How are you able to afford the DC area - from an out-of-towner?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We make just over $250K, have modest debt (student loans only) and worked our bums off saving to afford a $750K SF house. This means no vacation, no extravagant eating, no new car even though we could technically afford it. We saved nearly $120K in four years by saving, saving, and saving (maxed out our retirement too) and by living outside the beltway while renting to keep costs down. For three of the four years we had an infant too, so daycare costs, etc.

When we closed on our house, my husband was wearing frayed five year old khakis - his only pair. It can be done.

We saved that much in that amount of time on half your salary. Student loans must be huge?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No way. NYC is WAY more than DC. Which is why there is a recent influx.

OP, PP here. Not trying to say you are snarky, but the locals are. They try to pummel people down to their level but the smart ones don't let them.

rents here are way less than NYC. School costs less too. We owned our apartment and will pay just about the same for more than double the space with a yard in a NW DC neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:20:50 you are an ass. OP- you are right. My husband and I both work- live in DC, crappy school area but lucked out on charters for both kids, make about 150k EACH, and do not have a great big back yard or lots of sq ft in our 800k home. We have a very easy commute to our jobs, like what we do, and have lots of family in the area. But I always said, if we could make anything close to our income now (and by close, I mean 60%) of it - or if my husband could make his income somewhere else (he is in tech, and gets 30% of his income for clearances, we should go. Here is the thing, other places would not have the same culture and city life we love, but we would have larger yards,less stress, and most importantly less assholes like 20:50.

Oh please. Not 20:50 but OP comes on here and snarks about DC. What do you expect is going to happen?

I didn't detect any snark. Not even a whiff. Is my snarkometer off?

[Anonymous]

I think it is difficult to move here as an established adult from a lower cost of living area. I moved here straight from college and was used to being broke with no space, so that was no big deal. I was taken aback my some of the attitude, but I found a more laid back area where I fit in. Our hhi is now $200,000 with two kids in daycare and I feel quite comfortable financially, although our savings took a huge hit as we just bought a second house and all the costs going into that add up. I think OP can easily be comfortable on $200,000 here, but she'd probably not find the same type of house she currently has unless she moved out to Fairfax or even farther.

[Anonymous]

it's not snark. we're looking at the same move and cannot figure out how people make it work, or why.

i'm not going to dis the culture - yes, there is more available. still, you can only do so much. we've been vacationing in DC and reading the listings on and off for a year and the differential between DC and our city is not as great as everyone seems to think. we're never bored and can easily afford a getaway for a particular performance/exhibit. the dining is no better.

the housing situation is really upsetting. we work too hard to be looking at tiny former crackhouses in neighborhoods with no grocery store.

obviously, people do make it work. it's just a mystery to us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:it's not snark. we're looking at the same move and cannot figure out how people make it work, or why.

i'm not going to dis the culture - yes, there is more available. still, you can only do so much. we've been vacationing in DC and reading the listings on and off for a year and the differential between DC and our city is not as great as everyone seems to think. we're never bored and can easily afford a getaway for a particular performance/exhibit. the dining is no better.

the housing situation is really upsetting. we work too hard to be looking at tiny former crackhouses in neighborhoods with no grocery store.

obviously, people do make it work. it's just a mystery to us.

The op was not snarking. You are.

[Anonymous]

i'm not snarking. that's confusion and frustration. are we wrong about the cost of housing? i want to kidnap strangers on the street and make them show me their household bills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't mention what your spouse makes? Most families here have two incomes and, almost more importantly, two careers to support. If not, I see no reason why someone at your career level would move here.

Spouse makes about $45,000 but incredible benefits (dirt cheap healthcare) are also part of the package.

If you have children, she would essentially be paying to work here. She would do better as a SAHM, and in that situation I wouldn't move here with your salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't mention what your spouse makes? Most families here have two incomes and, almost more importantly, two careers to support. If not, I see no reason why someone at your career level would move here.

Spouse makes about $45,000 but incredible benefits (dirt cheap healthcare) are also part of the package.

If you have children, she would essentially be paying to work here. She would do better as a SAHM, and in that situation I wouldn't move here with your salary.

I don't necessarily agree. Spouse would make more here as a teacher than she does where they live, and benefits packages for public school teachers are pretty good here.

I make $90K working part-time and DH makes $80K working as a teacher. His healthcare coverage is good and inexpensive. We live inside the Beltway, take reasonable vacations, and live frugally but comfortably. We have a good quality of life.

It can be done.

[Anonymous]

We don't live in a 2400 square foot house on a big lot. We live in a small house on a small lot. We all make choices.

[Anonymous]

We make 400k combined. Spouse is a lawyer and could probably make his salary anywhere in the country. I'm very lucky in that I make $125k with two liberal arts degrees (one is an MA). I doubt I could make that kind of $ anywhere else in the country with my degrees. We bought pre-bubble so were able to trade up to a beautiful house 4 miles outside of the city. Short commutes, great schools, nice neighbors, with all the benefits of DC a short Metro ride away. I travel for biz and I'm always grateful to come home to the DC Metro area. We have wonderful friends, really sharp colleagues, and DC is a great city. It's true that there's a lot of bitter people on this Board and I've met my share of bitter people in IRL in DC but why focus on them with all the other positives?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Midwest. $330,000, ten year old house with 2,600 square feet and a nice back yard. The other day may spouse and I were looking at the DC area cost of living because a recruiter called me about a job opportunity. So I went on realtor.com to look at houses. OMG, in Maryland a house built in 1951 for over $700,000 that looks like it needs work!

Let's say I earn $125,000 and the DC area pays more so I will get $140,000 or slightly more. After taxes, there is no way that increase makes up anywhere near the cost of living difference. Are most of you lawyers, lobbyists, or ex-military that join defense contractors? How can you afford that kind of housing unless you have a job like that or an inheritance? We figured out that if we moved, there would be no money left to do anything for fun. In fact, we figured out that it would cost less to stay in the Midwest and fly to DC 4 or 5 times a year to do things than move there. Culture is great, but if you can't afford to do anything, what good does it do to be near it?

yes.or feds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, we r used to obsurdly high COL because we r from CA. My DH makes $120k and I am mostly SAH and we have plenty of fun and take two vacations a year. A toddler in daycare. We live just outside the beltway in a 2br condo, 1600sq ft. We aren't poor at that salary.

You may not be poor, but you seem kinda lazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's the point of your post? Apparently, millions of us are finding a way to make it work. When you come to visit, remember to stand on the left when you go on the metro.

The right. For the love of God, stand to the right, walk on the left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People make sacrifices in the D.C. housing market, on top of having astronomical prices, OP. As PP mentioned, you can have this amenity or that, but you will sacrifice (i.e.: close in old ratty house vs. further out commute that gets old quick but much nicer house).

The city has sub par schools. The suburbs are composed of giant counties, where the region/county-wide money is pooled (taxes) and dispersed in a questionable manner, unlike most metropolitan areas. Though locals love to tout its merits, the merits are based on the counties being far too large to manage properly.

People like it here because presumably it has job opportunities, but this is not a slam dunk that some think it is.

Sometimes it seems like the people who live here are so miserable their life is an ongoing snark contest, I find it sad for them. Consequently, it is difficult to meet people to spend time with that are socially astute (gracious).

Again, there are sacrifices.

If you like where you are, I would stay. I would not move "just for the heck of it". That would be a really bad move.

It's awkward syntax poster, who hates DC and thinks she's better than everyone else! Thanks for joining us, you always make these threads more entertaining.