Reply to what is a good income to be a SAHM in NOVA?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, what field is your husband's PhD? Is he looking to move to academia? If so, you should know that finding an Asst. Prof. gig is like the draft--you go where they want you--and its more likely to be 35k in Arkansas than 100k in Reston.

Starting Asst. Profs I know at GMU are around 65k, I'm a little further south at 75k (and it took me 2 years post-PhD to get this job). I had offers in other places for around 40k.

You should go read the job search boards on the Chronicle of Higher Education forums before you get your heart set on NOVA.

FWIW, I don't live in NOVA anymore, but  2 years ago was struggling as a single professional at 95k in Alexandria. Like old car, small rental condo, cheap shampoo, no savings struggling (not real struggle, but not luxury).[/quote]

How is that possible? Three years ago I was earning $60k, living in a studio downtown, old car, cheap shampoo, and had money for 401k, savings, and a reasonable amount of going out. [/quote]

Not the PP, but I'm going to go ahead and guess:  debt.    Probably student debt, given the advice re: academia, but possibly consumer debt too.    If you've got 200k in student debt and made a mistake or two with your credit cards when you were young and stupid, 95k income can evaporate pretty quickly.

It doesn't sound like that's relevant to OP, though!  With no outstanding debt and reasonable planning, a family of 3 can live fairly comfortable on 100k.  (And I'm guessing with the stats phD, academia is probably not the goal.  DC area is probably pretty good for that particular expertise!) Careful with the living far out, though.  It saves a lot of money on real estate, but you are likely to find yourself needing 2 cars (and the associated costs of upkeep).  With the commute taking longer, you tend to need more childcare hours (if/when you want childcare, of course, even if its only sporadic).[/quote]

Yes, no debt at all. Not even credit cards. We also have one car paid off. And academia is not the goal for dh.

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