Reply to Are we the only family in the DMV who is priced out?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
I think this is a lesson for you, OP.

Most people here raise families on less. A lot earn less and buy houses.  We bought a 600K house on an 80K salary 10 years ago. We had saved for a massive downpayment over more than 10 years so our mortgage wouldn't be too high for us.

We made sacrifices, something you cannot quite grasp. It seems you expect to be handed it all on a silver platter. You can afford a number of homes in safe neighborhoods with decent schools on a 300K HHI. I don't want to call you a liar, but let's just say... you're lying to yourself.

[/quote]

I am not lying to myself. Just because I have different priorities than you do and am not willing to be house poor does not mean that I am a liar. Let's agree to disagree.

It wouldn't be DCUM without unwarranted character assignation, would it?[/quote]

I don't think you're a liar, OP, but you just don't know the meaning of "priced out."  [/quote]

We don't have as much money as OP but we live in a safe neighborhood with a good school. And we own our home. It's just a condo. A nice one, too. We do worry a bit about MS/HS. At that point we may be "priced out" of DC proper, but then we'll move to a suburb. We may have to buy a townhome to get in the school district we want. Oh no.

My best friend from grad school lives in NYC. They've probably got an HHI of upwards of 600k. They are "priced out" of much of the city. They live in LIC, in a 3 bedroom high-rise apartment they don't love, so that they can afford private school because public schools in NYC are hard to navigate and they would rather downgrade their housing than compromise on education. They don't run around saying they were priced out of the city because they can't afford their ideal home with magically great public schools in a city that doesn't have many of those. They are aware they could always just move to a more affordable city -- if they cashed out today and found jobs paying even a third or a quarter of what they now make, they could afford to pay cash for the best school districts in any number of cities in the US. They like where they are and are willing to make the compromises to stay. Just like we're willing to compromise by living in a condo so that we can live in the neighborhood we want.

Even the ultra-wealthy compromise. Imagine your dream house in your dream neighborhood in your dream city with your dream schools and dream amenities. Does it actually exist? If it does, would you actually be happy there? Like I'd love to live in Monmarte in Paris and probably there are some good schools there. But I'm American with okay French and it's so far from my family. Would I make friends? Would it really feel like home? Realistically, no. Even with all the money in the world, there is very likely no perfect place for you, or at least no more perfect than any of the perfectly wonderful neighborhoods with terrific schools that you can afford to buy in, right here in the DMV.[/quote]

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