Reply to $750K is the new normal in desirable areas in the DMV

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]250k hhi with a mortage of 650k or so should be perfectly manageable unless you have twin 2013 Lexuses or $150k of student loan debt.

it's when you start going to mortgages that are more than 4x income that you start getting iffy. [/quote]

This sounds nuts to me, though I am starting to think we're the exceptions in this area rather than the rule. We have a HHI over $250K and our house is worth more like $500K and we have two older used cars. No student loan debt and mortgage is nearly paid off. Living below our means has kept us secure and happy,[b] with big retirement[/b] and college funds.[/quote]

But if you die before retirement, you only lived in austerity, ya know? I do believe it's possible to live too much in the future that you don't enjoy the present.[/quote]

I think of being house poor as living in austerity.  Different people different choices.  Early in our marriage (actually in the six month prior), we decided to save one of our take home salaries and live off the other.  That decision has paid off in many ways, giving us the flexibility to choose jobs we like rather than go for the bigger high pressure bucks.  It has allowed one of us to reduce hours when our children's needs required more parent time.  It has allowed us to fully fund their college before they enter HS and nearly fully fund retirement.  It has allowed us to take some great vacations.  Plus, smaller house means less to keep clean, lower utilities, lower taxes........  For us, it is a win-win-win.[/quote]

I would love to make this choice, but we are looking for a place right now and just don't see anything in a decent (not even great) school district near a metro that doesn't require an hour-plus commute to our work and is below 650,000.   And we fine with 1 bathroom, ac units, and unupdated kitchen though the house can't need work.  I agree that you can be smug about your small-living choices if you bought before a certain date.  After that, you can choose a small house all you want, but you are still going to pay a lot more for it than is comfortable.[/quote]

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