DC or FL???
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Anonymous
We aren't trying to be mean. We are being realistic. You will be living on a very tight budget with that income. It's very, very low for this area. |
Anonymous
120 is not that low, get out of your bubble. |
Anonymous
It might not be that low, but it definitely won't afford a dual income family with an infant a "professional" lifestyle. |
Anonymous
Seriously! I guess I must be poor. My DH and I have a HHI of $100K and we're doing just fine. We pay $1450 in rent and $225/week (soon to be $190/week) for daycare. It's possible to live in this area on $120k OP. |
Anonymous
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OP. What is your hudband's GS-level and do you get locality pay? I sm also a native Floridian. I came here for college snd never left. What I like about this area: There is lots of FREE stuff to do - museums, concerts, etc. you name it, central location easy for day trips to NYC, Philly, the beach or the mountains. Oh, and yes we have Walmart, Costco, Target, etc.
Finding affordable housing is a challenge - for $300K you will not get what you CSN in zorilla do, but you csn find perfectly acceptable housing in perfectly safe neighborhoods close to decent schools, etc. for that price. Our house in the Aspen Hill neighborhood in Montgomery a county is walking distance to three schools, tennis courts a community pool and is exactly one mile from the metro Red Line. We, therefore, have one car. Most shopping is within one mile - Aspen Hill Shopping Center has a Giant Supermarket and a good selection of smaller stores, including Panera Bread sn there are plans to build a Walmart across the street. There is a Kohl's next door. The closest Targets are in the Wheaton Mall or the Target Greatland in Colesville. Other nearby amenities include Wheaton Regional Park, which has riding stables, tennis courts and a toy train and Brookside Gardens. Wheaton Regionsl Library is also nearby. When we are not in our house, as we travel overseas for my job from time to time, we rent the house out for $1500. Our HHI is $131K, and we feel we lead a middle class lifestyle here. |
Anonymous
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BTW, that $131K puts us above the median income for MoCo, which is approximately $93K, so aindo not conside kt low for this area. WhT you have on DCUM ateva lot of propleveho live in a bubble where everyone they know mskes $250K znd lives in Bethesda or Upper NW DC.
What type of job is your husband considering. What is your professional background? As to whether you will rub shoulders with other professionals, I would saynitbdepends on war you do. I work daily with high ranking White House types, meet with corporate CEOs and small business entrepreneurs, so my access is not limited by my salary but more defined by my position and expertise. One other thing I failed to mention that I like about living here is the cultural and ethnic diversity. Mrptpy friends snd neighbors are from Ethiopia, El Salvador, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine and Vietnam, just to name a few. |
Anonymous
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What type of job is your husband considering. What is your professional background? It would be a sr. engineer position. |
Anonymous
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I think you could do it, but I think it would be hard. There are plenty of people around here who live on salaries like that, although you will probably have to sacrifice something - get a smaller place, have a longer commute, etc. DC has lots to offer, but you will be able to have a big house here on that salary. If that doesn't matter to you and you think you will benefit from living here in other ways, it may be worth it.
Will you also be working in DC? |
Anonymous
Sorry, I meant to say "you will NOT be able to have a big house on that salary." |
Anonymous
| The salary snobbery is odd. We are an upper income household and have friends who make much less. It isn't like we as for a w-2 before hanging out. One huge benefit of the government is the pension if you stay long enough. Btw have you tried to negotiate salary? That is possible in some agencies. I think most posters are just cautioning you as to the hit your lifestyle will take up here. |
Anonymous
I didn't think this existed anymore? I know it is not like the old days where if you work there for 20 years you get 80% of your highest salary for walking to the mailbox. |
Anonymous
For OP, Montgomery County, MD and Fairfax County, VA are the wealthiest Washington suburb counties. Median household income is about 100K in each. Median house is probably north of 400K, so it's expensive, yes, but you and DH will not endure grinding poverty on 120K. I didn't see you tell us how old you are, either. If there's room for natural career progression, your income will rise, hopefully. |
Anonymous
We are both engineers. I have my own home based business with the revenue mentioned before. If budget gets too complicated I can get a better job. Salary negotiation may be an option. However, at this moment we have decided to stay here. This is an informed desicion considering your feedback and several weeks of intensive research. We really love the DC area and is one of our favorite places to go. We have been there so many times that I don't remember. Let me tell you, someone perspective may change dramatically when you see a place from a tourists vs the place that you would live in. We love DC area but at this moment we will keep loving it from the tourist point of view. Thank you all again for all the feedback (the useful ones, of course). Have a good weekend. 
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Anonymous
| Stay in Florida, you're saving like 4% MD taxes and almost 4% Montgomery county income taxes by living in an income tax free state like Florida. |
Anonymous
It's still pretty damn good. At least it is for us. My DH has been a fed for 12 years. We'll get something like 70% of his highest salary plus the TSP. No complaints. |