do your own investigation, OP.

Yep we got sucked right in the Bethesda lifestyle .... When you move to a new place, i guess you tend to listen to the few people you know that live here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


We are a family of 4 living near downtown Bethesda in a little house on a 120K income. We have family abroad and visit them every year so we live frugally to save for our international trips, as well as for college and retirement.

I understand you're venting, but I still find your vent extremely ignorant and offensive.

Make it work, OP.

Sorry i didn't mean to offend you but if you don't mind sharing, i would be very interested to know you monthly budget. You obviously dont have the 4 kids in daycare? are you renting? or did you buy a long time ago?

I have family overseas too, and that flight alone is $4500 for 3 people in the summer.

PP you responded to.
Two children (not four), currently in public school.
When they were in daycare we lived elsewhere in a one bedroom to save for our house.
House bought in 2010 in the 700K range. Our 120K HHI is recent, prior to that we made much less, and still managed to buy the house.
I hear you on the plane tickets. Last year we had to make THREE trips overseas for funerals and it killed our budget - no vacations this year, no repairs on the house and serious belt tightening.

Ever since we've lived in this country, OP, we have watched our every penny. We could have lived better back home, but there is no real future there in the long-term. We practice delayed gratification and impulse control on all spending. I'm assuming you don't live like this, nor do you want to! I was surprised at the recent thread on DCUM which started bashing frugality, as if it were a bad thing.
Yet frugality has allowed to us to stretch our dollars this far. I'm grateful that we've made things work.

Not the OP, but you're rather smug about buying more house than you can afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


We are a family of 4 living near downtown Bethesda in a little house on a 120K income. We have family abroad and visit them every year so we live frugally to save for our international trips, as well as for college and retirement.

I understand you're venting, but I still find your vent extremely ignorant and offensive.

Make it work, OP.

Sorry i didn't mean to offend you but if you don't mind sharing, i would be very interested to know you monthly budget. You obviously dont have the 4 kids in daycare? are you renting? or did you buy a long time ago?

I have family overseas too, and that flight alone is $4500 for 3 people in the summer.

PP you responded to.
Two children (not four), currently in public school.
When they were in daycare we lived elsewhere in a one bedroom to save for our house.
House bought in 2010 in the 700K range. Our 120K HHI is recent, prior to that we made much less, and still managed to buy the house.
I hear you on the plane tickets. Last year we had to make THREE trips overseas for funerals and it killed our budget - no vacations this year, no repairs on the house and serious belt tightening.

Ever since we've lived in this country, OP, we have watched our every penny. We could have lived better back home, but there is no real future there in the long-term. We practice delayed gratification and impulse control on all spending. I'm assuming you don't live like this, nor do you want to! I was surprised at the recent thread on DCUM which started bashing frugality, as if it were a bad thing.
Yet frugality has allowed to us to stretch our dollars this far. I'm grateful that we've made things work.

OP Here... Congrats if you have done that without family money.... We should learn from you ....

I used to be frugal myself, but in the last years i just caved in, too much work and stress, too much money in and out to keep track of properly ... America got me in the end

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally get it- we are in a very similar situation, I almost wonder if you are my husband posting. I do not feel like we have money to burn AT ALL.

If that's your definition of not feeling poor, you will always feel poor.

Agree. This is a pathetic posting and clearly someone who is humble bragging.

[Anonymous]

Troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally get it- we are in a very similar situation, I almost wonder if you are my husband posting. I do not feel like we have money to burn AT ALL.

If that's your definition of not feeling poor, you will always feel poor.

Agree. This is a pathetic posting and clearly someone who is humble bragging.

OP here .... i get into this argument with some family/friend back home (they think i am ridiculous when i say i am struggling) but i think there is something people are missing here.

unless you're some trust fund kid, $350k a year doesnt come easy.... it involves years and years of sacrificing ... moving a lot , traveling for work, living in places you don't like, beeing away from friends and family, having to adjust culturaly (in my case again), learning a foreign language...All those things are fine at one condition, and that is that i am going to be rewarded for it. Otherwise why not just stay put, work a 9 to 5, be around friends and family etc... so yes $350k is being rewarded, but what is the point if you have to live the same life you would somewhere else on $100k.

And again, i just dont see where the money is going around here, there is nothing special at all about the place (expect schools maybe), there are no beaches, no mountains, mediocre climate, insanely high taxes etc...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally get it- we are in a very similar situation, I almost wonder if you are my husband posting. I do not feel like we have money to burn AT ALL.

If that's your definition of not feeling poor, you will always feel poor.

Agree. This is a pathetic posting and clearly someone who is humble bragging.

OP here .... i get into this argument with some family/friend back home (they think i am ridiculous when i say i am struggling) but i think there is something people are missing here.

unless you're some trust fund kid, $350k a year doesnt come easy.... it involves years and years of sacrificing ... moving a lot , traveling for work, living in places you don't like, beeing away from friends and family, having to adjust culturaly (in my case again), learning a foreign language...All those things are fine at one condition, and that is that i am going to be rewarded for it. Otherwise why not just stay put, work a 9 to 5, be around friends and family etc... so yes $350k is being rewarded, but what is the point if you have to live the same life you would somewhere else on $100k.

And again, i just dont see where the money is going around here, there is nothing special at all about the place (expect schools maybe), there are no beaches, no mountains, mediocre climate, insanely high taxes etc...

The problem seems to be that you think you are entitled to more than the market says you are worth. You don't get $500k/yr as recompense for your "sacrifice," you get it because you bring that $500k in value to people/firms that can afford to pay it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Troll.

Pretty obvious one at that. Or has no financial management skills whatsoever. Claims to have older cars yet is paying $600 a month in car payments? Doesn't understand that whether you live in an $800k house in Bethesda or Rockville your mortgage will be the same and your income does not go farther a few miles away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally get it- we are in a very similar situation, I almost wonder if you are my husband posting. I do not feel like we have money to burn AT ALL.

If that's your definition of not feeling poor, you will always feel poor.

Agree. This is a pathetic posting and clearly someone who is humble bragging.

OP here .... i get into this argument with some family/friend back home (they think i am ridiculous when i say i am struggling) but i think there is something people are missing here.

unless you're some trust fund kid, $350k a year doesnt come easy.... it involves years and years of sacrificing ... moving a lot , traveling for work, living in places you don't like, beeing away from friends and family, having to adjust culturaly (in my case again), learning a foreign language...All those things are fine at one condition, and that is that i am going to be rewarded for it. Otherwise why not just stay put, work a 9 to 5, be around friends and family etc... so yes $350k is being rewarded, but what is the point if you have to live the same life you would somewhere else on $100k.

And again, i just dont see where the money is going around here, there is nothing special at all about the place (expect schools maybe), there are no beaches, no mountains, mediocre climate, insanely high taxes etc...

The problem seems to be that you think you are entitled to more than the market says you are worth. You don't get $500k/yr as recompense for your "sacrifice," you get it because you bring that $500k in value to people/firms that can afford to pay it.

i am not saying i should make more, i am saying an area as lame as this one should cost less ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally get it- we are in a very similar situation, I almost wonder if you are my husband posting. I do not feel like we have money to burn AT ALL.

If that's your definition of not feeling poor, you will always feel poor.

Agree. This is a pathetic posting and clearly someone who is humble bragging.

OP here .... i get into this argument with some family/friend back home (they think i am ridiculous when i say i am struggling) but i think there is something people are missing here.

unless you're some trust fund kid, $350k a year doesnt come easy.... it involves years and years of sacrificing ... moving a lot , traveling for work, living in places you don't like, beeing away from friends and family, having to adjust culturaly (in my case again), learning a foreign language...All those things are fine at one condition, and that is that i am going to be rewarded for it. Otherwise why not just stay put, work a 9 to 5, be around friends and family etc... so yes $350k is being rewarded, but what is the point if you have to live the same life you would somewhere else on $100k.

And again, i just dont see where the money is going around here, there is nothing special at all about the place (expect schools maybe), there are no beaches, no mountains, mediocre climate, insanely high taxes etc...

The problem seems to be that you think you are entitled to more than the market says you are worth. You don't get $500k/yr as recompense for your "sacrifice," you get it because you bring that $500k in value to people/firms that can afford to pay it.

i am not saying i should make more, i am saying an area as lame as this one should cost less ...

Apparently the market does not agree with you. You do not place the same value on good schools and reasonable commute to the city that others do. So perhaps Bethesda is not the right place for you. If you want lakes and mountains then Vermont or upstate NY may be better choices for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The average HHI in Bethesda is less than yours. If you can't afford 2 kids on 350k then you are doing something very wrong.

Most homeowners in Bethesda bought into the DC housing market many years at a price point far far below you, which puts them miles ahead of new arrivals. Lots of smugness around this issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally get it- we are in a very similar situation, I almost wonder if you are my husband posting. I do not feel like we have money to burn AT ALL.

If that's your definition of not feeling poor, you will always feel poor.

Agree. This is a pathetic posting and clearly someone who is humble bragging.

OP here .... i get into this argument with some family/friend back home (they think i am ridiculous when i say i am struggling) but i think there is something people are missing here.

unless you're some trust fund kid, $350k a year doesnt come easy.... it involves years and years of sacrificing ... moving a lot , traveling for work, living in places you don't like, beeing away from friends and family, having to adjust culturaly (in my case again), learning a foreign language...All those things are fine at one condition, and that is that i am going to be rewarded for it. Otherwise why not just stay put, work a 9 to 5, be around friends and family etc... so yes $350k is being rewarded, but what is the point if you have to live the same life you would somewhere else on $100k.

And again, i just dont see where the money is going around here, there is nothing special at all about the place (expect schools maybe), there are no beaches, no mountains, mediocre climate, insanely high taxes etc...

The problem seems to be that you think you are entitled to more than the market says you are worth. You don't get $500k/yr as recompense for your "sacrifice," you get it because you bring that $500k in value to people/firms that can afford to pay it.

i am not saying i should make more, i am saying an area as lame as this one should cost less ...

Plenty of people disagree with you that this area is "lame." However, if you truly think that, then you are a fool for paying inflated prices to live here. Why don't you move away?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The average HHI in Bethesda is less than yours. If you can't afford 2 kids on 350k then you are doing something very wrong.

Most homeowners in Bethesda bought into the DC housing market many years at a price point far far below you, which puts them miles ahead of new arrivals. Lots of smugness around this issue.

Yes i guess that explains why the median HHI is so low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally get it- we are in a very similar situation, I almost wonder if you are my husband posting. I do not feel like we have money to burn AT ALL.

If that's your definition of not feeling poor, you will always feel poor.

Agree. This is a pathetic posting and clearly someone who is humble bragging.

OP here .... i get into this argument with some family/friend back home (they think i am ridiculous when i say i am struggling) but i think there is something people are missing here.

unless you're some trust fund kid, $350k a year doesnt come easy.... it involves years and years of sacrificing ... moving a lot , traveling for work, living in places you don't like, beeing away from friends and family, having to adjust culturaly (in my case again), learning a foreign language...All those things are fine at one condition, and that is that i am going to be rewarded for it. Otherwise why not just stay put, work a 9 to 5, be around friends and family etc... so yes $350k is being rewarded, but what is the point if you have to live the same life you would somewhere else on $100k.

And again, i just dont see where the money is going around here, there is nothing special at all about the place (expect schools maybe), there are no beaches, no mountains, mediocre climate, insanely high taxes etc...

The problem seems to be that you think you are entitled to more than the market says you are worth. You don't get $500k/yr as recompense for your "sacrifice," you get it because you bring that $500k in value to people/firms that can afford to pay it.

i am not saying i should make more, i am saying an area as lame as this one should cost less ...

Plenty of people disagree with you that this area is "lame." However, if you truly think that, then you are a fool for paying inflated prices to live here. Why don't you move away?

wife found her "dream" job ... i know i need to start focusing on the positives about this place.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Another thing i am trying to do is figure out why this area is so expensive, this way at least i could get something out of living here.

Prices are higher because of the schools, which you might not be using yet.

The schools are the same throughout the county. What varies is the HHI of the students attending the schools. If you want your child to attend schools where the majority of students come from families with high HHI, then move to Bethesda or Potomac. If that is not important to you, then move anywhere else in the county. Schools are not inherently better because they are located in Bethesda.

That may be true, but people are obsessing about school districts around here. My wife made us overlook a house because it was in the Walter Johnson district, and her coworker told her she should aim for Churchill or Whitman.

Yikes, aren't there at least 10 years before your first kid will need a high school? Anything could happen before then. I'm not sure I would buy a house in a particular HS district when my kid is only in preschool.