Reply to relocating to DC - budget for family of 4

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, you don’t need private school if you can live in a nice suburb. That will save you 50k+ per year. Enough to entertain having a car. Rent is cheaper in suburb too. 5-7k can get you a 5,000 sqft nice house in great school area. [b]Try the American lifestyle (big house big car). [/b]Maybe you will like it. We also moved from a dense European city to here, and found having a car is quite liberating as you don’t need to rely on public transport which is always shared and limited no matter how good it is. Also DC public transport sucks. 100 years backwards compared to Asian cities like Singapore, HK or Shanghai .[/quote]

This.  Don’t try to recreate the live you’ve been living.  Try to create a life that is easier to obtain in your new location.  America has a lot of land, huge houses and cars are inexpensive compared to most other countries.

You might be shocked how much you enjoy living in a large comfortable home with a private yard!  I know I was.  [/quote]

+1.  One idea is to just embrace the suburban lifestyle if you live in the DC area for 3-4 areas.  The cities in the US are not as nice or pedestrian friendly (or safe) as cities in other parts of the work, especially compared to cities in Asia (if you're talking about Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc).  In the US, the suburbs are really nice and you can have a great quality of life, while close to a lot of amenities.

I recommend living in Bethesda, Maryland, 20816.  Here is a house on a wonderful street that feeds to wonderful schools.  There are parks nearby and lots of amenities.  
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5226-Elliott-Rd_Bethesda_MD_20816_M62254-88385

In Bethesda, there are a lot of World Bank / IMF (expat) families, and they seem to enjoy it.  Many of them are only in the US for 5 years.  There is proximity to the Capital Crescent Trail, which would allow you to bike to work (if you work downtown).

Maybe just view the 4 years as an experiment in suburban living -- it's really nice for kids and quality of life.  (I say this as a former city dweller for many years.)[/quote]

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