Reply to Gentrification shaming makes no sense to me.

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, people said rude stuff to us when we bought a starter house *gasp* a few miles outside the beltway (we work in the suburbs so it’s not even like we were commuting to DC). We got snarky comments about wanting the space of a house and not just staying in a small rental condo to be close to everything.

Fast forward 8 years and we made a bunch of money off that starter house while our friends were busy renting in DC/Arlington. Now we were able to buy a house in N Arlington thanks to our profits and in the meantime our friends who were renting got priced out of close-in neighborhoods and ended up *gasp* outside the beltway where they made fun of us for living.

FWIW, there’s nothing wrong with those neighborhoods where they moved. But it does irritate me a bit that when we lived just beyond 495 it was the “end of the world” and now that they live there they talk about how great it is.

My point being, focus on you. Any commentary from others is a reflection of their own issues as a PP pointed out. [/quote]

People are always going to judge, regardless. [b]I would absolutely judge anyone who used the phrase starter home as materialistic and wasteful[/b], regardless of where they chose to live. We bought in a less desirable part of DC 20 years ago and have certainly reaped financial benefits for doing so. But urban living, even in a SFH with a large backyard has pluses and minuses, I would never live in Virginia, but Annapolis sounds nice. I wouldn't have said than 20 years ago, but as you get older, you do want more nature around you to decompress. [/quote]

So anyone who buys a home just to get on the property ladder knowing that it isn’t where they want to be long term, and actually admits it is just a point of starting out is materialist and wasteful? That’s crazy. Most people can’t afford the house/location they really want with their first purchase and know a piece of real estate is just a means to an end. There’s nothing bad or materialistic about a starting point.[/quote]

Kinda, yeah. People who refer to their homes as starter homes ARE usually materialistic and wasteful types who view home ownership as a ladder and think that they deserve HGTV-style living. It's like no one in their family had a home less than 3000 SF where children shared bedrooms and there was no "master suite." It's gross. [/quote]

I’m the original poster who referred to our “starter home,” which came with a crappy commute and was 40 years old with “updates” done by the prior owners that we never would have picked ourselves. Our move up home, which we hope to stay in as kids grow and renovate over time, is 2200 sq ft and comes with a very short commute, walkable amenities, and great neighborhood where we plan to stay, but only 1 upstairs bathroom that we share with our kids. The kitchen hasn’t been updated since the early 1980s and doesn’t even have backsplash. So take your HGTV materialistic stereotype and shove it. The vast majority of people I know who didn’t have lots of family help started out in older townhomes or small city condos or houses far from their jobs with the hopes of saving up for something that meets what they want longer term as income goes up, student loans get paid off, and childcare expenses go down.

The fact you are unfamiliar with “starter homes” in this area makes me think you’re incredibly out of touch. You’re probably some boomer who never had to compete with buying in a tight market. Or you live nowhere near DC. [/quote]

Oh you millennial materialistic types are hilarious! We rented in a dodgy apartment for 10 years before we bought a modest DC home with no help from boomer mommy and daddy - while paying our student loans and suffering the grave tragedy that is a backsplash-kitchen. I hope that you live with the deep trauma of 1980s styling - you didn’t get to experience it the first time in was in fashion - it must be horrifying for your coddled soul...[/quote]

Hi! I also rented for 10 years, but my modest 1500 sq ft townhouse is a long commute outside DC because I didn't have an extra 150-200k for the cheapest place within the city. (So I couldn't gentrify DC if I wanted to!) I have spent most of my home improvement budget so far doing roof repairs and removing lead paint, nothing cosmetic.. i am grateful for my home and hope to be here at least several years,, but I would, someday, like to move to another house. 1800 sq feet and a parking spot and larger yard would be sufficient, but was not on the market withn our budget when we moved. Sorry to be so,  so super gross and materialistic! Definitely i am far more greedy than someone who had more money to spend at the time. [/quote]

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