Reply to Study shows that 350k/year is barely scrapping by as middle class

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It depends on your definition of MC/UMC. If you live in s DC suburb with kids, 2 or more cars, save for retirement still have a mortgage, and need to pay for college (our instate is 43K a year total) or need to pay for daycare  then yes $250-350 only funds a MC lifestyle. [/quote]

No, you are wrong.  Even in the high COL cities, there are plenty of MC/UMC who live on true MC incomes of $75-150K annual salary.  The fallacy is that some people are  adding luxury upcharges to their definition of the middle class standard.  For example, you say "a DC suburb" when you mean the affluent DC suburbs.  You talk about 2 cars, but you mean 2 more expensive or newer cars.  You say college costs 43K total, but UVA is $16K for in-state and UMD is $10-13K for in-state tuition.  UDC is $5200 for in-state.  You can certainly get room, board and books for less than $27K a year.  [b]You say daycare, but I posted above how a normal middle class family living in the DC suburbs has daycare for 2 for $10K per year.
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The truth is that here on DCUM, the entitled lower upper class views MoCo and N Arlington as typical MC suburbs when they aren't.  Due to the population growth in this region over the last 40 years, N Arlington, McLean, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Upper NWDC all used to be middle class bastions, but that hasn't been true for at least the last 20 years.  For the last 20 years, they are now reaches for the UMC and are the homes of the upper class, perhaps the bottom of the upper class.  UMC who move to these areas have to make compromises in other ways to live there or find themselves truly strapped.

There are plenty of MC and UMC who survive quite easily in PG County, Charles County, Howard County, Loudoun County and Prince William County.  You could even live in parts of Montgomery County, Arlington or Fairfax County in a lower rated school zone.  You pay a luxury upcharge to live close-in and in a good school zone.  Middle class often don't have the luxury of living in a SFH in the best school zones.  They have to compromise somewhere--renting instead of owning, getting a smaller home instead of a middle or big sized home, or a lesser rated school.

I know plenty who have two paid off cars that they bought 2-3 years old and drive them into the ground.

You think you're including middle class standards but you aren't.  You are upgrading middle class standards and trying to sell the upgrades as middle class, but they aren't.[/quote]

+1 to most of this although I don't think those daycare costs are the norm at all.  We are in Silver Spring and I looked at a LOT of daycares, but the absolute lowest I found was an in-home for $250 per week (maybe it went down to $200 for a toddler, but I can't remember).  That's still $10k for one kid, and in this case it was a bit sketchy and we ended up at one that cost $300/week instead (which is still pretty reasonable in this area). Where the heck is someone finding a licensed daycare for $5000 per year?[/quote]

DP but you need to go further out.  That's still pretty close in and you'll pay a premium for it.[/quote]

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