Reply to What is considered a "good salary" in the DMV?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This thread is ridiculous. You need to make $500k to feel comfortable? People listen to yourselves! We make $350K a year with two kids--one in daycare and one in private elementary school and feel rich and save thousands a month outside of retirement. WTF are you people spending your money on? People on this forum have an enormous sense of entitlement and UMC tastes for only the finest most updated homes, cars, and vacations. Just look at the real estate threads and all the posts about $1.2m houses being trash. There was a recent thread about who buys $500-600k houses in mediocre schools off the eastern part of the red line. You know who? Us. And our neighbors like us who work at NIH, as government lawyers, and in the 270 tech area, etc. We all live in $600k houses. The average DCUMer is in such a bubble they are barely aware of any of this.[/quote]
+1 DCUM is not real life. We make about 230k, live in a small house in Vienna VA (bought in 2009), do not pinch pennies by any stretch of the imagination, manage to save for 529, and put money away for retirement. I suppose our vacations would be considered "too middle class" for the likes of DCUM. [/quote]

+1 we make 240k in NWDC and have two kids. We save for retirement, 529s for both, and pay cash for cars when we need them. We live in a two bedroom condo. Living on a budget because you have goals is not pinching pennies. Our income will likely cap out at 350k. We will just save more at that income level. We definitely don't need a 1.2M house or a luxury car. Our vacations are modest, but our kids enjoy sports and camps and a few luxuries. We bought here because the public school is great and we have a few neighbors like us. It's nice.[/quote]

I wouldn't save living in a 2 bedroom condo as a family is ideal. If you want to buy a SFH in NWDC you will need well upwards of a 250k income. So call me crazy, but owning a piece of land with a modest home is about 1 - 1.5M anywhere near NWDC or the surrounding suburbs. Affording a modest home is not a luxury, granted we could live out in the Vienna's of the world but I would rather chop my hand off. People are very skewed, myself included, but for a family of 4 in Bethesda, CC, Arlington, McLean, NWDC (even in public school) 250k won't give you much. I think the number that is comfortable is closer to 400k. I also assume that every person should be saving 20% of their income. Simplistically, after taxes, 400k = 250k net, less 50k savings = 200k to live on. Hardly living "large"[/quote]

PP, I didn't say ideal. It's a choice I make. My net worth is also higher than a few PPs back who make twice what we make. It's a lifestyle choice. Doesn't make me poor.

I've looked at houses for a few years that are single family in our area and none of them are as nice as our condo. They all need work and have significant deferred maintenance. No thank you. Hardley ideal either.[/quote]

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