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Do you feel trapped in the DC area because of good jobs, but really dream of living elsewhere?
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Anonymous
Ditto to everything you posted! If I am esp. miserable I dream about the move to the pacific NW....but I am content here. We have zero commute, family is close and live in a nice house walking distance to everything. I think about how much more we could have living other places with a lower COL--but, as you stated, the 'other places' I would consider have the same- if not higher COL. I do despise DC summers. |
Anonymous
I would LOVE to move back to Chicago. The only way that'll happen is if get a job that pays more than DH's, which is not very likely 
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Anonymous
| Love it here! I love that when I take my DD to the baby pool she plays with childrend from Argentina, Brasil, Germany, Siberia etc... There are so many things here for us to do and I have wonderful friends and family here. Life is full and good! But then again I own my own business, don't work in politics, barely commute and set my hours. I wish it was less expensive but overall our quality of life is great here. |
Anonymous
Oops mispelled Brazil! The children make it sound like it has an "s" in it when they say it
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Anonymous
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Let me count the ways I love DC:
* our friends. We are incredibly lucky to have a GREAT group of friends here. I don't think we could replicate this support system in another city, as it has taken us ~15 years to develop these relationships. * cultural opportunities. * raising our child in an area where people are (relatively) open-minded and tolerant of differences. * I don't have to fake a love for Nascar or SEC football. * It's OK that I don't scrap or make my child's halloween costume. * good doctors and hospitals. If your baby has a heart defect or your spouse develops a rare form of cancer, this is a pretty good place to be living. I also grew up in Chicago and do miss some things about that city. If we could bring five or seven other families with us, and find equivalent jobs, we might consider moving. But I don't think the COL would be significantly lower. When comparing salaries and cost of living, think about how much you can save for retirement. You generally want to live where you can earn the most (and suffer through the higher COL) during your earning years, and move to a lower COL area for retirement. If you can save 15% in your 401k, wouldn't you want that to be the highest amount possible? For those complaining about your commutes, think about trading in the big suburban house (with more volatile value) for a smaller place closer in. More time to spend with your family and less house/yard work.
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Anonymous
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I was born and raised here and have wanted to move somewhere else no less than 30 times. However all my family and very close friends are here...this is home. The jobs for DH and myself are plentiful and when I sold my condo after the bubble burst, I only lost $10,000 on it.
However, even after visiting numerous cities across the U.S. and Europe...I am quite content where I am. To me, it is about what you make of it. There are much worse places I could be living! |
Anonymous
You are joking, right? Have you been to New York? Chicago, LA, Boston? One of the many annoying things about D.C.: Its own sense of self-importance, and the parochial attitude of its residents. |
Anonymous
| Totally self important! get me outta here! |
Anonymous
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I think I would feel trapped anywhere. Moving an entire family is hard, especially a two income one.
I know that some will say if we moved we might be able to make it on one income, but I actually like working (as long as it's a good job with decent hours and flexibility) and feel like we could always use extra money for savings, college, retirement. So no matter where we were living, we would both have to find jobs, new preschool, look into schools, commuting, neighborhoods, etc. New doctors, and so on. It just seems like so much work. My best friend lives in much less heavily congested area, but still commutes 45 minutes because things are way more spread out (that said, it's a consistent 45 without horrific traffic so that is one plus). It was harder to find good daycare because there are way fewer working moms and she doesn't have the support I feel like I do here. So there are pros and cons to everywhere. What really helps us is my family is nearby and my parents can come up within about a day's notice or in a bind (sick child) even that morning, which has helped us tremendously. It would be very hard to go from depending on grandparents to not. Of course, if we moved back to my hometown which is still about an hour away from my parents that would still work! |
Anonymous
| I don't get the poster with a point about saving 15% of the highest amount for retirement, since 401K contributions are capped at the same annual amount for the entire US. |
Anonymous
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Yes, feel totaly trapped - born and raised in DC, came back after college and now my skills are so specialized that I can't go anywhere else. Husband grew up here too and refuses to leave.
That said, DC was/is a great place to grow up due to the proximity to museums, outdoor activities and exposure to different cultures, so I am happy my kids get to experience that too. Though it is annoying that everyone comes to DC in eighth grade, however DC kids don't get a cool class trip! |
zumbamama
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| I love DC, I just wish it had a beach. I miss the beachy life. |
Anonymous
I am no from here, but it seems to me there are plenty beaches on DCUM... |
Anonymous
| No, i totally enjoy living in DC area. We are here because of my work and would leave the minute that my work is done, so in some way I know that DC is temporary for me and for this reason I am trying to make the most out of my stay here. |
Anonymous
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I would love to move to the Bay Area or Pacific NW and almost did twice, but it's so far from our families (the main reason why it didn't happen before) and over the past few years DH's career has been very specialized. So now I'm afraid we're really stuck here...at least until retirement.
I do like some things about this area, but overall I think my heart is elsewhere... |