Reply to relocating to DC - budget for family of 4

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Currently living abroad and interviewing for a position in DC. Never lived there and have no family ties. About to discuss salary. I would be most interested in feedback as to what is a reasonable budget for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 young kids) in DC metro area. Assume reasonably good sized home (2000-3000 sqf) in a nice area west of Rock Creek Park. [b]Would prefer not to have a car if thats possible/realistic. [/b]Understand from other posts on this forum we should be expect to fork out about 60k in rent (possibly more?) but struggle to put a figure on childcare/afterschool, utilities and food and understand some expenses have been going up sharply so figures dated 2/3 years ago may no longer be accurate. Thanks in advance to all who will contribute.[/quote]

That is not realistic in the US generally.  If you want your kids to have activities, you are going to need a car.  The US is not like other parts of the world where you can get by without a car.

My DH's cousin recently did a post-doc year in the US, after growing up in a European country.  The cousin was sure he'd be fine without a car, but he ended up borrowing one of our cars frequently because it was so limiting to be in the US (and in the DC area) without a car.  He was able to enjoy his US experience much more, once he had a car.

And ideally, buy a car that's large enough to do a carpool (if your kids want to do activities).  If you get a small car (where no friends will fit), that will be a limitation.[/quote]

Car free is possible in DC, but not easily west of rock creek, the area doesn't even have protected bike lanes. If you live closer in, especially parts of the city with good bike and walking infrastructure it is much easier, but ward 3/west of rock creek lack most of this stuff. Mt Pleasant may be a good compromise if you want to get rid of the car. [/quote]

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