Are there any truly middle class neighborhoods in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does middle class mean that 2 working people who earn as much as a school teacher and police officer, can afford a 3 bedroom home, daycare for 1 child and summer camp for the older kid in school, 2 car payments, no family money and all this in a nice enough low crime area where kids can roam

Remove the summer camp for the older kid and specify daycare for the younger is an affordable home-based daycare and you’re closer. Summer camps and center-based daycares were always UMC options.

Public subsidized summer day camp is quite affordable for a middle class family. You just have to look for reasonably priced programs, which almost always means city, but sometimes can mean lower priced private programs.

[Anonymous]

Fairlington, Shirlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And by middle class, I mean a neighborhood that two teachers could afford to buy in.

Buy what? Does it have to be a single family detached home? Can it be a condo or a small TH? This is what really would determine the answer to this question. DC has a lot more inventory of multifamily units and townhomes than SFHs, so the neighborhood not affordable for an SFH buyer can be affordable if you are open to multifamily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does middle class mean that 2 working people who earn as much as a school teacher and police officer, can afford a 3 bedroom home, daycare for 1 child and summer camp for the older kid in school, 2 car payments, no family money and all this in a nice enough low crime area where kids can roam

IDK when this definition was realistic, maybe decades ago, before the 80s? SFHs become less affordable with time because their number can only increase with sprawl (which is already maximized in DMV area). If population grows and becomes more affluent and prioritizes SFH ownership vs. multifamily/TH, then prices for SFH land in closer commute distances to jobs and amenities become very competitive.

This old definition of middle class where (some say one income) can afford a detached decent home is gone long ago with more competition for limited SFH land. You could still find it in more remote area, but in dense metro areas with robust job markets you won't find this, which means that the concept of a "starter home" or a middle class/working class home has to be redefined to include multifamily housing.

This was already the case in the 90s in some very HCOL areas like SF and NYC. Even in DC starter homes were studios/1 bedrooms for single professionals or couples if you wanted to live in a good neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

If you're earning $150k a year together, you can afford a $450k place. There are 2-bedroom condos and co-ops well below that (necessary to accommodate monthly fees) along CT and WI Ave NW, Hill East, and lots of other places. If you want a 3-br fee simple home, that's harder but possible EOTR or in suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're earning $150k a year together, you can afford a $450k place. There are 2-bedroom condos and co-ops well below that (necessary to accommodate monthly fees) along CT and WI Ave NW, Hill East, and lots of other places. If you want a 3-br fee simple home, that's harder but possible EOTR or in suburbs.

Possible
But paying for daycare as well and having the trappings of middle class lifestyle with 2 kids would be much harder.
I think middle class means no taking part in subsidized homes or government assistance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And by middle class, I mean a neighborhood that two teachers could afford to buy in.

Palisades