Are millennials under 25 in the DC area priced out of getting married, having kids, owning a home?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was wonderful here in the 80's. Now not so much but my house is worth a ton so at least I have that.

It was a crime-ridden hellhole in the 80s. Are you crazy? DC was the murder capitol of the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was wonderful here in the 80's. Now not so much but my house is worth a ton so at least I have that.

It was a crime-ridden hellhole in the 80s. Are you crazy? DC was the murder capitol of the US.

But the nice parts were nice. Same during the 90s and early 2000s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was wonderful here in the 80's. Now not so much but my house is worth a ton so at least I have that.

It was a crime-ridden hellhole in the 80s. Are you crazy? DC was the murder capitol of the US.

But the nice parts were nice. Same during the 90s and early 2000s

Which was what exactly? Georgetown and Foxhall? Dupont was a prostitute's paradise that only the 'brave gays' ventured to, anything east of that was a no-man's land, until the 2000s even Columbia Heights was vice central and anything a step off Capitol Hill was Anacostia by default, NoMa was abandoned warehouses and empty lots. Seriously? DC became the city it is today because of Anthony Williams' post-2000 efforts.

Up until then, the nice parts weren't nice, they just had their heads in the sand and fear in their eyes. Drugs, crime, prostitution and a seriously corrupt mayor ruled this city. It's why people who bought in the city then really paid their dues. I know someone who bought a set of condos in Adams Morgan for 60K each in the 90s, the area was that bad. When he sold the two properties in 2014 he made a killing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did she have a job in DC?

No.

Without a definite job offer of a minimum 100k per year. If you are single. That's just reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did she have a job in DC?

No.

Without a definite job offer of a minimum 100k per year. If you are single. That's just reality.

No offense but a single person in DC doesn't need a 100K a year to live here. They do need it in order to buy inside the city though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What 24 yr old wants to be married with kids anyway?! Your 20's is for building your career.

Even if you are 24 years old and don't want to be married, you might want to be married in the future. Just keep in mind that if you're in your late 20s in DC and a female, it's very difficult to find a husband or even a stable boyfriend.

And all the men are nerdy losers. Even if they are otherwise eligible/stable.

Such a lose-lose.

Couldn't agree more. There's a shortage of single men in the DC area between the ages of 28 and 32; the ones that ere single at that age tend to be douchebags.

I'm 34 and married the love of my life recently. He's 29 and I had to import him from Texas.

All the women between the age range above have a hard time finding men, and they are all cute and accomplished.

Sorry to hijack the post, but OP - tell your niece that DC is a fun place only when you're in you're early 20s and prioritize fun over much everything else, like saving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What 24 yr old wants to be married with kids anyway?! Your 20's is for building your career.

Even if you are 24 years old and don't want to be married, you might want to be married in the future. Just keep in mind that if you're in your late 20s in DC and a female, it's very difficult to find a husband or even a stable boyfriend.

And all the men are nerdy losers. Even if they are otherwise eligible/stable.

Such a lose-lose.

Couldn't agree more. There's a shortage of single men in the DC area between the ages of 28 and 32; the ones that ere single at that age tend to be douchebags.

I'm 34 and married the love of my life recently. He's 29 and I had to import him from Texas.

All the women between the age range above have a hard time finding men, and they are all cute and accomplished.

Sorry to hijack the post, but OP - tell your niece that DC is a fun place only when you're in you're early 20s and prioritize fun over much everything else, like saving.

Yep. Spent a lot of time in Texas. One thing about Texas- if you are struggling with a heavy bag, or trying to reach something off the top shelf at a store (and can't), you won't need to wait long. There will be a man who will approach and, expecting nothing in return, help you out. That's just the code down there- women are worthy of being helped and treated nicely. Not like the DC losers who would shove an old lady into the tracks at metro if it meant getting a better seat.

They also are way friendlier with way less social anxiety issues. So if a guy likes you, he will read your body language and, if positive, actually approach you.

Texas men aren't my top favorite- but they are certainly WORLDS better than the DC neurotic sads.

[Anonymous]

*shrug* I'm from the South. I love a good gentleman with manners. But I've noticed that outside of the cities a lot of these gentlemen are also lazy sods. Around the house and in the job market. They're a lot more likely to settle especially in their careers. You can get by with a lot less money in Texas and I do mean a lot less. You kind of have to be mildly psychotic/neurotic/Type-A to make it successfully and financially in DC. The issue is when you get to that level and look around - you're scouting for what's left or in some cases - marrying someone a lot less driven than you are (male or female).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Long story short.
I recently had to discourage an extended family member (recent grad) from relocating to the DC area.
I told her it made better sense financially to stay in her home state (midwest) where the cost of living is lower. Much lower.

She asked for my advice and I gave it to her.
Should I have been more optimistic?

I was told the same thing in 1986.

It's bad advice because there truly are more and better career opportunities in a city like DC. When you first graduate college DC will be a much harder place to live and the salary differential won't be enough to make up for the higher cost of living. However over time you'll make a lot more money than you would in a small town or flyover city and you'll be able to save a lot more for retirement. People also move up the ranks here faster.

Ummm how? Most people don't see the jumps in salary that make the cost of living in DC irrelevant. People here with $300K HHI can barely afford daycare + mortgage that is affordable to the rest of the country at $150K HHI.

My husband and I make around $200K. I bought my condo 8 years ago as a single girl, and we still live there. I think that we could make a lot less somewhere else (like Minnesota) and have a much nicer life..

Very true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was wonderful here in the 80's. Now not so much but my house is worth a ton so at least I have that.

It was a crime-ridden hellhole in the 80s. Are you crazy? DC was the murder capitol of the US.

But the nice parts were nice. Same during the 90s and early 2000s

Which was what exactly? Georgetown and Foxhall? Dupont was a prostitute's paradise that only the 'brave gays' ventured to, anything east of that was a no-man's land, until the 2000s even Columbia Heights was vice central and anything a step off Capitol Hill was Anacostia by default, NoMa was abandoned warehouses and empty lots. Seriously? DC became the city it is today because of Anthony Williams' post-2000 efforts.

Up until then, the nice parts weren't nice, they just had their heads in the sand and fear in their eyes. Drugs, crime, prostitution and a seriously corrupt mayor ruled this city. It's why people who bought in the city then really paid their dues. I know someone who bought a set of condos in Adams Morgan for 60K each in the 90s, the area was that bad. When he sold the two properties in 2014 he made a killing.

DC wasn't all bad.
The entire city wasn't dodging gunshots.
Only in certain areas.

[Anonymous]

My niece and her husbands. She is doing residency and he works from home in finance. Just had a baby and bought a 1 million house in Eckington. I about fell over. No parental help. So some 27 and 28 year olds do have money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What 24 yr old wants to be married with kids anyway?! Your 20's is for building your career.

I got married at 24 and had my first kid at 26, third at 30. Our HHI is around 650k. We both have master's degrees and have been married for over ten years. It's stupid to pretend that only uneducated, ignorant, poor people get married in their twenties.

+1

very similar situation

Not everyone wants to waste away the best unencumbered years of their lives with toddlers. I'm glad it worked out for you though.

I wanted to have kids and I love having them. But I'll tell you what, I'd much rather have had my babies and toddlers in my late twenties vs. now in my late thirties or, even worse, early to mid forties. No question in my mind, lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got married in college and had a baby right after graduation. My husband was a military officer and we were able to live comfortably in Burke. But that was 30 years ago. My daughter is 23. She lives in Old Town and rents an adorable basement apartment from a lovely couple who has almost adopted her. She is a teacher. She makes $52,000 for the 10 months she teaches. During the summer she is an educational consultant at a zoo in our home town and probably makes another $5,000. She has plenty of disposable income as a young single person. I cannot imagine how she could buy a home or support a family on her income.

She wouldn't have to. She'd marry and be part of a dual income couple like most people. Even if she married another teacher, you're looking at 100k. Not enough to buy a SFH but definitely a small starter condo. Put your equity in, sell at a profit, buy something bigger. That's how people do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What 24 yr old wants to be married with kids anyway?! Your 20's is for building your career.

Even if you are 24 years old and don't want to be married, you might want to be married in the future. Just keep in mind that if you're in your late 20s in DC and a female, it's very difficult to find a husband or even a stable boyfriend.

And all the men are nerdy losers. Even if they are otherwise eligible/stable.

Such a lose-lose.

Couldn't agree more. There's a shortage of single men in the DC area between the ages of 28 and 32; the ones that ere single at that age tend to be douchebags.

I'm 34 and married the love of my life recently. He's 29 and I had to import him from Texas.

All the women between the age range above have a hard time finding men, and they are all cute and accomplished.

Sorry to hijack the post, but OP - tell your niece that DC is a fun place only when you're in you're early 20s and prioritize fun over much everything else, like saving.

Gee. I wonder why you had trouble dating, with your characterization of DC men as tending to be douchebags, while "ALL" the DC women in that age range are "cute and accomplished."

[Anonymous]

Ummm, I think it's actually cheaper to be married, to be honest. So I don't think anyone is getting "priced out" of getting married.

How many millennials under 25 want kids? Not many, I'd venture.

Home ownership is also something for when you're more settled (you need at least an expectation of staying put for 5-7 years). I think a more normal question would be whether millenials in the 25-35 range are getting priced out.