How many friends or family of yours have left the DC area recently due to the rising cost of living?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This area has the most ideal col to salary ratio. Only foolish people leave because of col.

completely disagree. DH and I both have advanced degrees. Out the gate we pay $2300 per month for mortgage (very modest 2 BR that we are squeezing into) and $2350 for two kids in daycare (that's with a discount through DH's employer). Our income does not make up for it and we cut corners in many ways (ie paid off compact cars instead of more comfortable vehicles), no conveniences such as cleaners etc bc it eats into our earnings too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Zero. But I do know a half dozen people (including me) who moved to DC for its lower COL.

Someone always has to sneak in this sort of comment. Always. Never fails.

Because it's true. If you're from a number of other cities, including Boston, SF, LA, NY etc you don't find it that expensive here

Yep. We sneak it in bc it is true. I just don't get the big deal re DC COL - have you looked at NYC, Boston, or SF lately!?

Agreed. My theory is that people here do not compare and do not want to compare DC (and the associated suburbs) with NYC, SF, Boston, LA etc. -- even though the employability and economic growth drivers are the same as they are for those cities (though obv in different industries). And since there is such good employability, supply/demand becomes an issue as more and more people move to these cities for jobs, prices for housing, daycare etc. rise. Instead people in DC want to compare to their hometown of Tampa Fl or Kansas City or wherever and lament that if they were back there, they could have a McMansion for $300k and be paying $800/month for a top quality daycare. That may be great individually - if you can get and keep a job in Missouri, go. But on the aggregate, there is greater employability in all the big cities and when downturns hit, it is MUCH easier to get another job if needed without having to sell your house, move, and uproot your life. That is not always true in Ohio -- in economically depressed areas, you're great as long as you have a job; if you lose a job, there isn't a guarantee you get another one in the same pay scale in driving distance and it's very possible that you end up having to move to another city/state for a job (unless you're a doctor/in healthcare - then you're employable anywhere any time). If you've ever tried to sell a house in an economically depressed area, you know it's not an easy feat to even sell at all and to break even (forget making a profit). It's employability that keeps me here - actually bouncing btwn here and NYC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None. The other option is go back to their home state and make $40k a year lol. Not many people choosing that option.

. More house for lesser money?

Housing is a big chunk of what people spend, but there are also issues with quality of schools, health care, and social life. If all you want after work is to sit in a big house, you can move to suburban Ohio.

I happen to be from suburban Ohio and we just took our two kids there to visit family. We had a yard to play in, didn't sit in traffic to go anywhere, went to museums, etc. Plus there are lots of great public schools in the Cleveland area and cost of housing there is infinitely more affordable (in those good school districts) than it is in this area in general in mediocre districts. There is incredible diversity of religion and culture in some parts of Cleveland due to the universities and immigration patterns etc. I would move back in a second. The only reason its not on the table right now is DH is in the midst of working on an advanced degree in this area.

The food scene and bar scene wouldn't compare to a city like DC at all, but on a day to day basis, as parents, Cleveland would be a much more desirable place to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This area has the most ideal col to salary ratio. Only foolish people leave because of col.

completely disagree. DH and I both have advanced degrees. Out the gate we pay $2300 per month for mortgage (very modest 2 BR that we are squeezing into) and $2350 for two kids in daycare (that's with a discount through DH's employer). Our income does not make up for it and we cut corners in many ways (ie paid off compact cars instead of more comfortable vehicles), no conveniences such as cleaners etc bc it eats into our earnings too much.

And what do you and DH do for a living?

In this city I'm not necessarily impressed by "advanced degrees." I have never met so many people that pursued "advanced degrees" in esoteric things and in areas that just do not pay. Honestly I think there is more of that here than in other cities where degrees tend to be more relevant to making money.

[Anonymous]

All these idiot posters on this thread

Have fun being house poor your whole lives morons now I know why everyone complains about living off 250k on this site

Greetings from almost any other metro in the US outside of NY and SF and I guess apparently Boston now :p

HHI of 225k from Columbus Ohio I could easily stop working now at 35 already and I'm a first generation college graduate

I went to grad school in DC....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This area has the most ideal col to salary ratio. Only foolish people leave because of col.

completely disagree. DH and I both have advanced degrees. Out the gate we pay $2300 per month for mortgage (very modest 2 BR that we are squeezing into) and $2350 for two kids in daycare (that's with a discount through DH's employer). Our income does not make up for it and we cut corners in many ways (ie paid off compact cars instead of more comfortable vehicles), no conveniences such as cleaners etc bc it eats into our earnings too much.

And what do you and DH do for a living?

In this city I'm not necessarily impressed by "advanced degrees." I have never met so many people that pursued "advanced degrees" in esoteric things and in areas that just do not pay. Honestly I think there is more of that here than in other cities where degrees tend to be more relevant to making money.

DH is an engineer and I work in health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All these idiot posters on this thread

Have fun being house poor your whole lives morons now I know why everyone complains about living off 250k on this site

Greetings from almost any other metro in the US outside of NY and SF and I guess apparently Boston now :p

HHI of 225k from Columbus Ohio I could easily stop working now at 35 already and I'm a first generation college graduate

I went to grad school in DC....

Enjoy Columbus Ohio. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All these idiot posters on this thread

Have fun being house poor your whole lives morons now I know why everyone complains about living off 250k on this site

Greetings from almost any other metro in the US outside of NY and SF and I guess apparently Boston now :p

HHI of 225k from Columbus Ohio I could easily stop working now at 35 already and I'm a first generation college graduate

I went to grad school in DC....

I don't believe you have a grad degree, or any degree for that matter.

[Anonymous]

I am PP. I will say that a lot of folks we know that stick around have help, either inheritance, undergrad or grad paid by family, one or both sides of the family gave a big down payment for a home etc. We have had none of those. Not a boo hoo but an observation that many people we know who stick it out here have had significant help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am PP. I will say that a lot of folks we know that stick around have help, either inheritance, undergrad or grad paid by family, one or both sides of the family gave a big down payment for a home etc. We have had none of those. Not a boo hoo but an observation that many people we know who stick it out here have had significant help.

I know very few people like that but I may skew a little older than most on here. We bought as much house as we could in 2000 and have struggled some, public school, no huge vacations, 2 cars purchased in 2004 etc., but now we feel like its paying off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am PP. I will say that a lot of folks we know that stick around have help, either inheritance, undergrad or grad paid by family, one or both sides of the family gave a big down payment for a home etc. We have had none of those. Not a boo hoo but an observation that many people we know who stick it out here have had significant help.

I know very few people like that but I may skew a little older than most on here. We bought as much house as we could in 2000 and have struggled some, public school, no huge vacations, 2 cars purchased in 2004 etc., but now we feel like its paying off.

PP again. Most folks I know here were finishing up school in the early 2000's and arrived mid-2000's so we were still in our early earning years as the housing market peaked. Not many people I'm friends with here would have been in a position to buy on their own with costs as they were at that time or as they are now. The few folks I know personally who bought in late 90's or 2000, were obviously getting much more house for less money, some even trading up for cash purchases due to lucky (not calculated) investments early on.

[Anonymous]

Zero as far as I know. But I am from this area so most of us like it and want to raise our own kids here.

When I worked on the Hill, there were a lot more newbies who have now cycled out, I think.

Wait, I do know one: my cousin and his wife. They were from the Midwest, moved here to work on, yep, the Hill, and then moved back to the Midwest after child #1 was born.

[Anonymous]

Making that move for us would be to give up all of our friends, family, and connections just to be able to show off another 2000 square feet of house. Our (paid off) little brick house here would sell for enough to get us an ostentatious house on a golf course in the Midwest somewhere, but no thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Making that move for us would be to give up all of our friends, family, and connections just to be able to show off another 2000 square feet of house. Our (paid off) little brick house here would sell for enough to get us an ostentatious house on a golf course in the Midwest somewhere, but no thanks.

If we had a paid off house here, we would never even consider leaving. Housing cost is obviously a factor for a lot of people. Kudos to you for having a paid off house- its so far from the reality of most people here though. Plus family here makes a huge difference. Many people we know who left (at least those with kids) did so to move closer to family. Sounds like you've got an amazing set up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This area has the most ideal col to salary ratio. Only foolish people leave because of col.

completely disagree. DH and I both have advanced degrees. Out the gate we pay $2300 per month for mortgage (very modest 2 BR that we are squeezing into) and $2350 for two kids in daycare (that's with a discount through DH's employer). Our income does not make up for it and we cut corners in many ways (ie paid off compact cars instead of more comfortable vehicles), no conveniences such as cleaners etc bc it eats into our earnings too much.

So you can get an equally high salary with your advanced degrees in Omaha? If there is a better col to salary ratio in a different area, why haven't you moved there?