Reply to Moving to Va. for in-state tuition?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]FWIW we did this when our twins were in junior high and I ended up regretting it. Daughter got into UVA, which was great, so we’ll save $160k with in-state tuition. But our son decided he needed a gap year and moved to the Pacific Northwest for a volunteer program; his plan is to stay out there and gain residency for a Washington school. Meanwhile, I liked our Maryland house and locale better, and since the VA one cost $240k more, we’re not even financially coming out ahead and I miss my old neighborhood.[/quote]

Listen, you are paying more taxes (those locality taxes are fierce in MD), and over time assuming you make a white collar income, the savings grow significantly.

Even more so if you make even higher income. Fairfax has higher real estate and car taxes, but you can buy a cheaper car or keep it a while, and real estate values generally don’t rise as high as your income hopefully will.

Here’s an example summary; if you invest the difference it can buy you an extra house.

[i] When comparing the overall tax burdens of Fairfax County, VA, and Montgomery County, MD, for a household earning $400,000, Virginia emerges as the more financially advantageous location despite its higher real estate rates and annual vehicle taxes. While a $1,000,000 home and $50,000 in vehicles incur roughly $5,500 more in property-related taxes annually in Fairfax, Montgomery County’s maximum 3.20% local "piggyback" income tax creates an $11,500 income tax penalty that completely eclipses Virginia's property levies. This results in an annual tax savings of approximately $6,010 for the Fairfax resident. If this annual difference is consistently invested into the S&P 500 over a 30-year horizon, compounding transforms those localized tax savings into significant wealth. Assuming a conservative 7% inflation-adjusted return, the cumulative investment grows to roughly $600,000, while a historical 10% nominal return pushes the final portfolio value past $1 million—demonstrating how regional tax structures can heavily dictate long-term net worth.
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